Katherine (Kathy) Dalen, life is extraordinaryThis is a featured page


Hello, my name is Kathy Dalen, life is EXTRAORDINARY!

 I am pleased to announce my candidacy for PCO.
Please take some time to see why I am qualified and why you should
vote for me.
Kathy in Africa


Home town:
Originally: Vancouver, WA;
Currently: Bellingham, WA

Legislative & Congressional District:
LD 42; CD 2

Occupation:
Former College Faculty;
Current Business Owner


VOTE for katherine dalen		 My Short Biography:

A Negro child with red hair, I was born in 1955 in Vancouver, WA, and put
immediately into the care of the state. I was adopted when I was 3 months
old by Rodger and Sue Dalen. In 1955 it was a bold and risky idea for a
white couple to adopt a mixed child, but intentionally or not they made
their anti-racism statement by committing themselves to me.

As a youngster I became intimately aware of racist hatred; in those
troublesome, tension filled late 50's and 60's, my adoptive parents' love
taught me that not all white people are hateful and racist, and I grew up to
understand that I had a responsibility to be part of the solution.

I raised my family of 5 children and attended college, beginning at Clark
Community College and eventually earning a BA and MA degree from Washington
State University in 1995.

Teaching English, Women Studies, and Ethnic Studies at Western Washington
University led to several speaking engagements in the Whatcom county
community including the Sehome High School MLK celebration, Ferndale High
School Black History Month assembly, Meridian High School MLK celebration,
and R.A.C.E. and The Ferndale Diversity Coalition Anti-Racism Rally.

In 1999, while teaching at Whatcom Community College, my youngest child,
Stephen, age 10, was killed in the Bellingham Pipeline explosion,
http://planet.wwu.edu/oldsite/summer00/summer00_intro.htm . I began work to
change national pipeline safety legislation with Safe Bellingham. I traveled
to Washington DC several times to lobby US Senators and Congressional
Representatives for support of House bill H.R. 3609, which ultimately
passed both houses despite the blaze of oil and gas company lobbyists who
canvassed Congress on our heels arguing against it.

Remarried, I am now a small business owner living in Bellingham with my husband of
7 years, Edwin (Skip) Williams III, retired public school music teacher and
WEA Representative. I am a founding member and Vice President of The
Pipeline Safety Trust, http://pstrust.org/ . Additionally, I am a
contributor and fundraiser for Northwest Youth Services,
http://www.northwestyouthservices.org/, and the Brigid Collins Family
Support Center, http://www.brigidcollins.org/, both in Bellingham.




WHY I'M A DELEGATE FOR OBAMA:
TOP 10+ Reasons I Like Obama
  1. Integrity (Obama's integrity and refusal to play dirty)
  2. Inspiration (his ability to inspire not only me but all of America)
  3. Wisdom (his wisdom in his policies and in the choices he makes about those he listens to)
  4. Potential (his potential to be a great leader and a great peace maker)
  5. Hope (the hope for peace he inspires both in the world and in our souls and communities)
  6. Strength (the strength with which he maintains his quiet, soft spoken but powerful integrity)
  7. Determination (the determined effort he makes to not only do the right thing but to do it as the best person he can be in the best way he knows)
  8. Spirit (the spirit of those who support him, our strength, our hope, our love of country and fellow citizen)
  9. Understanding/Connection (I could elaborate, but the list does go on: where has he not been financially; who has he not known and cared about; how much has he personally been denied and then been given double in return?)
  10. I like Obama for his policies concerning the end to war in Iraq, his health care policy ideas, his ability to be open to considering the opinions of others, his dream and potential to unify this nation, not to mention his views on environmental issues.
I am running for a position as an At-Large DNC Delegate. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and for the citizens of this nation, and I want to be there to see it, to be a part of it, and be able to come home to tell everyone about it. I am a committed Obama supporter and will not fail in my resolve. I want to help make this future possible.

  • 2003-Present Pipeline Safety Trust (PST) Vice President
  • 2000-2002 Black Social Action Network (BSAN) Vice President
  • 1999-2003 Pipeline Safety Activist, Lobbied in Washington DC
  • 01/2001 MLK Distinguished Award, R.A.C.E. and Ferndale Diversity Coalition
  • 09/2000 Speaker, National Pipeline Safety Conference, Washington DC
  • 03/2000 Testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
  • 02/1997 Speaker, WWU African American Alliance “Celebration of Youth”
  • 01/1997 Speaker, WWU MLK Birthday Celebration
  • 12/1996 Faculty Appreciation Award, WWU African American Alliance
  • 04/1996 Presenter, Conference of the National Association for Ethnic Studies
  • 02/1996 Key Note Speaker, WWU African American History Month
  • 1992-1994 WSU Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) Senator
  • 04/1993 Speaker, University of Idaho Women’s Center
  • 1992-1993 Graduate Student Rep. WSU Presidential Commission on the Status of Minorities

