Meet the Commissioners

Meet The Commissioners

• Angela N. Tarah, Chair
• Jay Wellington, Vice-Chair

• Wilberforce Ageykum
• Marissa Chavez
• Michael Fitch
• Charles Hodges
• Jacquie Jones-Walsh
• Amanda Licorish
• Lubna Mahadeen
• Merri Ann Osborne
• Brahmy Poologasingham
• Marvin Stern
• Julian Wheeler
• Jimmy K. Yearby

• How to Get Involved

Ms. Tarah is a native of Trinidad who has made her home in the City of Seattle. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Zoology and a Master's degree in Business Administration. She is President and CEO of Tarah and Associates Inc., a management consulting firm that has served the Puget Sound area for the past 13 years. Ms. Tarah possesses over 20 years of management experience in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors and a wealth of experience in understanding and managing diversity, having lived in several countries. She plays an active role in the community as a volunteer and as a consultant.

Wilberforce Ageykum

Wilberforce Agyekum is a first generation immigrant from the West African nation of Ghana. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia Union College, majoring in Psychology, with minors in History Behavioral Science. Thereafter, Wilberforce attended Seattle University School of Law. While in law school, he served as chairman of the Judicial Review Board (JRB) in only his first year. Subsequently, he was elected president of the Student Bar Association (SBA) at the end of his first year. In his second year, he was re-elected to an unprecedented second term. Under his administration, Wilberforce was instrumental in the law school's transition from Tacoma to the main Seattle campus.

Wilberforce has always had a passion for uplifting his community, with particular focus on BLACK YOUTH. While in law school he mentored to at-risk youth for the Tacoma Urban League academy; he lead a book drive to donate used law books to the academy. He was also a graduation speaker for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education ((DARE) program; whereby he encouraged the youth to focus on their dreams and believe in themselves. For these and other community service activities, he was awarded the Outstanding Commitment to Community Service award by the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association.

Presently, Wilberforce is an attorney in private practice. He is active in the Washington State Bar Association through serving as member of the Committee For Diversity (CFD) in the legal Profession, and, as a member of the Civil Rights Committee (CRC). He is also a board member for the King County Chapter of the Washington Conservation Voters. In addition, he was appointed by Mayor Greg Nickels to the Seattle Human Rights Commission and was unanimously confirmed by the Seattle City Counsel.

Marissa Chávez recently completed her Master’s degree at the Evans School of Public Affairs. She has over five years experience working in the nonprofit sector with a focus on social justice work. Some of her jobs have included working with nonprofit organizations along the U.S./Mexico border to address issues of violence against women, working to increase access for students of color to higher education at the University of Washington, and working with at-risk youth and immigrant communities in South Seattle. She currently works at Casey Family Programs and serves on the board for the Center for Social Justice.

Michael Fitch graduated from the Marquette University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree (History). He then graduated from DePaul University College of Law with a Juris Doctorate Degree. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia and was a legal service attorney for the poor in Chicago. He then was the office director for Northwest Washington Legal Services in Bellingham Washington. He is presently Chair and the senior law faculty member of the Paralegal Program at Edmonds Community College. He is also the chair of the Faculty Diversity Committee at the college. He is a member of the American Bar Association, where he served as an Educational Consultant, the Washington State and Illinois State Bar Associations, the King County Bar Association and the American Civil Liberties Union. A long time resident of the University District, he has worked for the Democratic Party in the 43rd District in a variety of positions.

Ms. Jones-Walsh has secretarial and business skills and attended Seattle Community College where she studied Business Administration. She brings extensive experience in leadership and is very active in the community and politically in the Democratic Party.

Lubna was born and raised in Amman-Jordan. She grew up in a male-dominated Arabic culture where women work very hard to be liberated. During her residency in Jordan, she received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Jordan. Just before the beginning of the Gulf war in 1990, Lubna moved to the United States where she worked at Seattle Community College District in various positions. Currently, she works as a Program Coordinator at Seattle Central Community College and serves as a Council member at the College Council. She is a certified Mediator and actively working with the Dispute Resolution Center in King County. She is multi-lingual with proficiency in English, Arabic and French. She is also qualified in American Sign Language. Recently, she obtained her Master's degree in Public Affairs (M.P.A.) from the Daniel J. Evans School at the University of Washington. Lubna hopes to contribute to the commission in a meaningful way while making a difference in her community and addressing issues of awareness about her culture.

Jay Wellington first graduated from Southern Oregon University with a degree in English. He then graduated from the University of Washington with a Masters degree in Social Work. While earning his degree, he worked with State Representative Eric Pettigrew of the 37th legislative district and The Defender Association as a social work intern. Currently he is a social worker at a community mental health clinic in West Seattle. He has worked in social services for over ten years and his jobs included working with homeless youth, youth with drug and alcohol problems, and adults with mental illnesses and drug and alcohol problems. He values work aimed at ending oppression of all kinds, spurring opportunity for those currently oppressed, and triggering institutional change. He serves on the Public Safety committee of SHRC and hopes to help Seattle move forward in ending homelessness and creating an accountable and respected police force for all citizens.

Julian Wheeler

Mr. Yearby graduated from Seattle University with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration Finance and Economics and from the University of Puget Sound with a Master's degree in Public Administration. He has served in a variety of executive level positions in the private, public and not-for profit sectors. In addition, he has broad community leadership and board experience. He has served on a number of boards, including the Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union, Atlantic Street Center, Child Haven and Neighborhood House. He is currently Vice President of Human Resources for United Way of King County.