ORGANIZATION HISTORY
| The Institute was founded in April 1995 by the Coalition for a Livable Washington, a group of environmental, labor, religious, and community organizations which came together in the early 1990s to resolve the clashes between local environmentalists and displaced timber workers. The Institute conceived of and has helped maintain Washington State’s Jobs for the Environment program. |
The Institute has also worked with low-income and ethnic minority groups to organize a community development corporation and to create worker cooperatives. It also organized the Washington Rural Communities Network, which acts as a source of information and support for small-scale enterprises in Eastern Washington. Many of these activities have occurred in Central Washington, through both the Jobs for the Environment program and the Washington Rural Communities Network.
It was an early and constant advocate for “smart” urban growth through the Metro Reform project, financed by the Northwest Area Foundation, a leader in development of broad coalitions working for good government and social change—the Puget Sound Citizens League, Friends of Fishermen’s Terminal, and the Comité Pro-Amnistía General y Justicia Social. IWF developed and published, with the League of Women Voters, a statewide study (County Finances) of comparative county tax systems—a basis for education and organizing efforts for public finance reform in Washington State. It has also begun to address the technological divide through the OPEN project, with support from the C.S. Mott Foundation, by offering technical assistance to groups working for low-income people.
Sean Hopps – Director
Sean leads the organization in its program areas of civic engagement and community development, with a particular focus on rural communities and the Latino communities. He is bilingual and has been involved in IWF’s partnership with C2C, since 2007. Currently he functions as the “Movement Grants Specialist” and is working with C2C to develop its Solidarity Economy Center and other projects to create new green energy jobs, small businesses, and co-ops aligned with sustainable, just, environmental and labor practices. He has 10 years of experience writing and administering grants from federal, state, and private foundations.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Rosalinda Guillen (Board Chair) – Community to Community Development
Rosalinda is a widely recognized farm worker and rural justice leader. The oldest of eight, she was born in Texas and spent her first decade in Coahuila, Mexico. Her family emigrated to LaConner, Washington in 1960 and she began working as a farmworker in the fields in Skagit County at the age of ten. Ms. Guillen has worked within the labor movement with Caesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers of America and has represented farmworkers in ongoing dialogues of immigration issues, labor rights, trade agreements, and strengthening the food sovereignty movement. She works to build a broader base of support for rural communities and sustainable agriculture policies that ensure equity and healthy communities for farmworkers.
Iris Carias – Mt. Vernon City Council/Mt. Vernon School District
Iris is a Latina immigrant from Honduras. She has worked with the migrant community in Skagit County for over 20 years as a family service specialist and ESL instructor at Skagit College. In 2017 she was part of an effort to identify Latino candidates for Mt. Vernon city council, became one of two candidates, and the first Latina elected to the Mt. Vernon city council. Her first goal: win or lose, inspire Latinos to civically engage in the vote and beyond and create a participatory space for them to organize and build on for future campaigns.
Jesse Nelson – Conduit Coffee Company
Jesse worked with IWF before venturing into the small business world, opening Conduit in 2012. Conduit builds relationships based around coffee and community, supporting freelance artists and businesses in the Seattle area. His role on the board is to offer technical assistance and help administer new program areas and projects, including the NW Space Agency.
Patrick Hopps – Consulting and engagement
Patrick has over sixteen years of investment experience, working for over ten years as the Senior Trader and Operations Manager at Lake Union Capital Management, a hedge fund in Seattle. Presently, he is the Senior Manager of Investment and Advisory Services at BAC Capital Advisors, responsible for providing consultation on retirement plans to small businesses as well financial advice to 401(k) participants. In the community, Patrick enjoys spending his free time coaching, and has over 20 years of experience coaching basketball, baseball, and soccer at various high schools and youth organizations.
Don Hopps – Ex-officio
Don is the former director of IWF and continues to mentor and offer guidance on new programs, particular rural development, land use, and resource development.
Rainy Selove – Research and Grant Writing Assistant
Rainy Day is our indispensable Jill of All Trades at IWF and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. Coming from a background of organic farming and being in the process of becoming an herbalist, the focus of her work is rooted primarily in food and land sovereignty with respect and acknowledgment to the Coast Salish Territory our organization occupies.