Joanne Lin is a junior at Union High School. She is honored to serve as Washington FBLA’s State President for the 2023-2024 membership year. She has served in state office for three years and has been an active member of FBLA for four years. Joanne has completed three levels of the Business Achievement Awards, received an Outstanding Chapter Member pin, and served as Chapter President. She has served on national councils as the Middle School Director on the National Western Region Council and the Public Relations Director on the National Treasurer’s Executive Council. Joanne is excited to network with members at different conferences across Washington State.

Outside of FBLA, Joanne pursues her passion for STEM and swimming. She swam competitively for nine years and has swam on the Varsity Swim Team of her high school for two years. Additionally, Joanne is the Founder and CEO of My STEM Project, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting students worldwide while developing essential leadership skills and computer science education. In her free time, Joanne loves to read fiction or fantasy novels.

Samara Wijesekera is a senior at Holy Names Academy. She is honored to be serving as the 2023-2024 Washington FBLA Executive Vice President and the National FBLA Western Region Vice President. She has been an active member of FBLA for four years. She started her FBLA journey in freshman year, when she joined the Washington FBLA Virtual Chapter. Her experience on the Virtual Chapter inspired her to start a chapter at her own high school. She has been serving as the Chapter President for three years. Samara has also served as the West Central Region Vice President and as the Communications Director on the National Western Region Council. Samara excels in competitive events; she is a two-time national qualifier and has consistently placed in the top five at the State Competition, including 1st place in Electronic Career Portfolio and Introduction to Business Presentation. FBLA has given Samara the opportunity to not only compete, but to also enhance her leadership skills and expand her community outreach.

Outside of FBLA, Samara serves on the Seattle Youth Commission and is part of multiple clubs and organizations, including Mock Trial, the Green Seattle Partnership, Water1st, and Northwest Nuclear Laboratories. She has also served as Class President, a four-time ASB Representative, and has been serving as the Varsity Swim Team Captain for two years. In her free time, Samara enjoys knitting, playing piano, hiking, and volunteering at the Seattle Aquarium. Her favorite aquarium animal is the sea lemon.

Preeti Maroju is a rising junior at Fife High School. Since 2021, she has been an active member of WA FBLA and currently holds the position of State Secretary for Washington. Preeti’s journey with FBLA has been beyond rewarding, placing 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th at regional and state conferences and placing 5th in the nation for her event at the 2023 NLC. Beyond FBLA, she is involved in various organizations such as NAP, NJHS, and FLL. These experiences have shaped her into a well-rounded leader.

Preeti is not only passionate about FBLA, but also sports. She has captained teams in volleyball and basketball. Her commitment to any task can be shown through her black belt in TaeKwonDo and coaching background. Amidst all of her extracurriculars, academics remain her top priority. Preeti aspires to attend a Calfornia University, preferably Stanford to major in STEM, paving her pathway in the space exploration and research field. For Preeti, joining the military post-high school is a step towards that goal. FBLA has been instrumental in her journey, helping her grow as a leader and connect with remarkable individuals.

Katie Duong is a current senior at Hazen High School, and she is so excited to serve as your State Public Relations Officer this membership year! She began her FBLA journey as a sophomore, and this year will be her third year as an FBLA member. Through FBLA, she has learned many valuable skills and life lessons as a result, and she’s confident that they will help her be successful in her future endeavors. Throughout her FBLA experience, she has had the privilege of competing at the regional, state, and national level, working alongside state and national officers, and building relationships with like-minded students. These experiences have fostered her passion for learning and leadership, leading her to pursue further involvement within the organization.

In the past, she has served as a local chapter officer and a national council member, and she am looking forward to her term as a state officer! Her first year in FBLA, she qualified for SBLC and NLC, placing 2nd overall at the 2022 National Leadership Conference in Introduction to Event Planning. In her second year, she was recognized as a 2023 Member of the Season, and placed in two of my events at SBLC. In the future, she is hoping to attend the University of Washington to pursue an undergraduate degree in the College of Engineering. Katie is grateful for all of the opportunities that FBLA has given to her, and she’s overjoyed to serve as a State Officer

Kennady Slater is an incoming eighth grader at Westwood Middle School and she is the 2023-2024 Middle School Vice President. She has been an FBLA member for three years now, and has absolutely fallen in love with the community it has. Kennady has made so many new memories and friends through FBLA, and loves competing and attending conferences.

 

On her free time, Kennady loves to play volleyball and can play the cello. She has three amazing siblings, with her being the middle child. Her favorite snacks to eat while practicing her competitive events are Cheeze-Itz, and anything banana flavored. She cannot wait to get to meet all of you in-person, and to help make your FBLA experience a great one!

