On August 21, 2025, Pathwaves Fellow Raishawn Swensen (she/her) hosted the first ever Washington Association for the Education of Young Children (WAEYC) Day of Action. This event brought 21 elected officials to 6 childcare facilities to meet with providers and observe the work being done to nurture and educate our kids in Washington state. See below for the full list of participants.
The goal of the WAEYC Day of Action was simple: build relationships between legislators and child care providers. Raishawn explains, “In my role at WAEYC, I am often the middle person. I can see that providers are giving their work their all, and do not have the time and resources to connect with legislators in meaningful ways. On the other hand, legislators are not often able to effectively communicate their policy priorities and strategies with providers, and intentions get lost.” In her position at WAEYC, Raishawn could see that she is uniquely positioned to facilitate these connections.
The idea for the event first struck when Raishawn met Abra Zink and Maggie Lockinger, owners of Global Early Learning and Global Early Learning South in Bellevue. It was October 2024, and the Pathwaves Fellowship had just started. Raishawn was still discovering her role within the organization at WAEYC, but was hungry to make an impact. She shares, “I was very new. I barely knew anything about policy, but knew how to facilitate conversations, so I hosted a session on advocacy. The issue that providers kept bringing up was how difficult it is to visit Olympia and interact with legislators. There are so many barriers that make it feel impossible. I remember saying out loud during one of the sessions, ‘it sounds like we need to bring them to you.’” Raishawn began imagining ways to make this possible, and was inspired by the days of action hosted at other placement sites with support from Pathwaves Fellows.
A top priority for Raishawn was ensuring that the Day of Action would not be a heavy lift for providers. “They have enough on their plates!”, she enthused. This meant creating a toolkit for providers that prepared them for legislator visits. Raishawn explains, “I know how intimidating it can be to host influential people in your space. And I know how difficult it can be to articulate what you care about when you only have a few minutes to share about your life’s passion. It can feel really isolating and overwhelming! That’s why it was important to me that a part of the preparatory process for the Day of Action was to have providers pick their top legislative priorities to discuss with their legislators.”
Raishawn helped Maggie and Abra host their legislators at the Global Early Learning centers, greeting legislators as they arrived. Raishawn shares, “I noticed during our conversations that the providers’ legislative priorities were centered around shifting the image of the child care professional. They need to be seen as teachers and not babysitters, and be treated with the respect they deserve. That means better pay, more investment in their professional development, etc.” Raishawn reflects, “I still feel like I’m on cloud nine. We are struggling in our state right now. It feels like everything is being ripped away from early learning, and the news is constantly discouraging. But days like today remind me that isn’t true. We have legislators and child care providers doing everything they can to ensure that our children and families have what they need to thrive. I can’t wait to host another Day of Action!”
2025 WAEYC Day of Action Participants
Legislators and Legislative Staff: Council Member Alex Andrade, Council Member Linda Akey, Director Dwane Chappelle, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene and Shelby Kremenich, Senator Noel Frame, Representative Roger Goodman, Council Member Conrad Lee, Josie McKinley of Senator Maria Cantwell’s office, Representative Osman Salahuddin, Council Member Claire Sumadiwirya, Michael Tanaka of Representative Pramila Jayapal’s office, Megan Utemei of Senator Patty Murray’s office, Senator Claire Wilson
Child Care Centers: Global Early Learning, Global Early Learning South, Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church Preschool, Seeds & Sprouts Bilingual ECE Academy
