OL Reign Legend: Debora Juarez - Seattle City Council President
The Legends Campaign, a partnership between OL Reign and Starbucks, honors women for their extraordinary contributions to our community in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Prior to the May 29th match against San Diego FC, OL Reign recognized Seattle City Council President, Debora Juarez for her amazing contributions to the community.
For the last 35 years, Council President Juarez has built a career focused on legal advocacy and economic development for the most marginalized communities in our state. As an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation and one of six children born to a Native American mother and a first-generation Mexican-American father, she is the first Indigenous woman to hold the position of Seattle City Council President.
After completing law school, Council President Juarez began working at Evergreen Legal Services where she was a staff attorney with the Native American Project, an initiative aimed at ensuring the rights of Native American clients. She then began two years of service as a pro-tem judge for the King County Superior Court and City of Seattle Municipal Court. Garnering statewide recognition, Washington State Governor Mike Lowry then appointed Council President Juarez to serve as a full-time King County Superior Court Judge. Her work as an attorney and judge then led her to Olympia, where she served two Governors, Mike Lowry and Gary Locke, as Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs.
Pivoting to the private sector, she joined a major Wall Street investment firm with the goal of creating one of the nation's first in-house Tribal Finance Groups. Drawn back to the legal profession, she returned with a vision and business plan to create a first-rate Tribal Practice Group. One of the Pacific Northwest’s most prominent law firms, Williams Kastner, welcomed her vision of focusing economic empowerment and development beyond tribal lands. An inspiration for many, Council President Juarez continues to make an impact in the community, asking people to walk with her, rather than asking them to follow her as a leader.
“OL Reign is on the rise. It was among the great honors of my professional career to be recognized at Lumen Field this spring,” said Council President Juarez. “To be in the company of arguably some of the world’s best athletes, our women’s soccer community and ownership group, and acknowledged for my work on Council, established a strong and very personal connection to the Organization. Thank you to Starbucks for sponsoring my nomination and to the OL Reign players, staff and stalwart leaders who call Seattle ‘home’.”