Seattle City Makers

The beautiful game runs deep in Maya Mendoza-Exstrom’s family. The Seattle Sounders FC’s Chief Operating Officer was an All-American player in college, coached at the college level and her father helped pitch Seattle’s bid for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. It was a natural fit for Maya to help lead our city’s 2026 FIFA World Cup bid. She takes us through that process, details soccer’s growth in Seattle...

There are few people who have had a more direct impact on the built environment in downtown Seattle than Matt Griffin. The managing partner of Pine Street Group LLC, Matt has led the development of some of downtown’s biggest office, retail, residential and convention spaces, and he’s done so during difficult economic times over the last 40 years. Jon and Matt take a chronological journey through s...

Our latest podcast episode should fill every Seattleite with at least a little nostalgia. Whether it’s a quick lunch or a late night craving, Dick’s Drive-In has been a Seattle staple for nearly 70 years. A family-run business, Dick’s is now led by Jasmine Donovan, the president and CFO. Granddaughter of founder Dick Spady, Jasmine is leading Dick’s during a time of evolution and expansion. Jon an...

Seattle and King County are now seven years into a declared state of emergency on homelessnes. The King County Regional Homelessness Authority was formed in December of 2019 through an interlocal agreement between King County and the city of Seattle. Marc Dones helped create the framework that will lead this approach in our community and has led the KCRHA as CEO since April 2021. Jon and Marc disc...

Name a huge celebratory event in Seattle over the past decade and there’s a decent chance Beth Knox has had something to do with it. From multiple stints with Seafair and work with One Reel (former producers of Bumbershoot) to organizing multiple parades and leading the 2018 Special Olympics, Beth has been a community leader. Beth now directs the Seattle Sports Commission, positioning our city to...

Tom Mara might have the best job in the Seattle metro area. A love affair with music guided Tom to a student volunteer position at KCMU in 1987, and led to him running the coolest radio station (KEXP) on the planet for 30 years. Tom has guided KEXP from a station with a 12-mile radius to a music powerhouse reaching nearly 2 million people around the world every week. The station’s evolution has ex...

As chief financial officer of Woodland Park Zoo, Michele Smith is responsible for all new and ongoing revenue at this 123-year-old institution that welcomes more than one million guests each year. What does it take to keep 1,000 endangered species safe during a global pandemic? Did the animals miss humans as much as we missed them? How long does it take to plan the wildly popular Wild Lanterns lig...

The Selig name is associated with a number of notable properties in downtown Seattle, including the development of the Columbia Center. In the sixth episode of the Seattle City Makers podcast, Jordan Selig sits down with Jon to discuss her optimism in the economic health of Seattle, expanding her involvement in local politics, developing the most sustainable building of its size in the nation (400...

You’ll recognize our fifth guest from numerous appearances on NBC News, MSNBC, local news coverage and many other platforms. Since the outset of the covid pandemic, Dr. Vin Gupta has provided medical insights through the media, and also assistance in the field as a trained pulmonologist and a Major with the Air Force Reserve Medical Corps. He’s had a front-row seat to the interplay between politic...

The fourth episode of Seattle City Makers features one of the biggest names in Seattle’s food scene, chef and restaurateur Ethan Stowell. Restaurants have had to weather a number of restrictions during the pandemic, and Ethan offers ingredients that have been critical to success. He also dishes on how the pandemic will permanently change the industry, why he decided to invest in downtown again and...

Our third episode features someone who just might be the personification of a “city maker.” Liz Dunn, principal of Dunn & Hobbes, LLC, is one of the standard bearers of Seattle mixed-use neighborhood developers. Jon joined Liz in the Overcast Room of Cloud Studios, which is in the basement of the award-winning Chophouse Row project. They talk about navigating the landlord-tenant relationship durin...

We raise the curtain on our second episode with The 5th Avenue Theatre’s Managing Director Bernie Griffin who joins Jon for a wide-ranging conversation. Performance venues have had a uniquely challenging time during the pandemic. Jon and Bernie talk about how the theatre pivoted, renovated and positioned itself to bounce back, the need to center diverse voices, the economic impact of the sector, t...

Jon sits down with Seattle's former Chief of Police, Carmen Best. The first Black female to lead the department, Best is now an author and a law enforcement analyst for NBC and MSNBC. Jon and Carmen discuss her new book, the balance of police reform and public safety, the circumstances that drove her to retirement, advice for Seattle’s new leaders on public safety, and more. Join us for Seattle Ci...