The Mockingbird Society

Welcome Elisabeth, our new MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™ Manager! Before joining the Mockingbird Society, Elisabeth managed domestic violence grant funding at the Office of Crime Victims Advocacy at the Washington State Department of Commerce. Before that, Elisabeth worked in refugee resettlement at Jewish Family Service and supervised a multicultural team supporting newly arrived families throughout the Puget Sound region. Elisabeth also has extensive experience in domestic violence legal advocacy as both a program manager and advocate. Trauma-informed care, strength-based case management, and equity-oriented work form the foundation of her leadership style and philosophy. A proud Americorps service alum, Elisabeth has dedicated her career to working alongside families most at the margins, and now she is excited to bring her experience to a system-level role here at Mockingbird Family! Elisabeth was born and raised here in Seattle and is a graduate of George Fox University in Oregon. She currently lives in the Columbia City neighborhood with her partner Aaron and their two dogs, Cookie & Junior. Her favorite pastimes include reading historical fiction, cooking, outdoor adventuring, and sharing quality food & conversation with family and friends. Fun fact about Elisabeth: "In my free time, my partner and I explore the wild places of Washington, oftentimes accompanied by our two dogs, Cookie and Junior. We run, hike, backpack, paddleboard, bike, and kayak. The Cascade Mountains, San Juan Islands, and the Scablands are some of our favorite spots to visit every year." Favorite Quote: "The planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds." - David W. Orr

On Friday at State Leadership Council, young people from across the state gathered to go over their ideas in preparation for Youth Leadership Summit, which is NEXT WEEK. These young leaders are ready to share their brilliant ideas and perspectives at Summit, and we can't wait! 🤩

Thank you, Coordinated Care, for your sponsorship of our upcoming Youth Leadership Summit! Coordinated Care's partnership supports our work in igniting systemic change so that every young person can be in a community that is equitable, safe and healthy.

Please join us in welcoming Roger, our new accountant! Before joining the Mockingbird Society, Roger worked as both an Accountant and Account Executive for Connect Communications, a small telecommunications company based in Bellingham, WA. Prior to his role at Connect Communications, he worked as a Tax and Portfolio Analyst for Multop Financial, a financial planning and accounting firm also based in Bellingham, WA. During his time in Bellingham, Roger and his colleagues regularly supported the efforts of the Lighthouse Mission, whose aim is to aid in the transition of people out of homelessness. Currently, he is an active member of the Ballard P-Patch, where he and his wife participate in the Giving Garden program, which donates locally grown vegetables to the Ballard Food Bank.  Roger is originally from Long Beach, CA, but has lived in Washington for most of his life. He attended Western Washington University for his degree in Finance and Economics. Fun Fact about Roger: "I'm an avid soccer fan (Newcastle United!!!). I like fishing and gardening (though I'm not great at either)." Favorite Quote: “The race does not always go to the swift, but to those who persevere.” – Vince Lombardi

We had the most amazing time at the Celebrate 18! event this weekend! This special birthday party is hosted by Eileen & Callie's Place to celebrate girls aging out of foster care and turning 18 years old. 💜 It was such a beautiful and meaningful celebration of each of these young people, and we were honored to be there!

We are SO excited to share that the July 2024 issue of The Mockingbird Times is now available! 🤩🎉 Young people worked so hard on this issue, and they put together some truly amazing artwork, poetry, and articles. 💜 Read the online version here: https://lnkd.in/gmpVP9zs

A couple of weeks ago, several members of our Board of Directors, a few potential future Board members, and members of our staff team got together for pizza and quality time together. We had a Q&A time about all things Mockingbird, shared about why we are passionate about our work, laughed, and had the best time! 💜 Eddy and Jalayna even had a little portrait drawing contest-- who do you think won?! 🧑🎨

Meet Sierra, our new Youth Programs Director! Sierra joins us as a former Mockingbird employee in an Outreach & Engagement Manager role. For many years, Sierra has committed to ending youth homelessness as a lived expert, including being part of the development and implementation of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project for the Office of Homeless Youth. Additionally, she has contributed to helping service providers implement Coordinated Entry, and has shared understanding of HUD requirements, equitable practices in spaces, disability support services and advocacy, crisis intervention practices, trauma & empathy informed approaches, and TA support for agencies to thrive. Sierra has also dedicated time to legislative advocacy to help support those experiencing homelessness, housing instability and foster care systems. In her free time, you can find Sierra in nature or traveling in the company of friends and family. Fun fact(s) about Sierra: "I play the cello and I am a rockhound 🙂 (Travel places and dig for rocks, rare geodes and fossils)." Favorite Quote: “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” - John Muir

We recently had the chance to get together for a staff retreat, where we spent time together in relationship and community, dreamed about our vision for the future, and continued in our racial equity journey in partnership with Dr. Melia LaCour of Becoming Justice. Times like these re-energize us to push forward in the work ahead of us and refocus us on our mission to transform foster care and end youth homelessness.

Sierra and Darian from our Youth Programs team recently had the amazing opportunity to represent Mockingbird at Atlantic Street Center's 23rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration! It was such a beautiful and inspiring day, and we felt grateful to celebrate Juneteenth in community. 💜