Women Taking the Lead: Profiles of Women Leaders in Seattle Southside

Sylvia Hu

Lyn Robinson

Kirsten Cooper

Sandra Largaespada

Barbara McMichael

Karen Dove

Dawn Judkins

Jean Thompson

Amy Cook

Nancy Salguero McKay

Samantha Le

Merrisa Claridge

Casey Mclean

Jill Andrews

Sylvia Hu: Sumi Korean Grill

When Sylvia Hu opened Tukwila's Sumi Korean Grill in 2021, it was the first restaurant of its kind to open in the area. While Korean BBQ has since gained popularity, Sumi offers something unique: an upscale, fusion dining experience combining elements of Japanese cuisine and a classic American steakhouse. Opening a restaurant during the pandemic was no small feat, but Hu was determined to make it work. She'd dreamed of owning her own restaurant since she was a child, growing up in Zhejiang Province in Southeastern China. Her favorite game was playing restaurant and "hosting" her friends. At 19, she came to the U.S. to study hospitality management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. On a trip to Seattle Southside, she noticed there weren't any places nearby to get Korean BBQ in a fine dining setting, and the idea for Sumi was born. To bring her vision to life, she worked alongside two experienced Korean chefs, one of whom had a background in a five-star hotel restaurant in Korea. Their expertise helped take Sumi’s cuisine to the next level, ensuring authenticity and innovation in every dish. Since opening the restaurant, she's loved being part of the local community and continuing to experiment with the menu, offering specialty dishes like Wagyu beef alongside traditional Korean favorites. Sumi Korean Grill also takes pride in sourcing local ingredients to ensure the highest quality and freshness. She hopes to stay in Seattle Southside for years to come.

Lyn Robinson: Zenith Holland Nursery

As the owner of Zenith Holland Nursery, Lyn Robinson plays a special role in Des Moines' history. Established in 1907, the nursery is the oldest continually operating business in Des Moines, Washington, and Robinson carries on its legacy with grace. Since she bought the business in 1980, she's ensured it remains a fixture of the community and a destination for garden enthusiasts across the region. In recent years, she's expanded the gift shop, which overflows with high-end home goods and lifestyle products. She also added numerous events and classes, giving participants the opportunity to learn crafts such as wreath and terrarium making. She oversees a staff of 12, including several horticulturalists and a garden consultant who visits customers at their homes by request. A native of Seattle Southside, Robinson studied at Highline Community College. She loves the Des Moines community and is honored to be at the helm of one of its most storied businesses.

Kirsten Cooper: Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden

As the volunteer coordinator at Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden, Kirsten Cooper leads a hardworking group of garden enthusiasts to keep this urban oasis looking beautiful year-round. That's no easy feat, given that the garden consists of more than five acres of plant life. It's a rare gift to have such a lush site minutes from an airport, not to mention free and open to the public, and Cooper does the job with grace. She is part of a small but mighty staff of three and leads eight regular volunteers and a rotating cast of other helpers. Cooper took on the role in 2024, drawing on her experience teaching in various areas and studying horticulture at South Seattle College. She also holds a BA from the University of Washington. Among other projects, she's focused on cleaning up roughly five acres of undeveloped land that will eventually be developed for public enjoyment. Cooper is also involved in the community as a board member of the New Start Community Garden (also known as The Shark Garden). A mother of two, she enjoys spending her spare time gardening in her own yard and tending to a bevy of chickens, dogs, and cats. Under her leadership, the garden continues to flourish, providing visitors and residents with a tranquil retreat within the city.

Sandra Largaespada: Food Innovation Network

The program director at the Food Innovation Network (FIN), Sandra Largaespada, does more than simply lead - her work uplifts women, immigrants, and people of color who are seeking to grow as entrepreneurs. The FIN's Spice Bridge Global Food Hall serves as an incubator for restaurants and catering businesses looking to get their start. FIN helps these small business owners with paperwork, mentorship, and a discounted kitchen space to work out of to help these new restauranteurs get up and running. Plus, we all benefit from the delicious international cuisine on offer on a rotating basis at Spice Bridge before these restaurants start up their standalone locations. Talk about a win-win-win!

Sandra just started in the role at the beginning of March 2023, and hopes to use her new position to uplift and empower. She says, "My favorite part about working with a team is embracing that we all bring diverse skills and expertise. My goal is to work together to develop program goals and build alignment with our work and vision while always supporting them through their professional development."

Barbara McMichael: SoCo Culture

Arts, culture, and history are deeply important and help make any region a more vibrant and compelling place to be. That's why the work Barbara McMichael has done with South King County Culture (also known as SoCo Culture) is so important. Before her retirement, she connected community theater, arts, cultural, and historical organizations with much-needed resources, collective advocacy, and networking opportunities to develop and encourage the growth of culture in the region.

With each individual arts organization spending so much time focused on their specific missions, it can be hard for these groups to carve out time to network and work together for arts advocacy, funding, and other issues that affect multiple organizations. That's what made Barbara's role at SoCo Culture so critical: by facilitating these interconnected relationships, Barbara helped to ensure that arts and culture organizations can advocate as a unified front for the funding and policy matters that they rely on to survive and thrive.

More than that, Barbara has a wealth of knowledge about the fascinating history of Seattle Southside arts, architecture, and beyond. Her leadership and stewardship have helped to make our community a more interesting and beautiful place to live, work, and visit.

Karen Dove: ANEW

ANEW (Apprenticeship & Non-traditional Employment for Women) was founded in 1980 in Tukwila with the aim of improving access and advancement of women in traditionally male-dominated career pathways such as construction and manufacturing. Today, ANEW is the oldest continuously running pre-apprenticeship program in the United States that trains people to enter the construction industry. They recently received a grant from workwear giant Carhartt to help support their work. But not only does ANEW work to support women in construction, they themselves are led by a strong woman, showing by example the incredible work that women can do. In 2020 Karen was the recipient of the lumenomics Susan B. Anthony award to recognize her contributions towards the advancement of women.

