Councilmember Maritza Rivera's Staff

Email Wendy

Wendy has lived in Seattle for 23 years, with a short stint in L.A. Most of this time has been spent in District 4. She currently resides in the Ravenna neighborhood with her husband and her teenage daughter, a proud Seattle Public Schools student. Wendy was born and raised in Alaska but continues to disappoint her friends with her lack of outdoorsy-ness. Fortunately, they do not hold this against her. Wendy’s history is in journalism, with most of her years spent working in public radio, producing programs at KUOW and for Marketplace/American Public Media. She has extensively volunteered in her daughter’s schools on the PTA and as president of an athletic booster club. Wendy will be leading constituent concerns and communications for Councilmember Rivera and looks forward to continued involvement in her community and city. Fun fact about Wendy, she was a finalist for the Great American Baking Show.

Email Gavin

Gavin Haines was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and made his way to Seattle to study at the University of Washington where he studied Political Economy and International Relations.

Gavin joins Councilmember Rivera’s with experience most recently as Government Affairs Specialist at the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, where he grew his experience in advocating for economic development and growth for Bellevue’s business community at the local, state, and federal level. His work at the Chamber also led him to kickstart the Eastside Leadership Initiative, which aimed to connect young executives to non-profit opportunities across the Eastside. Prior to his experience in advocacy, he worked as a Research Assistant at the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). This work led him to support lead researchers creating a report on the impact of events in the war on Ukraine on pro-Russian narratives.

In his free time, Gavin likes to give back to the community as a coach to several lacrosse programs. He coaches in hopes of connecting athletes to collegiate scholarship opportunities, to help them pursue their goals of higher education.