Professional Development Conference Speaker: Ayanna Coleman
The ICSEW will be publishing biographies and session descriptions of our Professional Development Conference presenters in the weeks leading up to the Aug. 27 conference. To register, please visit EventBrite.
True Wonder Women: Fighting Supremacy and Oppression at Work
Women make up the majority of Washington state’s government employees. Women also make up a majority of the governor’s current executive cabinet. It’s clear that women are superheroes that can achieve anything they set their minds to.
Even with these great numbers, we still see a lot of disparities among women. Women of color are underrepresented in positions of leadership in state government. Women who are members of marginalized communities have reported not feeling safe nor comfortable enough to truly be themselves at work.
This session explores how we can each be better allies to each other, advocate for one another and combat toxic work behavior such as macro-aggressions. Come to our island for warrior training!
Ayanna Coleman
Ayanna received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and her Juris Doctorate degree from Gonzaga University School of Law. She has worked for state government for the last seven years, beginning her state service with the Department of Social and Health Services, Division of Child Support. Ayanna has experience working as front-line staff with a heavy caseload in a field office, as well as being a member of a policy development team at a headquarters office. These experiences have given her immense perspective of the various levels of state government and the importance of every role.
In 2017, she joined Results Washington as a Lean Fellow and transitioned into the role of Senior Performance Advisor in 2018. Over the past year, Ayanna has worked closely with practitioners and partners in efforts to advance diversity, equity and inclusion work.
In June 2019, she transitioned over to the Office of Financial Management, OFM, into Human Resources, to become the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Innovations manager. She is also a representative for ICSEW, representing OFM.
In her free time, Ayanna enjoys engaging in community service throughout the Puget Sound. An avid fan of pop culture, Ayanna enjoys listening to a slew of podcasts and checking out hit shows and documentaries on Netflix. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and five-year-old Great Pyrenees dog.