Redmond Mayor Angela Birney talks with DH’s Andrei Mylroie at the Regional Leadership Conference. Photo by: Alabastro Photography
By Andrei Mylroie
Partner
Relationships matter.
It struck Marc and me that being together in person is an essential part of moving a region forward. While the sessions and panels brought new insights, side discussions mattered even more. There’s no replacement for being together, sharing meals and creating understanding. This builds trust and community, which in my opinion is the most important factor in advancing ambitious plans.
From left, DH’s Marc Berger; Marc Casale of Kinetic West; and Marc Cummings of Life Science Washington. Photo by: Alabastro Photography
People are mostly optimistic about Seattle.
There was a lot of discussion about Seattle’s progress and our standing in the country and world. From our innovation economy (tech, biotech, sustainability, AI, higher ed) to the impact of our transportation and maritime sector (Port of Seattle’s focus, light rail expansion, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport) and the health of our tourism economy, people see opportunity for the future of Seattle and our region.
But progress doesn’t come without challenges, so how we balance this with affordable housing, quality of life and supporting a social infrastructure will require leadership and focus. Overall, though, we heard from leaders truly motivated to dig in, even with the hard stuff that can feel overwhelming.
There’s hunger for the next big thing.
We loved the recognition and celebration of Seattle’s waterfront vision coming to life. Cities need vision and ambitious goals, so seeing a decade-long project designed for everyone come to fruition is inspiring and essential for a city. And the 2026 World Cup is a milestone that motivates expansion of the current waterfront projects, among other big initiatives.
But what’s next beyond this? We’re not sure where this will go — but the fact that there’s hunger to collaborate on the future is inspiring. We’re eager to help shape and support a vision.