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Jamila Johnson
It is a privilege to be nominated to serve a second term on the ACLU-WA board of directors. By day, I am a shareholder at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt where I focus my legal practice on eminent domain, scope of government powers, and open government. I serve as a cooperating attorney with the ACLU working on public record issues, speak to community groups about the ACLU-WA, and I also serve on the organization’s litigation committee. Presently, I also teach legal ethics and professional responsibility to law school students as an adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law. The ACLU-WA is the protector of Washington’s liberties. It requires sound governance from those who understand, share, and advocate for its values. It is my pleasure to contribute to the organization and I am excited about a second term.
Noel Nightengale
Thank you for the opportunity to serve on the board of directors for the last six years. My experiences in the areas of civil rights, disability, and education complement the knowledge of the talented members of the board of directors. I grew up in Olympia and graduated from Whitman College in Walla Walla and the University of Washington’s School of Law. I practice civil rights law in Seattle. I also serve on the board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind of Washington.
I have met many ACLU members and am inspired by the commitment you show to our cause. Together, we have accomplished an extraordinary level of civil liberties and rights protection. Our list of accomplishments is long. We have more to do together.
I have been honored to serve the civil liberty interests of Washingtonians and once again ask for your vote.
Paul Lawrence
During my years on the ACLU-WA Board, I have worked to enhance freedom of expression, promote tolerance, and insure that people of every race, gender, sexual orientation and economic status are treated with dignity. I had the privilege of serving seven terms as ACLU-WA President and served as the affiliate representative to the National ACLU Board. As an ACLU-WA attorney, I have litigated cases opposing government censorship of music and art, promoting same-sex marriage, ensuring privacy of confidential records, and enhancing free speech rights. I am a frequent ACLU-WA speaker especially to school groups. Other ACLU-WA efforts include working on legislative issues and fundraising. My hopes for the next three years: expand ACLU-WA’s public education programs to reach out to youth, fight against discriminatory government policies, to promote technology as a tool to enhance free expression and universal access to information, and end the death penalty in Washington.
Rory Bowman
The past nine years saw huge victories on big-ticket issues such as marriage equality and marijuana legalization, with the ACLU of Washington leading the way. Guantanamo still houses prisoners, though, and US civil liberties face major structural challenges from over-surveillance, mass incarceration, economic inequality and old-fashioned sexism. Much can be done at the state level for racial justice, police accountability and access to legal health care, and I am proud that our ACLU does it. As a fifth-generation Washingtonian, I am grateful for this opportunity. From Vancouver to Pasco, Yakima to Spokane, from the Olympic peninsula to dry and cold places, we improve lives statewide by expanding justice. Presidential changes always bring new problems and opportunities, but together we make a difference, locally and worldwide. Your support lights a beacon of courage for all. Thank you.
Starcia Ague
Thank you for accepting my nomination to the ACLU Board; I consider it a great honor to be nominated. I share many of the ACLU’s goals, ranging from the defense of civil liberties to active support for electoral process equity. I am particularly grateful, however, that the ACLU is strongly invested in reforming the nation’s juvenile justice system. The ACLU’s efforts to reduce juvenile incarceration and challenge the school-to-prison pipeline are directly in line with my own juvenile justice reform advocacy in Washington. I believe I can contribute to the board’s work by bringing knowledge about, and extensive experience with, the state’s juvenile justice system. I have been involved in that system in various capacities since childhood, including becoming a system-involved youth in my teens. Upon earning my BA in criminal justice I have combined my personal experience and formal education in my work as an advocate for juvenile justice reform, both within the world of professional practice and in terms of legislative action.
After having served on the ACLU Board for one year, my hopes for learning and sense of worthwhile accomplishment were realized ten times over! It is a great honor to be re-nominated to serve on the board, acknowledging my contributions to the important work of the organization. Last year one of the highlights of service was taking part in the Seattle Pride Parade and in Pride Fest 2016 as a representative of the board.
Looking forward, I hope to continue to build upon my own personal experiences in the juvenile justice system, and those of others I have come to know in my work, as we advocate for better protection of at risk youth. With law enforcement agencies acquiring and making use of ever more invasive and secretive surveillance technology it is essential to promote active debate and thoughtful consideration of appropriate limits and privacy boundaries.
Clearly, there are important mental health, death penalty, immigration and voting rights issues to be engaged, and the work of the board is front-and-center on so much of that work. I pledge to do my fair share to advance that important work.
