Announcing COO's new Director - Elsa Batres-Boni!

Communities of Opportunity (COO) is thrilled to announce our new Director! Elsa Batres-Boni is a passionate leader for community-driven change and has extensive experience in fostering equity and systems change in her personal and professional experience.

Elsa comes to COO with over 15 years of community organizing experience in Seattle, King County, and Washington state, and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her new role. She has worked with OneAmerica, Casa Latina, Social Justice Fund, and the Washington Census Alliance, and most recently with the City of Seattle's Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs and the Department of Neighborhoods, leading the Civic Engagement team.

As the newest member of COO, Elsa will play a pivotal role in advancing COO’s mission to create a healthier and thriving region for all, through resourcing community-power and investing in more equitable, anti-racist, and community-led systems, policy and environmental change activities. Together with the COO staff team and the COO-Best Starts for Kids Advisory Board/Governance Group, Elsa will continue COO’s work towards building community capacity, removing systemic barriers to equity, and fostering collaborative partnerships.

Elsa is an engaged and community-oriented mom of a pre-tween child and outside of her professional pursuits, Elsa finds joy in cooking, sharing, and relishing food and is also an enthusiastic gardener, spending her time daydreaming about the perfect seasonal garden or immersing herself in the physicality of tending plants and moving earth at her Rainier Valley home.  

Join us in welcoming Elsa as she joins the COO & Best Starts for Kids team!