By Ken Grant

It is my honor to introduce new Seattle 4 Rotarian, Harisa Paco. Harisa is a Certified Care Manager at Ageing Wisdom, working alongside fellow Rotarian Lisa Mayfield.  

Harisa was born in Bosnia during the midst of the war, fleeing to refugee camps with her family at the age of one. The family was eventually able to make their way to Croatia then the United States in 1993 after being sponsored by Edmonds Methodist Church. After being one of if not the first family to arrive in the US as Bosnian refugees, the family settled in Edmonds. 

Harisa’s mother made it her mission to learn English quickly in order to assist other resettled refugee families, becoming an informal social worker in the process. After attending Edmonds Woodway for school, Harisa followed in her mother’s footsteps, majoring in social welfare during her undergrad education and receiving a master's in social work, achieving both degrees at the University of Washington. 

Harisa is a 2018 Leadership Tomorrow grad and has held the position of President of Seattle City Rotaract. She is a Rotarian because she believes in service above self. 

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