Joshua Estes: Learns all he can so he can stand up for others

This is one of 12 finalists for The Herald Business Journal’s annual Emerging Leaders awards for 2022. The winner will be named at an event on April 27.

Joshua Estes, 39

Managing partner, Pacific Northwest Regional Strategies

When a 10-year-old girl in Joshua Estes’ neighborhood was picked on because “she was different,” Estes learned everything he could about Down Syndrome.

“It ate at me,” Estes said of watching her trials when he was a boy.

By learning all he could, he hoped to help people understand that their words have an impact on someone with a disability, Estes said.

“I vowed I would never let that happen to anyone else,” Estes said. “My entire life has been about standing up for people that can’t stand up for themselves.”

Estes never forgot the episode. Since then, he’s made it a priority to help others find their voice, achieve their goals and guide them toward success.

The call to leadership came early.

From 2009 until 2012, Estes, then in his early and mid-20s, was president of the Association of Western Pulp & Paper Workers, Local 183, the union that represented Kimberly-Clark employees in Everett.

When Kimberly-Clark announced they were closing the Everett mill in 2012, it meant that some 700 mill workers would become unemployed overnight, he said.

“People were scared for their lives,” Estes said. He put his life on the back burner to help others find employment.

”I took a back seat in terms of my career path, but it was the right thing to do because I wanted to make sure those people had the best chance,” Estes said.

He approached United Way with a proposal: Would they fund, train and employ several mill workers to act as employment liaisons?

They said yes.

A group of former Kimberly-Clark workers were chosen for the task. For six months they were housed at United Way, where they helped former co-workers find new jobs or training opportunities and apply for government benefits.

An Emerging Leaders nominator wrote: “Without the assistance from people they knew and trusted, many of these workers would have fallen through the cracks. Joshua was the key person who envisioned this innovative program, and oversaw its development and success.”

“His creativity, collaboration and solution-oriented style … makes him a positive community force,” the nominator added.

Estes chaired the Snohomish County Citizens Salary Commission in 2020 – 2021. He was previously president-elect of the Snohomish County Human Resources Association. He is a current board member of Leadership Snohomish County.

In 2009, 2010 and 2011, three years in a row, Estes received the United Way Labor Partner of the Year Award.

“As a leader, I am not afraid to fail — with each failure comes growth,” Estes said.

“I often tell my children that it only takes one person to make a difference in the world,” Estes said. “I strive to be the one who makes a difference in my community and in the lives of others.”

Janice Podsada: 425-339-3097; jpodsada@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @JanicePods.

The annual Emerging Leaders award by The Herald Business Journal seeks to highlight and celebrate people who are doing good work in Snohomish County. This year’s partners in the award are HeraldMedia, Leadership Snohomish County, Leadership Launch and Economic Alliance Snohomish County. Co-sponsors are Gaffney Construction, Inflection Wealth Management and the Port of Everett.