Crosscut Festival: Full Schedule

It’s time to talk it out. Join the conversation at #CrosscutFest

Please note, adding a session to your schedule does not guarantee a spot. They are first come, first serve.

6:30pm PST

Check-in

Registration begins at 6:30 p.m. and doors open at 6:45 p.m. Seating is open.

Download a map of the Seattle U campus

Friday February 2, 2018 6:30pm - 7:15pm PST
Pigott Auditorium

7:15pm PST

How the West Coast leads on climate change, immigration and income fairness

As national leaders fiddle, governors on the West Coast are leading the charge on a host of critical national issues. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown discuss the importance of state action on climate change, immigration and minimum wage — and talk about the limits of what we can do without help from the “other Washington.” This session is a co-production of Crosscut and Seattle University’s Institute of Public Service.

Speakers

Joni Balter (Moderator)

Joni Balter is a multi-media journalist and lecturer at Seattle University and the University of Washington Evans Graduate School of Public Policy and Governance. A producer and host of "Civic Cocktail" on the Seattle Channel, she contributes to KUOW and Bloomberg View.

Larry Hubbell (Moderator)

Dr. Larry Hubbell is the director of the Institute of Public Service at Seattle University. He previously served as a faculty member at the University of Wyoming for 25 years. His primary research interests are higher education administration, problems facing emerging democracies... Read More →

Tanya Hayes (Moderator)

Tanya Hayes directs the Environmental Studies program at Seattle University. She holds a joint PhD in Political Science and Public and Environmental Affairs from Indiana University, Bloomington (2007), where she specialized in policy analysis and natural resource management. In addition... Read More →

Kate Brown

Kate Brown is the governor of Oregon.

Jay Inslee

Jay Inslee is the governor of Washington state.

Friday February 2, 2018 7:15pm - 8:30pm PST
Pigott Auditorium

Keynote

7:30am PST

Check-in

Registration will begin at 7:30 in the Student Center.

Download a map of the Seattle U campus

Saturday February 3, 2018 7:30am - 9:00am PST
Student Center

9:00am PST

Tech and the city

In less than a decade, Amazon has rewoven Seattle's urban fabric. The e-commerce giant is adding jobs at a breakneck pace, redeveloping an entire section of the city center, and drawing new people to the city by the thousands. While Amazon has helped bring a new wave of prosperity to Seattle, it has become emblematic of the city's growth and its challenges. As the company seeks a second city to accommodate its dramatic expansion, we'll examine Amazon's impacts, for better and for worse, here in its hometown.

Speakers

Monica Nickelsburg (Moderator)

Monica Nickelsburg is GeekWire’s Civic Innovation Editor, covering technology-driven solutions urban challenges and the intersection of tech and politics. Before joining GeekWire, she was a producer on The Week's digital team in New York City and interned for Forbes, NBC, and The... Read More →

Nikkita Oliver

Nikkita Oliver is a Seattle-based creative, teaching artist, attorney, and organizer. Her writing has appeared in the South Seattle Emerald, Crosscut, the Establishment, and the Stranger. Oliver holds a J.D. and Masters of Education from the University of Washington. She is also the... Read More →

Heather Redman

Heather Redman champions Pacific Northwest startups and innovation from her many leadership roles, including as a cofounder and the managing partner of Flying Fish Partners. The Venture Capital firm is committed to funding early stage technology companies in Washington, Oregon, and... Read More →

Aaron Terrazas

Aaron Terrazas is a senior economist at Zillow. He was previously an economist in the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Economic Policy. He has also worked as a Policy Analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. He received a Bachelor... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 9:00am - 9:45am PST
Wyckoff Auditorium

Business

9:00am PST

Bridging the Cascade Divide

When it comes to political divides in Washington state, the fault lines are real, most notably in what we think of as the Cascade Divide: West is Blue, East is Red and never the twain shall meet. But it’s more complicated than that. Hear from longtime Washington pollster Stuart Elway, and voices from both side of the Cascades, about what divides us, as well as the surprising things that we have in common.

