ByRepresentatives Leavitt, Orwall, Ryu, Mena, Rule, Simmons, Cortes, Bronoske, Callan, Gregerson, Slatter, Paul, Chambers, Doglio, Reeves, Macri, Ortiz-Self, and Davis

WHEREAS, Director Lourdes E. Alvarado-Ramos served for 22 years defending our nation and achieving the rank of Command Sergeant Major at Madigan Army Medical Center and Troop Command at Joint Base Lewis-McChord; and

WHEREAS, Command Sergeant Major Alvarado-Ramos served with distinction, being awarded the Legion of Merit, Order of Military Medical Merit, Expert Field Medical Badge, and Meritorious Service Medals; and

WHEREAS, Director Alvarado-Ramos sought knowledge and skill with education from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government Executive Program, the University of Washington's Executive Management Program, and holds a Master's Degree in Health Care Administration; and

WHEREAS, Director Alvarado-Ramos continued to serve her community and her state on Governor Jay Inslee's Executive Cabinet and as the Chair of the Washington Military Transition Council; and

WHEREAS, Director Alvarado-Ramos continued to serve her country as the President of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs and on the board of directors for the National Association of State Veterans Homes; and

WHEREAS, Director Alvarado-Ramos served our state in the Washington Department of Veteran's Affairs since 1993 and was appointed to the governor's cabinet in 2013; and

WHEREAS, In her time as Director, she has tirelessly worked to help servicemembers struggling with mental health concerns and to support suicide prevention; and

WHEREAS, In 2014, she spearheaded the Washington Goes to the Dogs Summit to connect veterans and providers to healing and service opportunities; and

WHEREAS, Director Alvarado-Ramos established the position of Traumatic Brain Injury Coordinator in partnership with the TBI Council to educate the community, provide peer-to-peer mentorship, and connect veterans with TBI to VA and community resources; and

WHEREAS, Under Director Alvarado-Ramos' leadership, new programs and services were established to meet the needs of Washington's veterans and their families, including opening the new State Veterans Home in Walla Walla in 2017 and creating new programs to serve military spouses and LGBTQ+ veterans. She was also heavily involved with the Veteran Employee Resource Group or VERG; and

WHEREAS, Director Alvarado-Ramos is a multiyear recipient of the VA Pillar of Excellence Award, winning for her work on Homelessness in 2014, Military Transition Council in 2015, Incarcerated Veterans Program in 2016, Community Partnership in 2017, and the Veterans Corps Program in 2018; and

WHEREAS, Director Alavarado-Ramos' compassion, dedication, and mentorship have prepared a generation of leaders and public servants to carry on her legacy; and

WHEREAS, Director Alvarado-Ramos, known to her community as Alfie, has not once allowed her commitment to servicemembers past and present to falter in all those years of service;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That on behalf of the people of the state, and more specifically the more than 520,000 veterans who call Washington home, the House of Representatives express its deep gratitude to Director Alvarado-Ramos, and is honored by the awesome legacy of service and dedication she leaves behind.