As Gonzaga Prep continued growing into its coed identity in the 1980s, Brigid (Flynn) Henderson ’89 became the school’s first female ASB president. What began as a ground-breaking campaign grew into a lifelong commitment to leadership, service, and being a person for others.
By the mid 1980s, most Gonzaga Prep students—boys and girls—didn’t give all that much thought to the fact that just a decade before, the school had been exclusively for boys, and had become coed in the fall of 1975. For Brigid Henderson, that sounds about right in her experience.
“I don’t remember ever feeling like I had to pretend I wasn’t 'book smart’—it was actually cool to do well in school. And I remember my girlfriends and I who were also athletes being treated with respect—and sometimes awe—for our athletic achievements.”
But there remained some places where women had not reached equal footing.
Enter Brigid, who in her junior year decided to run for ASB president: “I knew I’d be the first woman if I won,” she says. “It was scary, I had to put myself out there – introducing myself to students I didn’t know well in the hallways, over the PA in the office, and during the pep rally when all the candidates had to give our speeches.”
She recalls purposefully moving away from the podium, standing directly in front of the student body, walking back and forth with the microphone, hoping to engage everyone. “I remember one of the candidates I ran against telling me after the election that he voted for me. I was really honored that a friend, and someone I thought would do a good job, cast their vote for me.”
Once in the role, she experienced some difficulties as the first woman ASB president. “Not everyone was ready for a woman student body president.” Still, she holds an enduring appreciation for the experience in a leadership role. “I was a pioneer and it was awesome!” Brigid loved advocating for needs, coordinating fun events, being taken seriously by teachers, the principal, and other administrators.
As ASB president, she learned that real leadership means humility, collaboration, and being a person for others. “I learned it is okay to put myself out there in the world, to share my voice, and to listen to others’ voices … in times of frustration or conflict we need to remember to take a beat, step back, imagine ourselves in the other’s shoes.”
Her leadership role at Prep was a springboard to a life of service to family, friends, colleagues, or even the simple encounters at the grocery store, or when stuck in traffic. Her college path began at Seattle University and finished with a degree from Fairhaven College focused on creating opportunities for young women.
When she began working for the Department of Commerce in the Low-Income Weatherization Program in 2004, she celebrated not only being a person for others but also being a public servant—making a difference every day, in every way, for the most vulnerable citizens of Washington.
Brigid now serves as a Community Strategies Specialist with the same agency. Her work is focused on manufactured housing communities—home to many seniors living on fixed incomes. When a manufactured housing community is sold or closed, residents face the possibility of losing not just their housing, but the stability of their community.
“In the course of a day, I can be talking with a senior who is going to be displaced and is living on a fixed income, can't find affordable housing,” she says. “And in the next hour, I am talking to a legislator about the situation and what we can do to help.”
The Department of Commerce is, by its very nature, a collaborative agency. “It’s like the Swiss Army knife of state government because we do everything from economic development and trade to solving the homeless crisis to developing affordable housing, to running the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and gun safety programs (Office of Firearms Safety and Violence Prevention).”
Though her role is centered in policy and systems, Brigid is clear that what drives her is people—their stories, their resilience, and their need to be seen and heard. Her work often involves collaborating across agencies and sectors to create solutions that are both just and sustainable.
From leadership at Prep to her career path now, her advice to current students is simple and powerful: “Lead with your heart. Let your moral compass guide you. In every part of your life, ask yourself how you can positively impact someone else. We are people for others. That’s what counts.”
