Meet Our Rainmakers: Betsy Andrews

Rainmaker Betsy Andrews says, "The more diverse perspectives we hear from, the better decisions we can make about our communities."

by Amanda Sorell

Welcome to a new series: Meet Our Rainmakers!

Rainmakers are readers like you who make regular donations to the Emerald — their contributions help us amplify the authentic voices of the South End, and we couldn't do it without them.

Stay tuned for more Rainmaker mini-profiles, where you can learn more about the communities that support the Emerald.

Want to be a Rainmaker? Head to our official Kindful website to support BIPOC-led media in South Seattle with a monthly contribution of any amount.

Already a Rainmaker? Thank you! '

Betsy Andrews

Betsy Andrews, a Beacon Hill resident and special education instructional assistant at Denny International Middle School, has been a Rainmaker for about five years. "I value hearing voices from the part of the city where I live, voices that are not always given a forum in mainstream media. I want to support and hear about the community I call home. The more diverse perspectives we hear from, the better decisions we can make about our communities."

Andrews loves living in Beacon Hill "within walking distance of so many awesome places," including the Beacon Hill library and the businesses along Beacon Avenue. "I love walking along Beacon Avenue and seeing the diversity represented by my neighbors and the smells and sounds of people socializing coming from the restaurants," she said. She also spends time in Jefferson Park and is a member of the Jefferson Park Lawn Bowling Club, through which she plays with the Bowl Busters league and spends time with "a great group of people." She also belongs to a book club, loves to travel, and said, "I love live theater, and love the arts in general."

Andrews has found ways to weave that particular passion into her work. Earlier in her career, Andrews taught English language arts. Since then, she's watched the arts "take a back seat in the schools" and believes "we need more opportunities for kids to participate in the arts," so she helps run an after-school drama program for students who want to take part. Just this week, the students performed a play called All I Really Need to Know I Learned by Being in a Bad Murder Mystery.

Some of her favorite Emerald pieces are also student-focused. "I really enjoy hearing about students' activities and accomplishments in the South End, as well as hearing about other goings on in South End Seattle Public Schools," she said. "There was one about the organization that gives girls sports bras. I love stuff like that, where it's a resource, and I passed it right along to our athletic director, and said, 'Could you please share this with the coaches and have them share it with their athletes?'" Beyond that topic, Andrews says she loves the Emerald for its local focus and its diversity. "I have a very culturally diverse family. I love living on Beacon Hill, because it's super culturally diverse. And I work in a very culturally diverse school. And I appreciate that."

Amanda Sorell is a storyteller who lives in Seattle. She's an editor for the Emerald. Read her newsletter at eClips.Substack.com.

Featured Image designed by the Emerald team; photo courtesy of Betsy Andrews.