Graduate Programs

Student

Poverty & Economic Security Topic

Agency

Linnea Nissa Limbach

Nissa's interests include education policy, particularly access to higher education, college-readiness, and diversity in higher education. Last summer Nissa interned at College Spark Washington, where she researched and evaluated college-readiness programs throughout Washington State. Nissa also volunteers with the Making Connections program, a college-readiness program for students from low-socioeconomic high schools throughout Seattle. Nissa received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and International Business from Gonzaga University.

Identifying Innovative Diversity Practices:

Since the passage of Initiative 200 in 1998, which specifically prohibits preferential treatment or discrimination based on race or national origin in public education, what tools and practices are public colleges and universities in Washington using to attract a student body mix that reflects the state population?

The Commission on African American Affairs is an executive commission created in 1992. The Commission’s responsibilities include advising the Governor and Legislature on public policies and programs that affect Black people and gathering and sharing information about the status of Black people with government agencies and the community.

Charlotte Gamble

Prior to attending the Evans School, Charlotte worked with a wide range of nonprofits from the ACLU to SEIU Local 925. She is particularly interested in workforce and economic development, as well as public policies related to low-to-moderate income families in Washington. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in political science and women studies, concentrating in economics and labor studies.

Common Challenges in Nonprofit Housing Asset Management:

What are the most significant challenges facing Northwest nonprofit housing developers in managing their portfolios and preserving their existing affordable housing for generations to come? What kinds of programs and/or services could Impact Capital offer that would help organizations with these asset and property management challenges? What broader policy changes do organizations envision could help them with these challenges?

Impact Capital is a community development financial intermediary that administers loan funds from private and public investors, invests those funds in real estate development through nonprofit community development organizations, and stewards the well-being of the community development field. Its goal is to build, support, and stabilize the economic health and quality of life in communities in the Northwest.

Amanda Klecan

Prior to coming to the Evans School, Amanda worked for four years at the American Red Cross providing assistance to disaster clients and managing volunteers. Her main area of interest is poverty reduction and the many factors that contribute to this. She received a B.A. in Anthropology from Trinity University. Currently, she is an intern at the Statewide Poverty Action Network.

Increasing Access to Individual Development Accounts:

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) have been touted as an important new strategy in decreasing poverty. Most commonly, IDAs are run by nonprofit organizations and match the yearly savings set aside by a low-income person. These matched savings are devoted solely to asset building activities. What strategies could state governments in the Northwest employ to significantly increase the number of low-income people who have access to IDAs?

Strategies to Eliminate Poverty (STEP) is a Seattle Foundation grantmaking project made possible by a five-year, $2.5 million commitment from the Northwest Area Foundation. The sole purpose of the program is to stimulate the development and diffusion of public policies that will decrease the level of poverty in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota.