Last week, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce welcomed more than 200 business and civic leaders to its 2022 Regional Leadership Conference at Semiahmoo Resort hosted by Presenting Sponsor Alaska Airlines.

At the three-day conference, participants examined key issues facing our region to build actionable strategies toward building a brighter future. The conference centered on key topics integral to that work: Economic resiliency, homelessness, affordability, transportation and public safety.Margie Haywood, founder and CEO of Work & Play Lounge, and Mark Wright, a mortgage loan consultant, were our emcees for the conference and highlights included:


EMBRACING YOUR LEADERSHIP MOMENT: Chamber President and CEO Rachel Smith said after years of leading in a reactionary way and we focus on return to office, in some ways it’s like you’re no longer bound to the rules. It’s time to bring your creativity and innovation to bear.

HONORING THE BEST: The Sen. Scott White Regional Leadership Award honors individuals who build bridges between competing interests, demonstrate a willingness to take on big problems, and move policy issues from discussion to action. This year’s award recipient was Redmond Mayor Angela Birney.

LEANING INTO OPTIMISM: Saema Somalya of Remitly and Marc Berger of DH had a fireside chat for our dinner keynote conversation about careers and community. “I’m excited about the potential in this room,” Somalya said. “The sense of optimism. Hold on to your optimism and your belief that the problems of today can be solved. Find a diverse team. Build something civic. That’s the way we move forward together.”

WHAT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED: We heard how members and community leaders have acted on the topics and issues raised during the March Regional Leadership Conference with Margie Haywood of Work & Play Lounge, Karinda Harris and Geralyn Vannoy of Vulcan and Monika Mathews of QueenCare. The panel shared personal stories about how they acted on new opportunities to take their businesses to new levels related to connections and information provided at the previous conference and the Chamber.

TALENT AND THE FUTURE OF WORK: A panel of experts and leaders across industries discussed trends we’re seeing in the employment sector, the challenges they present and how to keep our region growing. This included Amy Coleman, Corporate VP, Human Resources & Corporate Functions, Microsoft, Hilary Hehman, VP, Business Development, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Sonya Bell, Senior Director, Human Resources, Boeing and Pallavi Meta Wahi, Co-US Managing Partner and Seattle Managing Partner, K&L Gates. The panel discussed how the pandemic and remote work impacted their workforces in different ways and the challenges they are facing head on – from maintaining culture to building talent pipelines.

TOPIC: ECONOMIC RESILIENCY

For our first session, Community Attributes, Inc. President and CEO Chris Mefford provided a look at current economic trends and data and encouraged leaders in the region to have a really clear framework, first and foremost, to be a great place to live and work.

We heard from Garry Clark, President & CEO, Economic Alliance of Snohomish County, Patrick Bannon, President, Bellevue Downtown Association, Alesha Washington, President & CEO, Seattle Foundation and Brian Surratt, President & CEO, Greater Seattle Partners, on a panel about finding opportunities and leveraging economic uncertainties.


“Words are beautiful, action is supreme,” Clark said. “What is the legacy you are trying to leave in your community? Allow the organizations that are doing this work do the work for you. Collaborate with the organizations in your community who can move the needle.”

TOPIC: HOMELESSNESS

Chamber CEO Rachel Smith provided recent data from The Index regarding homelessness. Then, Marc Dones, CEO, King County Regional Homelessness Authority, and Margaret Salazar, Regional Administrator, HUD Region 10, had a conversation discussing our region’s approach to the homelessness crisis, the initiatives taken since the last conference and how we compare to other regions around the nation.

“My job is to figure out how to get our unhoused neighbors rapidly inside,” Dones said. “We can get this done through partnership. There is no getting this done alone. It involves all of us. This is community.”

TOPIC: PUBLIC SAFETY

After lunch, we heard from King County Executive Dow Constantine on a vision for public safety he and his team are developing and how they are taking action toward that vision.

“We need places for people in crisis to go to get the help they need,” Constantine said. “Our communities need and expect genuine and just safety. We can break hurtful cycles. Tackling not just symptoms, but root causes to build the opportunity to thrive for all people.”

Following his remarks, Constantine had a fireside chat with Monica Alexander, Executive Director of Washington State Criminal Justice, about law enforcement as a career, accountability and more.

“I ask that we collaborate,” Alexander said. “That we hold police accountable, but support them as well. We need good people. We need people to know that law enforcement aren’t superheroes, they’re just regular people.”

TOPIC: AFFORDABILITY

Andrew Thibault, Senior Principal at EMC Research, presented the latest Index data on affordability. A panel followed about Opportunities to Address Affordability Statewide with Jessica Clawson, Land Use & Real Estate Law, McCullough Hill Leary, Hon. Joe Fitzgibbon, State Representative, Washington State Legislature, Paula Sardinas, President & CEO, FMS Global Strategies, LLC, and Lindsey Grad, Legislative Director, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.

“Housing must be affordable for everyone,” Sardinas said. “I know teachers and firefighters that have run the risk of homelessness. When they themselves are one paycheck away from being unhoused, we need to look at housing through the lens of equality.”

TOPIC: TRANSPORTATION

Chamber CEO Rachel Smith opened up our transportation discussions with Index data recently collected from voters in Seattle.

Hon. Dave Somers, County Executive of Snohomish County, provided remarks as a call to action on driving the transportation agenda.

“We’re going to continue to grow and if we want to maintain our quality of life and grow businesses, we have to invest in transportation,” Somers said.


Then, a panel convened on transportation as a monument to optimism and how to take advantage of current regional opportunities and become more globally competitive with Heather Mulligan, Manager, Customer Energy Renewable Programs, Puget Sound Energy, Charles Knutson, Senior Manager, Public Policy, Amazon, Alec Cervenka, Zero Emissions Sales Manager, Kenworth Truck Company and Michael Mann, President, Cyan Strategies.

“We need to build out a more robust grid, we need to continue this path of cleaning up with wind and solar resources, and we need to build out that electric vehicle infrastructure,” Mulligan said.

The transportation topic closed with a fireside chat with Greg Spotts, Director, Seattle Department of Transportation, Amy Scarton, Deputy Secretary, Washington State Department of Transportation and Richard de Sam Lazaro, Senior Director, Government & Corporate Affairs, Expedia Group.

“Our big challenge right now is delivering,” Scarton said. “Our challenge is in preserving all of our great assets we have now while making room for growth. We need everyone’s help.”

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

Margie Haywood and Mark Wright, our emcees, shared what they will be thinking about as they head back home after the conference.

“The feeling that I’m left with is gratitude,” Wright said. “Being a public servant is super hard work and it’s thankless. What I love about everybody in this room is that you’ve taken on those hard jobs.”

THANK YOU!

Thank you to all the sponsors, speakers, attendees, and steering committee for this year’s Regional Leadership Conference. We hope to see you at the Regional Leadership Conference in October 2023.

 Photos by Alan Alabastro