A Shared Mission
December 2025 – Representative Alex Ybarra spent a morning with us in Wenatchee, pulling up a chair with participants and staff to see how training, savings tools, and apprenticeships are building stability and success in our communities.
Ybarra represents Washington’s 13th Legislative District, which stretches across rural Eastern Washington and includes Kittitas County, most of Grant County, and portions of Adams and Douglas counties. Since joining the Washington House of Representatives in 2019, he has served on committees connected to workforce development, including as Ranking Minority Member on the Postsecondary Education and Workforce Committee.
During his visit, participants from SkillSource programs shared where they are on their career paths and how workforce services have moved them forward:
Roger, a SkillSource participant and former justice-involved individual, talked about his path from incarceration to becoming a recovery coach at the Alano Club of Wenatchee. He’s now advancing through a behavioral health apprenticeship, describing the steady, practical steps that helped him rebuild stability and direction.
Maribel, a SkillSource participant in Wenatchee Valley College’s nursing program, spoke about the role the Matched Income Savings Account played while she was in training — especially being able to purchase a reliable vehicle. When she mentioned that English is her second language, Representative Ybarra naturally switched into Spanish, sharing pieces of his own Texas-Mexican farming family roots and the agricultural backbone of his home community in Quincy.
Mima, founder of Mima’s Famous Salsa, offered a story that traced the arc from mentorship to economic mobility. She first learned about SkillSource while helping two young sisters with very limited formal education find pathways forward — one of whom became a CNA and later bought her own home. Later, Mima herself received a Commerce grant that helped expand her small business, allowing her to purchase equipment and boost output by 75 percent..
And then there was Ayden, a Computer Tech 1 apprentice halfway through his 2,000-hour program with SkillSource and the Wenatchee School District. Christy Mataya, our Youth and HR Manager, shared how quiet and uncertain he was when he first entered the youth program, and how quickly everything changed once he discovered his interests in computers and technology. Now he talks easily about IT, troubleshooting, and the future that is taking shape.
Along with hearing from participants and partners, Lisa Romine gave a short overview of North Central Washington’s workforce system and where SkillSource fits within it. She walked through real economic data showing that when people train, find stable work, and no longer rely on public benefits, the return on investment isn’t theoretical — it’s measurable.
Representative Ybarra asked questions about apprenticeship pathways, employer engagement, and rural workforce needs, reflecting priorities he’s emphasized during his legislative work, such as expanding family-wage jobs and supporting economic growth in agricultural and rural communities.
Staff gave Ybarra a tour of the center’s resource areas, where participants attend orientations and assessment / career planning workshops, followed by a tour of the upstairs learning center where Open Doors students were actively working with instructors.
Thank you, Representative Ybarra, for reaching out to visit us at SkillSource, and for spending the morning with us in Wenatchee. We’re excited to keep the dialogue going as we work together to ensure that communities across our region and the state have clear, supported pathways to skilled and meaningful careers.
