Anna Colando is a junior at Nathan Hale High School. As a first year commissioner last year, Anna was apart of the Commission’s Education Subcommittee, working on brining the youth voice to Seattle education and administration through youth representation on the Families and Education Levy Oversight Committee and Seattle School Board. She is passionate about education, public health, and environmental and social justice. By working as a commissioner this year, she hopes to make measurable, positive change in her fields of interest to better her community.

Bretta McCall (Ingraham ‘15) was born and raised in Seattle’s Green Lake neighborhood alongside a sister and two cousins. She joined the Seattle Youth Commission to learn about politics, give Seattle’s youth a voice, and most importantly, to make a difference in her city. In her spare time, Bretta enjoys painting, spending time outside and with friends, running, and playing with her three dogs. She is especially passionate about education and teen mental health (depression, stress) and she hopes to make a lasting change for the better in the lives of her peers.

Celina Jackson (Garfield '13) was born in Brooklyn, NY and moved to Seattle when she was eight years old. She lives with her parents and younger sister. She joined the Commission this year in hopes of contributing something meaningful to the city's decisions on matters pertaining to Seattle's youth. It seemed like a great opportunity to meet cool people who are also interested in politics, civic government, and having their voices heard.

Chetan Chandrashekhar (Nathan Hale ’12) was born in Bangalore, India, and moved the United States when he was three years old. Since then, he has traveled to Guatemala, the UK, 8 US states, back to India six times, and Canada, but has spent most his life in Seattle. He joined the Youth Commission in order to get a better understanding of how government works. He is interested specifically in issues around transportation and land use, environmental sustainability, transparency/accountability, and education. In his free time, he rides his bike, takes buses to random places and explores, listens to music, catches up on the news, hikes, and travels. He's also an intern at KUOW.

Delannah Collins-Wright (Cleveland High School); Enjoys meeting new youth! Delannah is an honor roll student at her school, and is Secretary for Cleveland high school freshman class!  In her free time, she likes getting involved with community programs. She is a very easy, outgoing person. Delannah attends a various amount of programs at University of Washington. She plans to attend at the University of Washington for college. Her future goals are to stay on the honor roll all 4 years of high school. She also plans to get into as many programs as possible that will lead toward her future success. She would like to major in dentistry or become an engineer!

Fleciah Mburu (Franklin ’12) is in her third year serving on the Seattle Youth Commission. Her first years work on the Commission included organizing a Youth Community Meeting that attracted many youth from around South Seattle and creating a policy called The Young Father's Coalition to help prevent youth violence. In her second year she worked on a survey that would help better the relationship between Seattle Police Department and Youth. She also worked on getting a quarterly intern for the SPD that would be a youth. Aside from her work with the Seattle Youth Commission, she's a part of a program called The Service Board(tSB). After she graduates Franklin High School she wants to attend University of Washington, Yale, Columbia or Pepperdine University to major in Corporate Law, Political Science and Business.

Hannah Long (Northwest School) was born in Iran and moved to Seattle at the age of three, where she currently resides in the neighborhood of Wallingford.  She is interested in social justice, and hopes to learn about local, state, and national government, as well as help to educate and connect youth during her time on the Commission.   She is particularly inspired about social justice as a result of her volunteer work at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, where she has spent a large amount of time working with immigrants and learning about major human rights issues.  Hannah runs cross-country, plays two instruments, and is the president of her school’s Junior Statesmen of America chapter.  In her free time she enjoys taking photographs, chatting with friends, and watching The Office. 

Ilani Nurick (Nathan Hale ’14) was born in Jerusalem, Israel and moved to Seattle when he was 5. He hopes that through his involvement with the Youth Commission, he will be able to make a difference in environmental issues. He cares passionately about the environment and making the world a better place for all its inhabitants, humans and animals. He wants to get a better understanding of how government works and how decisions are made. In his spare time Ilani enjoys playing soccer, learning about and exploring new places and cultures, scuba diving, and volunteering as a beach naturalist on the Puget Sound.

My name is Issac Pearson I’m a senior at Garfield High School as well as a sophomore at Seattle Central Comm. College, through Running Start. I was born and raised right here in Seattle, WA, more specifically the central district. The idea of a strong community is very important, so I’ve had a lot of volunteer work to back up my efforts. I want to see change specifically in the relations of youth and authority figures in the community, to see long lasting bonds instead of fluctuating conflict. Outside of school, you can either on my school’s football team, freestyle rappin’ and write poetry, or just getting out with friends.

Katya Anderson (Washington Middle School) lives on Capitol Hill and has been interested in politics and government as long as she can remember. She comes from a mixed public-private school background and is of European descent. Katya is passionate about educational issues and the problems of income inequity and a lack of recognition that teenagers can be productive members of society. Katya plays on a school orchestra and is in the APP program. In her free time, Katya likes to read nonfiction and design buildings (she wants to be an architect or an urban planner when she graduates college). On the SYC, she hopes to learn more about government and help represent the voices of teenagers throughout Seattle.

