Port of Seattle: A Community Advisory Program

The Port of Seattle is located in the State of Washington, Northwestern United States. In close connection with the City of Seattle and the King County, the Port Authority of Seattle tries to continue its development in a sustainable way. The port commissioners are even elected by the county citizens. It has already been a few years now since a dialogue was initiated with the community of the Duwamish valley. The citizens who live there are the most impacted by the externalities generated by port operations. As the AIVP found this initiative particularly interesting and some first results are already seen, we conducted an interview with Christina Billingsley, Senior program manager, environmental engagement, and Dre Avila, Community volunteer from the Duwamish valley. From left to right: AIVP’s Théo Fortin, Community volunteer Dre Avila,Port of Seattle’s Christina Billingsley. Picture: AIVP. AIVP - Could you tell us what is the community advisory program and how does it function? Dre Avila, Community advisor - In the Duwamish Valley, the community volunteers are the co-leaders of the liaison with the port. In total, it is a group of six people who took the role of “community advisors” as part of the “Duwamish Valley Port Community Action Team (PCAT)”. However, the port authority is looking for more such volunteers, as they want to expand the PCAT to include more diverse voices. The community volunteers have different specialties and backgrounds: environment, mobility, river management, etc and are all representing diverse racial, ethnic, gender and economic backgrounds. Living in the Duwamish Valley, between the port industrial area and the airport of Seattle, gives a sensibility to the relation with the port authority. This action-oriented advisory role requires between 20 to 40 hours a month, which is financially compensated by the port authority. The volunteers are deeply committed to the work, and even take some days off their regular employment to do this advocacy work. Christina Billingsley, Senior program manager - Our primary focus is on community engagement to advance shared port-community outcomes for environmental justice. In 2016, the Port of Seattle created a new team specifically in charge of community relations connected to the port’s environmental impact. Thanks to a grant from the federal environmental protection agency, we designed a new program to address the negative historical and current externalities associated with the port industry. Two near-port neighborhoods experiencing environmental justice challenges are…