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Enrique Gonzalez is a Racial Equity Planner for King County Hazardous Waste who has been a social justice advocate for many years. He has worked at the Seattle Office of Police Accountability as a Community Engagement Specialist where he focused on developing relationships with community members and facilitated access to the police accountability process. Before that he worked as a Community Advocate and Commissioner on the Seattle Community Police Commission. Enrique traces his roots to the peaceful occupation of El Centro de la Raza, an organization dedicated to race and social justice through advocacy and programing, which his grandmother and father were a part of and where he grew up and worked for 11 years.
Enrique has a degree in American Ethnic Studies (Chicano Studies) from the University of Washington and he speaks Spanish fluently. He also grew up training in Hung Gar Kung Fu which he continues to practice. In his spare time, he enjoys working on his car which he takes to the track from time to time.
Susana Contreras-Mendez joined ESG in 2022 to support its Post-secondary Attainment portfolio. Prior to joining ESG, Susana was an Associate Learning and Impact Officer at Ascendium Education, where she worked in partnership with the philanthropic team to measure its performance and to support collective learning about its strategy and operations. Previously, she was a researcher at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, a policy think tank in Washington, D.C. She conducted research on strategies to increase upward mobility for families, with a particular focus on the post-secondary experiences of student parents.
Other professional experiences include interning at Lumina Foundation and directly supporting low-income families through nonprofit and government programs. Outside of ESG, Susana serves on the board of Alimentando al Pueblo, a non-profit working to promote healing through comunidad, comida, and celebración (community, food, and celebration).
As a former Head Start child, first-generation college graduate, and TRiO Alum, Susana has firsthand knowledge of education’s transformational benefits. Susana holds a Master of Higher Education degree with a concentration in Diversity and Social Justice from the University of Michigan and a dual bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in Sociology and American Ethnic Studies with a minor in Education, Learning, and Society.
