Who We Are

Dr. Marissa Baker is an Assistant Professor in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS). She also serves as Deputy Director of the Northwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety, housed at DEOHS. She is an affiliate faculty in the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies at UW. Dr. Baker's research centers on occupational experiences of vulnerable or underrepresented groups. Dr. Baker also studies the experiences of women in the workplace. Trained as an industrial hygienist, Dr. Baker has expertise in workplace exposure assessment, using techniques such as air sampling, biomonitoring and exposure modeling.

Jeanie Chunn (she/hers) has been working in the food sector for her entire career. For the last 20 years, she has lived in Seattle mostly managing fine dining restaurants. In March of 2020, Jeanie co-founded Seattle Restaurants United. SRU helped to design and implement policy at the city level around outdoor cafes, funding for hospitality workers, capping delivery fees, and landlord protections for small commercial tenants. As the co-chair for the policy committee for the national advocacy group the Independent Restaurant Coalition, Jeanie helped draft legislation that ultimately secured $28.6 billion dollars for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund in the American Rescue Plan.

Jeanie was also the National Director of RAISE High Road Restaurants, a coalition of restaurant owners who prioritize race and gender equity in the restaurant sector. As a program under One Fair Wage, the policy work was focused on eliminating the subminimum wage and raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hour. She also created a race and gender training program for restaurant owners and managers to create more diversity and leadership positions for Black, Indigenous, and People of the Global Majority.

Jeanie believes in creating inclusive policies to build systemic change. She currently works to bring together community support and responsiveness to address emergent challenges, along with addressing systemic injustices, namely poverty and racism, to build a just and liberated society.

Tom Lambro is a seasoned political operative and labor rights advocate with deep roots in the Pacific Northwest. He holds a Bachelor's in Politics from Whitman College and began his career advocating for meatpacking workers in Eastern Washington. Tom has held various roles across multiple unions, including SEIU 775 and Teamsters 117, and notably led the outreach effort for Washington's marriage equality campaign in 2012 and served as the State Director in WA for President Obama’s political operation from 2008-2012. Since March 2022, Tom has been the Political and Legislative Director at UFCW 3000, the largest private sector union in Washington. In addition, he has served as the President of MLK Labor since 2019, where he focuses on amplifying new voices in the labor movement.

As the Director of Organizing and now Deputy Director of SEIU6, it is my mandate to advocate in the interests of property service workers in Seattle and King County. The workforce SEIU6 represents is largely immigrant and majority persons of color. Our members speak more than 26 languages, and they work in industries where union representation is critical to ensure safety on the job, livable wages, and leverage against exploitation. SEIU6 members have firsthand experience with the profound impact workplace standards and policies can have on their lives. Our members were instrumental in the Fight for 15 at SeaTac, a major shift that continues to transform their lives and livelihoods, as well as the communities surrounding the airport. Work standards and policies have huge impacts on property service workers, and I will bring their interests with me to the table at the Labor Standards Advisory Commission.