Community Champions

The Community Champions pilot program is a strategic part of our city’s Equitable Engagement Framework, which is a part of this commitment. It seeks to serve the communities who identify as:

  • Black, indigenous, or as a person of color 
  • Speak a language other than English at home 
  • Immigrants or refugees 
  • Having disabilities
  • LGBTQIA+
  • Low-income households 
  • Youth who may be future Edmonds residents, voters, and business owners 
  • Social service agencies 
  • Small business owners

Through 2024, the Comprehensive Plan will review many policy topics like planning, economic development, environmental health, housing, land use, and transportation. The Plan will also study how and where Edmonds residents and businesses would like to direct future city investment.

Community Champions Network will bring underrepresented and historically marginalized voices into the process. Their involvement will help to ensure Edmonds’ planning efforts reflect their needs and priorities.

Selected liaisons are:

Alicia Crank – Crank’d Up Consulting

Communities represented: People who identify as black, indigenous, or a person of color; people from low-income households; small business owners.

Rowan Soiset - Edmonds Queer Youth Alliance

Communities represented: People who identify as LGBTQIA+; youth.

Kathleen Hervey - Edmonds Waterfront Center

Communities represented: People who have disabilities and people from low-income households.

Breanne Taylor – CARE (Coalition for Accessible and Resilient Edmonds)

Communities represented: People who identify as youth; people from low-income households.

Van Dinh-Kuno – Refugee & Immigrant Services

Communities represented: People who identify as black, indigenous, or as a person of color; people who speak a language other than English at home; people who are immigrants or refugees; people from low-income households; youth; social service agencies.

Joomi Kim – Korean Community Service Center

Communities represented: People who identify as black, indigenous or as a person of color; people who speak a language other than English in the home; people who are immigrants or refugees; people who have disabilities; people from low-income households; youth; social service agencies, small business owners.

Goals

Community Champions will co-create inclusive engagement opportunities working with the City staff.  The goals of the Community Champion effort are to: 

  • Ensure that the underrepresented and historically marginalized communities have meaningful opportunities to participate in the development of the Comprehensive Plan.
  • Support individual community members with civic engagement.
  • Build long-term and trusting relationships between City staff and community members.
  • Build community support for future city actions and decisions. 

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