Brie's Reflections

Brie Adderley, LT'23, DH

The Neighborhoods and Communities Possibility Day was our first in-person gathering since the Mid-Year Retreat, and I could feel new energy in the room. At the retreat, honest and vulnerable conversations helped build trust and forge new bonds, so it was fitting that our next session focused on community.  

We opened the Possibility Day with a seemingly simple question: What feels like home to you? In small group discussions, cohort members shared various definitions of home, ranging from specific neighborhoods to the outdoors, to places of comfort, or wherever family happens to be. 

These unique yet universal examples of home personally evoked a feeling of belonging, not just among my cohort but in this region. I was reminded that authentic community building is about creating opportunity and access for all – something we’re collectively grappling with today.

Much of the day’s discussion centered on housing, particularly the challenges and opportunities facing our region. Panelists Maiko Winkler-Chin and Rachel Smith shared insights from their own leadership experiences and emphasized that equitable housing means having a choice in where you live. That’s not the reality for many people in our region due to displacement, gentrification, and public policy rooted in oppression and injustice.

Housing equity requires supply, stability and sustainability, and the courage and leadership to end discriminatory practices and change harmful systems so that they work for everyone.

Our afternoon was full of more conversation and a lot of laughs during Open Space – one of my new favorite parts of LT! – and a second session on transformative conflict and accountability. I left this Possibility Day refreshed, hopeful, tired and, most importantly, better educated about this place I call home.  

Lisa's Reflections

Lisa Drake, LT'23, Port of Seattle Police

During our Neighborhoods and Communities Possibility Day, we heard from Rachel Smith, President and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and Maiko Winkler-Chin, Director of Office of Housing with the City of Seattle. This was a timely conversation, as Initiative 135 in the City of Seattle recently passed with 57% support. Initiative 135 was designed to create the Seattle Social Housing Developer, which would develop, own, and maintain housing developments and lease units.

There is no question that more housing is needed. If we know lack of housing is a problem, how do we overcome roadblocks to fix the issue? How can leaders work together across sectors to effectively implement new programs? With Initiative 135, there are many unanswered questions. This magnifies the importance of leadership across all sectors to have conversations about what success looks like in this area and clarify everyone's responsibilities. These may not be easy questions to answer right away, but by having the conversations, solutions can be found and buy-in can occur, increasing the likelihood of a successful program.

Our table discussions after presentations inspired other insights and highlighted the fact that we have a lot of work to do. For example, when bringing social housing to Seattle, one of the questions we need to grapple with is how to create community and belonging with people from many different cultures. 

As the day came to an end, the importance of collective leadership to drive change became increasingly evident. Without leaders from all sectors (public, private, and nonprofit) working together, real change is not going to happen in the direction we need. To foster change and move toward a more resilient and equitable region, there needs to be constant dialogue, full transparency, willingness to engage, and forward thinking on who needs to come to the table when making decisions. With conversations like in today’s Possibility Day, we can get there.