Miriam Barnett has served in the non-profit world since 1987 when, after being a full-time craft artist for twelve years, she became the Executive Director of Allied Arts of Whatcom County in Bellingham, WA. In 2000, she moved to Tacoma to work for the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts where she was the Development Director for 2 years. Following her work at the BCPA, she became the Director of the Fund for Women and Girls at The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation. While working there, she was asked to consider the position of CEO of the YWCA. she accepted the position on July 5, 2005. In addition to her work at the YWCA, she teaches in the Fundraising Management Certification Program at UWT.
Miriam serves on the board of the Department of Commerce Building Communities Fund and the Mary Redman Foundation. She is a member of Tacoma Rotary 8, the Pierce County Human Services Coalition and a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum. Past board service included 8 years on the WA State Arts Commission, serving on the Governors Blue Ribbon Arts Task Force and being on the board of the Whatcom County Human Rights Task Force.
In January 2011, I was honored to receive the Weyerhaeuser Companies “Martin Luther King Living the Dream award” and in 2014 the “Redeeming the Prophetic Vision Social Justice Award”. I was also named a “Woman of Influence” by the Business Examiner.
I am passionate about making the world a better place for all people. My work at the YWCA is a perfect fit to achieve my personal mission of making a difference one step at a time.