Michelle is a senior at Bothell High School and is serving as the 2023-2024 Washington FBLA State Parliamentarian. This is her fourth year in FBLA and she has enjoyed competing in Marketing, Banking and Financial Systems, and Securities and Investments. She is ecstatic to connect with members across Washington and help FBLA grow as an organization.

Outside of FBLA she enjoys making music by playing the clarinet and trumpet in her school’s marching and jazz band. For the past two years, she has also been one of the principal clarinetists for the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras. In her free time she likes to paint portraits using oil on canvas and spend time with her pet chickens and cat. To further pursue her artistic interests and involve herself in her community, she serves as a Youth Arts Commissioner on the Bothell City Council and the VP of IT for the King County Student Corps. She aspires to use her skills, dedication, and diverse range of interests to lead and inspire fellow members, fostering a collaborative environment that empowers everyone to achieve their fullest potential in the coming year.

Finn Mosher is an incoming Senior at Walla Walla High School and has been in FBLA for 3 years. This year he is serving as the Industry Relations Vice President for Washington FBLA (fmr. Alumni and Business Relations VP). During his time in FBLA, he has placed in five events at state, winning one, and attending nationals once. He hopes to attend UC Berkeley after high school for Aerospace Engineering and work for NASA or SpaceX.

Finn loves hiking and backpacking, and reading sci-fi and fantasy. He can often be found biking the numerous trails around Walla Walla in the evenings. A passionate foodie, he most enjoys Indian and Italian when eats out. As a leader in FBLA and other extracurriculars such as Green Club, Finn is determined to try and improve any organization he is a part of by creating new programs and working closely with members to improve their performance. He was inspired to run for the role of Industry VP after hearing stories from other members in the state of how they were unable to attend nationals due to financial troubles, which made him want to do everything in his power to help tear down financial barriers for exceptionally talented members. Finn joined FBLA primarily because he felt like it was vitally important for students seeking education in STEM to gain a deep understanding of the business world, since no STEM pursuits happen without business backing.

Aubrey Hegner is serving as the 2023-2024 Capital Region Vice President. She attends Timberline High School as a freshman, and has proudly been in FBLA for 3 years! Within her time in FBLA, Aubrey has made so many memories with not only the other state officers, but the members. She helped 2 of her chapter officers draft the email to the executive director of WA FBLA to give the idea of a middle school state officer, and as soon as she knew it, she was running for state office at the 2022 SBLC! She considers her involvement in initiating the Middle School VP to be one of the best things she could have done to give back to FBLA as it helped middle school chapters in Washington gain someone to be their voice and advocate for them in State Office.

Without FBLA, she had no plan for her future. However, now she has some idea of what she wants to achieve! Aubrey wants to own her own business after receiving a MBA as well as a master in entrepreneurship at, hopefully, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, or Yale. While she is aware that all of those colleges are hard to get into, she’s confident that her involvement in FBLA can help her application!

“All of the competitive events will help you with what can be real world issues for people that work in business and help you prepare for the real world! And I am happy to help guide you as well! Please feel free to reach out to me and ask questions!” – Aubrey Hegner

Micah Sandberg, a sophomore at Ephrata High School, is serving as the 2023-2024 North Central Region Vice President. With two years of FBLA under his belt, Micah has participated in the Graphic Design competitive event, placing 2nd at Regionals and 4th at State. His performance and commitment to the FBLA was honored with the title of Most Outstanding Chapter Member at Ephrata High School.

Alexsandra Swenson is so excited to be your Northeast Region Vice President this year! Alex attends Cheney High School as a junior. She has been a part of FBLA for three years. After high school, she hopes to get a degree in psychological development, and business management. As a FBLA member Alex has qualified for state and nationals, been a chapter officer and participated actively within the FBLA community. FBLA has been such an influential part of her life in helping her become the leader she is today. As your Northeast Region VP, Alex is so excited to help members grow their leadership and business skills through FBLA to become a successful future business leader of America.

“Thank you so much for the honor and opportunity to be your Northeast Region VP for the 2023-2024 year!” – Alexsandra Swenson

Serving as your Northwest Region Vice President this year is Hunter Sparrow, a junior at Stanwood High School. This year will be his third year as a member of FBLA, being one of the youngest members of his chapter to travel to NLC his freshman year, competing in Agribusiness. Hunter enjoys competing in events and has earned state top 10’s in not only Agribusiness but also Intro to Social Media Strategy and Broadcast Journalism as well.

After high school, he hopes to attend Washington State University for a masters degree in Education to one day become a school superintendent, or CTE director. Hunter believes that being a member of FBLA has given him the toolkit to strive towards his goals. Teaching him life lessons of leadership, passion and how to be an advocate.

