Nicholas Vann - Executive Sponsor
Nicholas Vann currently serves as the Director of Equity and Belonging within the Washington State Office of Equity, and is the first Executive Sponsor for Washington State Business Resource Group HAPPEN (Hawaiians, Asians, and Pacific Islanders Promoting an Empowerment Network). He is Chinese American, and is the son, grandson, and great grandson of immigrants. Nicholas is dedicated to public service, and prioritizes putting people first to ensure systems are serving Washingtonians equitably. He began serving the public in Washington state government in 2011 with the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, where he served as the State Historical Architect and Deputy Director. He believes that every Washingtonian deserves the dignity of feeling a sense of belonging regardless of their identity, and that the future of state government models relational partnership by empowering the voice and lived experience of people.
Denise Ross - Legacy Ex-Officio Member
Denise Ross (she/her) is the Workplace Culture and Development Manager at the Puget Sound Partnership. She leads the cabinet agency in creating more human-focused employee experiences grounded in belonging and inclusion. Denise holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management and has been a public servant since 2011. She is one of the founders of HAPPEN, along with Nicholas Vann and other leaders, who helped transform a group of three passionate state employees into an official business resource group with hundreds of HAPPEN members now advancing that mission.
Denise grew up in the Pacific Northwest in a multi-generational home infused with proud Japanese culture, food, and values of honor and respect. She is a Japanese American (Nisei Generation) and the daughter and granddaughter of Issei Generation immigrants. She also has ancestry roots from the island of O'ahu, including a grandfather born and raised there who witnessed the infamous bombing of the 1941 Pearl Harbor from a coconut tree. He later proudly served in the US Army for over 20 years and then retired as a Washington state employee after 21 years of service.
Some of Denise’s passions include awareness for early detection of breast cancer screening, supporting veterans, spreading domestic violence awareness, and social justice. I am proud and honored that I can continue a role in HAPPEN’s legacy.
Jim Mendoza - Co-Chair
Jim Mendoza, the son of Nicasio Damasco Mendoza (d) and Victoria Albrecht-Reyes and is honored to serve as one of the inaugural co-chairs for the HAPPEN BRG. Beyond the stated mission and vision of HAPPEN, Jim believes in the importance in breaking through the bamboo ceiling and seeing more members of our communities in positions of leadership within and without state government.
Jim is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor. He is currently employed with Seattle Colleges as a Benefits Specialist where he handles matters related to employee education, outreach, and support for Seattle Colleges regarding health insurance, retirement options, disability, and voluntary benefits, as part of Seattle Colleges Benefits, Payroll, and Human Resources operations.
Married for more than 35 years to his lovely wife, Laura, Jim is an advocate in the fight against breast cancer. Jim’s interest in the fight against breast cancer is a byproduct of Laura being a 15-year survivor. In 2017, Jim was named Volunteer of the Year by Komen Puget Sound for his tireless advocacy efforts in the fight against breast cancer.
Jim’s community service includes having been a Little League Baseball umpire for 25 years, culminating in his selection to work the Junior League World Series in 2001. Jim is also a proud Freemason, having served as Grand Master (statewide president) in Washington in 2016-2017. During that time, he was able to use that platform to amplify his advocacy in the fight against breast cancer.
A lover of musical theater, you may also find Jim on a stage near you. 😊
Thanh V. Tran - Co-Chair
As a first-generation Vietnamese refugee, Thanh knows the pains experienced by othering, prejudice, and bias and has a passion to empower others to find their voices when advocating for fair, equitable treatment and authentic representation. He is a HAPPEN Co-chair and an ally for all marginalized communities that intersect as a bridge builder in our shared common interests. As an Asian American, he realizes his own privilege & disenfranchisement in our social construct and envision members speaking truth to power regarding the marginalization and bias that we as ANHPI experience WITHIN and outside of our communities to truly unify & heal.
Thanh is an inclusive servant leader with core strengths in public speaking, logistical analysis, group communication and facilitation that has helped other groups arrive authentically when engaging in conversations with diverse perspectives and lived experiences. As he has stated, “Our ANHPI communities are no different with over 80+ diverse ethnicities, languages, cultures as none of our lived experiences are monolithic. I’m hopeful this BRG will be the space to celebrate our diverse thought and truths as we organize and mobilize towards equality for all.”
