Peter Blaustein
Development Strategist and Writer
Peter works to foster compassion, kindness, well-being and social justice in our world. In his early career, Peter worked with children with traumatic brain injury and, after earning a Master’s in Social Work, provided therapy for adults with mental illness. For over 15 years, he co-led Sister Island Project, a nonprofit focused on cultural exchange and rural community development in the Dominican Republic. His writing has supported the efforts of numerous nonprofits, with focus areas including girls’ and women’s empowerment, nature-based environmental learning, thriving BIPOC communities in Washington State, and healthcare in remote villages in Nepal.
Advisors
Rasheeda Hawk
Clinical Research Professional
Dr. Hawk is a biophysicist whose epigenetic research experience includes conducting climate assessments, and recommending and implementing solutions to discovered problems. She has organized and facilitated research symposiums that addressed health issues such as child and maternal health, malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV in developing countries. She has also worked to introduce meditation practices to students from marginalized communities, and she has researched the use of bioremediation methodology to eliminate toxins from the the soil and water in urban areas.
Haydeé Lavariega
Participatory Funding and Coalition Building Consultant. Community Impact Manager, Education Strategies, United Way of King County.
Originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, Haydeé bases her practice in her Indigenous values of collectivity, honoring the knowledges of her community, fighting for social justice and a vision of a better future for generations to come. Haydeé’s mission is to work in community organizing and community healing with decolonizing practices and anti-racist frameworks. She knows our work must be done together, intersectionally, to arrive to our collective liberation.
Denise Pérez Lally
United Way Program Director, CoLEAD, Purpose. Dignity. Action
Denise recently served as the Director of Human Services for El Centro De La Raza in Seattle, WA. She began her career providing direct services to working families, immigrants and refugees, and children in the Latino community, in Colorado and New Mexico. At an early age, she learned from her grandparents to honor “La Tierra Madre” (mother earth), and to honor our ancestors—a belief she continues to practice today. Understanding the health disparities facing low-income Latinas, Denise launched Hermanas Triathlon to empower Latina non-athletes to discover new expressions of health, wellness, personal power, and community connections. More recently, she created the Circulos Sagradas (Sacred Circles) program for community members to have a safe place for their healing journey.
