As the Founder of Spark Consulting, LLC, I wish to recognize and thank some of the key people who have positively impacted me. I seek to honor their leadership, insight, and collaboration in my journey.

 

 

Thank you to…

 

The youth that I have known, who have influenced me and the way I lead in countless ways, ranging from my first job with toddlers at a daycare in Redmond, to our Saturday participants in Enriching Education for Latinos, to the tutoring group from River East School in East Harlem, to the high school mentees in the five boroughs of New York City, to our school-age kids at P.S. 246 in the Bronx, to our teens at West Seattle High School, to our campers in the English Language Learning Navigators program in Bothell, my teenage Little Sister, my son, and more.

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Eberth Arias, my husband, for his commitment to strength-based management in the workplace, along with his authentic partnership with me at home.

 

My parents, Janet and Chris Powell, who have modeled what it looks like to be lifelong learners and educators.

 

The YWCA Family Village in Redmond, which propelled me into this career when I was an 18-year-old volunteer by showing me how to provide a caring, supportive, and structured environment for kids in and out of crisis.

 

Doug Kimball, my journalism teacher at Redmond High School, for offering me my first official leadership roles as the Feature Editor and Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Blaze newspaper and for teaching me my first lesson on “how to lead from the middle.”

 

Martha Zamudio and Pablo Garcia for encouraging me to design activities to meet youths’ interests and needs in the L.A. Bridges Program and collaborating with Occidental College in 2002 to create the Anne Powell Award, in appreciation and recognition of my service and dedication to the students of Luther Burbank Middle School, the most meaningful honor I have received.

 

Carolyn Brighouse, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Occidental College, for trusting I had something worth saying and mentoring me as I honed my skills in critical thinking and writing.

 

Peter Dreier, E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics at Occidental College, for making an exception for me to participate in his class on Community Organizing and Leadership and introducing me to the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs.

 

The Coro Fellowship for cementing my belief in the power of strategic open-ended questions.

 

Benjamin Ramos Rosado and our team with the Good Shepherd Services After-School Program at P.S. 246 for demonstrating a true commitment to youth development, inspiring me by embracing each new challenge and valuing teamwork.

 

Diana Torres at Good Shepherd Services for being an inspiring and supportive supervisor and mentor in my first director role.

 

Brooke Beals and our Level 9 team at the Y for strengths-based program design and collaboration while centering adolescent youth and relationships.

 

The Y of Greater Seattle youth development teams, especially my colleagues from the West Seattle and Northshore branches, for intentionally and creatively incorporating the organization’s values of respect, responsibility, caring, and honesty into programs and services for youth and families.

 

The 2020 Bridge Planning Team (Clara Rosebrock, Elizabeth Whitford, Janell Jordan, Leah Bui, and Nerrisah Townsend) for cultivating creativity during chaos and embracing hard conversations, fun, and a commitment to equity.

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Annie Von Essen, David Bestock, Josie Clark, Loriana Berman, Moses Rifkin, and Rivka Burstein-Stern for holding space for deep learning with a shared commitment to anti-racism.

 

Some of my first consulting clients, who embraced collaboration, continuous improvement, and community, including East African Community Services, Seattle Public Schools (including Rivka Burstein-Stern, Shukri Olow, and the women of Somali Mothers Night Out), Supporting Partnerships in Education and Beyond (especially Regina Elmi), and Jessica Werner with Youth Development Executives of King County (which later became my employer). Thank you for trusting me when I was taking a new path in my career.

 

 

Sincerely,

Anne Powell Arias

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