About WAESN
Washington Ethnic Studies Now (WAESN) is a multigenerational, majority POC-led nonprofit building youth power to advance Ethnic Studies and racial justice across Washington State. We organize youth and community to advocate, testify, and lead, and we use educator training and curriculum only when it strengthens that advocacy.
Our Vision
A Washington where youth-led, community-rooted Ethnic Studies shapes schools and public life, taught and practiced by anti-racist educators and partners across the state.
What We Do
- Youth Leadership & Advocacy: Pipelines for young advocates, support for testimony and campaigns, and relationships that move policy.
- Coalitions & Community: Organize across generations with youth, educators, families, and partners to grow collective power.
- Educator Support: Professional learning and curricular tools when they advance advocacy goals and protect the integrity of K–12 Ethnic Studies.
Our Impact
Trained over 3,000 educators in Washington State and beyond, reaching tens of thousands of students each year.
Secured state funding for Muslim-developed anti-Islamophobia curriculum & K–12 Ethnic Studies educator endorsement.
Co-authored Washington State’s Ethnic Studies Framework and fought to center the lived experiences of educators and students of color.
Published and continue to contribute to peer-reviewed research to inform practice and policy for K–12 Ethnic Studies curriculum and practice.
Our Approach
Our Values
WAESN shares governance between an Executive Board of educators and a Youth Advisory Board of students under 21 with equal voting power. Our leadership is intentionally multiracial and intergenerational, with a strong majority of people of color. Decisions center youth experience, community feedback, and our commitment to anti-racism and decolonization.
Ballard High School
We work to end curriculum violence and the inequities it mirrors in schools by centering the histories and lived experiences of communities of color. We build systemic power through advocacy, partnership, and continuous learning, challenging supremacist pedagogies while honoring Indigenous epistemologies and intersectional analysis.
Press, Partners, & Research
Looking for our media kit, logos, and recent press or publications? Visit the News & Media page for headshots, a one-page fact sheet, and links to articles and op-eds.
Bring WAESN to your school or coalition.