Dawn Judkins: Fire Chief

The first woman to serve as a fire chief in King County, Dawn Judkins got her start in firefighting in Tukwila, right here in Seattle Southside. Her leadership is an inspiration to everyone, male or female. "I wasn't trying to be the best female firefighter, I really wanted to be the best teammate for all of the folks that I worked with and with all their support, I've gotten to the position I am now," says Chief Judkins. "I just want everyone to know, girls, teenagers, once you set your mind on something you can do anything you want to do.”

Jean Thompson: Seattle Chocolate

The owner and CEO of Seattle Chocolate isn't just making sweets, she's making the future sweet for the girls and women who come after her. Ten percent of the net profits from Seattle Chocolate go to support Girls, Inc., a charity which works to empower young women. Jean says, "As a mother and a female entrepreneur, uplifting and inspiring young girls is so important to me, and we're thrilled to now be supporting Girls Inc. with every single Seattle Chocolate purchase." The work that Girls, Inc. does is vitally important, as they have an emphasis on supporting girls who face intersectional challenges, such as those based on sex, race, religion, ethnicity, immigration status, and gender identity. So go ahead, grab another chocolate bar. You're helping out the next generation of girls when you do so!

Aside from her charitable work, Jean runs what she calls a "woman-powered" business. According to Seattle Chocolate's VP of Operations Marie McNally, "The thoughtfulness and creativity that goes into every product we make, every message we send, and every flavor we create is all about bringing joy to others. Who better to do that than a bunch of mothers, sisters, and friends?"

Amy Cook: Community Leader & Entrepreneur

Amy Cook saw a need in her local community and stepped forward to help make things better for everyone. Rather than simply standing on the sidelines as she watched community members struggle with addiction and mental health crisis, she decided to step in and start a fun new annual tradition that would help raise money for those in need. In their first year, the Des Moines Burning Boat Festival was able to raise over $22,000 for Valley Cities, a local mental health and substance abuse clinic.

Nancy Salguero McKay: Highline Heritage Museum

The Highline Heritage Museum is more than just a museum, it's a cultural center that reflects the people, heritage, and languages of the communities that make up the Highline area. Nancy Salguero McKay, executive director of the museum, has worked for the museum for almost 20 years, first as a volunteer before working her way to her current position. Her focus on diversity and inclusion ensures that all people can see themselves reflected in the exhibits on display, rather than reducing history to stereotypes and biases. She makes sure that oral histories, artifacts, and stories are carefully preserved so that the lessons of our past and present can inform our future. Nancy's work at the museum led her to be recognized as Burien's Citizen of the Year in 2022!

Samantha Le: Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce

Samantha Le is the President & CEO of the Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce. Before joining the Chamber, she worked as an Aerospace Manufacturing Director, leading and developing Programs and Marketing initiatives.

Merrisa Claridge: Heritage 1904

Merrisa "Missy" Claridge is the President of Heritage 1904, a restaurant and spirits group that runs beloved local favorite restaurant Sharps RoastHouse here in SeaTac. Merrisa is a fifth generation member of the food industry, following in the footsteps of her great-great-great grandpa, who was a master Colby cheese maker in Wisconsin, her great-great-grandpa who founded the Sunny Jim Peanut Butter Company (which was later run by her Grandpa), and her dad, Tim Firnstahl, who opened over a dozen restaurants. With this proud lineage at her back, Merrisa presides over three restaurants and a distillery. In the male-dominated food and alcohol industries, this is no small feat.

Merrisa's advice to anyone who wishes to follow in her path? "Working in the restaurant and spirits industry is challenging as a female. To get started in this field, I recommend working with someone you admire who can coach and mentor you. I also encourage our staff to have a strong work/life balance. People in our industry can get burnt out easily. Creating a good balance between work and personal life and holding strong boundaries will really help you stay focused, healthy and succeed."

Casey Mclean: SR3

As the Executive Director and Veterinary Nurse at Sealife Response + Rehab + Research (shortened as SR3), Casey Mclean has to wear a lot of different hats. Casey, a certified veterinary technician, holds a degree in marine biology and possesses extensive experience and a deep-rooted enthusiasm for the medical treatment, rehabilitation, and conservation of marine animals.

With over 20 years in the field, her expertise spans from sea turtles to humpback whales, from responding to entanglements to conducting population research and providing rehabilitative care. In her work with Puget Sound's Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Casey contributes to the rescue efforts of various marine species such as seal pups, sea otters, and sea lions stranded along the coast. Casey is also skilled in responding to oil spills and in teaching the public how to help should they find a marine mammal in distress.

More than that, she is warm, knowledgeable, and her care for her organization's work shines through everything she does. Whether she's helping a stranded baby seal learn to eat whole fish, inspiring the next generation of ocean conservationists, or helping to release a rehabilitated animal back into the wild, her work is making a huge difference in both our waters and our community.

Jill Andrews: Faster Than Cancer Foundation

Jill Andrews is an absolute powerhouse in more ways than one. As Secretary of the Board of Directors for the Faster Than Cancer Foundation, Jill works with Steve Huff Motorsports to push records, break barriers, and race to raise funds and awareness in the fight against cancer. They race an electric dragster and motorcycles at the Bonneville Salt Flats to push land speed records and used to race a hydroplane as well.

Jill is a Northwest native with over 26 years of leadership roles in volunteer organizations including Pike Place Marketing PDA Council, Pike Place Market Constituency, Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce, Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority, and Destination Des Moines. As an avid advocate for her community and causes that she cares about, her leadership is making a huge difference every day.