Janet Varon is the founder and Executive Director of NoHLA. Janet is a member of the Medical-Legal Partnership advisory board and serves on the steering committee of Health Care Is a Human Right -Washington.  She previously chaired the state's Medical Assistance Advisory Committee and has served on the National Health Law Program board and statewide advisory groups. Before starting NoHLA, Janet worked for 13 years as a staff attorney at Evergreen Legal Services. Janet is a graduate of Harvard Law School. Honors include Agent of Change from the Washington Jewish Historical Society and the 2018 Marcia Howery Award from the Washington Healthcare Access Alliance.

The National Health Law Program Board President Rob Weiner presents a plaque to NoHLA Executive Director Janet Varon in appreciation of nine years of service on the NHeLP board.

Emily Brice (NoHLA’s former Deputy Director) is delighted to join Daphne in leading NoHLA into the future as our incoming Co-Executive Director of Advocacy.

Emily brings 18 years of experience as a lawyer and health policy expert advocating for a health care system that centers patients. Emily is a long-standing part of NoHLA’s community, from her roots as a NoHLA legal intern to her time as a Staff Attorney starting in 2011 and later return to NoHLA in a senior role in 2020.

Emily has served in government in two states, first as the Senior Health Policy Advisor to Washington State Insurance Commissioner Kreidler and later as the Deputy Chief of Policy & Strategy for the Massachusetts Health Connector, a state-based Marketplace agency. Earlier in her career, Emily developed and managed clinic-based social services program as the Chicago Site Director for Health Leads. She is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law and the University of Chicago.

Outside of work, you can find Emily reading science fiction to dream of better worlds and finding new playgrounds with her kindergartner.

Daphne Smith is NoHLA’s incoming Co-Executive Director of Operations, and is thrilled to advance NoHLA’s health advocacy work using her deep experience leading multi-dimensional teams, developing innovative programs, and fostering community partnerships.

Daphne has dedicated her career to incorporating inclusivity and equality into the development, culture and infrastructure of the organizations she’s served. For the past twenty years, she has specialized in human resources management and organizational development, successfully leading teams in various industries including nonprofit, philanthropic, and federal contracting.

A self-proclaimed eternal student, Daphne maintains certifications in Sustainable Management, Professional in Human Resource Management (PHR) and Society for Human Resource Management - Certified Professional (SHRM-CP), and a bachelor’s degree from Weber State University.

In her spare time, she enjoys laughing, leisurely walks, and delicious meals.

Vanessa Saavedra brings to NoHLA a breadth of legal and policy experience in state and tribal government and nonprofit work, including as a staff attorney for the Department of Social Services and a deputy legal affairs secretary for the Office of Governor Jerry Brown, both in California, and as an Assistant Attorney General III for the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona.

Her healthcare background includes serving as senior policy analyst for the 988 program at the Washington State Department of Health, as a staff attorney on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s healthcare team, as Assistant Director of Policy and Legal Affairs for the California Primary Care Association, and as Policy Analyst/Staff Attorney for the Health Rights Hotline, a former project of Legal Services of Northern California. Vanessa earned her JD from Duke University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from California State University, Chico.

Vanessa enjoys hiking with her canine friends, cycling, and attending live music and comedy shows.

Ann Vining came to NoHLA in 2016 after a career as a legal services staff attorney that began in 1979. Since 1982 her work has included benefits issues, including Medicaid, Medicare, and long-term care services, with a special focus on issues for older adults and people with disabilities. Ann served as law clerk for a federal district court judge in the Eastern District of Washington after graduating from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1977. Her undergraduate degree is from Harvard University.

Other experiences significant to her work included growing up in the Ozarks, attending Little Rock Central High School after federal authorities secured its desegregation, working with children with intellectual challenges, staffing a Wisconsin Governor's Task Force that developed a comprehensive agenda for accessibility for people with disabilities (years before the ADA), and serving as a caregiver for family members with disabilities.

Hafoc Yates joined NoHLA in August 2006. Playing many back office support roles over the years, with responsibilities in database management, IT support, and office administration.

Their day continues with building the body and mind for kettlebell sport (girevoy sport), ending with tea and books in Hafoc's 2'x 3' balcony garden.

Lee Che P. Leong is NoHLA’s Senior Policy Advocate, bringing extensive experience in public health, higher education, international human rights, youth engagement, and reproductive justice in New York City and Washington state. Lee Che has worked for non-profits at the local, state and national levels including directing the NYCLU’s Teen Health Initiative and collaborating in the launch of two of Washington’s Accountable Communities of Health.  In her spare time, she enjoys the dining & cultural opportunities that living 30 minutes from Canada offers and is proud to volunteer as Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood’s board treasurer.

In 2023 Families USA honored Lee Che with its Health Justice Advocate of the Year Award for Health Coverage for her work on immigrant health expansion in Washington.

Lori Buchsbaum has over 30 years of experience working with local, regional and international health and legal programs in the Pacific Northwest, Washington, D.C. and along the U.S.-Mexico border.  She is currently a mediator, facilitator and trainer with Bermuda Associates, LLC, the Center for Dialog & Resolution, the King County Interlocal Conflict Resolution Group and Conflict Intervention Services.

