Features
Seattle’s Most Influential People 2019: Social Justice Fund Interim Program Director, Karen Toering
Toering's black-led Giving Project has raised more than $370,000 from 240 donors to boost black-led organizations
By Niki Stojnic November 5, 2019
This article originally appeared in the November 2019 issue of Seattle magazine.
This article appears in print in the November 2019 issue, as part of the Most Influential People of the Year feature. Click here to subscribe.
As interim program director of the Social Justice Fund, Karen Toering has directed her many talents—as a grassroots organizer, cultural worker, and nonprofit arts and social justice consultant—into the black-led Giving Project. The project, the first of its kind in Seattle, is intended to boost black-led organizations that are working to build power and quality of life for black communities in the Pacific Northwest, and to redefine philanthropy for those with fewer funds to contribute. Toering’s team attended workshops and training sessions, discussed issues of race, class and philanthropy, and studied the mechanics of fundraising and grantmaking. By March, it had raised more than $370,000 from 240 donors and awarded two-year grants of about $21,000 to 14 black-led organizations.
Follow Us
Most Influential: Ethan Stowell
Restaurateur, Activist
Chef Ethan Stowell knows good food can change lives. You probably recognize him as the force behind more than 20 Seattle-area restaurants and cafes. Now, he’s taking on a new challenge: transforming what kids eat in public schools as a member of Eat Real’s chefs council. America’s school cafeterias serve 7 billion meals a year…
Most Influential: Uttam Mukherjee & Dr. Aakanksha Sinha
Co-founders of Spice Waala
When Spice Waala opened in 2019, husband and wife team Uttam Mukherjee and Dr. Aakanksha Sinha had two goals: bring authentic Indian street food to Seattle and give back to the community. Now, with three locations, Spice Waala is known for its flavorful chaats, kathi rolls — and its impact. Recently named King County Small…
Most Influential: Hamdi Mohamed
Seattle Port Commissioner
Hamdi Mohamed arrived 30 years ago with her family, refugees fleeing war-torn Somalia. In 2024, the 34-year-old port commissioner became the first Black woman to chair the Seattle Port Commission, the public authority that manages Sea-Tac Airport and the Port of Seattle. Mohamed was not quite a year old when she fled Somalia with her…
Most Influential: Delaney Ruston
Physician, Filmmaker
Delaney Ruston made her first film when she was a resident at UC San Francisco. While the rest of her medical school classmates delivered their final presentations in typical PowerPoint fashion, Ruston was inspired by the “video camera revolution” and the capability of film to portray people’s stories, she said. In the film, she told…