2022 Hall of Fame Inductees

The Franklin Alumni Association & Foundation is pleased to announce the 2022 Hall of Fame inductees. The Franklin Hall of Fame was established in 1992. Additional inductions took place in 1998, 2001, 2004. Since 2013 they have taken place at the spring annual meeting and Hall of Fame Celebration. More information on the Hall of Fame here.

Ramona Church Bennett (‘56)

Ms. Ramona Bennett, class of ‘56, is a venerated Puyallup Tribal Elder who has dedicated a lifetime of service on behalf of the Puyallup people and Indigenous people across the nation. She is a national Indian rights activist and continues to directly support cultural integrity, connectedness and revitalization. She holds a Master’s degree in education as well as an honorary Doctorate of Public Affairs, both from the University of Puget Sound.

In 2003, the Native Action Network awarded her with its Enduring Spirit Award. The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project (University of Washington, 2021) states that as “… a pioneering activist on behalf of Indian fishing rights, she was instrumental in the development and continuation of the Survival of American Indians Association in 1964, the organization helped bring local “fish-ins” to national prominence.

Bennett was elected to the Puyallup Tribal Council in 1968, and elected as Tribal Chairwoman in 1971, a position she held until 1979. In 1978 Ramona was named one of Washington State’s most powerful women; she opened doors for women activists by actively fighting attempts during the 1970s to exclude her from National Tribal Chairmen’s Conferences. Much of Bennett’s leadership has focused on issues of social welfare, having begun her social service work in Seattle’s American Indian Women’s Service League in the 1960s. 

In 1972, Bennett co-founded the Local Indian Child Welfare Act Committee. Through the Committee, she developed a model for childhood and family service in Washington State that she used to help her co-author and secure a national Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978.” 

After her time as Tribal Chairperson, Bennett worked at the Wa-He-Lut Indian School in Olympia and with the Rainbow Youth and Family Services in 1989. As reflected by her work for youth, she herself has stated that "virtually everything constructive I've done has been because children might need it.

Sharon Tomiko Santos (‘79)

A community activist for more than 30 years, Sharon Tomiko Santos, class of ‘79, was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 1998. She chairs the House Education committee and serves on the House Business & Financial Services and the Community and Economic Development & Housing committees. She also serves appointments to the Washington State Investment Board and the Washington State Education Opportunity Gap Accountability and Oversight committee. Her legislative proposals reflect her strong advocacy for providing quality early learning programs for young kids, ensuring a well-trained educator workforce, and closing the opportunity gap. 

Rep. Santos believes Washington state must strive for providing education excellence and opportunities for all students to learn. Outside of education, her key policy interests include civil rights, women’s rights, economic and environmental justice, affordable housing, and quality public education. She believes in providing level playing fields that allow those who work hard to succeed. Rep. Santos has served on dozens of boards and foundations including the Boys and Girls Clubs of King County, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, and the University of Washington Business and Economic Development Program Board of Ambassadors. She has received numerous awards for her legislative and community work including the Kip Tokuda Community Leadership Award from the Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Foundation and the Leadership and Vision Award from Junior Achievement of Washington. 

A graduate of the Evergreen State College and of Northeastern University, Santos has worked in the banking industry, on staff to local public elected officials, and in senior management positions for non-profit organizations.

She resides with her husband, Bob, in the Rainier Beach neighborhood (Seattle) located in one of the nation’s most diverse zip code areas.

Noah Purcell (‘97)

Noah Purcell, class of ‘97, has long been an advocate for justice and equity. His impressive law career includes serving as the Solicitor General for the Washington State Attorney General's Office since 2013 and litigation experience in constitutional issues, antitrust claims, environmental law, preemption, campaign finance, and administrative law. 

In 2016, under Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Purcell led the state's challenge to Donald Trump's Executive Order 13769, which restricted travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority nations. Purcell argued the state's case before Judge James Robart of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington and a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Purcell’s wife is the daughter of Iranian immigrants who fled their country in the 1970s, and he often spoke of how this brought the ban close to home. Following his work on the travel ban, Purcell was named one of the most influential Seattleites of 2017 by Seattle Magazine and was awarded the Friend of the Legal Profession Award by the King County Bar Association.

Purcell also served in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of General Counsel from 2009-2010, advising on security and immigration issues and working extensively on the federal government's challenge to Arizona's immigration law.

After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review, Purcell worked as a law clerk to former U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge David Tatel of the D.C. Circuit.

Purcell was introduced to the law at Franklin High School by renowned teacher and mock trial coach Rick Nagel. He completed his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington, where he received a Mary Gates Leadership Award for his work founding and running Affordable Tuition Now!, a student advocacy group dedicated to keeping tuition at UW and other state universities affordable.