Andrea Gierlich

Seattle SAKE Paddling Club | Tacoma, Washington

I was born and raised in Tacoma, spent several years in Okinawa, then made my way to Seattle after returning to the States in 2001.  I have worked at the University of Washington for nearly 19 years in three different departments, which has provided me the opportunity to experience many different aspects of campus life and the diversity that goes with it.  I have served and currently sit on DEI committees, learning about a variety of topics ranging from curriculum to land acknowledgement, and most recently, neurodiversity.

I joined Seattle SAKE as a cancer Survivor in 2019 and started paddling OC6 three years ago in the infancy of our program.  Since then I have attended races, camps, and clinics, and have gotten to know other teams and paddlers while helping carry and rig canoes at the races.  I have enjoyed learning even more about the culture as I experience the ‘ohana of this great sport.

My passion for all that outrigger canoeing has to offer is what drives my desire to offer my time and energy to help PWNORCA be a top-tier organization in the Pacific Northwest!