Expert Details
Sustainability, Resilience, Food Policy, Community Development, and Local Government Policy Development and Implementation
ID: 737206
Washington, USA
- Demonstrated ability to take ideas from conception to implementation in diverse settings.
- Deep and extensive knowledge of municipal government and a wide range of issue areas, including transportation, policies to promote sustainable communities and practices, land use and housing, local food policy, resource conservation, economic development, and emergency preparedness.
- Proven success in engaging a range of stakeholders in developing community-driven outcomes.
- Strong policy analysis, policy development, and program evaluation skills.
- Proven ability to manage complex issues in crisis situations and to develop win-win solutions for seemingly intractable problems.
- 16 years serving as an elected Seattle City Councilmember; selected by colleagues to serve four years as Council President; wide range of involvement in regional decision-making bodies.
- 12 years directing community projects with Metrocenter YMCA.
- Core career involvement in teaching, speaking, writing, and communications, including numerous speaking engagements, teaching graduate and undergraduate classes at the Department of Urban Design and Planning, the Honors College, and the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington and at Antioch University Seattle, and teaching Public Administration and Development Planning at the University of Botswana and Swaziland.
- Business involvement in developing workforce housing (current), as well as in operating a small energy conservation business and in writing and publishing, including serving as Publisher for YES! Magazine.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 1971 | Degree: MA | Subject: Political Science | Institution: Michigan State University |
| Year: 1968 | Degree: BA | Subject: History | Institution: Michigan State University |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2014 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Project Director | Department: |
Responsibilities:- Focus on sustainability, resilience, food policy, community development, and local government policy development and implementation.- Engaged in developing workforce housing in mixed use buildings with an emphasis on housing cultural organizations and cultural workers. Principal, Board member and Secretary. - Major consulting projects include developing a Food Policy Action Plan and the Riverside Food Policy Alliance for the City of (undisclosed), and designing and administering the (undisclosed) Opportunity Fund. - Other projects include evaluating anti-poverty programs under a contract; facilitating the organizing workshop for the California Agriculture and Food Enterprise (CAFÉ) and the CAFÉ conference under contract to the University of California Riverside; participating on the team that produced ‘Sustainable Infrastructure: A Toolkit for Planners’ for the American Planning Association; conducting workshops on local food policy for the City of Auckland, New Zealand; and speaking on community development, citizen engagement, and environmental and local food policy in Tauranga, Dunedin, Gisborne, and Hutt Valley, New Zealand under a contract with Inspiring Communities of New Zealand. Also served as speaker and facilitator at numerous conferences and workshops, including New Partners for Smart Growth and Urban@UW. - Currently Affiliate Faculty, Honors College and Department of Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington and Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability, Seattle University. Teach classes in ‘Ecology of Urban Seattle’, ‘Neighborhood Planning’, ‘Resilience and Emergency Management’, ‘Environmental Policy’, ‘Community Development, Poverty, and Resilience’, ‘Food Systems and Local Food Policy’, ‘Ecology of Urban Seattle’, and ‘Leadership in the Public Service’. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1998 to 2013 | Employer: Seattle City | Title: Council Member | Department: |
Responsibilities:- Responsible for policy development, legislation, and oversight for the City of Seattle, a municipal government with 11,000 employees and a $4 billion budget. Elected to the Seattle City Council and reelected multiple years. Selected by colleagues to serve as Council President.- Chaired the Neighborhoods, Sustainability, and Community Development Committee, and moved 37 neighborhood plans through Council approval. The successful completion of the Neighborhood Planning Program was a key step in implementing growth management in Seattle. - Chaired the Transportation Committee, and worked to implement regional plans to improve transit, develop new funding sources for transportation maintenance and neighborhood improvements, and support pedestrian and bicycle projects. - Chaired the Environment, Emergency Management, and Utilities Committee, overseeing utilities, emergency management, salmon recovery, climate change, green building, and the urban forest. Reshaped Seattle's solid waste and recycling program ("Zero Waste Strategy"), developed sustainable infrastructure policies, and created Seattle food policy (“Local Food Action Initiative”). - Chaired the Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee, overseeing comprehensive planning, zoning, design, land use regulations, and neighborhood plans, as well as industrial development districts, food policy, the urban forest, and emergency preparedness. As Vice-Chair of the Capital Committee on the Sound Transit Board, facilitated new policies on station access and transit-oriented development and the resolution of issues around new light rail lines. Initiated the Regional Food Policy Council and secured its location at the Puget Sound Regional Council, serving as Chair since its inception. Also served as member of the Growth Management Planning Council, the King County Board of Health, and the Green-Duwamish Watershed Council, working on salmon restoration. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1995 to 1997 | Employer: YES! Magazine | Title: Publisher | Department: |
Responsibilities:- Publisher for quarterly magazine focused on identifying and publicizing the ongoing efforts to build a more sustainable society. Developed initial funding and subscription plan, negotiated agreements and established organizational and financial structure, worked with Board and staff to create long-term plan to provide framework for successfully managing and expanding the organization. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1984 to 1995 | Employer: Metrocenter YMCA | Title: Director of Community and Environment Department | Department: |
Responsibilities:- Responsible for developing, managing, and funding projects to involve communities around issues of environmental stewardship and community development.- Directed Seattle YMCA Earth Service Corps, engaging students at 40 high schools in youth development through environmental education and action. Developed organizational model and managed the Master Home Environmentalist program, training volunteers to reduce home indoor pollution. Co-founded Sustainable Seattle, which published the "Indicators of Sustainable Community," and promotes actions that further Seattle's long-term cultural, economic, environmental, and social health. Originated and managed household hazardous waste (HHW) collection events in King County, and managed collection, training, and education programs under contracts with King County and Department of Ecology. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1981 to 1986 | Employer: ALCOR Community Oriented Development | Title: Principal | Department: |
Responsibilities:- Directed business that created and managed programs to encourage and implement resource conservation. Supervised employees and maintained financial solvency of business. Created a newsletter about implementation of energy conservation and salmon recovery in the four-state region. Developed and managed program to wrap 8,000 water heaters under contract to Seattle City Light and the Phinney Neighborhood Association. Initiated demonstration project to assess and evaluate the feasibility of providing incentives to developers to install energy efficient appliances. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1977 to 1979 | Employer: University of Botswana and Swaziland | Title: Lecturer | Department: |
Responsibilities:- Taught classes in Public Administration and Development Planning, and authored papers on development issues. Demonstrated cross-cultural competence in creating curricula and working with diverse student body. |
|||
Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| Member, Washington State Food Policy Forum Member of Antioch University Seattle Board of Trustees |
| Professional Appointments |
|---|
| Co-Chair, Regional Food Policy Council, Puget Sound Regional Council Co-President, Seattle-Christchurch Sister City Association Board member of YES! Magazine, Bike Works, and Puget Soundkeeper Alliance Chaired committees for the Madrona Community Council |
Additional Experience
| Other Relevant Experience |
|---|
| Other Employment: Legislative Outreach Director, Solar Lobby, 1979-1981; Projects Director, Public Interest Research Group in Michigan, 1973-1977; Elected Ingham County Commissioner, 1973-1976; Systems Representative, Burroughs Corporation, 1969-1971 Led work on the Central Area Neighborhood Plan. |