Kian Vesteinsson (Garfield ’13), a twin, was born in Denmark but grew up in Seattle. His mother is Indian and his father is Icelandic, and he enjoys reading and playing video games in his spare time. He was on the Education Subcommittee last year, and is really excited to be back on the Commission and to continue doing awesome work on the SYC.

Leoma James (Bishop Blanchet ’13): I have lived in Washington my whole life. I’m 16 years young and have grown up in the Central and South East parts of Seattle. Next year will be my third year serving on class cabinet for Bishop Blanchet. Two years ago was when I really started getting more involved in my community after I lost a friend due to gun-violence. Hopefully being a part of this commission I could help improve my community and make a difference in the lives of the people that live here.

My name is Matt Fulle, and I attend the Seattle Academy of Arts and Science. Moving to Capitol Hill before 6th grade, I am very interested in government and seeing that the youth of Seattle get their deserved voices in the futures that they will live. I enjoy reading stacks of history and current events books in my spare time and playing video games with my friends. I write speeches for fun and spend most of my winter playing basketball and being on the Speech and Debate Team at the SAAS. I hope to represent my neighborhood of Seattle and Seattle’s youth in general as they are intrinsic to Seattle’s society.

Megan Warshaw (Garfield ’12) was born and raised in Seattle. She sees the Youth Commission as a way to give a voice to teens in Seattle. Her participation in the commission is also based on her desire to see results and make a difference by the end of the year. Ultimately, her goal is to have a career in public service, and the commission will give her the experience necessary. She is also currently involved in the Seattle Art Museum and is excited to be even more involved in the city.

Mohamed Adan (Garfield ’12) has always been interested in civic government and politics, and by being on the Commission he hopes to gain a better understanding of how our City government works while also acting as a representative of the will of the youth in his part of the city (southeast district) in particular and all of Seattle in general. He’s especially passionate about representing the youth voice on issues like education and public transportation, and in his spare time he enjoys reading fiction and playing computer games.

Moriah Williams (Rainier Beach ’13): I was born and raised in Seattle with my five younger sisters. I currently live and attend school in south Seattle where I love helping my school and community become a better place. I enjoy exploring the many hidden gems and wonders of Seattle as well as shopping in the wonderful jungle you formally know as downtown Seattle. I am a National Honors Society officer as well as the class president for the class of 2013. I joined youth commissions because it gives me an opportunity to put action behind my words and make a significant different in the issues that effect my family, my community, and my city.

Olive Burd (The Center School '14) has lived in Seattle all of her life. She's a first-year member of the Seattle Youth Commission, and is interested in engaging with a diverse community of youth. She is ready to voice her own opinions as well as others who may not have the opportunity or ability. She's very passionate about racial issues going on within the Seattle community. When she's not busy getting straight A's, she's playing junior roller derby, reading a book, or hanging out with friends.

Rafael Regan I am Rafael Regan and originally from Asunción Paraguay. I was adopted and lived on Bainbridge Island for thirteen years before I moved to Costa Rica for seventh grade. After that, I moved to Seattle to start my high school education. I currently go to Ballard High School and am sixteen years old. I enjoy getting to know my community through community meetings and biking to school. My passions are trying to solve transportation problems in cities, as well as getting to understand many social issues plaguing our society. I play Ultimate Frisbee, run cross country, and am part of the debate team.

Ryan Lenea (Nathan Hale ’14) has lived on Vashon Island his whole life until recently when he moved to North Seattle’s Lake City to attend Nathan Hale.  He is interested in education because his mother is a teacher, and would like to make Seattle a more environmentally conscious place by promoting sustainability, and incorporating what he learned about ecology from his time on Vashon. He is interested in politics, decision making, and government, and joined the Seattle Youth Commission to gain a greater understanding of them all, as well as make Seattle’s youth voice heard.  He is on the school newspaper and both the debate and chess teams. He also enjoys reading, wrestling, soccer and tennis.

Thomas Kovacs (West Seattle High School): I was born in Napa, CA, and moved to Seattle when I was three years old. I attended public elementary school and was accepted to The Bush School for 6th grade and stayed there until the end of my freshman year whereupon I transferred to West Seattle High School. Throughout my time attending these institutions I have participated in Drama productions, held academic governance offices, and developed environmental utilities programs. My time in diverse environments such as these has granted me a unique worldview and cultivated the skills necessary to work effectively with others.

Vachiraya Sae-Lee (Northwest School): I was born in Thailand, and I have been studying in Malaysia until two years ago when I came to the United States. Because I have traveled and lived in dorm since nine, I have faced many challenges as a youth, and thus I became more involve in the community’s issues revolving around youth. As a youth commissioner and a representative of international students in Seattle, I wish to create a better environment and a better cultural exchange between international students and domestic students.

Zena Getachew is a student at Roosevelt High School where she participates in Vocal Jazz and the Black Student Union. This year will be her first year as a youth commissioner and she is excited to make a difference in violence among youth and racial issues. Zena volunteers at the North West African American museum in the Central District where she has developed a strong connection for African American history in the state of Washington.