Our Leadership

Our union leadership is all of us – we each have a vote to elect our facility-based Executive Board members and our union-wide officers.  The Executive Board meets monthly to discuss and decide our union program, oversee our union budget, and determine the best way for us to come together and win for ourselves, our patients and clients, and our communities.  Our officers, 4 full-time staff officers and 3 rank-and-file officers, run the union day-to-day based on the program plan and direction of the Executive Board.

Elected Officers

President Jane Hopkins, RN

I am a psych nurse who was trained in London and worked at Harborview Medical Center. I have led our union as a member and an officer and now I’m serving as our union’s President.

I love supporting members in bargaining and in the legislature to win on staffing, breaks, call, and racial justice. I am ready to help us push for what we need. Our union is strong because of our members and my goal is to bolster and encourage members to engage and organize to make our workplaces just and equitable. I am motivated to figure out how workforce development and policy can help support our members’ goals in every corner of our union.

I have also served on the Biden Administration’s Transition Covid-19 Advisory Board and been a voice on behalf of workers throughout the pandemic. Over the years, I have worked to make our union more accessible so we can bring more members together and unite to win bigger. In order to transform into the union we want to be, we need to build off what has made us strong and be ready to make changes where we can be stronger. I am ready to lead our union into a bright future.

Secretary-Treasurer Yolanda King-Lowe

I come out of Swedish Medical Center, where I worked for over 20 years. My experience as a leader within our union and making lifelong connections with my co-workers, led me to understand that I needed to be advocating for everyone.

The boss may have a lot of money but we have more power when we are prepared. I was part of the Fight for $15, helped organize new members to become part of our union, fought with workers for better standards for themselves and their patients and helped to lead 8,000 members on their strongest action ever, the strike at Swedish Medical Center. I am most passionate about creating a better workplace, communities, and lives for our members while creating strategies through the racial justice lens to build our union.

Executive Vice President Robin Wyss

Throughout most of my almost 20 years in the union, I’ve worked with members at Swedish Medical Center as workers united to hold Providence accountable for quality care. So many of our healthcare systems have gotten bigger and bigger, and to what end? CEO paychecks get fatter, and staffing, supplies, and healthcare get worse. As management gets further from the bedside, it’s up to us to figure out the best plan to hold them accountable. It will always mean workers uniting to take action, but when and where may change. We continue to learn these lessons together across the union and my hope is to help bring these lessons and experiences together.

Executive Vice President Casey Rukeyser

I have been with our union since 2006 and was first elected as Executive Vice President in 2018. My role at SEIU Healthcare 1199NW includes helping lead our new organizing work for nearly ten years, and working with members to win their union across the state. I’ve also worked with bargaining teams throughout the union as they win first contracts and raise standards. After seeing what’s possible when we take united action, I am committed to helping build the strongest union possible, with an eye toward making sure we welcome our newest coworkers as members and maintain strong public sector chapters.

Vice President Carol Lightle, RN, Providence Swedish

I’ve been a Registered Nurse for over 20 years and at Swedish Medical Center since 2007. My nursing career started at a non-union hospital in Eastern Washington. I learned about how patients relied on the care we provide and place their trust in us. I also learned how hard it is to advocate for yourself, your coworkers and patients when you don’t have a union. When confronting racism at work and trying to navigate a work injury, all I had was my voice and I learned to speak up. By the time I got engaged in our Staffing Committee at Swedish, I saw what having a union meant. Together, it’s so much more than insurance and bargaining power – our union is about having a real voice, making sure working people are safe at work and ensure a better future for all of our families. The Bright Future is about building the union we need – one where diversity is our strength, everyone feels like they belong and leaders really get to innovate. Our union is becoming a place where members see leaders that look like them, we celebrate our wins together and work in unity across our differences and different jobs and workplaces.

Vice President Marie Neumayer, MA, Kaiser Permanente

I have been a Medical Assistant for 15 years and have worked at Group Health (now Kaiser Permanente) for the last 12. As my first union job, I’ve seen the difference it means when we, as healthcare workers, have a voice. When we are united as 1199NW members we have security, we have a voice and we work together as a group to win! We’ll get there by being even more inclusive, bringing more voices to the table and making sure all of our coworkers are involved in our contracts and organizing. I’m passionate about helping other people have their voices be heard, fighting for racial justice and making sure everyone gets the same opportunities. As a proud Spokane resident for over 30 years, I know that we need leaders across our multi-state union and I’m excited to be serving as vice president.

Vice President Kimela Vigil, Social Worker, Harborview Medical Center

I have been active in our union since I started at Harborview in 2003. As a Mental Health Practitioner I look forward to bringing the needs of our patients and clients to the forefront and working to address the mental health crisis in Washington. In my role as vice president of our union, I will work to build on our strong foundation and help us become the anti-racist organization we need to be, where members are leading the way and we are supporting each other. As union members, we’re the only thing that keeps hospital administrators in check – we need to have a strong voice for quality care, racial justice and environmental justice.