Born and raised in Tacoma and currently living in Seattle’s Chinatown International District, Maria Abando’s organizing is rooted in the love and resilience planted by those that came before her in each place she calls home. Maria’s experiences here as a Black and Filipina woman shape her visions of joy, safety, and liberation for oppressed peoples everywhere. They also instilled strong values of service that have motivated her community organizing for over a decade, expanding from student advocacy to initiative petitioning, voting justice work, nonprofits, and electoral campaigns. Shared elements throughout have included accessibility in education and access to policymaking processes, which strengthen communities’ abilities to enact equitable solutions to the problems of our world. Recently, she is proud to have organized in the passing of the people’s initiative for the Renton minimum wage increase in 2024. In her spare time, Maria is also a visual artist, celebrating the arts as essential for connection and storytelling.