Speakers

Ted McGregor (Moderator)

Ted McGregor grew up in Spokane and graduated from Gonzaga Prep in 1983. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1987, working internships at both the New York Times’ Seattle Bureau and at Seattle Weekly. Next he earned a Master’s in Journalism from the University of... Read More →

Stuart Elway

Stuart Elway has been analyzing public opinion since 1975. As president of Elway Research, Inc., he has directed hundreds of research projects for large and small businesses, associations, foundations, public agencies at all levels, and media outlets. Elway directed The Seattle... Read More →

David Estudillo

Judge David Estudillo is a Grant County Superior Court judge. After being appointed to fill the unexpired term of a retiring judge in 2015, he was then elected by the people of Grant County to a four-year term in November 2016.

Kelli Scott

Kelli Scott is the editorial page editor of The Wenatchee World. She's a fourth-generation member of the Woods family, owners of The World since 1907. A native of Tacoma, Kelli graduated from Oregon State University, then spent several years as an aide to U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks in Washington... Read More →

JT Wilcox

Representative J.T. Wilcox was sworn in as state representative for the 2nd Legislative District, which includes rural southeast Pierce and Thurston counties, in 2011. He sits on three committees — Appropriations, Rules and Finance — and currently serves on the House Republican... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 9:00am - 9:45am PST
Pigott Auditorium

Politics

9:00am PST

Deadly force and Seattle’s changing police culture

Now in its sixth year under federal consent decree, the Seattle Police Department has made considerable progress on reducing unnecessary use-of-force. But the fatal police shooting of Charleena Lyles last summer put the spotlight back on the department and raised questions about mental health and de-escalation training. To weigh in on this life-or-death issue, we have a psychologist, two police reformists and the local police union president.

Speakers

Steven Hsieh (Moderator)

Steven Hsieh is the news editor at The Stranger. His five-year career in journalism has largely focused on criminal justice issues, including the death penalty, indigent defense and police reform. He covered the 2014 Ferguson protests, as well as the fatal police shooting of Charleena... Read More →

Jennifer Henderson

Jennifer Henderson is a licensed mental health counselor and registered art therapist originally from Chicago. She now lives and works in Seattle's south end Neighborhood, Columbia City, where she has a private practice focusing mainly on women's issues and racial identity. She has... Read More →

Riall Johnson

Riall Johnson has been a political advocate since he retired from professional football in 2010. Since his retirement, he has worked on multiple campaigns around the country in Ohio, Florida, Rhode Island, New York, California, and Washington. Most recently, he was the Campaign Director... Read More →

Kevin Stuckey

Rev. Harriet Walden

Rev. Harriett Walden has been a vocal advocate for peace issues since co-founding Mothers for Police Accountability (MfPA) in 1990. She is currently the co-chair of the Seattle Community Police Commission.MfPA is an organization that educates and coordinates parents and community... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 9:00am - 9:45am PST
Fr. LeRoux, S.J. Conference Center

Race & Social Justice

10:15am PST

Tax breaks for titans

In the competition for Amazon’s next headquarters, cities and states have offered the company billions in tax breaks. Is this a smart investment to secure local jobs — as many politicians have argued — or a giveaway of public money to private shareholders? It's a worthwhile question here in Washington, responsible for the largest corporate tax break ever granted by a state, to the Boeing Co. in 2013. This panel of Washington leaders will debate the value of corporate tax breaks, as well as what might happen if Amazon starts asking Seattle what the city has done for it lately.

Speakers

Drew Atkins (Moderator)

Drew Atkins is a longtime local journalist, and recipient of numerous national and regional awards. He also previously served as Crosscut’s managing editor. He is currently at work on an illustrated book about wealth inequality.

Larry Brown

Larry Brown is the Legislative and Political Director for the Aerospace Machinists Union District Lodge 751. He has worked in the aerospace industry for over 40 years and worked for the union for 17 years. Larry has served on the board for Communities in Schools of Auburn and the... Read More →

Reuven Carlyle

Reuven Carlyle is a state Senator representing the 36th District.

