Toshiko Grace Hasegawa - principal

Toshiko is a yonsei (fourth generation) Japanese American and lifelong Washingtonian with deep community roots and over 10 years experience in public service at the federal, state, county, and local level.

A descendant of WWII incarcerees, she is passionate about promoting community voice in political advocacy. The daughter of a labor leader raised in the eye of the labor movement, she knows the power of directly engaging systems to achieve positive change. She believes it is her responsibility to pay forward the gifts from her elders to empower the next generation with a brighter future.

In 2018, she was appointed by Governor Inslee as Executive Director of the Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, a cabinet-level agency at the State with the mission to improve the lives of Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Washingtonians, effectively becoming the youngest woman of color ever to serve in the Governor’s cabinet in state history.

In 2021, Toshiko ran a historic campaign for the Port of Seattle Commission, garnering overwhelming community support and taking office in 2022 as the first woman of Asian ancestry (and only the 5th woman ever) elected to the Port in its over 110-year history.