Adana Protonentis, MPA Adana is a facilitator, an educator, an advocate, and (most importantly) a mother. A proud graduate of Anchorage School District (Dimond High School – Go, Lynx!), Adana is a firm believer in the power and promise of public education. As the mama of two children with disabilities, she believes that every child deserves to feel known, seen, supported, challenged, and empowered at school. Inspired by her experiences as a parent advocate, Adana has devoted her career to helping the helpers and supporting public sector organizations in accessing the resources, skills, and strategies necessary to serve dynamic and diverse communities with care and dignity. To put it simply, she knows that our teachers, nonprofit workers, and public servants do their work out of love for their communities and they deserve work environments that love them back. As co-owner of Kindred Consulting, Adana partners with public sector organizations to nurture cultures of care, inclusion, and belonging. Adana is also an adjunct professor at Seattle University, where she teaches graduate students in the Public Administration program. She serves on the United Way of King County’s Community Advisory Council and is Vice President of the Board of Trustees at Explorer West Middle School (Go Falcons!). She serves on the editorial board of Administrative Theory and Praxis and has been published in several academic journals. Adana lives in South King County with her family and finds joy working in her garden or baking sweet treats for her neighbors.
Sydney Krebsbach is a local self-advocate based here in Spokane, who is on the autism spectrum, she works as an Employment Specialist for Compass Career Solutions, and she serves as a council member for the Washington State Developmental Disabilities Council. In 2021 Sydney moved from her hometown Juneau, Alaska with her parents to Spokane Washington and she immediately made connections with organizations such as The Isaac Foundation, The Arc of Spokane, Northwest Autism Center, Project ID, and Wise. In the summer of 2021 Sydney started doing Canvas Painting as a hobby she did paintings with a message about self-advocating each painting had a message about autism, advocacy and never giving up on your dreams. In 2022 Sydney showcased her paintings at the Steps for Autism event. Sydney has shared her story at local statewide and national conferences across Spokane, Washington, and the Untied State. In 2022 Sydney won the Self Advocate Rising Star award through The Arc of Spokane, in 2024 Sydney won the Her Story award through the Women’s Federation of World Peace USA, in 2025 Sydney won the Human Rights Champions Award through Human Rights Spokane. Also, Sydney created two proclamation the Disability Employment Awareness Month for the city of Spokane with John Lemus and Mayor Lisa Brown, and the Autism Acceptance Month for the state of Washington with Governor Bob Ferguson. Sydney has testified in support of life-changing legislation to expand employment and community inclusion for people with disabilities – her voice echoing unwavering conviction.
