Governor Gregoire Appoints Longtime Social Justice Advocate as Chair of Human Rights Commission

For Immediate Release: October 10, 2007

OLYMPIA � Governor Chris Gregoire today announced the appointment of Yvonne Lopez-Morton as chair of the Washington Human Rights Commission. The commission works with people from populations that are often marginalized, who have been discriminated against around issues of credit, employment, housing, or public accommodations. This commission investigates, mediates and helps to resolve issues of discrimination based on race, sexual orientation and physical limitations.

�It is against our Washington values to discriminate and we are fortunate to have an agency like the Human Rights Commission to address these issues in a direct and effective way,� said Governor Gregoire. �Yvonne Lopez-Morton has spent a lifetime of advocacy speaking out against racism and discrimination. I am pleased to appoint someone with such a vital and passionate commitment to social justice to this position.�

Lopez-Morton, 60, is a project assistant for the Spokane Public Schools� Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative and a supervisor of several after-school programs. She is the past chair of the Washington Commission on Hispanic Affairs and the past president of the Spokane Hispanic Business Professional Association (HBPA)

Lopez-Morton is a member of the board of the Women Helping Women Fund, the Washington State Association for Multicultural Education, United Way of Spokane County, the HBPA Foundation and Leadership Spokane. She is an advisor to the Washington Latino/a Education Achievement Program, a member of the Migrant Education State Advisory Committee, the Spokane County Civil Service Commission and the Spokane Task Force on Human Relations.

She is involved with the Gonzaga University Law School Institute for Action Against Hate and is an advisor to the Washington State University blue ribbon panel on community health access. Other community involvement includes the Lands Council, Spokane Women's Coalition, Rotary 21, The Fig Tree, Spokane Minority Advisory and Resource Team, Agnes Kehoe Progressive Alliance, American Red Cross Development Committee, Transitions Development Committee, Eastern Washington University's Alumni Magazine and Women's Studies advisory committees and the HBPA mentorship program.

Lopez-Morton received her Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism with minors in fine arts and English from the University of New Mexico. She lives in Spokane.

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