Lori served as Staff Attorney for Northwest Health Law Advocates (NoHLA) from 2006 to 2010.  She has also done legal work for:  Center for Health Training; the Washington State Department of Health, Tobacco Prevention and Control Programs; Public Health Seattle King County; Medstar/Georgetown University Hospital; the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; the Maryland Court of Special Appeals; the Center for Medicare Advocacy; Sonnenschein, Nath and Rosenthal, LLP; and the Office of Counsel to the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Lori led and contributed to public, community and international health efforts with Development Associates, Project Concern International and many local health organizations based in San Diego, CA.  She received her J.D. in 2004 from American University, Washington College of Law, a Master’s Degree in Public Health in 1991 from San Diego State University, and a BA/BS from University of California, San Diego in 1988.  Lori loves to travel, hike, ski, swim and “explore” with her son Max, husband Steve and their lab Zeus.

Omid Bagheri Garakani works in the Executive Office of Public Affairs and Equity at the Washington State Department of Health working to advance equity and social justice. He is a Clinical Faculty member at the University of Washington School of Public Health where he teaches anti-racism practice within public health. Omid is organized with organizations and collectives to advance health justice, including the End Police Violence Collective (www.endingpoliceviolence.com) which authored APHA policy statements focused on centering policing and incarceration as public health crises, Public Health Awakened, a national network of public health practitioners working to support social justice movements, and as a Board member for Northwest Health Law Advocates to bring healthcare to all in Washington State. Omid's previous work includes capacity-building services and consulting at JustLead Washington focused on leadership and organizational development for legal advocates and organizations in Washington with a focus on anti-racism. Omid seeks health justice in his work, taking his experience as an Iranian American and familiarity with harms perpetuated by unjust systems, to drive his work to ensure all communities, particularly those structurally marginalized and experiencing the most health inequities, have the resources and power necessary for health.

Audrey Sheffield came to Seattle in 1989 after receiving her MBA from the Yale School of Management. Since then, she has worked in health care management for both Northwest Hospital and Group Health Cooperative. She has also served in a variety of volunteer capacities in connection with the Seattle Public Schools: PTA Treasurer, Annual Fund Chair, Garfield Jazz Foundation Co-President, and girls soccer team manager. She is currently a volunteer college coach for Garfield High School students with College Access Now. Audrey lives in Madrona with her husband, John, a UW faculty physician at Harborview Medical Center, and has two daughters in college.

Abby Goldy is the managing attorney for the ACLU-WA’s Information and Referral Program. She has worked in public interest organizations serving communities impacted by poverty for almost 20 years beginning with her work at the Northwest Justice Project as a CLEAR attorney and volunteer coordinator. Her work also led her to advising law students seeking public interest law opportunities at the Access to Justice Institute at Seattle University before coming to the ACLU-WA in 2021. Abby lives in Seattle with her spouse and video-ready Frenchie, Po Tater.

Cezanne Garcia has more than 30 years serving as a health systems redesign consultant, providing technical assistance and training to diverse health systems.  She served in Olympia as Director of Practice Transformation for Healthier Washington, worked with Public Health- Seattle King County overseeing the safety net clinic network investment, Senior Consultant with the Institute for Patient and Family Centered Care, patient care administrator at UW Medical Center and educator at Seattle Children’s designing programs to improve patient and family partnerships in the care experience, and worked as Senior Health Planner for the Navajo Nation.   She has dedicated her practice to provide capacity building services to care delivery systems convening its many stakeholders - staff, clinicians, and administrative leaders, in partnership with patients and families, to improve health care access, experience of care, equity, access, and quality.

Dedicated volunteer, including founding member of Jewish Women’s Funding Network and Harborview’s Community Service League.  Board member of the Burke Museum and former Board member of Artist Trust, Society of Public Health Education, Washington Health Education Resources Exchange, Alternative and Non-Traditional Employment for Women, and Navajo Nation Family Planning nonprofits.  She currently is lead cook for a team that prepares meals for homeless teens in the University District and has served for over two years outside the release gate of the NW ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, present to welcome released immigrants and support them to reunite with community and loved ones.

Cezanne lives in Seattle with her husband David Grossman and enjoys backpacking, bicycling, gardening, cooking, and spending time with her family. She is recommitting her time to create fused glass and collage art work.

Laura MacPherson's north star is advancing reproductive justice. She does that by supporting midwives who are best able to affect sustainable change in their communities, and the organizations who hire them.

Laura is a Healthcare Consultant and an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner at Neighborcare Health and Swedish Medical Group. She serves on the Midwifery Advisory Committee of the Washington State Department of Health.

She is a strategic, values-driven leader who brings extensive clinical perspective to her work assessing organizational needs and supporting innovative solutions through program and people development, and communications. Laura works collaboratively to seek out system and individual contributor strengths, and inspires teams to authentically animate the values necessary to challenge inequitable practices and inefficient processes.

Laura’s community describes her as generous, funny, in love with learning, committed to joy and deeply compassionate. Her clients say that she is warm, clever, knowledgeable, inclusive, strategic, direct in her communication, and comfortable with discomfort.