This is one of the 12 finalists for the Herald Business Journal’s annual Emerging Leaders Award for 2025. The winner will be named at an event on April 8.
Natalie Given, 31
Natalie Given said she has a long history of setting goals and achieving them.
In eighth grade, I ventured to read a hundred books in a year. I accomplished this,” she recalled.
Growing up in Europe, she stated she was a champion in a debate competition held across the continent.
“It took four competitions to earn my gold medal,” she said.
As an adult, she has tested herself athletically.
“As a relatively non-athletic child, I have become an adult who has completed a marathon, Half Ironman, and Olympic triathlon,” she said.
Her current job as the Everett Police Department’s Public Information Office has brought rewards but also challenges, testing her leadership abilities on a regular basis.
She is the police department’s liaison with community groups — another example of leadership.
For a long time, she recalled, local law enforcement has participated in an event called Coffee with a Cop, where community members engage face-to-face with officers in order to build trusting relationships and communicate community concerns.
“Recognizing this event had become somewhat corporate and excluded some of the most hard-to-access members of the community, my chief encouraged us to organize “Cafecito con la Policia.”
In partnership with an Everett Hispanic group, Los Gavilanes on Casino Road, a small group from the department was able to coordinate an event in which Spanish-speaking officers would be available to listen to our community’s concerns.
“I helped promote, advertise and physically put on this event with the assistance of Alberto Vazquez in the city planning department. We could not be prouder of its success,” Given said.
The event was held days after a homicide on Casino Road.
“We were able to update the members of this community directly and brainstorm how to most effectively address their concerns at such a crucial moment,” Given said.
Randy Diamond: 425-339-3097; randy.diamond@heraldnet.com.
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