Meet Joy
Joy’s Story
Joy Hollingsworth is a multi-generational Seattleite, born and raised in the historic Central District. She was elected in 2023 to represent District 3 on the Seattle City Council. Joy is focused on delivering “City Basics Better” by strengthening the fundamentals of government so the City can reliably handle everyday needs and build trust to tackle the more complex challenges ahead.
She resides in the Central District with her
dog “Santana”
Community, Culture and Commerce
1980 & 90’s
family of service
Joy Hollingsworth was born and raised in Seattle’s historic Central District. She attended Seattle Public Schools from Stevens Elementary, TOPS at Seward and Meany Middle School while spending her summers at Garfield Community Center.
She is the product of lifelong educators, civil rights leaders, and small business owners. Joy’s mother Rhonda spent her career connecting families to housing, her father Raft, worked over 30 years for the Parks Department and grandmother, Dorothy Hollingsworth, a towering spirit was a fierce advocate for children and families.
team oriented
Joy played basketball in high school at Seattle Preparatory School and in college at the University of Arizona. After playing professionally in Athens, Greece she returned to Seattle and earned a Masters in Education from the University of Washington. Joy later spent three seasons at Seattle University as Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach.
From 2012-2014, following her time at SU, Joy worked as Girls Program Director at Seattle’s A PLUS Youth Program where she helped create access to sports for girls in underserved communities.
In 2014, Joy’s brother Raft started Hollingsworth Farms, a family-owned and operated cannabis company located on the Olympic Peninsula. The farm focuses on sustainability and responsible practices, including the use of solar power, sustainable growing methods and local resources for plant production. She joined the family business serving in operations, helping grow and manage one of Washington’s few independent, Black-owned cannabis operations.
Building on her lifelong commitment to policies that support community solutions, Joy currently serves as part of the Food Access Network team at Northwest Harvest. In this capacity, Joy and her team connect community organizations to resources by growing food justice through collective action.
Joy Hollingsworth is a fourth-generation Seattleite, who was born and raised in Seattle’s historic Central District. She attended Seattle Public Schools from Stevens Elementary, TOPS at Seward and Meany Middle School while spending her summers at Garfield Community Center.
She is the product of lifelong educators, civil rights leaders, and small business owners. Joy’s mother Rhonda spent her career connecting families to housing, her father Raft, worked over 30 years for the Parks Department and grandmother, Dorothy Hollingsworth, a towering spirit was a fierce advocate for children and families.
After a stellar high-school basketball career at Seattle Preparatory School, she went on to play for the University of Arizona and later professionally in Athen’s Greece. Joy returned to Seattle to earn a Master’s in Education from the University of Washington, and spent three seasons at Seattle University as an Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach.
In 2014, Joy’s brother Raft started Hollingsworth Farms, a family-owned and operated cannabis and hemp company located on the Olympic Peninsula. She joined the family business serving in operations growing one of few Black-owned independent farms in the state of Washington. Transiting from the family business, she served as a program coordinator at Northwest Harvest dedicated to proving food access and promoting food security across the state.
In November of 2023, Hollingsworth was elected to Seattle City Council representing District 3. As small business owner, non-profit leader and community connector, Joy prides herself on outcomes by focusing on the fundamentals and bold basics for our neighborhoods while serving in her legislative role.
invest in city basics better
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