Lisa Brown announces mayoral transition team, opens website to community feedback

Emry Dinman, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
·8 min read

Dec. 6—Spokane Mayor-elect Lisa Brown unveiled her transition team Tuesday, a deep roster of dozens of other elected leaders, nonprofit administrators, former city employees and others.

Brown also has launched a website, betterwayspokane.com, an homage to her campaign slogan, where residents can provide feedback and suggestions for her transition team to consider.

"I promised a better way, and a better way starts here," Brown said in Eastern Washington University's Catalyst Building Tuesday. "We're bringing diverse people together, listening to what's important to them and working together."

The transition team, broken into five committees, will spend the next month drafting priorities for Brown's administration and setting metrics for how the mayor and the public can gauge progress on those priorities, culminating in a public presentation to the City Council. Brown will be sworn in at the start of next year.

Brown has not announced any anticipated permanent or interim hires for her cabinet, though she said Tuesday that she wanted to make decisions on most of those positions by the end of the year.

The law enforcement-focused Enhancing Public Safety and Building Trust committee will be led by Maggie Yates, the former administrator of the Spokane Regional Law and Justice Council who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat against incumbent County Commissioner Al French; former U.S. Attorney and former City Attorney Mike Ormsby; and Virla Spencer, CEO and co-founder of the criminal justice advocacy organization The Way to Justice.

The Improving Health and Housing Options committee, which also will be focused on homelessness, will be led by Fawn Schott, president and CEO of Volunteers of America Spokane; Marty Dickinson, chief marketing officer for the Spokane Teachers Credit Union; and Dr. Luis Manriquez, who works for the Community Health Association of Spokane.

The economic development workgroup, Investing in Economy and Workforce, will be led by Charlotte Nemec, treasurer for Greater Spokane Incorporated and president and CEO of the Canopy Credit Union; Kelly Fukai, vice president of government and community affairs for the Washington Technology Industry Association; and Luis Licea, apprenticeship coordinator with Northwest Laborers, whose work has recently included pre-apprenticeship training with local homeless residents.

The Building a Resilient Future team, which will focus on infrastructure, balancing the city's budget and climate resiliency, will be led by Brian Henning, director of the Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment; Gavin Cooley, who served as the city's chief financial officer from 2003 to 2020 and recently worked to create a regional coalition to address homelessness; and Latisha Hill, vice president of community affairs and chief customer officer for Avista.

The Enriching Families and Communities committee, which is focused on finding ways to enrich the lives of families and young children, including through the arts, sports and cultural events, will be led County Commissioner Amber Waldref, Freda Gandy, executive director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Family Outreach Center, and Ginger Ewing, executive director of arts nonprofit Terrain.

In all, Brown has recruited 92 people to help her set the tone for her administration. Others include:

Enhancing Public Safety and Building Trust

* Chris Jordan, Spokane County commissioner

* Maryann Moreno, retired Spokane County Superior Court judge

* Justin Bingham, Spokane city prosecutor

* Sean Nemec, former Spokane Police Department sergeant

* Hanncel Sanchez, Venezuelan immigrant and DACA recipient who founded Mujeres in Action

* Emilie Cameron, president and CEO of the Downtown Spokane Partnership

* Greg Bulkley, former Wing Commander for the Washington Air National Guard

* Larry Soehren, former CEO of commercial real estate firm Kiemle and Hagood

* Curtis Hampton, member of Spokane Community Against Racism and board member of the Carl Maxey Center

* Mike Connelly, former Spokane city attorney and former commissioner and chair of the state Public Disclosure Commission

* Jeremiah Bourgeois, journalist and legal advocate. At 14, he was sentenced to life without parole, the second-youngest in state history. U.S. Supreme Court later made such sentences for juveniles unconstitutional.

* Howard Delaney, former Spokane city attorney who was fired by then-Mayor David Condon for his office's handling of the Otto Zehm case and other concerns. Later became top administrator for Spokane Municipal Court.

* Toni Lodge, CEO of The NATIVE Project

* Andy Bessmer, Spokane Fire Department captain

* Francis Adewale, Spokane City Public Defender

* Sally Winn, director of legal services for YWCA

Improving Health and Housing Options

* Marcus Riccelli, Democratic state representative

* Tija Danzig, former senior manager of the city's Community, Housing and Human Services Department who was among several who resigned from that department in 2021.

