Thank you to MOHAI's Community of Supporters
On Friday, November 7, 260 supporters gathered in the Faye G. Allen Grand Atrium to celebrate four decades of community impact at the 40th Annual MOHAI Gala. Thanks to everyone’s generosity, over $960,000 was raised to support MOHAI’s vision of being a vibrant resource where history is accessible to all and inspires lifelong learning.
Your contributions play a vital role in helping us continue our tradition of innovation and imagination through engaging exhibits, scholarships, educational programs, and community outreach.
The 2025 Al Young Educator of the Year was Rising Sons-Extended, the 2025 Everyday Heroes Award went to The Washington Bus-Seattle.
Missed the event but still want to support MOHAI’s mission? Make a donation here!
We look forward to seeing you next year! Mark your calendars for Friday, November 6, 2026.
Special thanks to generous sponsors Amazon, Boeing, Puget Sound Energy, Liberty Mutual, Mercer, Mirabella, Seneca Group, and Sol Zero.
Thank you to our Committee Members: Rachel Shrewsbury (chair), Katie D’Amato, Maureen Frisch, Maren Higbee, Kate Rooney, Kathy Stanley
Thank you to our Gala sponsors
Sponsorship Opportunities
Each year professional, philanthropic, and community leaders attend the MOHAI Galas to raise their paddle in support of content-rich, interactive exhibits and programs that capture the diverse stories of Puget Sound’s collective past, while framing it within a broader context to understand its lessons and envision a strong future.
Sponsor support connects thousands of students and community members to Puget Sound’s history each year. Interested in exploring sponsorship opportunities? Contact Chris Rylko for more information by clicking on the link below.
From the Gala
Gala Archives
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2024 Gala
On Friday, November 8, 2024, 280 supporters gathered in the Faye G. Allen Grand Atrium to participate in a night of festive fundraising at the 39th Annual MOHAI Gala. Thanks to everyone’s generosity, over $860,000 was raised to support MOHAI’s mission of bridging the past, present, and future.
The 2024 Al Young Educator of the Year was Parkside Elementary, the 2024 Everyday Heroes Award went to Sea Potential.
Thank you to our generous event sponsors
- Nordstrom, Amazon, BlackSky, Puget Sound Energy, Seneca Group, Sol Zero Group, and Washington Trust Bank.
Thank you to our MOHAI Gala Committee
- Co-Chairs: Red Godfrey and Maren Higbee
- Katie D’Amato, Maureen Frisch, Ashley-Rose O’Mara, Kathy Stanley, Rachel Shrewsbury, Jeffrey Wolford
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2023 Gala
Friday, November 3, 2023, marked the 38th annual History Makers Gala, welcoming over 300 community supporters who gave generously to contribute funds that are critical to MOHAI’s vision of being a vibrant resource where history is accessible to all and inspires the young and old to be life-long learners.
A lively cocktail hour with a Silent Auction for 20 hand-selected photographs from the Museum Collection, was followed by dinner and an exciting live auction that raised a record amount of $750,000 in support of MOHAI’s exhibits, public programs, and education activities.
The 2023 Al Young Educator of the Year recipient was Eia Waltzer, founder of performing arts school Off Book Productions. The 2023 Everyday Hero Recipients were Facing Homelessness: The BLOCK Project.
Special thanks to our sponsors
- Presenting Sponsor: Nordstrom
- Gold Sponsors: Amazon, The Boeing Company, Careage, and Vulcan Real Estate
- Silver Sponsors: BlackSky, Intentional Futures, Seneca Group, and Washington Trust Bank.
With gratitude to the Gala planning committee
- Co-Chairs: Red Godfrey & Rachel Shrewsbury
- Members: Katie D’Amato, Maureen Frisch, Maren Higbee, John Hogan, Kathy Stanley
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2022 Gala
Friday, November 4, 2022 marked the 37th Annual History Makers Gala fundraising event. This was a milestone year as MOHAI celebrated its tenth anniversary headquartered at Lake Union Park.
With the help of sponsors and over 260 distinguished guests in attendance, the MOHAI community raised over $630,000 in support of museum programs. This is a record for History Makers. Thank you to the MOHAI community!
In addition to fun, festive auctions and celebratory activities, awards were presented to people who made outstanding positive contributions in our community. The 2022 Al Young Educator of the Year recipient was Becky Laird, Director of Special Education at NOVA High School. The 2022 Everyday Hero Recipients were JM Wong of the Pacific Rim Solidarity Network and Roxana Pardo Garcia and the Alimentando al Pueblo.
Thank you again to everyone in the MOHAI community: your partnership, your leadership, and your generous support showed your belief in our mission and help bridge the past, present and future of our region through compelling exhibits, scholarship, education, public programs, and community engagement.
