Thank You Hana!

Our co-founder, badass leader, coach, and cat-lover extraordinaire, Hana Kawai, has stepped down from her role as Co-Executive Director after more than 15 years at AGE UP. 😭 😭 😭 AGE UP’s mission, vision, and values have always been rooted in centering and supporting the leadership of young people in the Southend, and this transition planning has been an intentional manifestation of that. There are not enough words to express our immense gratitude and love for Hana, and while she’s stepping down in her official role at AGE UP, she will still always champion and support us from whatever she’s doing next (raising chickens? digging more holes in her backyard?). Read her letter to us here:

Holy cow, I’m leaving! 

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, I’m transitioning out of my Co-Executive Director role. I’ve been one of the Co-EDs of AGE UP since 2016…. And honestly that’s just when we finally got some money to pay people. Because I remember when we ran this tiny lil program with only $2000 out of the back room of Jefferson Community Center, over 15 years ago. 

This leadership transition is official as of July 1st, but it’s been a 6 month project, a year and a half project, and, of course, a project as long as we’ve been building this organization. 

This has been a project since the beginning because we were always looking for ways for young people to take charge and lead, since the first session of our first program in 2010. This Executive Director transition is just the next iteration of that effort. We want young people equipped with the skills and confidence to build the world they want to see – and we’ve been able to use our staff positions as a key place where we can nurture those dreams. 

We’ve been mapping the logistics of the transition for the past 6 months through a small transition team of staff, board and community members. We wanted to make sure our staff team had a strong voice in the process, that things made sense with regard to the budget and programs, and that the transition was thoughtful and aligned with our values. Out of that process we emerged with our very exciting internal candidate, Ash Escobar, who will be taking my job as of July 1, 2026. They’re writing the next letter in this series, and will be much better at articulating their story than I, so I’ll just say that I am so excited and honored to be passing the torch to them. 

I ascribe fully to the brilliant Octavia Butler’s “All that you touch, you Change. All that you Change, Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change” and am excited to be a background supporter aka monthly donor + biggest fan for this next iteration of AGE UP, whatever it might look like. My one hope was that I passed off an organization that is as solid and healthy as a non-profit organization can be, in these times. Because we know the challenges facing our young people today are increasing every day.

As for me, for the past year and a half, I’ve been making my own transition. I told Ari and Sam in January of 2025 that I was ready to try something different and that I needed some space and time to reflect on what that might be. And I could tell that this org and community that has nourished me for so long had what it needed to flourish without me, and our young staff were ready for the challenge and opportunity that comes with a big change like this.

I went half time starting in August 2025, which has been a revelation: I built a fence, got some baby chickens, hiked around in the mountains, read so many books, and got a chance to talk to a lot of really brilliant and lovely people about their careers and lives (thanks everyone who took that time!). Of course, I’ve also had (and am having) 1,000 feelings about this process: proud of what I’ve built with so many other people, scared about the unknowable that comes with any change, proud of this staff team and what they’re doing for the community and for each other, scared about what’s next, etc. etc. etc.  And now my halftime is wrapping up, and as of July I’ll be off into the wild! Both literally – I’ll be backpacking – and figuratively. 

And as I reflect on my time with this community and org, what continues to stand out to me is that I grew up here. Not in the same way that so many of our staff and young people did, but I started coaching at Franklin HS at 22 and I’m 38 now (!) and this place and these people were so crucial for me as I found my footing as a young adult. 

At 22 – like many 22 year olds – all I knew is that I wanted to make the world a better place. And because of this community that’s a goal I still point myself towards because I found here a wisdom, authenticity, groundedness, and fierce commitment to each other that I will carry with me wherever I end up. And don’t worry, I’ll be around: I’m gonna continue with some light contracting with AGE UP and our partner organization King County Play Equity Coalition (check em out!), as well as working part-time with grassroots peer counseling organization Re-Evaluation Counseling.

So wave when you see me! Much love y’all, it’s been an honor.