Summary

King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci on Tuesday awarded Linda Hall with the Martin Luther King Medal of Distinguished Service, an award that recognizes individuals whose work has answered the question asked by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “What are you doing for others?”

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King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci on Tuesday awarded Linda Hall with the Martin Luther King Medal of Distinguished Service, an award that recognizes individuals whose work has answered the question asked by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “What are you doing for others?”

A leader in King County’s human services community, Linda Hall has spent nearly 20 years in executive-level positions at local nonprofits, working to provide housing and human services for those who need it most. Most recently, Linda serves as a Project Manager for Congregations for the Homeless, guiding the siting and building of the first and only permanent men’s shelter in East King County.

“Linda brought her grace, vision, and passion for helping others to successfully create the Eastgate housing campus, including the first-ever permanent Eastside men’s shelter and hundreds of units of housing, an incredibly difficult project that sometimes felt impossible,” King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci said. “While many people worked to make this project a reality, Linda’s dedication is what got us across the finish line. Thanks to her, thousands of people will have a stable place to call home and, each year, 1,500 men experiencing homelessness on the Eastside will have access to the shelter and services they need to start on a path to stability.” 

Because of her dedication to the project, Congregations for the Homeless will open the shelter in June, after nearly ten years of planning and community effort.

Previously, Hall has served as the Executive Director of St. Andrew’s Housing Group (now Imagine Housing), Director of Real Estate with the Seattle Housing Authority, and Director of Housing Development with the YWCA Seattle – King – Snohomish. She was a co-leader on the Issaquah Zero Energy Village and recognized by A Regional Coalition for Housing “as a passionate voice for affordable housing.” Linda served on the Housing Development Consortium board from 2001 – 2009, including as board president from 2004-2005, and they presented her with the Board of Directors Award in 2019. 

2023 marks the eighth year that councilmembers have each awarded the Martin Luther King Medal of Distinguished Service to someone from their district whose work embodies the spirit of King’s question.