VESLA TONNESSEN
Early Learning Policy Director (she/her)
Email address
Phone Number
(206) 324-0340
Bio
Vesla got involved in early childhood systems work while raising young children and quickly discovered that parent voices are often missing from the decisions that affect families most. Her experience teaching in preschool classrooms and as a parent grew into more than a decade of work in early learning, advocacy, coalition building, and community leadership. She helped co-author and campaign for the Whatcom County Healthy Children’s Fund and is passionate about civic engagement. She aims to help people discover that democracy is more alive and accessible than they might think.
She lives in Bellingham with her family and is pursuing an Executive Master’s in Public Policy at Oregon State University. Outside of work, she devotes far too much time to a vegetable garden that has largely replaced her lawn and participates in the fiercely competitive world of low-stakes coed softball.