Board of Directors

Jenny Asarnow, President

Jenny Asarnow is the former co-manager of RadioActive Youth Media at KUOW Public Radio. She has worked in broadcasting/podcasting for more than a decade. Her work has been featured on NPR and exhibited in Seattle, Chicago, New York and Baltimore. In 2009, Jenny created The Corner: 23rd and Union, an interactive public art installation that amplified hundreds of stories about gentrification in Seattle’s Central District, where she lives. She first wrote for the Globalist (then the Common Language Project) back in 2011 from Haiti as a fellow with the International Reporting Project. Jenny studied cultural and intellectual history at Brown University and earned her MPA from the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. She loves her Jewish community and singing karaoke. Jenny joined the board in April 2017.

Kela Hall, President-Elect

Kela D. Hall, Sr. a.k.a KD Hall is the epitome of a networking and corporate problem solver genius. Her production and problem-solving skills are not the only things that set her apart. With years of experience in higher education, communication management, strategic professional planning and training, Kela is equipped to handle a copious number of tasks with integrity and poise. She is a visionary, a creator, a leader in workforce development and women initiatives including sexual harassment prevention. Her high energy and hardworking core keeps her motivated while assisting clients to achieve their professional goals. She also serves as an adjunct marketing and communications professor at Bellevue College and holds her own as a professional speaker, moderator, spokesperson, and special interest journalist. Not to mention she holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication with a minor in Broadcasting Journalism, MBA, and Master in Adult Education—Leadership and Training.

Kela co-founded KD Hall Communications in 2013 and has since been extremely impactful across corporate and government sectors. Kela also co-founded KD Hall Foundation in 2015, since its inception they have been extremely impactful across the corporate and private sectors and the community at large. As a result, Kela and the KD Hall team have been invited to the White House, received 20 proclamations, and successfully guided 60 students through an experiential internship for producing 3 Women on The Rise conferences as well as 4 Women’s History Month conferences.

Kela and David Hall have been married for a lovely 12 years and she is the mother of 4-year-old Kela Hall Jr. and 1-year-old Chase Hall. Balancing family, non-profit and work is Kela’s passion.

Women on the Rise addresses equity for women, which is a very important cause to Kela and KD Hall. She has a raging futuristic old school vibe that distinguishes her from the rest. As Kela continues to grow with KD Hall, she also hopes to increase the reach of the company and foundation globally. Goals of global growth, college partnerships, and educational facilities are only the beginning for this old school ambitious millennial leader.

LeiLani Nishime, Secretary

LeiLani Nishime is an Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Washington where she researches and teaches on race, gender and sexuality in the media. Her main subject areas are mixed race representations, science fiction, technology, and gender. She is an organizing member of the Seattle Asian American Film Festival and a former board member of the Association of Asian American Studies. She has published three books: Undercover Asian: Mixed Race Asian Americans in Visual Culture, Global Asian American Media, and East Main Street: Asian American Popular Cultures.

Megan McNally, Treasurer

Megan McNally is a lawyer and strategic advisor to purpose-driven people and organizations. She spent two decades as a leader, consultant, educator, and public speaker in the charitable and philanthropic sectors, including executive roles with NPower, Washington State Bar Association & Foundation, and Pacific Science Center. Megan founded The FBomb Breakfast Club and was named one of Seattle Magazine’s 2018 Most Influential People. She is a Legal Officer with a focus on business law at Foundry Law Group and a volunteer attorney with Wayfind Legal Services. Megan serves on the UW Nonprofit Management Advisory Board, the Seattle University School of Law Alumni Board, and on the advisory boards of several startups, including BFWD Sports and ESQ Legal.

Nelson Asaba, Treasurer-Elect

Claudia Chang, Director

Claudia MeiLing Chang is the owner of Emerald Global LLC, an international consulting business specializing in mission driven organizational effectiveness and strategy, intercultural leadership and meaningful program quality and partnerships. Claudia’s specialty areas include integrated social development program strategy and design, management and resourcing, intercultural organizational effectiveness/training and representation. She has additional expertise in conflict resolution and mediation, strategic planning and practical and impact-oriented facilitation. She also serves as part-time Faculty in the University of Washington Communication and Leadership Graduate program and Visiting Faculty in the Emory University Master’s of Development Practice program.

With nearly 20 years of international experience concentrated in Asia that also includes Africa and Europe, Claudia has held positions with CARE International, CNN, The School for International Training as well as the University of Massachusetts/ Amherst. As a senior consultant, Claudia has partnered with a dynamic range of clients that include private consulting firms, INGO’s such as CARE International and The Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice/ Hague and various UN agencies such as OCHA (the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), UNHCR as well as UN Habitat and various Staff/Learning Development Sections in several regional missions.

Claudia earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst with a minor in International Relations and a certificate in Mandarin Chinese. She holds a Masters of Arts of International Studies/East Asia from the University of Washington/ Seattle and was a Jefferson Media Fellow at the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii/Honolulu. A native English speaker, she has varying language skills in German, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and French.

Ana Sofia Knauf, Director

Ana Sofia Knauf is a storytelling producer for The Evergrey, a daily Seattle newsletter helping folks better connect with their city. She graduated from University of Washington’s Journalism and Germanics programs in 2013. As a reporter, Ana Sofia has worked to advocate for immigrants, communities of color, and other underrepresented communities. Her work has appeared inThe Stranger, The Seattle Globalist, Grist, Puget Sound Business Journal and other local publications.

When she’s not writing, you can find Ana Sofia cooking, attempting to garden, and, occasionally, dancing. Follow her on Twitter for news and overthinking on Twitter at @asknauf

Marites Mendoza, Director

Jessica Nieves, Director

Jessica Partnow, Director

Jessica Partnow is an international radio journalist, educator, and nonprofit leader. She’s produced public radio stories that have aired on dozens of public radio outlets, and she was the founding executive director of The Seattle Globalist. She stepped down from that role in 2017, but stayed closely connected as an advisor, and joined the board of directors in August 2019. She’s won several awards for her radio work, including two Edward R. Murrow Awards, regionally for Life on the Duwamish and nationally for Generation Putin, an hour-long public radio special on young people and political change in the former Soviet Union — hosted by the amazing Brooke Gladstone. She also won a Gracie Award for her reporting on humanitarian drug trafficking. Since 2009, Jessica has been on faculty in the University of Washington’s undergraduate journalism and graduate Communication Leadership programs. In June 2019 she earned her MBA with a focus on leadership from UW Bothell.

Board Alumni

  • Sanjay Bhatt
  • Chantal Anderson
  • Eamon Aloyo
  • Jonathan Cunningham
  • Anita Verna Crofts
  • Joel Dodge
  • Brook Ellingwood
  • Ron Feemster
  • Nanette Francia-Cotter
  • Anna Goren
  • Paulette Harris
  • Hanson Hosein
  • Rituja Indapure
  • Esmy Jimenez
  • Adam Khan
  • Eliaichi Kimaro
  • Larry Johnson
  • Roxana Norouzi
  • Sabrina Roach
  • Joanne Silberner
  • Kavya Sukumar
  • John Tarleton
  • Brenda Tausch Lapora
  • Shoko Toyama
  • Ruchika Tulshyan