Ron Sims

Ron Sims is a civic volunteer active in health, education, environmental and social equity issues. Appointed by Governor Jay Inslee, Sims serves as the chair of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange Board. The board is responsible for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act... Read More →

Kriss Sjoblom

Kriss Sjoblom is Research Director and Senior Economist at the Washington Research Council. At the Research Council, he has authored reports on numerous issues, including the state’s economy, its tax system, transportation, and housing. Dr. Sjoblom has served on the Washington State... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 10:15am - 11:00am PST
Wyckoff Auditorium

Business

10:15am PST

A conversation with Julián Castro

In the fall of 2012, Julián Castro, the young mayor of San Antonio, Texas, stood in front of a packed stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, and gave a rousing speech before the Democratic National Convention. “The American dream is not a sprint, or even a marathon, but a relay,” Castro told the crowd. He rallied the country to re-elect President Obama, and in the process drew many comparisons to the president, who had given the convention speech eight years before.
Castro went on to serve as Obama’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, where he worked to bring homeownership within reach of more Americans, and launched an initiative that provided internet access to public and low-income housing. Castro is now widely viewed as a contender for the 2020 Democratic nomination for President.
Crosscut Managing Editor Florangela Davila talks to Castro about his experience as the grandson of a Mexican immigrant, his time in the Obama administration, and the current state of affairs in Washington, D.C.

Speakers

Florangela Davila (Moderator)

Florangela Davila is the Managing Editor at Crosscut. A veteran Seattle journalist, she worked for 14 years as a staff reporter covering race, immigration and features at The Seattle Times. She's been a longtime arts contributor to KNXK-FM as well as Crosscut. Her work has also appeared... Read More →

Julián Castro

Julián Castro sat on Barack Obama’s cabinet from 2014 to 2017, serving as the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. As Secretary, Castro focused on ensuring that HUD was a transparent, efficient and effective champion for the people it serves. In March 2010... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 10:15am - 11:00am PST
Campion Ballroom

Keynote

10:15am PST

We disagree and that’s OK

It’s never been easy to talk about an issue you care deeply about with someone who disagrees with you. Now, it might be especially hard. But good society thrives on challenging conversation. If you’ve been wanting to find fresh ways to approach what could be tense exchanges about things that matter, this is the session for you.
The Evergrey team has talked with some impactful facilitators and moderators in our work bringing different people around the region together. (We once took locals to Sherman County, Oregon, so people who voted for Clinton and people who voted for Trump could chat.) In this workshop, we’ll explore how you can approach charged discussions so they lead to better understanding, and invite you to share your own best practices and experiences.

Speakers

Mónica Guzmán (Moderator)

Mónica Guzmán is co-founder and director of The Evergrey, a daily Seattle newsletter that connects locals to their city. She is a former columnist at The Seattle Times, GeekWire, The Daily Beast and The Columbia Journalism Review, and studied ways to build closer connections between... Read More →

Ana Sofia Knauf (Moderator)

Ana Sofia Knauf is a storytelling producer at The Evergrey. She's a Los Angeles transplant who decided to grow roots in Seattle after graduating from the University of Washington. Her work has been published in The Stranger, The Seattle Globalist, Grist, Puget Sound Business Journal... Read More →

Warren Etheredge

Warren Etheredge is a Storyfinder. He has conducted over 3,500 interviews. He is one of the founding faculty of TheFilmSchool, helping filmmakers translate their stories for screens big and small, and The Red Badge Project, helping combat veterans work through PTSD and other issues... Read More →

Mozart Guerrier

Bo Zhang

Boting (Bo) Zhang conducts little experiments in collective belonging and writes about them at The Bramble Project. She facilitated Between Americans, a conversation across the red-blue divide, as a post-election "side project" (ha!). Her customary focus is on the civic and social dynamics surrounding urban development and change... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 10:15am - 11:00am PST
Pigott Auditorium

Politics

10:15am PST

Righting the wrongs of racism

How do we make amends for crimes of the past? How do we reconcile the divisions they’ve caused? The idea of reparations, long debated and seldom enacted, has regained currency in American public life, especially since the publication of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s 2015 essay in The Atlantic, “The Case for Reparations.” To discuss the issue, we bring together a journalist who has extensive experience covering Indian country, a leader in the Japanese-American community, a writer and conceptual artist, and a professor whose research has taken her deep inside the question of state apologies for sins of the past.

