ABOUT
OUR VISION
A future of nonviolent, healthy relationships and communities.
OUR MISSION
To end domestic violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking, we must come together as a community. At The WAVE Foundation, we mobilize the community to fund prevention and education programs serving youth and young adults. We create a community of legal support for survivors by partnering with law firms and corporations.
OUR STAFF
Ariana Orford · Executive Director
After Ariana worked as a victim advocate nearly 10 years ago, she decided to dedicate her career to ending violence against women. Throughout law school, she worked in the Domestic Violence Unit of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and continued to work as a prosecuting attorney for King County after law school. Then as a legal aid attorney, she fought to protect the privacy of victims in criminal cases and to get protection orders for survivors of domestic violence. Most recently, Ariana founded the Legal Hope program, the first legal program in Washington State focused on offering legal assistance to survivors of sex trafficking. In addition to her J.D., she earned a Graduate Certificate in public policy and nonprofit management from Seattle University’s Masters of Public Administration Program. Ariana is also passionate about empowering women through fitness and is an instructor at Pure Barre Seattle fitness studios.
Carlen McKee · Legal Hope Program Director
Carlen began her human trafficking advocacy work over 10 years ago in Washington, DC, working with The Protection Project to draft and publish the Trafficking in Persons Report, an annual report issued by the U.S. Department of State to monitor and combat trafficking in persons both domestically and internationally. She then worked with the Polaris Project, providing resources and information directly to human trafficking victims. Carlen was also the president of Trafficking Free George Washington, a student organization dedicated to human trafficking advocacy and outreach. During her leadership, the group was awarded a grant after being named the Best Student Organization by George Washington University. Carlen practiced as a private attorney for several years before turning her focus back to survivor advocacy.
OUR BOARD
Karla Axell · Board Chair
Retired Attorney, Perkins Coie
Samantha Winter · Board Treasurer
Senior Vice President, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi
Kim Smallwood · Board Secretary
Vice President, Institutional Trust & Custody Relationship Manager, U.S. Bank
Erik Moe
Senior Marketing Manager, Tech for Social Impact, Microsoft
Maria Manza
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office
Kaitlin Beaman
Director of Client Success, The JPI Group
Logan Bryant
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office
Ashley Ott
Partner, Vantage Point Financial, LLC
Nancy Belur · Board Member Emeritus
Founder, The WAVE Foundation
Toni Rende · Student Ambassador
University of Washington
Anna Lapin · Student Ambassador
Holy Names Academy
OUR STORY
Nancy Belur and Sharon Anderson
Founders of The WAVE Foundation
In 2008, a group of passionate women was compelled by the statistic that one out of every three women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. In response, founder Sharon Anderson created Cycle the WAVE, an all-women’s cycling event that celebrated the power of sisterhood and catalyzed a larger movement around education and awareness of relationship and sexual violence. After three successful years of the Cycle the WAVE event, Sharon Anderson and Nancy Belur founded The WAVE Foundation to build community, raise awareness, and fundraise year-round.