Donor Spotlight: Zabrina Jenkins
Published: December 11, 2019
Categories: Donors | Fall Campaign | Featured
Throughout our end of year campaign, we’ve been asking artists how they persist in their practice. This week, we’re switching gears to speak with a longtime Artist Trust donor and supporter, Zabrina Jenkins.
Why is it essential to support the arts? How has Artist Trust positively impacted Washington State artists? How has Artist Trust helped artists persist in their work?
Those are the questions we were curious about while talking with Zabrina. Read her thoughts below.
“I’ve seen Artist Trust impact WA State artists by providing grants to support their work. I’ve heard testimonies from certain artists who said, “I’m now able to pay this utility bill,” just because of the funding that they received through Artist Trust. It’s so impressive how meaningful the support of artists is, whether large or small.
It’s important to support Artist Trust because if you look at where budget cuts are made, arts are usually first to be on the chopping block. And as a community, we need to subsidize that in some way. The art of expression is still something that artists, young and old, will continue to pursue and explore.
I want to encourage others to look at the arts and see how important it is to provide support so that artists can continue to create the work that the community can enjoy.
Zabrina Jenkins is vice president, assistant general counsel of global litigation and employment for Starbucks Coffee Company. In this capacity, Zabrina leads a cross-functional team of more than 60 partners (employees) responsible for labor, employment, intellectual property, antitrust, real estate, general liability, and commercial litigation.
Zabrina was a core member of the Starbucks 2018 Philadelphia incident crisis management response team, and personally led the negotiations and creative resolution of claims against the Company stemming from the highly publicized arrests of two customers. Zabrina serves as an advisor to the Starbucks Policy Governance Council, the Diversity Committee for the Law & Corporate Affairs department, and the Audit Committee for the Starbucks Board of Directors.
Prior to joining Starbucks, Zabrina was an associate at Garvey Schubert Barer in Seattle, Washington. During her tenure with the firm, Zabrina focused her practice on commercial litigation matters, including labor and employment law. Zabrina is an active volunteer in both legal and civic organizations. She is a member of the Central Washington University Board of Trustees and currently serves on the advisory boards of the Washington Leadership Institute (WLI), and Loren Miller Bar Foundation, and is a member of the International Women’s Forum 2019-2020 Fellows Program.
Zabrina received her Bachelor of Science degree from Central Washington University, her Master of Science degree from Syracuse University School of Education, and her Juris Doctor cum laude from Syracuse University College of Law.
