2025 Unsung Heroes: Celebrating caregivers in Washington state

Seattle’s Child is proud to partner with the state Department of Children, Youth and Families Strengthening Families Washington to honor outstanding caregivers doing important work on behalf of children. Throughout February, we’ll introduce you to Unsung Heroes from around the state: biological parents, grandparents, foster and adoptive parents. Some volunteer at schools; some have started nonprofits; some mentor others in their communities. Enjoy the stories of 2025’s unsung heroes.

Jose Romo Ramirez, Maple Valley

Jose is an amazing, inspiring dad who is constantly generating ideas about what we could do to improve the lives of dads in Washington. He is tender-hearted and always ready to share his story to help others.

His family immigrated to California from Mexico, and he became a Dreamer who worked to heal his early trauma from experiences with a father that left a difficult imprint. He has been very involved in trying to make WIC (Women, Infant, Children nutrition program) services more accessible for dads. He would love to see all WIC offices running programs for fathers that meet their unique needs.

Jose was present for the birth of both of his children and talks about how healing those experiences were for him. Jose has done tremendous community work to help lift up the voices of dads. This includes a side gig teaching a four-hour class called “Conscious Fathering” for dads of newborns. It helps them build confidence in caring for an infant to increase their skills and bond with their baby.

He has been a volunteer on the Washington Fatherhood Council for three years. Dads in Washington benefit from his passionate advocacy!

— Anne Stone

Jose Romo Ramirez teaches a class that helps father learn to care for infants.

NOTE: Seattle’s Child is running these stories unedited, as written by the people who nominated them, in keeping with the DCYF Unsung Hero process.