Meet Dora Wilson
I've proudly called Anchorage my home for 28 wonderful years, during which I've had the privilege of raising my family in our incredible community. I was born and raised in Othello, WA, a small farming community in Eastern WA. My parents grew up as migrant farm workers and spent their childhood moving to follow the work and working in the fields to help support their family. My father was pulled out of school in the second grade to start working and my mom completed her GED while raising children and working full time.
Growing up my parents emphasized the importance of education. My mom used to say that education will provide you with choices in life. In fact, I was raised to believe that all students transitioned from high school to college, having no idea it was a choice. I graduated from Eastern Washington University with my bachelor's degree and went on to receive my master’s degree in Business Organizational Management from the University of LaVerne.
I paid for my education through scholarships, on and off-campus jobs, and loans. Although neither of my parents graduated from high school, all five of their children went on to complete their bachelor’s degrees and four of us completed our master’s degrees. My accomplishments are in honor of my parent’s hard work and sacrifice.
I met my husband while attending college at EWU. He was born and raised in Anchorage and we have made Anchorage our home. We have three amazing children who all attended the Anchorage School District and have all worked hard to pave their own paths.
I have been a licensed therapeutic foster parent to over 40 youths over the past 16 years, all of whom have attended ASD schools. I sit on the Resource Family Advisory Board as the AK South-Central representative. This board was created by the Office of Children Services (OCS) with the purpose of advocating for foster families. I am a co-founder of AK Hopes & Dreams providing free youth leadership summits to students. I have also worked with the Anchorage School Business Partnership Program for over 20 years as a board member, advocating for strengthening partnerships between schools and the business community.
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