Speakers

Marcus Harrison Green (Moderator)

Marcus Harrison Green is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of the South Seattle Emerald. He regularly writes about South Seattle personalities, social movements, juvenile justice and American society. He is also a columnist for the Seattle Weekly, former scholar-in-residence at Town... Read More →

Angelique Davis

Angelique M. Davis is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Global African Studies Program at Seattle University. Her research concentrates on Black motherhood, apologies and reparations, the socio-legal construction of race, political representation of nonwhite Americans... Read More →

Tom Ikeda

Tom is the founding Executive Director of Densho. During the past 21 years, he has conducted over 230 video oral history interviews with Japanese American elders, created online and classroom curriculum, trained over 1,000 teachers, and helped design Densho’s award winning website... Read More →

Natasha Marin

Natasha Marin is a conceptual artist and independent consultant primarily focused on digital engagement and community building. Natasha uses social media to find, connect, and build alliances among individuals, communities, and organizations. Her work has been written about in The... Read More →

Mark Trahant

Mark Trahant, the former editorial page editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, is the Charles R. Johnson Endowed Professor of Journalism at the University of North Dakota. He is an independent journalist and a member of The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. Trahant was recently elected... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 10:15am - 11:00am PST
Fr. LeRoux, S.J. Conference Center

Race & Social Justice

11:30am PST

Business leaders as social justice warriors

Seattle is well-known for business leaders who are not afraid to take a stand on environmental protection, race and immigration issues, and LBGTQ rights. John Levesque of Seattle Business Magazine leads a conversation with four local trailblazers about why they have stepped into advocacy roles, the potential pitfalls of activism, and what more business leaders could do to create a more equitable and sustainable society.

Speakers

Marc Berejka

Marc Berejka has served as REI’s government affairs director since 2011 and its director of community affairs since early 2013. Mr. Berejka guides the co-op’s engagement in federal, state and local issues. This includes advocacy on matters that affect retailers in the outdoor... Read More →

Rodney Hines

Rodney Hines is the director of social impact for U.S. operations at Starbucks. He leads the company's strategy to launch and sustain stores in lower income, diverse communities throughout the country. Previously, as Executive Director of the Starbucks Foundation, Rodney has played... Read More →

John Levesque

John Levesque is the managing editor of Seattle Business magazine, where he supervises the editorial content of the publication and writes a monthly column. Before joining Tiger Oak Publications in 2010 as managing editor of Seattle magazine, he worked at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer... Read More →

Anne Levinson

Levinson has served as a judge, as the Chair of the state's Utilities & Transportation Commission, and in several roles for the City of Seattle, including Legal Counsel, Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor for Mayor Norm Rice. Since retiring from the bench, she has consulted for governments... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 11:30am - 12:15pm PST
Wyckoff Auditorium

Business

11:30am PST

Top cops talk police reform

In August of 2014, a young man named Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, sparking widespread unrest and a national reckoning with the troubled relationship between police and communities of color. Numerous other deaths, many of them caught on cellphone video, have revealed an epidemic of police violence against African Americans, and a system that has turned some urban areas into oppressive police states. (Seattle's police department has been under federal supervision since 2012, when an investigation found excessive use of force and evidence of racial bias in police practices.)

Crosscut City Reporter David Kroman talks to the police leaders who are trying to change that. We’ll hear from Delrish Moss, who took over as Ferguson’s police chief in 2016; Anne Kirkpatrick, a former police chief in Ellensburg, Federal Way and Spokane who has been charged with reforming the Oakland, Calif., police department; and former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper, now a national voice in the effort to reform police policy and practices across the country.

Speakers

David Kroman (Moderator)

David Kroman is the city reporter for Crosscut, where he writes about politics, police and anything else he finds interesting. After three years with Crosscut, he's still a relative newcomer to journalism: It’s the only job he’s ever had as a reporter. In 2016, he was the Western... Read More →

Carmen Best

Carmen Best is Seattle's interim Chief of Police.

Anne Kirkpatrick

Anne Kirkpatrick is the police chief of Oakland. Chief Kirkpatrick served as Chief of Police for the Washington cities of Spokane, Federal Way and Ellensburg over 15 years of her career. She also held the post of Chief Deputy in King County, Washington.Most recently, she joined the... Read More →

Norm Stamper

Norm Stamper was a police officer for 34 years, the first 28 in San Diego, the last six (1994-2000) as Seattle’s Chief of Police. He is the author of two books: Breaking Rank: A Top Cop’s Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing (2005) and To Protect and Serve: How to Fix... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 11:30am - 12:15pm PST
Campion Ballroom

Keynote

11:30am PST

When free speech becomes hate speech

Last August, the nation was stunned by the sight of white nationalists and Nazi sympathizers marching in the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia. What began as a protest against the removal of a Confederate statue ended in bloodshed, as a white nationalist drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters. Charlottesville shone a spotlight on a rising tide of hate and hate speech on college campuses, including here in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle reporter Sara Bernard leads a conversation about the line between free speech and hate speech on campus, and what different schools are doing to police it.