Evelyn Tuiaana - Co-Chair
Evelyn Tuiaana (She/Her) or better known as Eve is a native of Carson, California. Eve is a Pacific Islander of Samoan and Tongan descent. She is a combat Veteran of United States Army with more than 20 years of active-duty service. She retired from Joint Base Lewis-McChord and has made Washington her home where she is raising her family. She serves as a Veteran advocate in Pierce and Thurston Counties. She devotes her free time helping Veteran Service Organizations in her community. Eve is currently the VFW Post Commander 11402 Lacey-Tumwater for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. She currently works with the Department of Enterprise Services as a DEI Learning Design and Delivery Professional training our state employees on DEI. Eve served her country and continues to serve her community by assisting the homeless, passing out supplies or delivering food from the food bank. Wherever there is a need she continues to be a true servant leader. She is humble and believes that her actions will always speak louder than her words to get any job done. Eve proudly joined the HAPPEN Leadership Team as a Co-chair in 2024.
Leilani Martinez - Administrative Liaison
As a dedicated advocate with a rich multicultural background, Leilani brings a unique perspective to her work. Being Japanese/Hispanic and a Child of a Deaf Adult (CODA), she has a deep understanding of diverse cultures and the challenges faced by the deaf community.
For the past nine years, Leilani has served with a state agency, where her passion for advocacy and helping others has flourished. Her colleagues and friends often rely on her for her empathetic listening skills and insightful advice. She is known for her ability to lift others' spirits and make them feel valued and appreciated.
Leilani has an insatiable curiosity and a love for learning that drives her to delve deeply into subjects that intrigue her. Whether through reading, researching, or experimenting, Leilani immerses herself in gathering comprehensive information. This dedication to understanding is not just a personal trait but a professional asset that enhances her ability to advocate effectively.
Leilani's approach to life and work is grounded in the belief that hard work and preparation create opportunities. She meticulously plans and executes her goals, linking together facts, incidents, and resources to understand and achieve success. Leilani rejects the idea that life is merely a game of chance; instead, she creates her own good fortune through diligence and determination.
Leilani accepted the role of HAPPEN Administrative Liaison in 2024. With a focus on thoroughness and a knack for making others feel heard and valued, Leilani strives to make a positive impact in her community and beyond.
Charice Pidcock - Communications Coordinator
Charice began her continuous improvement journey at the Frank Russell Company during the Total Quality Management era in the early 1990s and has honed and learned new techniques, including Lean. Charice started state service with the Washington State Patrol in 2006 and transferred to the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) in 2013. In the spring of 2014, Charice completed the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt program through the University of Washington Tacoma. Charice has additional training and hands on experience facilitating large groups through change efforts and has success fully facilitated complex, department-wide and cross-agency events.
Continuous improvement work requires having the right people in conversation, requiring diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. If any one of these is not present, the improvements will not be as effective and impactful. One of Charice’s passions and strengths is developing diverse and disparate groups and organizations together to achieve collective impact. Charice creates space for people with different, and often polarized opinions to share freely and respectfully. This is accomplished by using human-centered techniques, creating psychologically safe and brave space for members to be vulnerable, authentic, and transparent.
Charice proudly serves as HAPPEN's Communications Coordinator. In her spare time, Charice enjoys spending time with her family, quilting, watching movies, reading, and listening to music.
Naghmana Sherazi - Community Outreach Lead
Naghmana Sherazi is a scientist, an educator, a medical professional and a community leader; Naghmana is also single mother to an amazing son, an immigrant of South Asian descent, and loves to connect with people on the basis of food, music, culture, art, ethnicity, religion, the environment, and social, racial and climate justice issues. She made history by being the first Muslim immigrant woman of South Asian descent to run for office and win in a primary in Spokane City. She has an MA in English, BA in Economics as well as an AS in Biotechnology and a second BS in Cytogenetic Technology, She moved to Spokane in 2012.
She serves on the steering Committees of Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane (PJALS), as first VC on the Sustainability Action Subcommittee’s Steering Committee for the City of Spokane, is a Board member with 350Spokane, Earth Ministry, and Board Chair of Greater Spokane Progress. She is Co-Chair for Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom and writes a column for Spokane FāVS – a faith based internet publication. She is one of the founders of a small non-profit, Muslims for Community, Action and Support (MCAS) - working to dispel Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Xenophobia and Misogyny in Spokane by educating and creating awareness about Muslims and specifically Muslim immigrants and Refugees and the benefits they bring when they become part of your community.
Naghmana is passionate about climate justice, equity, social and racial causes, immigrants and refugees, and works hard to be a voice for marginalized communities of color. She is a renter, and being an immigrant and a woman of color acknowledges that she lives with racism and social/racial/religious biases every day. She is an untiring advocate for affordable housing, looking to end structural racism enabling people of color to have ways and means to access and create wealth and abundance. Naghmana Sherazi currently works part time as Climate Justice Program Director (Interim) with the Lands Council, a well-regarded nonprofit in the Spokane area that promotes conservation and environmental causes, and her full time work is with the Washington State Office of Equity as Pro-Equity Consultant.
