Seattle City Makers

Urban Visions Founder & CEO Greg Smith’s Seattle roots run deep in this city. The fifth-generation Seattleite has developed some of downtown’s signature properties, and real estate runs in his family. There are many tales to tell. Jon and Greg talk about bringing Weyerhaeuser to Pioneer Square; the transformation of the Grand Central Building; his views on downtown and the city; the importance...

The largest Goodwill store in the world (yes, the world) is just south of downtown Seattle. So, it’s fitting that Libby Johnson McKee is the President & CEO of Evergreen Goodwill, since she spent more than a decade as the director of worldwide returns at Amazon. Jon and Libby talk about Evergreen Goodwill handling 119 million pounds of products each year; how her career in tech has impacted Ev...

Seattle’s public library system rivals any other in the nation, and even stands tall internationally, according to the system’s Executive Director and Chief Librarian, Tom Fay. Jon and Tom talk about how Seattle’s libraries compare to other markets; the technological evolution of what we experience via libraries; the upcoming Seattle library levy; the central library as an architectural gem; Tom’s...

Angela Dunleavy’s career in the Seattle food and hospitality sector has been marked by leadership with some really big local brands: Ethan Stowell Restaurants, FareStart and Gournando, to name a few. Her latest venture, Rally, is a creation of her own making building upon that deep food and beverage history. Jon and Angela talk about the founding of Rally; the importance of doing things in-person;...

Seattle sports fans likely know Simply Seattle as the go-to spot for shirts, jerseys, hats and some of the city’s most iconic apparel. But owner Jamie Munson’s story is also one of entrepreneurship, brand building and betting on Seattle’s sports culture. Jon and Jamie talk about Jamie’s path from general manager to owner of Simply Seattle; the growth of the business since purchasing it in 2015; th...

Kevin Martinez grew up in a baseball-loving family in New Jersey, and the love of the game propelled him to a career in the big leagues. An opportunity with the Seattle Mariners sent him across the country in his early 20s, and after a brief stint back east, a love of Seattle and its MLB franchise lured him back. After spending decades directing marketing with the Mariners, he became president of...

The odds are extremely slim that we will ever have a guest on Seattle City Makers with the same first job as Suzana Sakay. The president & CEO of the Washington Athletic Club, Suzana grew up in a Bosnian town across the Sava River from Croatia and her first job was born out of a brutal conflict. Jon and Suzana talk about her role as a NATO translator; her path from the Balkans to Seattle and t...

Katrina Egner began her career in behavioral health as an intern at Sound Behavioral Health in 1997. Today, she’s the president & CEO and leads a team of more than 700 clinicians and staff members. Jon and Katrina talk about the status of behavioral health in Seattle and King County today; how the sector has been playing catch-up for 40 years; a positive development that emerged from a global...

When thinking of senior living facilities, for many the mind wanders to the suburbs. Senior living in Seattle is a little different, with more housing options in and around downtown and Horizon House is a shining example. And they’ve broken ground on a 33-story tower that is already beyond 70% leased. Jon and Erica talk about the roots of her career in Detroit; Seattle as a bit of an outlier with...

Town Hall Seattle is a venue synonymous with conversations and performances that span a wide spectrum: lively and entertaining to deep, important and thought-provoking. Leading this historic venue is Kate Nagle-Caraluzzo. Jon and Kate discuss how a subscription started her on a path to leadership; how Town Hall secures talent; some of her favorite events and guests; Seattle’s Historic Theater Dist...

We’re digging into downtown development on this Seattle City Makers episode. Skanska Executive Vice President & Regional Manager Charlie Foushee sits down with Jon to talk about the ecosystem that is urban development. Jon and Charlie discuss downtown’s residential boom and the need for family housing; the importance of the ground-floor space; return to the office; trends in Seattle and Bellev...

It’s a return to the show for Seattle City Councilmember Bob Kettle. The District 7 (which includes downtown) councilmember is the chair of the Public Safety Committee, and public safety in Seattle takes up a lot of this conversation. Jon and Bob discuss the current downward trend for violent crime in downtown; Seattle’s public drug use ordinance; Community Court and King Country Drug Court; the L...

