Alumni Blog

Dominica Myers, ’16, discusses her new role, what has shaped her personal experiences and professional trajectory and how her Master’s in Nonprofit Leadership (MNPL) from Seattle University has been instrumental in her career.

Your previous and current positions seem to center equity. Why did you choose to pursue these positions and how have you continued to learn and grow from them?

I don’t think my past positions necessarily centered equity. At least not to begin with. Centering equity is what I brought to the position because of who I am and what I stand for. As I made centering equity a priority in my job, the work and the position evolved in terms of leadership and visibility, especially after I graduated from the MNPL program. The equity work was desperately needed and I had a vision for it. I’ve been fortunate to have worked under and learned so much from some of the most dynamic and influential leaders in our region. Lynn Strickland, executive director at Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee (AJAC), Maria Chavez Wilcox, CEO of YWCA Seattle/King/Snohomish County, and Aidan Lang and Christina Scheppelmann, general directors at Seattle Opera. Each of them allowed me to grow my leadership and really stretch myself in my role in their organizations. In my current role with KCLS, I am in a position where centering equity across a large system is literally my job. It’s exciting!

At Seattle U, social justice is central to our mission. Can you talk about your experiences with social justice as it relates to your professional career and service or some other aspect of your work? 

I guess where it started was when I was 16 years old and I had the opportunity to volunteer in the baby room at my neighborhood Childhaven branch. I did that for two years until I was old enough at 18 to be a substitute teacher throughout my undergrad years and for a little while beyond. I worked with kids and families who had experienced horrible traumas and knew it was important work. I just saw it as the right thing to do and I loved it because I loved the kids. Since then, I’ve worked or volunteered in many roles over the years that might be considered ‘social justice work,’ but it never quite feels like I’m doing enough. The amount of injustice in the world can be overwhelming sometimes. Over time, I’ve learned how important it is to understand, address and dismantle the root causes of trauma and oppression, not just offer individual services. It’s where my heart is these days and I feel like I have a lot to discern. And a lot to do.

Tell us about your role as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the King County Library System.

The director of diversity, equity and inclusion position, as well as the DEI department, are brand new to the library system and I’ve received quite a warm welcome from staff. There are 50 libraries in 36 cities across King County, and over 1,000 employees. The scope covers a lot of diverse territory, communities and people. My role is to ensure that KCLS has shared language, understanding and practices in support of KCLS’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion consistent across all library system departments and locations. I’m only about a month and a half into the job, so I guess ask me again how it’s going in six months or a year.

How has your Seattle U education helped guide you in your professional journey or informed how you approach your work?

The master’s in Nonprofit Leadership (MNPL) program has been instrumental in my professional career growth. The comprehensive nature of the program really helped me to discover areas of strength that I otherwise may have never recognized or may have never become so influential in my work. At the same time, I deepened my knowledge in areas of the nonprofit world that I was already experienced and familiar with. As an example, I would imagine that some people might assume that as a woman of color and DEI director, the most important piece of my education for my role must have been the social justice class. But it wasn’t.  Social justice was knowledge I brought with me to the program and have continued to acquire over a lifetime. The combination of three classes made all the difference for me professionally: Evaluation, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Change. Those are the three most imperative elements to the work I am charged with accomplishing at KCLS. The foundation, of course, is diversity, equity, and inclusion, but the work is accomplished through the tools of evaluation and strategic planning toward an outcome of transformational organizational change. I would never have been able to connect these dots without the skills, tools and concepts I learned through the MNPL program.

Do you have any advice or resources for other alumni looking to help advance equity and inclusion in their organizations?

There are people and organizations who have already been doing the work for some time, particularly folx and organizations from communities of color. Follow their lead. Listen and learn. Do so with genuine humility and mindfulness. I wish I had a lightening in a bottle answer to this, but the reality is that the work is work, and organizational change happens over time with consistency, intentionality and courage.

Seattle University is a place of love where I received the same thing my family gave to me—a foundation built on love and support and a compass to guide me through life. - Jason Oliver, ‘00

Former Seattle U student athlete Jason Oliver’s journey began with a search for a new place to bring his game. Landing a spot on the Redhawks’ 1997 NAIA National Championship-winning men’s soccer team is an experience that remains vivid in his mind 23 years later. Intercollegiate athletics and the support of Seattle U’s dedicated and caring coaches provided Oliver a solid foundation, built upon leadership, perseverance and connection and the confidence to use his voice to serve the local community. It also instilled in him a compass that has guided him through a successful career and ultimately led him back to Seattle U where he now serves the university as an active volunteer and donor.

