Social Housing's Katie LeBret

Seattle Social Housing is guided by a board that looks beyond traditional development credentials. We’re proud to highlight members whose lived experiences, identities, and economic backgrounds reflect the communities we aim to serve. A board rooted in real-world perspectives is key to building housing that is equitable, accountable, and responsive to all residents.

With that in mind, we introduce Katie LeBret…

A Seat at the Table: How Lived Experience Guides Seattle Social Housing’s Katie LeBret

When Seattle Social Housing Board Member Katie LeBret walks into a meeting, she carries more than policy notes and briefing binders. She brings the weight of a life spent navigating the margins of the housing system she’s now helping reshape.

“I look at everything through the eyes of the people of Seattle, especially those who have been left out of housing conversations,” she says. “I’ve been homeless on and off for about five years… I’ve lived in my car because it was cheaper, and I’ve been judged and denied opportunities as a Native American Trans woman.”

For LeBret, housing justice isn’t an abstract mission; it’s personal, visceral, and anchored in decades of lived experience. What she needed most in her most vulnerable moments, she recalls, wasn’t a program or a policy. “What I needed most… was someone willing to listen.” Today, she strives to be that person for others, leading “with empathy, understanding, and a commitment to ensuring renters feel seen, supported, and heard.”

From Belcourt to Seattle: A Journey That Shapes a Vision

LeBret grew up on the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota, where, as she describes it, resources were scarce and opportunities even more so. Her mother died when she was nine. Her aunt stepped in to raise her, and from those early years emerged a steady resolve.

“Those early years taught me resilience and the importance of fighting for what’s right,” she says. She made a promise to herself, one rooted in her mother’s hopes, that she would create the generational change she wanted to see. It’s that promise, she says, that fuels her dedication to housing justice today. “I see Social Housing as a real opportunity to close the gaps that so many of us have lived through.”

The hurdles she faced, unstable housing, discrimination, and the cycles of poverty, have become a source of clarity. “My strength comes from refusing to give up,” she says. “The discrimination, instability, and housing insecurity I faced all reinforced my commitment to build a future where people can finally afford to call somewhere home, without sacrificing their dignity.”

Understanding Systems Built to Stall

Having lived in shelters, supportive housing, and her car, LeBret has an intimate understanding of the systems Seattle residents must navigate, systems she says often prevent real stability.

“Many of our current systems aren’t designed to help people move forward,” she notes. They may offer crisis intervention, she says, but too often they “cycle people through homelessness instead of helping them stabilize.”

Now housed, she sees another layer of barriers that many don’t understand: “Even when you’re housed, the system can still be confusing, slow, and unsupportive. Single adults especially don’t receive the help they need.”

If she could redesign one part of the housing ecosystem, she says she would start with how needs are assessed. “Too many programs help only during the crisis moment and then disappear,” she says. Instead, she imagines long-term, relationship-based support, consistent follow-through that keeps people housed, not just temporarily sheltered.

Why Social Housing Matters

LeBret accepted her board appointment in part because she rarely sees people like herself, Native, Trans, formerly unhoused, represented in public leadership. “I want my community to know: I’m here, I’m listening, and I’m fighting for us.”

To her, social housing represents dignity and possibility. “It means relief. It means giving students, workers, and families a break from choosing which bills they’ll pay each month… a chance for people to breathe, to stabilize, and to dream again.”

And while some critics argue the board needs more members from development backgrounds, LeBret is clear about what lived experience brings to the table. “Lived experience is its own form of expertise,” she says. “Developer backgrounds matter too, but they can’t replace the insight of someone who has actually survived the systems we’re trying to fix.”

A successful social housing community, in her view, looks simple but profound: “A place where you can sit outside your home or on your patio and feel connected to your neighbors and your city.”

Representation, Identity, and Showing Up

Representation isn’t symbolic for LeBret, it’s responsibility. “Being a role model means showing up with honesty, courage, and heart,” she says. She wants Trans youth, Native community members, and anyone who has felt pushed to the margins to know they belong in leadership.

She speaks openly about the intersections she’s had to navigate. “People often judge before they help,” she says. “I’ve been made the villain in other people’s stories when all I wanted was support.” Those experiences taught her to ground herself, push forward, and stand firm. “No one should have to do all of that alone,” she says. “That’s why I fight so hard today.”

Building a Future Worth Staying For

Seattle Social Housing, she believes, is creating something genuinely historic. “It’s something future generations will benefit from, long after we’re gone.”

Looking ahead ten years, she hopes residents across the city will feel the impact: “I hope people can finally focus on the things they love instead of constantly choosing between rent, food, school, or their health.”

Her leadership style, she says, is rooted in transparency and community. “I’m here because the people of Seattle asked for this work… and I want us to move through hard decisions together.”

And what does she hope people take away from her story?

“That I am a strong, independent Trans woman using my voice to uplift those who’ve never been heard. I want people to know they are seen, valued, and not alone.”