Special thanks to our sponsors
- Gold Sponsors: Amazon, The Boeing Company, Careage, Vulcan Real Estate, and Mike and Kathy Stanley.
- Silver Sponsors: B2Launch, BlackSky, BroadPoint Group, Nordstrom, and Seneca Group.
With gratitude to the Gala planning committee
- Chairperson: Rachel Shrewsbury
- Members: Katie D’Amato, Maria Denny, Maureen Frisch, Maren Higbee, John Hogan, Kathy Stanley, Ben Straley, Jill Wiggins, and Jeffrey Wolford
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2021 Gala
On November 5, MOHAI was thrilled to welcome back more than 230 guests who attended the 36th annual History Makers event. As we gathered to connect and celebrate our Everyday Heroes and the Educator of the Year, more than $490,000 critical funds were raised, benefitting MOHAI’s engaging and innovative educational programming.
MOHAI celebrated and honored Everyday Heroes that have demonstrated all acts of kindness, heroism, and change-big and small. The 2021 honorees included: Katherine Kehrli and Community Loaves, a thriving organization that supports home based bread bakers who bake loaves for their local food banks; and Rita Zawaideh and Caravan~Serai, a unique, award-winning tour company, specializing in the Middle and Near East, and North Africa.
MOHAI also recognized and celebrated our 2021 Al Young Educator of the Year Delbert Richardson an educator, curator, storyteller, and truth teller. His award-winning museum, The Unspoken Truths, has enriched classrooms across the region and has impacted learners of all ages.
Chair Katie D’Amato, and all of us at MOHAI, offer our deepest gratitude for the dedication of donors, trustees, volunteers, staff, and History Makers committee members who made this event possible. Their enthusiastic, in-person presence and participation in the evening’s auctions and paddle-raise, ensures that MOHAI will continue making content-rich, interactive exhibits and programs that are accessible to all.
Thank you for your support – being together is an occasion to celebrate!
Special thanks to our sponsors
- Gold Sponsor: Careage Home Health
- Silver Sponsors: B2Launch, The Boeing Company, BroadPoint Group, Maureen Frisch, Nordstrom, Seneca Group, Vulcan Real Estate, and Washington Trust Bank.
With gratitude to the Gala planning committee
- Chair, Katie D’Amato, Mark Ando*, John Hogan, Maria Denny, Maren Higbee, Rebecca MacLeod, Rachel Shrewsbury, Kathy Stanley, Ben Straley and Jeffrey Wolford
* In Memoriam
Everyday Hero Nominees
- Manuel Abrego, Brian Canlis, Mark Canlis, Harry Chan, Jill Gallagher, Wyking Garrett, Emilie Given, Gary Hammon, Jeff Kaas, Katherine Kehrli, Marie Kidhe, Michael Verchot, and Rita Zawaideh.
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2020 Gala
With more than 300 registrants, the 35th Annual History Makers at home event, held on November 6, was an overwhelming success! Held in homes across the region, guests practiced social distancing as they participated in silent and live auctions and raised their paddles in support of MOHAI. Co-chaired by Chad and Tara Richardson, this year’s online event raised over $350,000 to benefit MOHAI’s engaging and innovative educational programming.
The event celebrated and honored Everyday Heroes that have demonstrated all acts of kindness, heroism, and change–big and small over the last eight months. The honorees included: Omari Salisbury and Converge Media; UW COVID-19 equity champions Dr. Lisa Chew, Martine Pierre-Louis, and Paula Houston from Harborview Medical Center; and the Seattle Kitchen Collective consisting of Damon Bomar and Chef Kristi Brown of That Brown Girl Cooks and Communion, Chef Tarik Abdullah founder Feed the People, Melissa Miranda of Musang, Chera Amlag of Hood Famous Bakeshop, Cam Hanin of Guerrilla Pizza Kitchen, and Guitar Srisuthiamorn of Sugar Hill.
Special thanks to our sponsors
- Gold Sponsors: B2Launch, Seneca Group, and The Boeing Company.
- Silver Sponsors: GM Nameplate, Lasher, Holzapfel, Sperry & Ebberson, Leonard Garfield, and Rachel Shrewsbury.
- Special Thanks to Kaspars Catering & Events, Fred Northup Jr., and Punch Drunk.
Everyday Hero Nominees
Carmen Best, Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County, Stella Caldwell and John Small, Lisa Calvert, Helen Chu, Nyema Clark, Ryan Dwyer, Rahwa Habte, Walter C. Howe Jr., Katrina Johnson, Angela Kempsey, Jayashree Krishnan, Latasia Lanier, Esther Lucero, Jennifer Lutz, Nikkita Oliver, John Pehrson, Rick Reynolds, Junius Rochester, Pran Wahi, Tahmina Watson, Claire Wilson