Shauna Lowery worked in child welfare for almost 15 years in a non-union state, Tennessee. After so many years of being unable to have a voice in her employment in a "right-to-work" state, she moved across the county to work in child welfare in Washington. She has been working legally free for two years in Spokane while completing her MSW program. In the short time she has worked for DCYF, she was invited to attend Governor Inslee's Christmas luncheon and won the 2024 award for her region for outstanding casework for DCYF.
While there is a lot to learn, Shauna is committed to fighting for the workers in Washington because workers don't have a voice in Tennessee. Shauna immediately started attending her local meetings and as soon as possible was elected to be a delegate to the DCYF Policy Committee. Despite being new to both DCYF and being in a union, Shauna filed the first grievance for assignment pay to make it all the way to arbitration. She recently became a shop steward so that she can help her peers navigate difficult situations and hold management accountable. Shauna has also become part of her regional Union Management Communication Committee (UMCC) team and the statewide UMCC team. She is proud to have been elected the Eastern Washington Vice Chair and is committed to growing engaged WFSE members on the eastern side of the state. As part of growing our union power in Eastern Washington she has been hosting monthly virtual Eastern Washington organizing meetings.
In her free time Shauna enjoys reading and traveling. She celebrated earning her MSW in 2024 by traveling to Easter Island and has the goal of traveling to all seven continents (only 3 left!).
Shauna has jumped into becoming a leader in WFSE DCYF and is fighting to improve working conditions for DCYF employees and all employees across the state. She believes in working hard to support the families we serve but also working hard to ensure our rights as employees are supported and that leadership and legislators support us in the hard work we do.