Speakers

Sara Bernard (Moderator)

Seattle reporter Sara Bernard is formerly a staff writer at Seattle Weekly, a fellow at Grist.org, staff writer and multimedia producer for Edutopia magazine, freelance journalist, and avid international traveler. She has a a master's degree from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of... Read More →

Jamil Bee

Jamil Bee is a student at the Evergreen State College. They have attended several other higher education institutions in Washington, including Washington State University and Western Washington University, and have developed comparisons and critiques of equity at the college level... Read More →

Ethan W. Blevins

Ethan Blevins is a staff attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, a libertarian public interest law firm specializing in constitutional law. His practice focuses on the First Amendment, property rights, and the separation of powers. Ethan attended Duke School of Law for his law degree... Read More →

Zoltán Grossman

Zoltán Grossman is a Professor of Geography and Native Studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He is a longtime community organizer, and was a co-founder of the Midwest Treaty Network in Wisconsin. He earned his Ph.D. in Geography and Graduate Minor in Am... Read More →

David Neiwert

Seattle Investigative reporter David Neiwert is the author of "Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump." Neiwert has been tracking extremists for more than two decades. In Alt-America, he provides a deeply researched and authoritative report on the growth of... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 11:30am - 12:15pm PST
Pigott Auditorium

Politics

11:30am PST

The fate of the Dreamers

They came here as children, brought here illegally by their parents. The Obama administration coaxed them out of the shadows, providing them protection from deportation and allowing them to go to college and work here legally under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. But President Trump is sunsetting that program, and now, their lives in the United States are uncertain. What are the arguments for and against ending DACA? What does the future look like for these young immigrants? We'll hear from Washington state’s attorney general, who has been a national leader in the resistance against Trump's immigration policies, a former Seattle U student body president who is a DACA recipient, and others.

Speakers

Lilly Fowler (Moderator)

Lilly Fowler is Crosscut's staff reporter. Lilly was born in Mexico and raised in Nogales, a small border town. Before joining Crosscut, she worked as a producer for the national program Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, PBS. Lilly has also worked as a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch... Read More →

*Others To Be Announced

John Carlson

John Carlson hosts a a conservative morning drive show on AM 570 KVI. He is the son of a former Seattle police officer, and has been long involved in Washington state politics,

Bob Ferguson

Bob Ferguson is Washington State’s 18th Attorney General. As the state’s chief legal officer, Bob is committed to protecting the people of Washington against powerful interests that don’t play by the rules. He is a fourth-generation Washingtonian, a graduate of the University... Read More →

Carlos Rodriguez

Carlos Rodriguez is a graduate of Seattle University where he earned a B.A. in Public Affairs. As the former Student Body President, he used his position to talk about issues related to immigration, affordable housing, and homelessness. He has been vocal about his status as an Undocumented... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 11:30am - 12:15pm PST
Fr. LeRoux, S.J. Conference Center

Race & Social Justice

2:00pm PST

How the gig economy is reshaping labor rights

The gig economy — think: Uber, Postmates, Task Rabbit — is radically reshaping work in America. These new platforms offer new flexibility in work schedules and incredible convenience for consumers, but the new work is coming without the same protections traditional jobs have offered, from forming a union to saving for retirement. Now, some gig economy workers and lawmakers want to change that. We’ll talk to a labor law expert, a state representative and gig workers about efforts to allow ride-hailing drivers to unionize and other moves to create security and equity in a disruptive economy.

Speakers

Heidi Groover (Moderator)

Heidi Groover is a reporter at The Stranger, where she has covered local politics, transportation, and labor. She previously worked at The Inlander in Spokane and Willamette Week in Portland.

