Christina Pourarien, Chair

Christina Pourarien (she/her) is an Information Technology Services Division Executive Operations Manager for the State of Washington Employment Security Department (ESD).  After graduating from Central Washington University, she began her state service career in 1999 at the Washington State Lottery. She has worked at General Administration (currently known as Department of Enterprise Services), Department of Retirement Systems, The Evergreen State College, Department of Social Health and Services, Department of Licensing and Labor & Industries before joining ESD in January of 2022. She currently serves as the co-chair of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Employee Resource Group at ESD.

Christina was born in Great Falls, Montana moved to South Korean with her family when she was six months old, and returned to the United States as a young child in the early 1980s. Her father proudly served in the US Air Force and her mother is originally from Korea. She attended public school in the North Thurston School District in Lacey, Washington. She had the privileged to be the first one in her family to receive a formal college education from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She and her husband Cody have a teenage daughter, Sima.

Area(s) of Professional Expertise:
Human Resources, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Classification and Compensation, Recruitment, Coaching, Career Planning, Facilitation, Organization Change Management, and Conflict Resolutions

Ethnic Background:
Multi-racial – Child of first generation Korean immigrant parent.

Language(s) Spoken:
English, and conversational Korean

Roy Salonga, co-Vice Chair

Roy Salonga is currently Human Resources Supervisor at Washington State Department of Transportation. He also worked for Department of Corrections and Department of Enterprise Services as Senior Human Resources Consultant. Roy graduated in Washington State University in Vancouver, Washington in May 2014 where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in Personnel Psychology/Human Resources Management. Roy have held various entry level jobs when he moved to the United States in July of 2008. He worked as a housekeeper, dishwasher, prep cook, and production assembly line worker over the course of three years. In February of 2015, Roy was naturalized as a US citizen.

Roy was born and raised in San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines. He has a twin sister and two older brothers. Roy with his father, twin sister, and older brother migrated to Vancouver, Washington in July of 2008. The reason why they moved to the United States was to have a better life and help support their families back home.

Roy got married to his college girlfriend, Heather on July 7, 2024. They have been together for 10 years and they have a 7-year-old son name Nico. On their spare time, they love to sit in the couch where they watch anime.  Roy also enjoys weightlifting, hiking, playing ping pong and badminton.

Area of Professional Expertise: Human Resources

Ethnic Background: First generation Filipino immigrant

Language(s) Spoken: English, Tagalog, and Kapampangan(native Filipino language)

Nadine Nabass, Secretary

Hello! My name is Nadine Nabass, I currently work in operations at the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) and I was born and raised near Tacoma, Washington. Both of my parents immigrated to the United States in the 1980s—my mother is an Iraqi refugee and my father is a Jordanian immigrant.  Alongside my role in operations at ESD, I spend a lot of my time volunteering to manage the ESD Mentorship Program, which I assisted develop, launch, and maintain to provide equitable access to professional development opportunities to all ESD employees. I am very passionate about mentorship and can credit many of my biggest accomplishments to the guidance of fantastic mentors that I have had along the way—especially as a child of immigrants, seeking mentorship has been and continues to be crucial to my growth professionally and personally!

I received a double major Bachelor’s degree from Pacific Lutheran University in both Political Science and Global Development & Social Justice, where I had the opportunity to take my studies abroad in my homeland and intern with USAID in Amman, Jordan to understand the role of gender equity in humanitarian aid. I am continuing my education by pursuing a Master of Science in Sustainable Development from the University of Sussex’s Science, Policy, and Research Unit. In this program, I am learning how to apply a practical approach to analyzing policy problems in order to propose and evaluate equitable policy solutions. I am looking forward to applying these skills to my current role as a State employee to ensure our policies are equitable, sustainable, and enable us to effectively provide services to our Washington communities.

I am passionate about art, advocacy, and the overlap of those two things in our beautiful immigrant and “third-culture” communities. I love to read, write, and perform poetry, go to heavy metal and punk concerts (even on work-nights), and spend time exploring the outdoors with my partner, Jake, and our two cats, Garbanzo and Niles.

Area(s) of Professional Expertise: Leadership, Public Speaking, Policy Analysis, Training, Project Management, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Cultural Background: Child of immigrants from Jordan & Iraq; Muslim-American

Language(s) Spoken: English and Arabic

Le (Ivy) Huynh, Treasurer

My name is Le (Ivy) Huynh. I’m currently a senior Budget Analyst at the Department of Enterprise Services (DES). I started my State career with the Department of General Administration (GA) back in 2008 while I was in school to obtain my 2nd degree. Later, I also worked with the Department of Information Services (former WaTech), Liquor Control Board then came back to DES in 2012 when GA, DIS and other 3 agencies merged into DES. During my state career, I have held several roles in the agencies’ Finance offices with the focus in accounting, finance and budgeting. Prior to my career with the State, I managed a restaurant in downtown Olympia for my in laws.

I have a bachelor degree in Economics major in Hotel Management from Van Lang university (Vietnam) and an Associate in Business degree focus in Accounting and Finance from South Puget Sound Community College.

I migrated to the US in 2004. I was also the third generation of immigrant in Vietnam as my grandparents also migrated to Vietnam from China and Cambodia during WW2. So life in US as an immigrant is not really new to me 😊 and I consider myself lucky as I can see and experience things under so many different perspectives.

I live in Lacey with my husband, my son (10) and my daughter (12). In my free time, I love to travel with my families, cooking, singing, meeting new friends, spending time outdoor doing activities such as hiking, camping, etc.

I speak Vietnamese, Cantonese Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, and English.

Joanne Lee, Mentoring Program Administrator
(Past Chair)

Joanne Lee is a Deputy Assistant Director for the Equity & Employee Development Division at the State of Washington Department of Enterprise Services. Joanne is a 2023 Excellence in Washington State Government Leadership Award recipient.

She previously held the position of Learning Consultant, Principal for the City of Tacoma. In addition, she worked as a Leadership Development Learning Design and Delivery Professional for the State of Washington Department of Enterprise Services. With over 20 years of experience in various workforce development roles, Joanne has extensive expertise in developing, supporting, maintaining, and expanding professional technical education partnerships to meet industry needs through customized training programs.

Joanne has a wealth of experience working with diverse adult learners, providing training and support ranging from one-on-one consultations to large-scale workshops, seminars, and training sessions for various workforce populations. She has also served as a Chair at the Washington Immigrant Network (WIN), Leadership Development Lead for Hawaiians, Asians, and Pacific Islanders Empowerment Network (HAPPEN), and as a Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Seattle SHRM.

Joanne earned her Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management from the University of Phoenix. She holds a Master of Arts in Instructional Technology and a Bachelor of Arts in Education from California State University, San Bernardino. Alongside her passion for fostering relationships with community-based organizations, businesses, and industries, Joanne actively promotes partnerships for the workforce and continuing education. Currently, she is a member of the Business faculty at the Seattle Colleges. On a personal note, Joanne loves to travel with her family.

Area(s) of Professional Expertise: Learning/Training Facilitation and Development, Business Development, Leadership Development, College Professor

Ethnic Background: Immigrant born in the Philippines

Language(s) Spoken: English and Tagalog

Email: Joanne.Lee@des.wa.gov