Community Partnership Committees
Join a Committee
The application period for the 2024 committees is now CLOSED. Thank you to everyone who applied to become a member of our Community Partnership Committees!
Learn more about what the committee experience is like by checking out these interviews featuring some of our outgoing 2023 committee members. We hope you’ll consider applying next year!
About the Committees
In 2022, Friends developed two Community Partnership Committees, the Pulling Together Committee (PTC), consisting of Indigenous community organizers and leaders, and the Community Connections Committee (C3), consisting of BIPOC community organizers and leaders. In 2024, we launched an Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC), representing leaders and representatives of disability communities in Seattle and Puget Sound. These citizen advisory committees provide recommendations and feedback in support of Friends’ inclusion and racial equity impact.
As we anticipate the completion and opening of Waterfront Park in 2025, there is a critical need for strategic visioning and planning to ensure that all communities, particularly those that have been historically excluded – youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and BIPOC – have access to enjoyable cultural and recreational opportunities and the economic benefits of Waterfront Park.
Pulling Together Committee (PTC)
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 Seattle 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.
PTC has centered their recommendations, feedback, and evaluations specifically to Friends’ focus on Indigenous communities and Indigenous representation in public programs, community engagement, partnerships, and other community-centric aspects of Friends’ work. PTC is currently facilitated by Jordan Remington, Friends’ Public Programs Manager & Curator of Indigenous Programs. The Pulling Together Committee will also be expanding its Indigeneity membership to include Indigenous community members of the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Community Connections Committee (C3)
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.
C3’s feedback has centered on assessing whether the community engagement, partnership building, public programming, and other decisions made by Friends are meeting and exceeding cultural, civic engagement, educational, recreational, vending, and other pertinent needs and values identified by communities traditionally left out of engagement efforts and public programming initiatives, particularly in parks.
Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC)
Friends launched a third, Accessibility Advisory Committee, bringing together leaders and representatives of disability communities in Seattle and Puget Sound. This committee convenes people who identify as persons with disabilities, have a user’s perspective; have personal or professional experience with disability and advocacy; can speak broadly on disability issues opposed to only addressing personal needs; or who are knowledgeable about a variety of physical, communication, and program access issues (hearing, vision, mobility, speech, cognitive limitations, etc.).
This committee provides feedback on improving Friends’ understanding and responsiveness to a diverse audience of people with disabilities. It is our intention for the Accessibility Committee members to support the facilitation of two-way communication with disability communities, advise about the development of creative solutions that will eradicate barriers, and produce recommendations that serve the mutual interest of the communities, businesses, and organizations impacted by Waterfront Park.
Membership Benefits and Incentives
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Members are compensated $75 for every hour-long meeting, including the end of year interview, and $100 for every 90–120-minute meeting.
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Friends provides travel or parking reimbursements, food and beverages, and other accommodation and access needs as requested to committee members. Our office building is wheelchair accessible and has an elevator on-site.
There is street parking and several garages/lot parking at:
- Waterfront Place Lot #103
- Harbor Steps Garage
- Find more parking here
- Bus or Light rail: To find your route via bus or light rail, check out google maps here!
- ADA Transit/Commute Accessibility Resources HERE
- Access assessment map HERE
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Members will have the opportunity to network with all committee members and share initiatives, events, and other news during meetings
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Members will have direct communication with various department members at Friends to provide their recommendations for ongoing projects
2024 PTC Members
2024 C3 Members
2024 AAC Members
Past Committee Members
Find out who’s been on our committees since their inaugural year in 2022! We are so grateful to these incredible individuals who have been integral to shaping our work and who will have a lasting impact on Waterfront Park.