Commissioners

Ilays Aden is a Somali-American activist who came to the U.S. as a refugee in 1995. She has lived in Seattle since 2004. She graduated from University of Washington with a Bachelor's in Arts, majoring in Economics and African Studies. After graduating, she worked directly with immigrant and refugees from East Africa in South King County in educational support and with the citizenship process. Her passions to help her community led her to law school at American University, where she focused on immigration and human rights law. Ilays has more than ten years of experience in the fields of youth development, civic engagement, and fund development.

She now lives in the Central District of Seattle, and co-founded the Eat With Muslims Project, bringing people of all faiths and backgrounds together to learn more about Islam and fight back against Islamophobia. Her work to counter the dehumanization of Muslims and xenophobia led her to receive Congressman Adam Smith's 2018 Champion of Justice Award. She also advises numerous organizations and businesses in creating anti-racist policies that will help close the achievement gap for families of color. She speaks to diverse audiences on the importance of interfaith collaborations and works to elevate the stories of Muslim-Americans and immigrant families. In her fundraising and philanthropy work, she focuses on community building around innovative housing solutions faced by displaced and underrepresented groups at one of the region's leaders in land conservation. She is passionate about bringing people to the table, whether it is to share a meal or to engage in important dialogue that supports a healthy and thriving community.

Heather Yang Hwalek is a Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Before joining the foundation, Heather served as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, with postings in South Africa, China, Japan, and Washington, DC. She currently lives in Seattle but was born and raised in Bangor, Maine.

Gul is the Development Manager for the International Rescue Committee’s Washington State Chapter. The International Rescue Committee provides opportunities for refugees, asylees, victims of human trafficking, survivors of torture, and other immigrants to thrive in America – it is one of the leading resettlement agencies operating in Washington State.

Gul has extensive background working with international humanitarian organizations. She is especially proud of collaborating and working proactively with interfaith communities, organizations, and with community members primarily to bring support, awareness, and to be the voice of the vulnerable immigrant and refugee population domestically and internationally.

As a victim of civil wars and a refugee for nearly 10 years, exposed to traumatic experiences and untold human sufferings, Emmanuel GV Dolo is committed to helping and serving the immigrant and refugee communities in Seattle.

Dolo founded the Population Caring Organization (PCO) in 2004.  The humanitarian organization started in the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana and was extended to Liberia in 2006. For more than 9 years, Dolo served as the Executive Director, helping to provide good sanitation to camp residents, free primary education to more than 800 vulnerable refugee children, vocational skills training to more than 245 refugee women (especially mothers), and initiated the Buduburam Conflict Resolution Project which resulted to the formation of the Refugee Elders Peace and Reconciliation Council. Dolo also supported refugee returnees with peace, reconciliation, and post- civil war community development support.

Emmanuel Dolo moved to Seattle in 2012. Realizing the great potentials of African community leaders in and around Seattle, he worked with a few professors and other individuals to mobilize African entrepreneurs who lead nonprofits and other enterprises in their respective African communities. In 2016, he and the team conducted a series of workshops and community meetings, drawing participants from eight African-led organizations and communities. At the end of the initiative, the participants formed themselves into a group called the African Community Alliance. The purpose of the alliance is to promote networking and mutual support among participating organizations and communities.

Dolo holds a master's degree in International Community Development from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington. He received his BA in Liberal Studies from Antioch University in Seattle and a transferred Associate in Business Administration from Seattle Central Community College (now Seattle Central College).

He is also a Laureate Global Fellow at the International Youth Foundation (based in Baltimore, Maryland), and a 2009 International Fellow of iLEAP, a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that recognizes and brings outstanding leaders of civil society organizations to Seattle for a three-month leadership training.

Currently, Dolo is the founder and Operating Manager at Washington Transfinancial Services, an LLC based in Seattle. In this role, he provides professional support to African-owned small enterprises, especially in the areas of targeted business development strategies, operational support, and transportation. He has been in this role since the establishment of the LLC in September of 2019.

Afra grew up in Charlotte, NC, and was a close observer of her mother’s efforts in welcoming her
refugee neighbors to her community. While obtaining her B.A. in Public Health and B.S. in Spanish at
UNC Charlotte, she consequently grew connected with a local immigrant and refugee-serving after
school program: ourBRIDGE for KIDS. There, she supported the facilitation of a culturally-relevant
science, technology, engineering, art, and math curriculum that was grounded in creating a
environment that sought to build the students’ self-esteem in the learning process.

Afra recognizes the crucial importance of one’s community in acting as a protective factor that
promotes the health and wellbeing of families. Upon relocating to Seattle in 2020, she learned of the
gap in relevant resources and facilities for Muslims with disabilities in Washington. She worked with
the organization “MUHSEN” to ensure gathering spaces are accommodating to individuals with special needs. Currently, she is a medical student at the UWSOM.

Amanda Sandoval is a Public Policy Coordinator for the Mockingbird Society, where she helps establish partnerships with local coalitions, advocacy groups, and government stakeholders. Her experience will add to the commission and her expertise on public policy and community organizing will help fill a significant gap on the commission and will enrich the work being done by the other commissioners.

Amanda Sandoval is an ally and advocate for immigrant and refugee rights. Her background in community organizing with community, non-profits, government agencies, and various stakeholders. Her own immigrant background gives her firsthand experiences of the hardships many immigrants and refugees face. In her current research role, she has been interviewing refugees throughout King County, asking them about their experience resettling, and giving them an opportunity to be heard. Making sure that they know people are listening to them, their voices are heard, and that they are a vital group in our communities.