HSD Employee Spotlight—Ali Records

Ali Records is a Senior Grants & Contracts Specialist in the Seattle Human Services Department's Homelessness division. She has worked at Seattle Human Services for four months.

What is your role at Seattle Human Services?

I work as a Senior Grants & Contracts Specialist in HSD's Public Health Unit. Our team of two manages $21 million annually in governmental and community-based nonprofit investments in public health, including comprehensive healthcare services for people experiencing homelessness and those seeking drug treatment strategies to reduce overdoses and deaths; mental health services; violence prevention services; environmental health services; and access to public benefits. My role on our team is creating and implementing the contract for these investments.

What made you want to work in human services?

Witnessing loved ones struggle to access services in our existing healthcare system has had a significant impact on me. These experiences drew me into social work and social policy, and into this specific aspect of these fields. Being part of efforts to improve this system gives meaning to my work and I find inspiration and connection with my colleagues who were called to this work for similar reasons.

How has your job changed in recent years?

Contracts are so often fixed, yet our world is fluid-especially within public health in recent years. While I've been in this role at the City for only four months, I previously worked in grants at community and behavioral health nonprofits. Much of the past few years has been spent adapting contracts to meet the changing needs of our communities and organizations.

What do you love about your job?

My background is in social work and public policy, and I love being able to see the hidden yet fundamental relationships behind our public health funding. It is here, I think, that a lot of promise and opportunity exists. I also think it's very rare to find roles that straddle programs, finance, and community accountability, and that work at both strategic and detailed levels. It's a very dynamic place to be!

How do you contribute to HSD's overarching goals related to racial equity?

Much of our public health system is focused on overcoming disparities in health outcomes that are based on place, race, ethnicity, indigeneity, country of origin, gender identity, and other social identities. I try to contribute to this movement by practicing self-reflexivity and authenticity, growing awareness of my own positionality (including my position as a government worker) and acting in my own realm to promote equity and justice. For instance, I do my part to make the contracting process more transparent, welcome agenda topics other than my own, and encourage shared decision making, whenever possible.

What motivates you or keeps you going?

Joy. Learning. Connection. People. Ice cream. Travel. Books. The belief that together we create a community that honors the dignity and wisdom within us all.

What's one piece of advice for HSD newcomers or recent graduates in your field?

Find your gifts and share them with the world.

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