We can’t wait to celebrate the powerful work of our community and the significant policy strides towards economic justice in Washington State we’ve made with you by our side. Our spring 2025 Changemakers Dinner is not to be missed!

Event Details
Date: May 8, 2025
Location: Fisher Pavilion
305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109
Time: 5:30 – 8:00 pm

Meet the Lineup

April Sims – Emcee

Our event will be hosted by the one and only April Sims (she/her), President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

April was elected President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO in October 2022 and was sworn in to begin her four-year term in January 2023. She is the first woman to be elected WSLC president and the first Black woman elected to the presidency of an AFL-CIO state federation. As President, Sims is the chief executive officer of the council, supervises all its activities and staff, and leads Washington’s largest union organization representing more than half a million union members.

Sims’ lived experience is evidence of the power and potential of organized labor. The granddaughter of Louisiana sharecroppers and the daughter of a single mother, Sims has seen the power of unions to change lives. The Great Migration brought Sims’ grandfather to Washington, where his union job provided economic dignity for his family. Her mom’s union job pulled their family out of the cycle of poverty. As a young mother, it was Sims’ union job that allowed her to build economic security – and activated her as a leader in Washington’s labor movement.

Rian Watt – Executive Director

Rian joins EOI from Community Solutions (CS), a national homelessness nonprofit. There, he served as the Strategy Lead for International Large-Scale Change, leading a team that designed and launched organizations building large-scale movements to end homelessness in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, and the UK.

Rian has also served in leadership roles with numerous organizations in and around Seattle. He serves on the boards of the statewide land use organization Futurewise and the Third Door Coalition, a group focused on advocating for Permanent Supportive Housing in King County. Rian is also currently a Senior Advisor at The Urbanist, an advocacy journalism organization covering housing, transportation, and land use.

Become a Sponsor

Your sponsorship does more than bring your team into the fun of the evening: it powers EOI’s work to advance economic security and equity in Washington State.