Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed Courtney Wooten to the Edmonds College Board of Trustees. Wooten joins Trustees Adrianne Wagner, Dave Earling, Wally Webster II, Carl Zapora and Shinhae Hwang on the Edmonds board.

“I hope to be connected to Edmonds College for a long time,” said Wooten. “I look forward to learning from many people with different perspectives to understand the institution better from the inside out.”

Wooten strongly advocates for community engagement, education and belonging. She formed the company Suburbia Rising in 2017, which offers anti-racist education and bridging, coalition-building workshops in suburban and rural communities.

“My work is focused on what it looks like to be in cross-cultural spaces where people honor each other’s humanity and dignity and turn together towards the future,” she said. “That, in many ways, leads me right into Edmonds College and joining the Board of Trustees. I see a lot of similar values reflected in the community already, and I’m always looking for places where I can do the most good. This is a place where we’re already heading in the right direction.”

Board of Trustees Chair Wagner added, “Trustee Wooten is an inspirational community leader and advocate for education and justice. I cannot wait to serve alongside her as trustees and am excited to have her unique perspective on the board.”

Wooten grew up in Berkeley and Oakland, California. She has an extensive background in social sciences, communication and creative expression. As an undergraduate, she served as the social director for the Queer-Straight Social/Political Alliance and co-founded her university’s first and only multicultural-interest sorority. An alumna of Stanford University and a Ron Brown Scholar, she is an expert presenter, writer and moderator.

More recently, Wooten was a guest speaker at the XITO Conference (Xicanx Institute for Teaching & Organizing), led the Leadership for Racial Equity Cohort at Leadership Snohomish County, served as a summer fellow and continuing consultant at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute, partnered with clients including the Sno-Isle Libraries and Edmonds School District, and guest lectured at Prescott College. She is a current board member for the Edmonds Center for the Arts.

Wooten was the YWCA’s 2022 Bertha Pitts Campbell Community Champion award recipient and was twice honored as a Snohomish County Emerging Leaders nominee. She has previously served on two Snohomish County commissions, organized with the Edmonds Neighborhood Action Coalition, and was a board member for the Creative Dance Center. She has been awarded four grants from The Edmonds Diversity Commission and a Community Grant from the Group Health Foundation for the 2020 Beloved Community Morning Program: A Tribute to Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Edmonds Center for the Arts.

Wooten earned her master’s in social justice and community organizing and is a PhD candidate in sustainability education at Prescott College.

“Trustee Wooten brings an impressive community advocacy background to the Edmonds College Board of Trustees,” said Edmonds College President Dr. Amit B. Singh. “I look forward to working with her and continuing our mission of serving students.”