Charlotte Garden

Charlotte Garden is an expert in labor law and the regulation of work & workers. She is an Associate Professor and co-Associate Dean for Research & Faculty Development at the Seattle University School of Law. Professor Garden's scholarship focuses on the intersection of work law and... Read More →

Takele Gobena

Debra Jeffs-Grad

Debra Jeffs-Grad is a retired R.N. and Clinical Social Worker. She is an active grandmother and fiber artist. She began driving for Uber part time 2 and a half years ago for her travel fund. She has been a Union member in the past, but now very much appreciates the flexibility of... Read More →

Monica Stonier

Representative Monica Stonier was elected to serve the 49th Legislative District in Vancouver, Washington in the 2016 election. She is the Vice Chair to the House Education Committee and serves on the Healthcare and Wellness Committee, Capital Budget Committee, and the Rules Committee... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 2:00pm - 2:45pm PST
Wyckoff Auditorium

Business

2:00pm PST

All the Presidents’ Men

What is it like to be in the inner circle of the President of the United States? What’s it like to put words in his mouth, or to speak for him, fielding questions from an aggressive Washington press corps during stressful times? And having done those things, what is it like now, to look at the chaos and crossed wires within the Trump administration? We’ll hear from the guy who helped create President Obama’s unforgettable “anger translator” skit at the White House Correspondents Dinner, and a speechwriter and a press secretary who both worked for President George W. Bush.
Crosscut and KCTS 9 Executive Editor Greg Hanscom talks with speechwriter and humorist David Litt, Atlantic editor and nationally respected conservative commentator David Frum, and Seattle University Vice President of Communications Scott McClellan.

Speakers

Greg Hanscom (Moderator)

Greg Hanscom is the Executive Editor of Crosscut and KCTS 9.

David Frum

David Frum is a Senior Editor at The Atlantic and a former speechwriter for George W. Bush. He is the author of "Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic" (HarperCollins).

David Litt

David Litt is the author of the New York Times bestseller THANKS, OBAMA: My Hopey, Changey White House Years. He entered the White House in 2011 and left in 2016 as a special assistant to the president and senior presidential speechwriter. Described as the “comic muse for the president... Read More →

Scott McClellan

Scott McClellan is Vice President for Communications at Seattle University, a position he has held since September 2012. From 2003 to 2006, he served as White House Press Secretary.Scott’s 2008 memoir, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 2:00pm - 2:45pm PST
Campion Ballroom

Keynote

2:00pm PST

The Thin Green Line and the NW’s energy future

The Western U.S. holds rich deposits of coal, oil and natural gas — resources that have been eyed for export to rapidly developing economies in Asia. But a remarkable alliance of activists and tribes have drawn what some have called a “thin green line” to stop a series of proposed refinery expansions and export terminals along the West Coast. This opposition has helped create a remarkable shift in the energy future of the Pacific Northwest. For perspective on how this transformation came about, and what needs to happen next, we’ll hear from a tribal chairman, an environmental activist, an energy policy expert and the former head of the U.S. Interior department.

Speakers

Michelle Nijhuis (Moderator)

Michelle Nijhuis is a project editor for the Atlantic and a longtime contributing editor of High Country News, a magazine known for its in-depth coverage of environmental issues in the western U.S. Her writing on conservation and global change has appeared in many publications and... Read More →

Tim Ballew

Timothy Ballew II is an enrolled member of the Lummi Nation and has lived within the Lummi Indian Reservation his whole life. A lifelong commercial fisherman, he holds a BA in Psychology from Western Washington University and has served on the Lummi Commercial Company Board of Directors... Read More →

Sally Jewell

Sally Jewell, lifelong outdoor enthusiast and former CEO of REI, served in President Obama’s cabinet as Secretary of the Interior. She championed the importance of science and sharing data to better understand our Earth’s systems; supported development of renewable energy on public... Read More →

Emily Johnston

Emily Johnston is a Seattle poet, essayist and activist for 350 Seattle, which she co-founded. She has been published in Slate, Crosscut, The Oregonian and elsewhere. Her first book of poetry, Her Animals, came out in September 2015 from Hummingbird Press, and was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 2:00pm - 2:45pm PST
Pigott Auditorium

Politics

2:00pm PST

Sex and consent on campus

As the #MeToo movement sweeps the nation, college students are on the front lines. Women are fighting entrenched sexism and sexual assault even as they celebrate their own sexuality as never before. Many male students are more sensitive to women’s concerns than previous generations, while other men perpetuate the most cruel misogyny. Award-winning journalist and author Vanessa Grigoriadis helps us make sense of it all.

