Chris Maykut, Small Business Advocate, Phinney Neighborhood Association, introduces us to the work he does supporting small local businesses in Seattle’s Phinney Ridge and Greenwood neighborhoods. Maykut explains how his role demands highly effective communication and a willingness to put oneself out there, whether it’s a business owner’s bravery in bringing their idea to the world or his work initiating contact and forging a community of mutuality and support.
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Rich Lumley: Attorney, Smith Alling PS, showcases how critical thinking is imperative to the practice of the law. Critical thinking is connected to research, writing, and negotiating which come into play during his work. Lumley also discusses empathy and why that is important in an adversarial system. He encourages people to spend time with people who are different from themselves to have a better understanding of how to approach situations.
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Dakota Keene: Partner, Mithun, talks about her work shaping public space to make people feel welcome to gather and learn. Citing her work at the National Nordic Museum, she stresses the importance of taking the time to observe, listen to a diversity of opinion, and collaborate to design dynamic “third places” that build community and serve our region.
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Sheryl Harmer: Author and Artist, highlights the skills of empathy and perspective taking. This helps someone connect to different people and places. Using an example from the Seattle Art Museum, she explains how she has learned about her own self and emotions by examining the art of others. This connection to social and emotional learning, she believes, is essential to a functioning democracy.
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Benjamin Fong: Seattle-based Teaching Professor and Honors Faculty Fellow, Arizona State University, discusses the role of a professional editor in amplifying and clarifying the message of others, especially at a time when public and political discourse seems to value bad-faith interpretations of others’ communication. Fong discusses this in the context of his work curating a set of historical articles and contemporary commentary by and about Bayard Ruston, a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement.
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Matt Dehr: Lead Meteorologist, Department of Natural Resources, shares his passionate belief in the importance of science in civic life. Dehr uses the revitalization of the Indigenous practice of proscribed burns for wildfire prevention as one example of how people with a diverse range of expertise collaborate to care for the people of the state. He goes on to advocate for the importance of belief in incremental progress in both scientific advancement and social change.
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Tana Senn: Secretary, Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), explains how passing legislation is an important civic skill. She showcases how impactful passing legislation can be on the entire state, acknowledging that getting support from multiple types of stakeholders can be challenging but also really important. Being engaged in the legislative process can demonstrate how impactful civics really are to the community.
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Derek Bradfield Nguyen: Director of Marketing & Communications, Washington State Historical Society, explains that visual storytelling allows people to see how connected communities are. By using examples from the Washington State History Museum, Nguyen shows how different perspectives and visual representations are used to tell a complete story; video allows people to have a voice.
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James Nau: History Teacher, Lakeside School, speaks to the ways in which teaching demands an ability to foster connections with others. As one of the organizers of this project, Nau comments on the connections between teaching, civic life, and collaboration in community. In particular, he emphasizes the ways that teaching provides opportunities to introduce students to both the systems of our society and the tools that enable them to connect and contribute.
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Riley Irish: Health Equity Lead Organizer, WSU Medical School, points to how civic action begins with people seeing something around them that they want to change. They share their passion for community organizing, from building leadership from within communities, developing interventions, moving into action by partnering with the people who can collaborate to get things done, and finally reflecting on the efficacy of the process.
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