Her Story
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Porter serves as Diversity and People Operations Coordinator and Inclusion and Awareness Coordinator at Sound Behavioral Health, the largest provider of comprehensive healthcare in King County. In this role, she handles HR responsibilities, conducts DEI work, and maintains a clinical caseload focused on clients with complex mental health needs. She entered the social work field in 2016 as a certified peer counselor and earned her Master's in Social Work from Simmons University in Boston after completing a BA in Speech Communications with a minor in Sociology at Whitworth University in Spokane. Porter holds more than 30 certifications, including Complex Trauma Competency Level 1 and 2, BIPOC Mental Health Specialist, and training in ACT, DBT, and CBT. Her expertise centers on inclusion, policy and best practices, complex trauma, and BIPOC mental health. She is actively involved in professional organizations such as the NASW Washington Chapter and the Association of Black Social Workers, and served as Board President of TACID for seven years. Outside her professional duties, Porter volunteers by running a support group for individuals with disabilities across several states and mentors youth through her church community, drawing from her personal values of integrity, ethics, and continuous learning.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Elizabeth
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say God and my faith, but I also would say my parents. The foundation of working hard, and working from nothing, and giving of who we are, I think is definitely from my parents. My work ethic comes from my parents, especially my dad. He was always giving, and always told us to be humble.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Always be a learner, no matter how much we learn, there's always something new that we can learn from anyone, no matter the age. I have learned from children, I have learned from my seniors, I have learned from all of my clients... when we learn, there's no judgment, we have curiosity.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Challenges: Politics in social work, navigating systems, ever-changing field requiring constant updates. Opportunities: Always changing and evolving with room for more people to join and space for more.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity, having a strong foundation of ethics, being a learner.
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