Speakers

Patricia Murphy (Moderator)

Patricia Murphy is an award-winning radio journalist for KUOW. Her series, “Less than Honorable,” investigated how the military handles more than 3,000 sexual assault cases each year. Prior to covering veterans and military affairs, she reported on social issues and criminal justice... Read More →

Callie Burt

Callie Burt is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington. She received her PhD from the University of Georgia in 2009 with a concentration in crime, law, and deviance, with a particular focus on the effects of inequality on crime and the behavior of law... Read More →

Vanessa Grigoriadis

Vanessa Grigoriadis is a contributing editor at the New York Times Magazine and Vanity Fair, specializing in pop culture, youth movements, and crime reporting. She is a National Magazine Award winner and has been featured on MSNBC, CNN, Dateline, and Investigation/Discovery shows... Read More →

Katie Querna

Menosh ZA

Menosh ZA is a MSW 2nd year student, specializing in Mental Health, at University of Washington and is currently working as a case manager for Refugees Northwest as well as the director of Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Activists (SARVA) at UW.

Saturday February 3, 2018 2:00pm - 2:45pm PST
Fr. LeRoux, S.J. Conference Center

Race & Social Justice

3:15pm PST

How tech can solve its diversity problem

It’s no secret that the industry that props up the Seattle metro area's gangbusters economy is largely staffed by white males. In some cases, this has had disastrous consequences, from creating biased products to forcing out talented employees. Nationally, women make up less than 30 percent of the employees at tech companies like Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook. That number drops even further when you look at the percentage of women in leadership roles. And the number of Hispanics and blacks working in tech are vanishingly small. We’ll hear from one of the women caught up in the infamous “Gamergate,” and talk about how local businesses and government are tackling this problem, and what more they could do.

Speakers

Ruchika Tulshyan (Moderator)

Ruchika Tulshyan is the author of 'The Diversity Advantage: Fixing Gender Inequality In The Workplace' (Forbes, 2015/16). She is also the founder of Candour, an inclusion strategy and communications firm. Ruchika is an award-winning journalist who writes regularly on leadership and... Read More →

David Harris

David is the Startup Advocate for the City of Seattle's Office of Economic Development where he supports tech startups through the StartupSeattle program. In his role, he also helps to lead the TechHire initiative for the Seattle region, which aims to connect women, Blacks, Latinos, and returning citizens with training and jobs in the tech industry. His passion is facilitating resource-constrained communities learning, creating, and sharing of knowledge, tools, and materials to... Read More →

Susie Lee

Susie Lee brings together creative entrepreneurship, new media art, community convenings, and teaching. As a progressive woman of color born to immigrant parents, she is committed to mission-drive social justice, intersectional and feminist programs. Lee has received accolades from... Read More →

Zoe Quinn

Zoë Quinn is one of the most critically acclaimed, widely recognized indie developers in the gaming industry, and a leading voice in the fight against online abuse. She has testified about online abuse at the United Nations, and the issue continues to make headlines, from features... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 3:15pm - 4:00pm PST
Wyckoff Auditorium

Business

3:15pm PST

Mayors of Cascadia

The Pacific Northwest used to be bound by it’s shared natural resources, but now our region’s fabric is better defined by its growing cities where populations are booming, the cost of living rising, and technological and cultural innovation is thriving. Cities like Seattle, Vancouver, BC, and Portland are no longer obscure provincial capitals but are known internationally for urban dynamism driven by prosperity and social conscience. It is not enough that Cascadian cities be good, they must seek to be equitable and experimental. In a time of political division and sociological upheaval, they are challenged to live up to common ideals as green and humane sanctuaries.

Is that possible? What can make it so? What is the state of Cascadia and our cities in the face of climate change, affordability, immigration and border challenges, homelessness and the pressures of rapid and persistent growth and change? What is the future of our urban dreams? Crosscut columnist Knute Berger will talk with Cascadia’s leaders, people on the front lines or regional transformation, about these and other topics.

Speakers

Knute Berger (Moderator)

Knute Berger is Crosscut’s Mossback. Born and raised in Seattle, he writes with his own Pacific Northwest perspective. He also writes the monthly Gray Matters column for Seattle magazine where he is Editor-at-Large, and is an occasional commentator on KUOW-FM's“Week in Review... Read More →

Jenny Durkan

Jenny Durkan is the Mayor of Seattle

Gregor Robertson

Gregor Robertson is the Mayor of Vancouver.

Ted Wheeler

Ted Wheeler is the Mayor of Portland.

Saturday February 3, 2018 3:15pm - 4:00pm PST
Campion Ballroom

Keynote

3:15pm PST

Legal weed: Who profits and who loses?