A talented high school soccer player, Oliver walked-on to Indiana University’s top-ranked NCAA DI soccer program as a freshman—and was cut from the final team roster. His hard work impressed the coaches, however, and they helped him connect with coaches at other universities. An interest in exploring the Pacific Northwest, his birthplace, and a strong desire to find a more diverse and inclusive environment than the one he’d experienced as a young black man growing-up in the Midwest motivated Oliver to self-fund a trip to Washington to visit three colleges, one of which was Seattle U.

“I met with Coach Fewing and spent time getting to know some of the players and Seattle U immediately felt like home,” he says. “There was another experience, too, that set Seattle U apart in my mind. I sat in on a class, and afterwards as I was leaving, the professor handed me his business card and said, ‘If you need anything, we’re here for you. Call me.’  That really impressed me, especially coming from a big school where I was literally a number. I knew Seattle U was the place for me.”

Playing soccer for the Redhawks, a team Oliver found to be “competitive, if not more competitive than Indiana,” and where he felt accepted is one of his best student memories. Being a starting player, however, had to be earned.

“That first year was about working hard, preparing and knowing I’d have my chance to contribute,” he explains. That chance came during the NAIA National Championship game. Oliver went in for the final 30 minutes of overtime and got the assist for the game-winning goal! “That experience was a was game-changer for me in terms of understanding the importance of team and unselfish sacrifice,” he recalls.

His soccer interest expanded beyond the playing field when Oliver discovered that few children in the diverse Central Area community surrounding Seattle U were involved in youth soccer. Working with Coach Fewing, he came-up with a plan to launch the Seattle University Youth Soccer Program. This endeavor landed Oliver in the local executive offices of companies including Bank of America, Nike and Pepsi. The soccer program needed sponsorship to purchase water bottles and other equipment and it was Oliver’s job to secure corporate support. Oliver and Fewing recruited the Seattle U men’s team as instructors and Seattle University Youth Soccer became a strong developmental program, registering more than 300 youth by its second year of operation.

“Building the youth soccer program enabled me to use my voice to bridge a gap between Seattle U and the local community,” Oliver says, “and that was a real growth experience. I saw the positive impact that businesses can have on a community, and it inspired me to change my major from pre-med to business. Further, I learned the value of building relationships and connecting people with possibility, and that’s what typifies my career today.”

When he graduated in 2000 with a BA in Business Management, Oliver’s goal was to see how he could build relationships between businesses and the community. He realized this goal through a career in Human Resources. AT&T hired Oliver straight out of college, and he has remained with the company for 20 years, progressing from recruiter to his current role as Vice President of Human Resources, Business Partner for Consumer. The company has moved him from Redmond, WA to Minnesota, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Dallas, where Oliver currently resides with his wife, Andrea, and their sons, Carter (8) and Cole (7).

“AT&T is a place where I’ve been able to grow and have multiple careers within one company, and it’s afforded me a lot of opportunities outside it’s walls” he says. “Through it all, I’ve used my voice to connect people to possibilities.”

Despite being more than 2000 miles from Seattle, Oliver remains connected to Seattle U in multiple ways. He joined the Board of Regents in 2017 at the nomination of Regent Joe Zavaglia, who founded Seattle U’s men’s soccer program and who is a friend and mentor. “A longtime ago I told Joe I’m always going to stay connected to Seattle U,” Oliver says, “so he reached out and nominated me to join the Board of Regents.”

The following year, Oliver was invited onto the Board of Trustees by President Stephen Sundborg, S.J., where he currently serves on the Student Development and Athletic Intercollegiate subcommittees. His responsibilities include providing guidance and support for established program objectives with an eye to the student experience. He was involved in Seattle U’s recent selection of a new President and contributes to decisions impacting the university’s financial wellbeing.

Oliver also stays connected through giving. He supports the men’s soccer program, and recently helped to fund the first scholarship established by Seattle University’s Black Student Union, an organization Oliver was involved with as a student, serving as president for a year.

“While contemplating ways that I can serve the university, I had an opportunity to connect with the president of the Black Student Union and to learn about their scholarship fundraising campaign,” he says. “I wanted to contribute and offered to do so by matching the dollars they were able to raise in a specific period of time. I feel blessed to be a part of this first scholarship campaign and look forward to being more involved with this student organization.”

What inspires Oliver’s involvement with his alma mater? “Two things,” he says. “Of all the places I’ve lived in my life, Seattle is where I’ve felt most at home. So, I yearn to stay connected and that connection is important to me. Second, it’s the beauty of this Jesuit Catholic university that welcomes Baptists like me and people of all religious affiliations. That’s unique.”

Oliver’s active involvement through volunteerism and giving helps Seattle U move toward reaching the Our Moment for Mission: The President’s Challenge goal of engaging 10,000 alumni. His efforts will help to ensure that current and future students have the same purpose-driven education and student development opportunities that he did.

Join Oliver in supporting The President’s Challenge by making a gift to the soccer program or the Black Student Union Scholarship (choose Designation – Other and write “BSU Scholarship” in comments).