Her Story
About Rosenda
Rosenda Henley serves as a community transportation planner for the Washington State Department of Transportation in the Public Transportation Division. With a total of 11 years in public transportation, she spent eight years at the nonprofit People for People before joining the state agency three years ago. In her current role, she manages consolidated grants and tribal management grants while overseeing compliance and providing technical assistance. Rosenda holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in business administration. She is bilingual, with English as her second language. Earlier in her career, she worked in the medical field, at a law firm, with AmeriCorps, and briefly at DSHS, and she served as executive director of the Downtown Moses Lake Association. She received a Hall of Fame award from People for People eight years ago, presented at the Public Transportation Division Conference. Rosenda actively serves on several boards, including the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation Board, the Downtown Moses Lake Association board, and the Columbia Basin Foundation. She attributes her success to her resilience and the support of her family, and she values transparency, respect, and kindness in both her professional and personal life.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Rosenda
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think I'm pretty resilient. I feel like it's just my background, my family that pushed me to move forward even when I don't know if I can do this. I want to practice what I'm preaching and set a good example for my daughter rather than do as I say not as I do.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't take no for an answer if it's something you want. Keep going. I applied for this job like 20 times before I got a yes and took each no as a sign I might not be ready yet and needed to learn more.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Just go in there with your goal and don't let them second guess or dictate what your abilities or skills are because of your gender, age, or the way you look. I had an experience where someone said they don't work with people like me but I persisted with my job and eventually the board asked him to step down.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
My own challenge is imposter syndrome and second-guessing myself even when I know the answer, getting frustrated because I should have gone with my gut. I question myself despite knowing things.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Transparency, respect, being kind and respectful. Transparency helps guide how we move forward and respect is important because showing up late or not at all feels disrespectful.
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