Sonal Aphale

It was her interest in doing something for the community that led Sonal to walk into North Helpline’s Bitter Lake food bank in 2018. She asked if they needed any help. “They were happy for some additional hands.”

Her interest in North Helpline’s work in the community led her to join the board in December 2020, where she serves as treasurer and leads its financial and operations committee. Her education includes a doctorate in environmental sciences.

A native of India, Sonal is fluent in English, Hindi, India’s national language, as well as two regional languages of western India, Gujarati spoken in the state of Gujarat and Marathi, the language spoken in the state of Maharashtra, which includes Mumbai.

She and her husband moved to Seattle in 2017.

“We are impacting our community, our staff members and our neighbors,” she said of the board’s work. “It’s a very responsible position, but at the same time, a satisfying position. It gives you that satisfaction that you’re doing something for the community and trying to improve our neighbor’s life.”