Carolyn Cole

Carolyn Cole is a policy and systems change leader passionate about building a sustainable, accessible, equitable, and just world. She currently serves as the Washington State Office of Equity’s Strategic Initiatives & Access Advisor where she leads the development and implementation of innovative state laws, policies, and strategic plans that increase Washingtonians’ access to government programs, services, and information.

Her work largely focuses on disability, language, and digital access and accessibility; immigrant and refugee rights; and state agency compliance, impact, and accountability. She is a dedicated public servant committed to building a “Washington for All” where all people have full access to the opportunities and resources they need to flourish and achieve their full potential.

Carolyn is a national transformation leader. She has helped launch, build, and lead new initiatives, programs, and organizations that create equitable opportunities, policies, practices, and outcomes across the country. She helped establish the Washington State Office of Equity, the Language and Disability Justice Program at the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, and the Court Equity & Access Program at the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts.

In her previous career, Carolyn was a fifth-grade teacher helping lead the historic turnaround of Stanton Elementary School in Washington, D.C., after it was ranked among the lowest-performing public schools in the nation. She also helped launch the Detroit Promise Scholarship Program, helping over five hundred Detroit high school seniors pursue an associate degree or technical certificate tuition-free during the first year of the program.

Carolyn is a licensed attorney and graduate of New York University (NYU) School of Law where she served as the Student Senator of the Student Bar Association and Social Justice Co-Chair of the Black Allied Law Students Association. She is a member of the Loren Miller Bar Association and Government Lawyers Bar Association of Washington. She earned her B.A. at Emory University, double majoring in Sociology and International Studies.

Carolyn enjoys spending time with family, nature walks with her dog, photography, learning golf, public speaking, mentoring, and supporting small businesses.