Advisory Council
World Relief Western Washington's Advisory Council is not a governing body. They volunteer their time, professional expertise, and lived experience to advance our vision to see every immigrant welcomed by community, rooted in community, and empowered for community.
Kennedy Akinlosotu
Karima Bassale
Victor Chinn
Stan Diddams
Christal Hillstead
Joe Kurian
Sara Shaban, Ph.D.
Mohammad Qadam Shah, Ph.D.
Daniel Shin
Dr. Brittany Tausen
Kennedy Akinlosotu
Kennedy Akinlosotu, is CEO of the rapidly-growing Nations Realty, LLC, in the Greater Seattle area. He has helped to change, the quality of life in the inner city, raising the bar in the process for better housing for all. Born and raised in Nigeria, West Africa, he came to the United States in October 1985. His ultimate goal was to establish a quality lifestyle for himself and his family. And he was able to complete his MBA in 1993 at the renowned University of Nevada, Reno, graduating among the top 10 students in his graduate school. Prior to being at the helm of his company, Kennedy worked full-time as a correctional officer, while attending school full-time. Kennedy is married to wife, Doris, and is the father of five children. He currently lives in Des Moines, Washington.
Karima Bassalé
Dr. Karima Bassalé joined the advisory council in 2023, after World Relief established residency in Thurston County. She graduated from Naturopathic Medical School in 2011, and proceeded to complete her residency in primary care in community health. Since graduating from her residency program, she has dedicated the entirety of her career to serving low income and homeless populations. Her earlier years were spent working in downtown Portland, for a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and for the last six years has been working for another FQHC in the Olympia area. Her passions include justice, relationship building and eating food from all over the world. The values of World Relief closely align with her own. She is the daughter of an immigrant from the Middle East, and her husband immigrated to the USA from West Africa. They share three beautiful children together.
Victor Chinn
Victor was born in the US to immigrant parents who arrived in the late 1950’s. He has over 40+ years of experience in the computer industry and owns a small business that manufactures a patented scientific instrument. His passion is to be the best steward of what God has entrusted to him and to empower people on the margins and in vulnerable situations with access to technology. “I fully support those who are the hands and feet of Jesus ministering to the very people in need."
Stan Diddams
Stan Diddams retired from Bank of America after 38 years in commercial and investment
banking in 2022. He worked in New York, Chicago, and Seattle during his career, and held positions as individual contributor and manager. Throughout his career, his clients were large and mid-sized corporations. Stan’s past non-profit experience includes board member and chairman for the Foundation for Seattle Community Colleges, and board member and treasurer for International Association for Refugees. He completed his MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and holds a BA degree in Social Science from Wheaton College in Illinois. Stan is a candidate for a MA in Humanitarian and Disaster Leadership at Wheaton College. He and his wife, Dr. Margaret Diddams, have four children, two grandchildren, and live in Seattle, WA.
Christal Hillstead
Christal Hillstead is an attorney and the owner of Christal Hillstead Law, PLLC, where her practice focuses on estate planning and estate administration in the greater Seattle and Tacoma area. She enjoys developing relationships with her clients, so she can prepare and administer estate plans that are customized to protect what matters most to each of them. Before owning her firm, Christal served as an attorney with the Internal Revenue Service Office of Chief Counsel and then practiced as an attorney with a Tacoma law firm. When she’s not meeting with clients, she may be found entering the young adult stage of parenting, which largely involves a rotation of college drop-offs, visits, and pick-ups. Along with her husband and children, she loves exploring new places, learning the stories of those with experiences different from her own, and embarking on national park adventures.
Joe Kurian
Joe immigrated to the US from India 35 years ago, and has since navigated a corporate career with recent emphasis on leveraging those learnings for the non-profit sector. He has held leadership roles at Microsoft, Verizon Wireless and Alaska Airlines, is a lifelong elder of the Presbyterian Denomination, and sits on the Board of the Bellevue Presbyterian Legacy Foundation. His heart for the underprivileged is driven by his faith. Joe says the work that World Relief Western Washington community does is “putting what we are taught to do in the New Testament into action.”
Sara Shaban, Ph.D.
Dr. Sara Shaban joined the advisory council in 2022. She is currently an assistant professor of communication and journalism at Seattle Pacific University where she also conducts research on women's social movements in the Middle East. Prior to academia, Sara worked as a news producer before pursuing freelance journalism in Israel, the West Bank, and Sierra Leone. Sara is fueled by her passion for social justice, specifically for immigrants and refugees. She was involved in initiatives to improve conditions for incoming refugees during the 2015 crisis and served as a volunteer and board member for the Immigrant and Refugee Women's Program in St. Louis. Additionally, she served as the communications director for the St. Louis-based NGO Project Peanut Butter - an organization committed to the eradication of child malnutrition throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Mohammad Qadam Shah, Ph.D.
Dr. Mohammad Qadam Shah joined the advisory council in 2020. He comes with an academic and practical background focused on development management. Mohammad is currently working as Assistant Professor of Global Development at Seattle Pacific University where he teaches courses on different aspects of global development including program/policy analysis and evaluation, and grant writing. In addition to teaching, Mohammad conducts academic research on issues related to state building, development management, anti-corruption reforms, and public policy analysis in conflict-affected countries. As an immigrant, Mohammad is passionate in helping refugees and immigrants who come to the US and need resettlement support.
Daniel Shin
Daniel Shin joined the advisory council in 2022. Dan is a shareholder at Inslee Best Doezie & Ryder, PS in Bellevue where he practices real estate and business law. He serves on the business council at Northwest Foursquare Church in Federal Way, and on the board of directors of Step by Step Family Support Center and Farm 12 in Puyallup. He has taught Bible study for over 25 years, and has operated a homeless shelter and led a missions department. Dan teaches apologetics through the National Christian Forensics and Communication Association, and provides continuing legal education classes for attorneys and clock hour classes for real estate agents. Dan’s father, who passed away last October, was orphaned at the age of four during the Korean War. Dan and his family immigrated from Seoul, South Korea to Toronto, Canada in 1975. He remembers vividly the early years of struggle adjusting to life in a foreign country. Dan is very honored to serve on the advisory council and looks forward to helping refugee families resettle in America.
Dr. Brittany Tausen
Dr. Brittany Tausen is an associate professor of psychology and the director of undergraduate research at Seattle Pacific University. Dr. Tausen’s academic research focuses on the causes and consequences of dehumanization with a particular emphasis on perceptions of individuals experiencing homelessness. Additionally, her research probes factors, like social justice motivations and ethnocultural empathy, that cultivate socially conscious communities. In so doing, her work aims to foster the mental health and well-being of marginalized group members and those who have been historically oppressed and dehumanized. Brittany has two tiny humans and one not so tiny rottweiler. As a family enjoy, they enjoy hiking, playing at the beach, and eating delicious food.