This year, the WSLB will bestow a number of esteemed statewide accolades, including the Washingtonian of the Year, Organization of the Year, Legacy of Service, and Justice for All awards.

Washingtonian of the Year

For the past 45 years, the WSLB has highlighted individuals who are making an extraordinary positive impact in our state. The Washingtonian of the Year Award is an accolade bestowed upon a Washington resident who has demonstrated leadership, selflessness, generosity, and compassion in their service to others and our state over their lifetime.

Washington Organization of the Year

The Organization of the Year award aims to provide statewide recognition to an organization making significant contributions to their community through their programs and initiatives.

Legacy of Service Award

The Legacy of Service award is a way of recognizing a recently deceased or retired individual
for their leadership, selflessness, generosity, and compassion in their service to others and our state over their lifetime.

Justice for All Award

The Justice For All Award is a way of recognizing an individual or an organization specifically for their profound impact on advancing social justice and equality in our state.

2023 Award Honorees

Washington Organization of the Year

Weld Seattle

Weld Seattle, this year's recipient of Washington Organization of the Year, is a non-profit committed to transforming the lives of legal system-impacted individuals through connection, healing, and opportunity.  Founded in 2017, WELD provides sober transitional housing, life skills training, and employment services to help people reenter, engage and ultimately thrive in community. The WELD team, sharing similar life experiences, rapidly establishes trust and a sense of belonging among its members, laying the foundation for robust personal and community accountability.Since its founding, WELD has served over a thousand adults reentering the community after incarceration who have often struggled with homelessness and addiction. Weld Seattle replaces barriers with opportunities by empowering its members to successfully reintegrate into society.

WELD's Executive Director Patrick Arney says, “We share a profound connection with the experiences of those we serve—much like many of our members, we have navigated through challenges that once felt insurmountable. Today, I am reminded of the transformative power of hope and healing as I witness individuals forging new paths forward in their lives. Thank you for honoring their work and recognizing our organization with this award.”

Washingtonian of the Year

Jan Yoshiwara, Former Director of SBCTC

After a 44-year career in higher education, including 38 years leading the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, Jan Yoshiwara has been named 2023 Washingtonian of the Year. Throughout her tenure, Yoshiwara spearheaded high-impact initiatives focused on equipping students with career-ready skills. She transformed Washington's community and technical college system through innovation and an unwavering commitment to student success. Her pioneering work overseeing the state's colleges, developing legislative partnerships, and approving innovative educational programs led to her recent retirement and this prestigious honor.

Jan expressed her gratitude for receiving this recognition and expressed her honor by saying, “I am honored to receive this recognition, to join such an esteemed group of Washingtonians who have received this award.  I am especially honored to have worked with a Board, colleagues, faculty, staff, and trustees at the colleges who have been so dedicated to equity, social justice and academic and career success for all college students, no matter where they have been or where they start.  Washington community and technical colleges have been at the forefront of progressive efforts in social and economic mobility for those who need it the most.  It is what gives me hope for our future as a state.”

Justice for All

WA-BLOC

Washington Building Leaders of Change (WA-BLOC), this year's Justice for all Awardee, partners with educators, schools, and families to promote educational equity for black and brown students in Seattle Public Schools. Founded in 2016 through student activism and community leadership, the Seattle-based organization designs programming that addresses inequities in traditional school and classroom settings, with the goal of enacting significant statewide policy reform.

“Thank you to the Washington State Leadership Board for this recognition – it is a humbling honor and wouldn’t be possible without the shoulders we stand on and the folks with whom we do this work alongside. This work is not new and neither is the fight. We are inspired by the guiding principles of Septima Clark, Ella Baker, and Marian Wright Edelman who fiercely believed that literacy is liberation and schools are powerful agents of social change.” — WA BLOC Team

Legacy for All Award

Dr. Marsha Linehan

Dr. Marsha Linehan, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Washington, is the recipient of this year’s Legacy of Service award for developing Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Originally created to treat suicidal behaviors, DBT has expanded over time and is now the gold standard for treating Borderline Personality Disorder, emotion dysregulation, and other complex mental health issues. DBT is now considered the gold-standard treatment for BPD.

Her daughter, Geraldine Rodriguez, acknowledged Dr. Linehan's profound impact, saying “Thank you, Washington State Leadership Board, for this incredible recognition of my mother, Dr. Marsha Linehan for her work in the mental health field. At one point in her life, my mother found herself in hell, she was able to get out and then vowed to go back to hell to get others out. Through her scientific research at the University of Washington, her compassion, determination, and life of service, she was able to develop Dialectical Behavior Therapy, a ground-breaking-life-changing treatment that has proven to be effective in treating many mental disorders. DBT is her best attempt at fulfilling that vow. Our hope is that with this award, we continue to work together to provide the care and treatment that affect so many humans in our state, our county and the world. DBT changes lives and it has become our mission to make it available far and wide to all those who need it.”

Keynote Speaker