My major concerns for my family, my community and my country are
sustainability, reducing resource consumption and living greener, universal
health care, living wages, accessible, quality education, an end to this
"war," and healthy relations with our nation's world neighbors. I feel that
Obama's policies coincide with my own concerns in a way that I support 100%.
He has the leadership qualities that I believe will guide this country out
of the dirge of Republican misdirection and into a positive, caring and
safer future. I appreciate Obama's ability to inspire hope and purpose, his
honesty and integrity, his ability to build bridges, and his vision. He can
make change happen.
My Endorsements:
"I strongly support Katherine Dalen, Candidate for National Delegate to the Democratic Convention as a Barack Obama supporter. Katherine's history as a tireless advocate for pipeline safety, and for women, children and their families is the best preparation possible for a National Delegate. I am awed by her courage, and by her skill as a speaker, writer, and voice for a better world. Barack Obama is fortunate to count her as an ally."
-Barbara Ryan, President, Bellingham City Council, Bellingham, Washington


"I have watched Katherine Dalen work hard for the benefit of community and state, and I believe in her commitment to Barack Obama. Because of her energy and convictions, I feel she would be a great Obama representative for Washington at the Democratic National Convention in Denver."

-Terry Bornemann, Bellingham City Council, Bellingham, WA


"Hello Katherine. Yes, I would whole-heartedly and with enthusiasm endorse your candidacy for the national convention. Your passion and constant desire to work on issues that enhance our community are an inspiration.You never give up and just keep moving forward on ideas, issues and concerns that help to make this a better place for all. Keep it up, and THANK YOU."

-David Warren, Vice President Emeritus Service Employees International Union; President, Northwest Washington Central Labor Council


"I have worked with Kathy for nearly a decade on issues ranging from public safety to environmental protection to social justice, and she is always a passionate, committed, and eloquent advocate for improving the world we all live in."

-Carl Weimer, Chairman, Whatcom County Council;
Executive Director, Pipeline Safety Trust
"Katherine Dalen has been a powerful voice for African American women since we first met at WSU in the early 1980's. She is a great speaker, committed to working for low-income families, single moms, and environmental issues, specifically pipeline safety. I can't think of a stronger advocate for Barack Obama. It's a pleasure for me, a founding member of our local Rainbow Coalition here in Whatcom County, a life-long Democrat, 50 year old white feminist, wife and mother in a mixed race family, and social justice activist, to give her my endorsement to represent us at the National Democratic Convention this summer in Denver."

-Rebecca M. Johnson, Development Director Interfaith Community Health Center, Bellingham, WA


Additional Endorsements:

-Rep. Kelly Linville, Washington State Legislature, LD 42

-Mark Asmundson, Former Bellingham Mayor, Director Northwest Clean Air Agency

-Dr. Vernon Johnson, WWU Faculty; Founding Member Whatcom Human Rights Task Force

-Edwin H. Williams III, Washington Education Association Union Representative, retired

Barack Obama and Stars



I appreciate Obama's ability to inspire hope and purpose,
his honesty and integrity,
his ability to build bridges, and his vision.
He can make change happen,
Change We Can Believe In.




Katherine (Kathy) Dalen, life is extraordinary - Barack Obama Delegates









MORE ABOUT ME

Skip and I in HawaiiMyhusband and I in Hawaii. I worked with several Hawaiian students during my graduate time at WSU. They loved their Island, and the history of their Islands was so intriguing, I had to sequester myself away on Maui for a time and visit such a magical land. Like Alaska, Hawaii is a jewel we need to preserve. So much has already been lost that we cannot spare a moment, we cannot waste any more time.Kathy and Friend in Africa
This next picture is of myself and a friend I made in Kenya. I went to pick up a young lady I am sponsoring for college (and it's a good thing I went; they almost didn't let her come. "You know those Kenyan women," I heard from embassy staff--wow!!). Anyway, I was faculty at the time and did some research there and spoke with the Education Minister. Kenya is trying to make the education system available for every child but they need support. Many children are going without education because it is so expensive, and they are short on books as well. I could get all political, but I'll save it for later. (Can't tell I'm worried about international relations AND children, can you?)

SAY HELLO!
Leave me a comment below, or send me a private message or compliment!


KDalen
KDalen 		Latest page update: made by KDalen , Aug 18 2008, 1:24 AM EDT (about this update About This Update KDalen PCO plug - KDalen

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Roncada A very strong woman indeed! 0 Oct 15 2008, 10:14 AM EDT by Roncada
Thread started: Oct 15 2008, 10:14 AM EDT  Watch
Unfortunately I can't vote for you or for Obama! I'm a brazilian retired pipeline engineer making a research in 10 June, 1999 accident in Bellingham to spread the lessons of it in my country, for something like this do not occur here. In past months, I've read a lot about you in newspaper articles and in your testimonies about pipeline safety. You are a very strong woman indeed! I wish you success and recommend people to vote for you. And for Obama too, of course
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viccianne Wow!!! 1 May 10 2008, 11:37 PM EDT by KDalen
Thread started: May 10 2008, 12:11 PM EDT  Watch
You are an amazing woman. Your story is incredible!!! Nothing warms my heart more than, a person who could have easily given up due to tough odds, & in the face of those odds exceeds beyond any measurable success. Just as I am inspired by Barack, I am inspired by you. I hope I am privileged to meet you & will vote for your national delegate campaign.

Everyone out there vote for Kathy Dalen. She defines & exemplifies what Barack's candidacy is all about. Anyone who overcomes great odds and rises in life to accomplish more than most are our greatest warriors. They have gained wisdom, strength & momentum.
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