Naghmana is well known for being a collaborator, connector and communicator. Her organizing background and skills are a distinct advantage as she works with underrepresented and marginalized communities and especially with communities of color. She has built a good network due to her relational work within the immigrant and refugee communities, and especially those of NHAPI affiliation. Elected to the position of HAPPEN Community Outreach Lead in 2024, she hopes to expand the HAPPEN network and work with as many groups as possible to amplify this BRG.
Lynora Hirata - Leadership Development Lead
Lynora Hirata is the Leadership Development Committee Lead for the Hawaiians, Asians, and Pacific Islanders Promoting an Empowerment Network (HAPPEN). As a Washington State employee for over 25 years, she offers a perspective that reflects both frontline and managerial experience complementing the role of Leadership Development Committee Lead. During her tenure as a Washington State employee, she has consistently worked to champion Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and value Racial Equity and Social Justice practice as a necessary relational component of relationship building.
Lynora is committed to creating safe professional and personal learning ecosystems that foundationally foster an ethic of continuous learning from shared perspectives and self-reflective practice to reflect qualitative trends to better trail blaze new pathways towards proactive change. Bilaterally, she will also honor the individual voice as an equitability weighted narrative of value.
Jason Lim - Membership Coordinator
Jason Lim accepted the role of HAPPEN Membership Coordinator in 2024. Jason has an undergraduate degree in Natural Resources Management from James Madison College and in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy-Parliamentary Studies. He also has a Master’s in Marine Affairs from the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs (SMEA) at the University of Washington. Jason received his second master’s in environmental studies-phycological studies from Evergreen State College.
Currently, Jason is an Ecosystem Recovery Coordinator/LIO program project officer. Before joining Puget Sound Partnership, Jason was a contractor with NOAA in various roles from the Species Act (ESA) Section 7 Fish biologist. ESA Puget Sound Rockfish recovery biologist. Steller Sea Lion Recovery biologist. Jason was also a Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) biologist.
Jason is from a multi-generational Cantonese/Taishanese household. His mom was born in China and raised in Hong Kong and came to the United States as a teenager. On his father’s side, it was his great-grandfather who came to San Francisco in the early 20th century and worked to bring his family, including his grandfather to the United States. Jason comes from a family rooted in the restaurant business that allowed his father’s generation to become doctors, lawyers, and managers in business. He and his partner are still advocates for all immigrant communities, education (they volunteer for their local library), and environmental protection and recovery – including access for all communities who do not the means, resources, or time. They sometimes take outdoor recreation for granted and want to make sure access to the outdoors and the many activities are accessible to all.
Kennly Asato - Mentorship Lead
Aloha everyone! Kennly Asato (she/they) has been re-elected to the Mentorship Committee Lead position. Kennly currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Director for the Housing Division at the Washington State Department of Commerce. She believes that she would not be where she is today without mentors' guidance and provided her with advice over the years. Kennly has worked in state government for the last 12 years and have created internship, fellowship, and mentoring programs at two state agencies. In 2023, Kennly launched HAPPEN's mentorship program with our amazing mentorship committee. Kennly has also mentored several fellow state employees during her time with the state. Kennly is passionate about continuing to develop and grow a flourishing mentorship program for us in our BRG.
Brian Lock - Policy Lead
Brian is honored to serve as the Policy Lead for the HAPPEN BRG. In Board volunteer roles as Co-Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition of South Puget Sound (APIC SPS) and the Multicultural Service Center of South Sound, Brian has been involved in policy and legislation that directly impact the Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Communities. Some of this work has involved putting together policy statements and education materials for legislators and in coordinating meetings with local state legislative delegations and occasionally our Congressional representatives.
In his early state government career, Brian had been Co-Chair of the Asian Pacific State Employee Network. Brian has been in Washington State government for nearly 29 years with stops at the Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, Office of Financial Management (Serve WA Commission), Department of Commerce, Pierce College, and now at the Department of Health as a Contract and Finance Specialist.
Brian's background has involved public policy, budget development, writing and managing federal grants and contracts, and program development. His educational background includes having a BA in Political Science from Western Washington University and an MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University with an emphasis in Public Finance. Brian was also an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Executive Fellow and Executive Development Institute (EDI) graduate.
Titu Hariharan - Treasurer
Titu Hariharan (she/her) is an Information Technology Project Manager Senior Specialist/Supervisor for the IT Division PMO at the Department of Natural Resources. Titu began her state service in 2022 at DSHS/BHA and prior to that worked as an IT Project Management consultant for the government, healthcare, education, and defense sectors for over 15 years.
Titu accepted the position of HAPPEN Treasurer in 2024. looks forward to contributing to advocating policies that promote anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace, being a part of HAPPEN, serving the community and Washingtonians. She is an immigrant of South Asian descent, and loves to connect with people, from diverse backgrounds and experiences. “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength” – Maya Angelou.