Friends of Waterfront Park

Visitors at Pier 62 enjoy a cloudless summer day at Pier 62 as they sit and watch a performance by Cuban Son group, SuperSones.

Supersones performance at Spotlight on the Waterfront 2023. Photo by Jo Cosme.

Who We Are

Friends of Waterfront Park is a 501c3 not for profit responsible for fundraising, stewarding, and programming at Waterfront Park alongside our community – today and into the future.

Dedicated to a renewed place to connect — to the water, to the mountains, to our city, and to one another.

In deep collaboration with individuals, communities, and institutional partners, Friends of Waterfront Park’s mission is creating, caring for, and activating a renewed place of connection on Seattle’s central shoreline. As the non-profit partner, Friends is continuing to raise $170M to support programming, construction, public safety and maintenance at Waterfront Park.

The City of Seattle began construction of the park after the Viaduct’s removal in 2019. The first pieces of the park — Pier 62 and Pioneer Square Habitat Beach — are now open for the public to enjoy.

Watch the 2023 Events Thank You Video

The vision for Waterfront Park was conceived through a community‑wide effort.

Friends is a member of the High Line Network, a movement in cities across the world to reclaim underutilized infrastructure and re-imagine it as public space.

A core promise of Friends of Waterfront Park is to activate and program Waterfront Park; to make this new public space meaningful to the community that lives here. The city opened Pier 62 in September 2020, and Friends has been piloting programs ever since, bringing arts and culture, education, and recreation to the waterfront.

Read Our Gratitude Report Here Learn About Our Community Partnership Committees

Board

Carol Binder

Community Volunteer

Karla Brollier

Home Planet Fund & Ahtna Athabascan

Tom Byers

Cedar River Group

Chris DeVore

Founders’ Co-op

Leonard Forsman

The Suquamish Tribe

Kevin Geiger

Blue Wave

Olive Goh

J. P. Morgan Private Bank

Patrick Gordon

ZGF Architects LLP

Mike Halperin

Hg Catalyst Project

Sandra Jackson-Dumont (special advisor)

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

Falona Joy

SNP Strategies, Inc.

Martha Kongsgaard

Kongsgaard-Goldman Foundation

Dan Kully

Kully Maeder Muir

Carla Lewis

Community Volunteer

Lori Metcalf

Seattle Academy

John Nesholm

LMN Architects

Jeannie Nordstrom

Community Volunteer

Michaela Raikes

Highline Public Schools

Saema Somalya

Remitly

Stuart Rolfe

Wright Hotels, Inc.

Charley Royer (emeritus)

Former Seattle Mayor

Kayley Runstad Swan

Hamlin Robinson School

Ryan Smith

Martin Smith, Inc.

Julie K. Stein

Burke Museum, University of Washington

Hewan Teshome

Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle Kraken

Louie Ungaro

The Muckleshoot Tribe

Maggie Walker

The Walker Family Foundation

Brady Piñero Walkinshaw

Earth Alliance

Charles Wright

Merrill Gardens, LLC

Leadership

Priyanka Anand

Philanthropy Events and Stewardship Manager

Darin Averill

Park Experience Assistant

Brianna Browne

Programs Manager

Richelle Dickerson

Assistant Director of People & Culture

Angela Escudero

Digital Marketing Manager

Antinee Phongvichit Eteaki

Event and Facility Operations Lead

Denise Evans

Assistant Director of Accounting and Finance

Kelli Faryar

Senior Programs Manager

Alex Harding

Production Manager

Frederick Hagreen

Executive Assistant

Laura Hendrichsen

Event Production and Site Manager

Michael Johnson

Director of Park Experience

Yoon Kang-O'Higgins

Senior Director of Community Impact and Programs

Kjerstin Laine

Senior Manager of Annual Giving

Maria Lopez

Public Safety Manager

Jessica Lotz

Community Impact and Programs Coordinator

Jason Merges

Senior Content and Marketing Manager

Mark Meuter

Senior Production Manager

Jamala Myres

Facilities On-Site Operations Manager

Anna O'Donnell

Chief Philanthropy Officer

Kelsey Oliver-Connelly

Operations and Administrative Coordinator

Nico Onoda-McGuire

Senior Manager of Community Impact

Jordan Remington

Programs Manager and Curator of Indigenous Programs

Maria Reyna

Assistant Director of Community Impact and Programs

Elyse Rickard

Philanthropy Database Coordinator

Sequoia Selah

Administrative Assistant, Community Impact and Programs

Shiva Shafii

Director of Marketing and Communications

Joy Shigaki

President & CEO

Joey Smith

Assistant Director of Philanthropy

Eldon Tam

Chief Operating Officer

Jenny Yann

Associate Director of Data Systems

Pulling Together Committee

The Pulling Together Committee convenes members of our local Tribal leaders, community members, and Urban Natives from the greater Puget Sound region to support the goals and objectives of Friends of Waterfront Park through the inclusion of Indigenous voices, values, and interests by assessing Friends’ community engagement and partnerships efforts, public programs, events, and activities at Seattle’s Waterfront. Learn more.

Karama Blackhorn (Squaxin)

Member

Felicia Bryan (Chinook)

Member

Wesley Edminister (Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe)

Member

Deborah Guerrero MSW (Tlingit, Filipino, Cowlitz, Snoqualmie, French Canadian First Nations, Irish, German)

Member

Carolyn Hartness (Eastern Band Cherokee/Norwegian)

Member

Karen Johnson (Squamish, Indopino)

Member

Jessica Juarez-Wagner

Potlatch Fund Representative

Ellany Kayce (Tlingit)

Member

Mercedes Luna (Tlingit/Japanese/Filipino)

Member

Megan McDermott (Little Shell Chippewa, Blackfeet, Cree)

Member

Jordan Remington (Quileute)

Facilitator

Tiarraray Square (St. Regis Mohawk Tribe)

Member

Edna Wyena (Yakima & Muckleshoot)

Member

Community Connections Committee

The Community Connections Committee convenes individuals from various communities throughout Seattle and the Puget Sound region, who are exclusively from marginalized groups and/or identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color. C3 is also joined by two additional members of the Friends’ board to oversee and advance Friends’ inclusion and social equity efforts on the Board of Directors level. Learn more.

Rosendo Ayala