Kent Chamber of Commerce’s Trailblazing CEO Zenovia Harris Receives Larry Gossett 2023 Service Award

The excitement continues for Zenovia Harris, who took home the Larry Gossett 2023 Service Award.

As a recipient of the award, Harris was recognized as an individual who has made a significant contribution in the area of racial equity, social justice, and human rights. The award was given by King County in honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, whose theme this year was “Truth, Light, and Hope.”

Harris strives to ensure economic equality remains a crucial factor for healthy communities, according to a press release. In 2019, Harris became the CEO of the Kent Chamber of Commerce, playing an instrumental role in leading the Kent Chamber in its equity work. This comes naturally for Harris, who also leads other Chambers throughout King County, including the Renton Chamber, Kirkland Chamber, and Seattle Southside Chamber.

Through Harris’ leadership, she has diversified Board Member participation and introduced a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. To support both her own and other local chambers, Harris instituted equity talks, which are open to both chamber members and larger communities. By performing internal evaluations to understand where the challenges and needs are in order to meet equity goals, Harris’ presence as an innovative and caring leader remains steadfast.

Harris appeared nothing but honored and grateful upon receiving the Larry Gossett 2023 Service Award, stating “I am grateful for my tenacity to fight for others and my opportunity to sit at tables that were not designed for me but being savvy enough to extract pertinent and critical information to delineate what options are available for CBO’s, micro-businesses, home-based, and small businesses.”