MEET THE JUDGES

Adiam Tesfay (she/her)is from Eritrea, East Africa and grew up in Phoenix, AZ before moving to Seattle. She has served as the Director of Disability Resources for Students (DRS) at UW Seattle since Jan 2020, providing academic and housing accommodations for all UW students. Before DRS, she was the Director of Academic Support Programs, where she ran CLUE tutoring, created a peer coaching program and taught study skills courses for students. Adiam has served on the Black Graduation Committee since 2011 and was a previous adviser of African Students Association. Adiam is dedicated to justice, equity and access and seeing systemic change..

Teri Ward is native Seattleite graduating from Garfield High School and life-long Husky, Teri holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master's in Education, both from the University of Washington. is the Director of the Health Sciences Center Minority Students Program (HSCMSP), a division of the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMA&D). Teri has shaped her career at the UW serving BIPOC students in prior roles at the Graduate School, Minority Education Division (now GSEE), OMA&D EOP Admissions Specialist and African American Admissions Counselor/Recruiter. Inaugural Chair for the UW Seattle Black Opportunity Fund, overseeing grant awards to support Black students, staff and faculty.