Tim Jaasko-Fisher
December 12th, 1970 – October 23rd, 2022
The child welfare and court communities in Washington State are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Tim Jaasko-Fisher, a visionary leader and facilitator of court improvement. Tim loved engaging diverse groups to help them understand their challenges, envision solutions and produce better results. Employing his keen intellect and natural curiosity, Tim thrived in complexity – which made him especially effective in the child welfare system.
Tim began his professional life as an Assistant Attorney General in Washington, where he litigated child welfare matters at all levels of the justice system, from administrative hearings to the Washington State Supreme Court. He went on to found the Court Improvement Training Academy (CITA) at the University of Washington School of Law, where he employed Liberating Structures, real-time data and a multi-disciplinary team approach to engage dependency court communities in system improvement work. From there, he served as Senior Director of Programming and Curriculum Development at the Center for Civility and the Law at Seattle University School of Law and started his own consulting practice. Most recently, Tim was the Director of Internal Capacity Building at the Children’s Bureau’s Capacity Building Center for Courts, where he worked with a team of national experts to help state Court Improvement Programs create tools and trainings to maximize their impact.
Tim will be remembered as a brilliant teacher and creative facilitator who cared deeply about justice and empowering people at all levels to engage in ongoing organizational change. He convinced sometimes skeptical judges, attorneys and social workers to embrace data, civility, Liberating Structures – and even protein – to improve outcomes for children and families. Alongside his wife, Dr. Kristen Allott, Tim made our system more just and humane. Our work in the Family & Youth Justice Programs is the direct result of the seeds he planted with CITA and continued to nurture with his civility and capacity building work. Tim’s contributions to the field are substantial and his kindness and friendship will be sorely missed. In his memory, we will continue to approach our work in Washington with curiosity, lots of data, and a willingness to, as Tim often encouraged us, “fail upwards.”
It’s hard to forget someone who gave us so much to remember.
It is difficult to put into words what this loss means to Tim’s family, friends and colleagues. He touched countless lives with his brilliance and generosity. Tim’s family has set up an online memorial that contains additional information and provides an opportunity to share a tribute, story, memory or photograph of Tim.
Tim Jaasko-Fisher’s Online Memorial & Obituary | Keeper (mykeeper.com)