Irene Lee is the Puget Sound Region Vice President, a Korean-American student currently attending Fife High School as a Junior. As a second year member of FBLA, she gets the unique experience of getting to know FBLA with her State Officer Team. Although her personal history with FBLA is fresh, Irene’s passion for leadership is what helped her earned this position. Leading the 2021-2022 ASB Team of Columbia Junior High School to success, Irene learned about leadership as ASB President to shine light to the student body. Applying the skills she had learned outside of school, Irene practices and sharpens key leader traits at her local Korean School, KOGA, working as a Korean Language Teacher.

Irene is able to strengthen her leadership within her daily life, being able to apply it to FBLA and her state officer team. Not only leadership, but Irene also has a passion for art. Whether it comes in forms of music, dance, or physical pieces of art, she is never picky and is able to enjoy all artistic works. Achieving a First Place standing in the Graphic Design event at the Puget Sound WLC of 2023, Irene was able to showcase her interest for art and designing. She hopes that her passion for leadership and arts will let her further connect with all FBLA members and let the creativity of all those individuals strive limitless.

Kai Lincoln is a Senior at Walla Walla High School: a third-year member of FBLA serving as the Southeast Region Vice President. Throughout his FBLA career Kai has placed in four events at the state level, including a second-place finish in Business Calculations and a third-place finish in Organizational Leadership, and has competed at the national level twice. He also has served as the president of his local chapter, where his passion for developing easy-to-use resources and guides for new FBLA members became the focus of his term. He is acutely aware of the struggles of new members, having joined FBLA his sophomore year immediately post-COVID, and believes in fostering an intense competitive spirit in all members regardless of experience level.

Outside of FBLA, Kai is a multi-sport athlete, captaining his school’s swim team for two years, running track, and playing volleyball recreationally whenever possible. He also participates in a few other extracurriculars, including Knowledge Bowl, all while juggling an unhealthy amount of AP and college classes. While Kai is undecided on his college of choice, he plans to study Environmental Engineering while minoring in Business, attempting to bridge the gaps between climate action, scientific development, and the business world. He believes that more focus on combining these disciplines is crucial to maximizing positive change in addressing the climate crisis. Kai is confident that the multitude of skills obtained and refined through FBLA are vital for success in any field, whether in business, politics, or STEM.

Jeffrey Anton is a junior at Union High School and serves as the Southwest Region Vice President. Jeffrey has been involved with FBLA ever since his freshman year. He first joined FBLA because his friends persuaded him to but he later began to enjoy it. His leadership experience serving as Union’s Key Club Treasurer and DECA Vice President assisted him in acquiring the skills necessary to become a state officer. He has experience collaborating with numerous teams through his ranging extracurriculars. On top of that, he takes his academics seriously. He is an AP Scholar with Distinction and a two-time FBLA state qualifier.

Outside of school, Jeffrey enjoys playing tennis and eating many pomegranates. He is Sri Lankan and loves spending time with his family and friends as much as he can. He is passionate about STEM, particularly computer science and hopes to pursue it in his future plans. He is actively involved with his community as once a month, he and other students from his high school travel to their local elementary school and help lead students through various science experiments. He aids in instilling STEM interest from an early age because of his passion. He is ecstatic to meet all the new members and hopes to unify all the regions in Washington FBLA through increased connectivity. Specifically, he hopes to uplift the Southwest Region and give it more state level recognition.

Advaith Vijayakumar is a junior at North Creek High School, currently serving as the West Central Region Vice President. Currently in his third year as an FBLA member, he has achieved notable milestones including top-4 finishes in Introduction to Business Procedures (1st),Management Information Systems (1st/2nd), Mobile Application Development (2nd), and Parliamentary Procedure (4th) at state in 2022 and 2023. This year, Advaith and his team placed 1st at Nationals in Coding and Programming. Further, he placed 8th at nationals in Mobile Application Development in 2022.

Last year, Advaith served as the VP of Membership for his local chapter and actively contributed to his chapter’s membership growth, member engagement, competitive prowess, and conference organization. As a state officer, he hopes to emulate these successes at the regional and state level.

Outside of FBLA, Advaith is actively involved in his school’s National Honor Society and Technology Student Association. He is also a competitive chess player, regularly participating in local and national tournaments.

Looking ahead, Advaith aspires to pursue a major in computer science, specializing in data science and machine learning. His goal is to utilize his skills and knowledge to drive innovation and make a meaningful impact in the field. For now, however, Advaith strives to connect with and empower Washington FBLA as a state officer this year!