* Dylan Dressler, clinic director for The NATIVE Project

* Amber Lenhart, founder of Social Impact Partners Northwest

* Lerria Schuh, executive director of the Smith-Barbieri Progressive Fund, a major supporter of progressive causes

* Jonathan Mallahan, vice president of housing for Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington, former cabinet member under Condon

* Zeke Smith, president of Empire Health, which was contracted by the state Department of Commerce under Brown's leadership to oversee the closing of the Camp Hope homeless encampment

* Robert Lippman, co-chair of the Spokane Homeless Coalition and community clinic manager for Providence

* Ben Stuckart, executive director for the Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium and former Spokane City Council president who ran unsuccessfully for Spokane mayor in 2019

* Cara Carlton, government relations analyst for MultiCare

* James Gallina, a principal for property management company Millennium Northwest

* Jim Frank, founder of the Greenstone Corporation and developer of Kendall Yards

* Chris Batten, developer and principal of RenCorp Realty and former board chair of the Downtown Spokane Partnership

* Joe Ader, executive director of Family Promise of Spokane, which serves local homeless families

* Kelli Miller, interim CEO of Frontier Behavioral Health

* Terri Anderson, interim executive director and statewide policy director of the Tenants Union of Washington

Investing in Economy and Workforce

* Marvo Reguindin, director of the AHANA Multi-Ethnic Business Association

* Laura Ives, representative for the U.S. Economic Development Administration

* Tom Simpson, CEO of Ignite Northwest, an economic development nonprofit

* Francis SiJohn, director of planning and economic development for the Spokane Tribe of Indians

* Vange Hochheimer, economics professor at Whitworth University

* Todd Woodward, director of marketing and communications for the Spokane International Airport

* John Sklut, senior advisor to the president of Gonzaga University

* Stacie Maier, director of business and public affairs for Avista

* John Bryant, co-founder of No-Li Brewhouse

* Marcelo Morales, founder and CEO of A4 Ventures, a private investment firm and board member of Greater Spokane Incorporated

* Mark Mattke, CEO of the Spokane Workforce Council

* Brian Walter, business representative for the local Sheet Metal Workers union

* Mike Senske, member of the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and CEO of Pearson Packaging Systems

* Gary Livingston, retired chancellor of the Community Colleges of Spokane and former superintendent for Spokane Public Schools

* Kerra Bower, owner of Little Scholars Early Learning Center

* Stephanie Curran, CEO of the Spokane Public Facilities District

Building a Resilient Future

* Elyse Hochstadt, executive director of Spokane Zero Waste

* Jerry White, retired Spokane Riverkeeper

* Rick Romero, former Spokane utilities director who has worked with Cooley to form Spokane Regional Collaborative, the regional homeless authority

* Steve Helmbrecht, CEO and co-founder of Treasury4, a financial technology company

* Larry Luton, member of the steering committee of 350 Spokane, a climate justice organization

* Karl Otterstrom, chief planning and development officer for the Spokane Transit Authority

* Rick Boutz, served on the board of Numerica Credit Union

* Andy Barrett, investor and entrepreneur with a focus on construction and manufacturing

* Mike Allen, former Spokane city councilman and professor at Spokane Community College

* Kara Odegard, former head of sustainability initiatives for the Spokane City Council

* Tim Dunivant, former Spokane finance and budget director

* Darrin Griechen, vice president for Green Canopy NODE, a sustainable housing company

* Dale Silha, vice president of Energy Pacific Northwest for McKinstry Co.

* John Powers, former mayor of Spokane

* Margo Hill, urban planning professor for Eastern Washington University

Enriching Families and Communities

* Mark Finney, executive director of Thrive International and former head of World Relief Spokane, both organizations that aid refugees

* Juan Mas, film producer and director, founder of the 50 Hour Slam Film Festival and Spokane Film Project

* Jennyfer Mesa, founder and director of Latinos en Spokane

* Sima Thorpe, executive director of the Arc of Spokane

* Rick Welliver, founder of the Spokane Boxing Club

* Amy Knapton Vega, executive director of the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery

* Deb Brock, sports director for the Spokane Youth Sports Association

* Tamara Bradley, manager of social impact for Avista

* Jeremy Whittington, artistic director of Stage Left Theater

* Maisa Abudayha, founder of Feast World Kitchen

* Lu Hill, former director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Spokane County, ran unsuccessfully in 2021 for Spokane City Council

* Ian Sullivan, executive director of Odyssey Youth Movement, an LGBTQ+ youth center

* Ryan Oelrich, interim Spokane city councilman who served from August through November, executive director for Priority Spokane

* Adam Swinyard, superintendent of Spokane Public Schools

Editor's note: This report was changed on Dec. 6, 2023 to correct information about the Smith-Barbieri Progressive Fund. The Smith-Barbieri Progressive Fund does not financially back candidates for office. The report was also changed to correct information about Larry Luton's role with 350 Spokane. Luton is a member of the steering committee.