If you live or work downtown, there’s a really good chance you benefit from infrastructure that is more than 100 years old under your feet. We’re talking steam as we kick off the fifth season of the Seattle City Makers podcast. Jon is joined by CenTrio Energy Vice President Ian Goepferd. Jon and Ian wind their way through a steam heating utility that features 20 miles of piping under downtown Seat...

It’s a milestone episode for the Seattle City Makers podcast – we've hit the century mark! While all our guests are special to us, for show number 100 we have a guest who is known well beyond our city as we welcome actor, host and comedian Joel McHale to the program. Jon and Joel talk about the actor’s start on the stage at Unexpected Productions; the springboard from the KING 5 show Almost Live!;...

Now that the dust has settled on the November election, it’s time to dig into the analysis, the issues facing our newly elected leaders, the what-does-it-all-mean conversation Seattleites are surely having right now. Political and public affairs consultant Sandeep Kaushik helps us unpack everything.  Jon and Sandeep discuss the Trump effect on our local elections; the idea of issue paralysis; the...

We’re raising the curtain at one of Seattle’s greatest venues on this episode of Seattle City Makers. Bill Berry, the executive & artistic director of the venerable 5th Avenue Theatre joins us to dig into arts & culture in downtown Seattle. Jon and Bill discuss the state of the theatre; upcoming performances, including a production Jesus Christ Superstar that will feature a Seattle music i...

Seattle City Maker listeners, you now have the option to watch these conversations on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/downtownseattle . Kicking off this platform enhancement is Chief Amy Barden, leader of Seattle’s CARE public safety department.  This alternative response team was piloted in downtown two years ago, now they’ve expanded citywide. Jon and Amy talk about the CARE team expansion; the...

If you’re looking for a brick-and-mortar retail success story, head to Marios on Sixth Avenue in downtown Seattle. This men’s and women’s specialty store has been a fixture for high-end fashion in Seattle since 1982. Now operating under the Mitchell Stores umbrella, Marios has sibling retail shops in New England, Portland, the Bay Area and Dallas. Scott Mitchell runs Marios in Seattle and has been...

Since 2021, Amazon has invested more than $3.5 billion in affordable housing production and preservation. Leading that charge is Alice Shobe. As Amazon’s outgoing Director of Community Impact, Shobe has taken the tech and logistics giant to new heights regarding direct impact in the communities where its presence is large: Seattle, Arlington, Va., and Nashville. In the Seattle area alone, Amazon h...

As summer comes to a close in Seattle, we’re joined by one of the lead architects of our city’s signature September festival, Bumbershoot. New Rising Sun CEO Joe Paganelli has had a busy and extremely productive year that has significantly impacted downtown’s arts & cultural scene. In addition to producing their third iteration of the music, art, culture and fashion event that is Bumbershoot,...

The Moriguchi family has deep, impactful roots in the Puget Sound region. Fujimatsu and Sadako opened up their first store in Tacoma in 1928, after selling fishcakes and other items out of a truck to loggers, fisherman and local farmers. Think of it as a forefather of the food truck. After World War II, the Moriguchis opened Uwajimaya in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District neighborhood. Fuj...

The return of PCC to Rainier Square is enormous for downtown residents, workers and visitors. Leading this impactful move (and relocation of office space to Rainier Square) is PCC President & CEO Krishnan Srinivasan. At the helm of PCC since 2022, Krishnan joined the member-owned certified organic retailer grocer in 2018 after holding business and finance leadership positions in some of the bi...

Seafair is synonymous with summer in Seattle. This year’s festivities were filled with time-honored traditions and new elements under the direction of first-year President & CEO Emily Cantrell. Emily and Jon sat down a few days after wrapping up the 76th iteration of Seafair, and there was plenty to unpack about this enormous summer celebration. The two discuss her career path which started in...

Many cities across the country have built their convention centers outside of their city center – Seattle avoided that mistake and the community is reaping the rewards of that decision. Conventions, business events and “bleisure travel” (more on that in a moment) are playing big roles in Seattle’s economic symphony and Seattle Convention Center President & CEO Jennifer LeMaster is the conducto...

Fair to say there are not many people with resumes that include work at the Department of Commerce, Microsoft and founding two art spaces in Seattle. A unique career path seems appropriate when you witness the one-of-a-kind experiences Nick Ferderer curates at Base Camp Studios and Base Camp Studios 2. Jon and Nick discuss the origins of his dynamic art galleries; discoveries he’s made at vacant b...