Raishawn, Pathwaves Fellow at the Washington Association for the Education of Young Children (WAEYC), hardly recognizes the leader she was when she first started the Pathwaves Fellowship. “Reflecting on my impact in the 2025 legislative session, I knew I wanted to prepare myself to be a more intentional advocate this year.” As the 2026 session comes to a close, Raishawn can proudly say she accomplished her goal and approached each leadership opportunity with a strategic lens to have the greatest impact.
A key focus for Raishawn this legislative session was intentionality. She reflects, “Before I had the skills and tools we’ve learned in the Pathwaves professional development sessions, I wasn’t sure how to make my participation in the legislative process really matter. I realized I wanted my leadership throughout the 2026 session to be intentional.” Raishawn did this by tracking bills that directly impacted WAEYC members to ensure that their voices were heard. “I offered WAEYC’s team as a resource to provide data or information that could support bill development processes, and ensured that conversations between our advocates and legislators took place at critically influential moments.” Through this process, Raishawn started to notice how interconnected the early childhood policy sector is with other issue areas. “Tracking bills with a strategic lens, I started to recognize how early education and childcare really affect everything. It led to me build relationships with a lot of advocates and organizations across a broader spectrum whose work is impacting the early childhood sector in some capacity.”
Relationships are at the center of Raishawn’s leadership. She explains, “This session, I really relied upon other leaders in my community for support.” In preparation for testifying on behalf of WAEYC in support of a bill expanding scholarships for early childhood educators, Raishawn created a plan to be an effective advocate. “First, I talked to the folks at the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP (WSA), who brought the bill to the sponsor. I wanted to be sure that it would be helpful for WAEYC’s voice to be heard in support of the bill.” When the time came for Raishawn to prepare her testimony, she reached out to Pathwaves alumna, Samantha Grono, for advice. “Samantha testifies often in her role at the Washington State Women’s Commission, and I wanted to get her thoughts and ideas during my drafting process. She even came and sat with me before the testimony because I was nervous.” Samantha’s support made a big impression on Raishawn, and she hopes that future Pathwaves Fellows reach out to her for support someday. Raishawn continues, “This session I walked with confidence not just because of the knowledge and skills that I built, but because I knew I had a village behind me. I hope I can do the same for future Pathwaves Fellows.”
Pathwaves alumna, Sandy Diaz, called upon Raishawn to be the keynote speaker for the annual WSA luncheon. Raishawn shares, “I wanted to use this moment to encourage WSA’s Parent Ambassadors that their story is powerful and they already have many of the tools they need to be effective advocates.” She decided to focus her speech on how she has learned to advocate for her children since becoming a parent. “I often talk about my advocacy work from a professional perspective. That has its place. But amongst these Parent Ambassadors, I really wanted to encourage them that they have powerful stories to tell and can make a real impact for their kids and families.” Since the luncheon, several Parent Ambassadors have connected with Raishawn to tell her how her speech inspired them. “It’s really important to me that these parents feel empowered to use their voices to create change.”
Reflecting back on her leadership development throughout the program, Raishawn is most proud of how she exercised her values as she grew into her advocacy. “Organizers need to have true, safe, honest relationships. I relate to legislators and advocates and other folks within the policy making space in different ways. I look at those relationships and navigate them in ways that are authentic and genuine and that makes me feel proud.” Raishawn will continue to walk in the truth of who she is as she moves into the next stages of her career. She reflects, “I am committed to speaking with conviction and being accountable to my community as an advocate and leader in this sector.” We are so proud of Raishawn and look forward to seeing how her leadership continues to grow beyond the Pathwaves Fellowship.
