An Inspired Chat with Sattie Zapata-Nyachwaya of Seattle

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Sattie Zapata-Nyachwaya. Check out our conversation below.

Good morning Sattie , it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
I think something that is bringing me joy outside of work is, taking a walk outside and listen to music. I recently started lightly running over 6 months ago and I love that now. Never thought I would be the type of person to love outdoors but there’s something about being outside early on a Sunday. I enjoy.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
So, first! Hi, I’m Sattie Zapata-Nyachwaya. I’m learning to use my married name now.

I’m nothing more than Black person, Queer, Daughter, Friend, Sister, Aunt, Advocate and often an Activist at heart.

The belief that is at the foundation of my life of community and advocacy is my, I guess… individual brand? I am lucky to work at the intersection of healthcare access, racial justice, and community-driven policy. This belief was always at the core of me since I was little girl, small girl living in Dallas, then east Texas with a single mom who was just looking for resources. The universe, I assume… led me to a specialty pharmacy, where I began helping uninsured patients who were living with HIV, try to navigate a system that wasn’t designed for them. Those moments I believe, changed everything for me, and my life.

Since then, I’ve earned my Master of Public Administration, led Texas HIV Advocacy Day, and organized Reproductive Justice marches centering Black, Latine, and Indigenous communities. Today, I serve as a Policy Director, where I translate grassroots organizing into real policy shifts, whether through Medicaid, Reproductive access, or protecting Transgender healthcare.

What makes my work different is that it’s grounded in both systems intentionality and lived truth. I know what it means to fall through the cracks. And I want to master how to go after for stronger systems. My hope is to create or enhance policy with never losing sight of the people behind the policy.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My grandmother. She was the first person to ever give me a proper big hug and made me realized I could be anything I wanted to be. She was my biggest fan. She always told me, that she could always see that I was ambitious, even as early as 3 years old but, she knew I just never had the right resources to make my dreams happen, I assume she meant, the affirmation and reassurance. Often before she passed, she said that she knew I would keep knocking on doors until one door would open for me, because I wanted to change the world so badly. To be fair, she didn’t lie there, at all. I do… I really do.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
There have been many seasons in my life shaped by wounds I’m still learning how to live with. But one of the most defining has been the struggle to trust my own voice. To think for myself without needing permission or reassurance. For a long time, I measured my worth through the emotional labor I put into others around me, unsure if I could stand firm in what I truly believed without someone regulating it.

I don’t know if I believe in “healing” in the traditional sense.

I do believe in mending. Healing sounds final, but I think some wounds stay with us, not as open pain, but as soft reminder of what we’ve survived. I’m still mending. I think I always will be. Mending is messy, slow, and deeply personal. And in that process, I’ve learned to honor my own knowing, even when it feels shaky. It means I’m still becoming.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What truths are so foundational in your life that you rarely articulate them?
I come from a line of women who believed deeply in being kind—not as a nicety, but as a practice of power and care. My mother was heavily committed to the unhoused community and to being a child advocate. My grandmother gave herself through teaching, but her real gift was building relationships. She believed that connection was a form of service. Neither of them really called themselves advocates, but that’s exactly what they were.

From them, I inherited a foundational truth: it costs literally nothing to be kind, but it changes everything. I learned in my adult years, that advocacy is subjective. It can look like consistency, like presence, like showing up for people over and over again and if all else fails, Be kind.

Another quiet truth I hold is that everything in this life, comes full circle. Throughout my life, when I didn’t understand why something was happening, I always trusted that at some point I would be able to look back and I would get it. I believe in when it’s your time, it really your time but until then, keep showing up for you and know your ” why”.

These beliefs are in my soul. ha-ha. I don’t always say them out loud, but they guide how I lead, how I organize, and how I move through the world with the kind of strength that’s been passed down to me.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say that I tried. That I gave it everything I had not just to survive, but to change systems that were never built for people like me or the communities I love. I hope they remember that I fought for real change, not just alcaldes and that even when it was hard, even when it felt impossible, I kept showing up.

More than anything, I hope someone says, “Because of her, I started or did it.” If even one person found their voice, kickstarted their activism, or believed they could make a difference because of something I did then I did my best. I can rest knowing that.

That’s the story I hope gets told that I gave it my all, and in doing so, I helped someone else believe they could too.

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