Andréa Akita has joined our consultant team to provide additional support, along with Ellen Kissman, to Yesler Community Collaborative’s issue area cohort groups.
“We are very pleased to have Andréa as part of the Yesler Community Collaborative team. She brings extensive housing, community development and human services expertise that will be an asset in supporting the work of our partners” according to Doris Koo, YCC lead consultant.
Andréa will provide overall support with YCC’s Housing and Environmental Cohorts. She will assume leadership for the Economic Opportunity Cohort and the various working groups within it. In this work she will coordinate with YCC’s Core Partners SHA and Seattle University. Andrea is also coordinating YCC meetings that bring together partners across neighborhoods and issue areas.
Andréa brings more than 20 years of experience working with Seattle communities to develop affordable housing and increase access to human services. Her community development, public sector and nonprofit work has focused on creating connections and building capacity in underserved communities.
She served as the Executive Director of InterIm Community Development Association, a manager at the City of Seattle Human Services Department, as the Housing Services Manager for the Northwest AIDS Foundation and as a program officer for the Washington Community Development Loan Fund.
Andréa holds dual Masters Degrees in Urban and Regional Planning and Public Administration from the University of Southern California, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from UCLA, and a culinary arts degree from Seattle Central Community College.