Five years after Washington’s historic passage of Initiative 502, which made it legal to posses and sell recreational marijuana, retail stores are thriving and cannabis is a $1.5 billion statewide industry. But who’s profiting from the end of the War on Drugs? So far, the people who suffered the most from the war’s racist underpinnings are benefiting the least from legalization. Female entrepreneurs are making the cannabis space their own, but people of color remain notably underrepresented in the industry. Leafly Deputy Editor Bruce Barcott leads a conversation on the opportunities, the barriers to entry, and the innovative equity policies now being tested in Massachusetts, California, and Maryland.

Speakers

Bruce Barcott (Moderator)

Bruce Barcott is the deputy editor of Leafly.com. Barcott is the author of "Weed the People: The Future of Marijuana Legalization in America" and also wrote Time Magazine’s special issue, “Marijuana Goes Main Street.” He is a Guggenheim Fellow in nonfiction, and you can find... Read More →

*Others To Be Announced

Jody Hall

Jody Hall is the founder of The Goodship and Cupcake Royale. After establishing Cupcake Royale as one of Seattle’s most beloved institutions, Jody Hall set sail into the cannabis business by creating The Goodship, the gold standard among cannabis edibles companies.

Jesce Horton

Jesce Horton is the owner of Panacea Valley Gardens, a cultivation center and boutique edibles line serving cannabis patients in Portland, OR. He is also the co-founder of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, a non-profit organization focused on increasing diversity in the... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 3:15pm - 4:00pm PST
Pigott Auditorium

Politics

3:15pm PST

Growth and gentrification in a tech boomtown

Seattle’s housing market is the hottest in the nation. To afford monthly payments on the median house in the Seattle metro area, a household needs a record $93,400 in annual income, according to a recent story in the Seattle Times. That’s up $11,000 from just a year ago. The average renter, meanwhile, now spends over 30 percent of their income just to keep a roof overhead. It’s great news for landlords and developers — but what about the increasing number of Seattleites for whom the rent is just too damn high?

Speakers

Tyrone Beason (Moderator)

Tyrone Beason is a staff reporter for Pacific NW magazine.

Kathleen Hosfeld

Kathleen Hosfeld is the Executive Director of Homestead Community Land Trust, which she joined in 2014, with a background in strategic consulting for mission-based for-profit and not-for-profit enterprises. Homestead has created a portfolio of homes that are affordable to people... Read More →

Estela Ortega

Roger Valdez

For the past twenty five years, Roger Valdez has been involved in public policy in the areas of education, health, and housing. Before becoming the Director of Seattle For Growth, Valdez was housing director at a large regional non-profit, managing housing operations and development... Read More →

Inye Wokoma

Saturday February 3, 2018 3:15pm - 4:00pm PST
Fr. LeRoux, S.J. Conference Center

Race & Social Justice

4:30pm PST

The Climate Casino: A Live Action Scenario Planning Game

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, Steve Jobs and Paul Allen all cite science fiction as key to shaping their worldview. For global leaders, science fiction is both a way to help anticipate and plan for the future, and a blueprint for the technologies they’re building today. In this session, the founders of the online publication Scout.ai will lead an interactive science fiction scenario planning game that posits participants as hedge fund managers, making bets on climate change's future impacts in the Seattle area and on the region's economy and biggest businesses.

Speakers

Berit Anderson

Berit Anderson is the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Scout.ai, a unique journalism organization that publishes original research, analysis, and science fiction scenario planning that evaluates the near-term implications of technology, anticipates opportunity, and highlights risk. She is the former managing editor of Crosscut... Read More →

Brett Horvath

Brett Horvath is Head of Strategy at Scout.ai, a unique journalism organization that publishes original research, analysis, and science fiction scenario planning that evaluates the near-term implications of technology, anticipates opportunity, and highlights risk. Brett’s experience lies in crowdsourcing, technology polic... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 4:30pm - 5:30pm PST
Wyckoff Auditorium

Business

4:30pm PST

The GOP is dead. Long live the GOP!

With the rise of President Trump and the so-called “alt-right,” some lifelong Republicans are wondering what has become of the Grand Old Party. But while some have jumped ship, supporting Democrats or searching for a third party, others insist that in the Pacific Northwest, the GOP can stay true to its fiscally conservative and socially moderate roots — and build on its conservation legacy. Longtime Olympia reporter Austin Jenkins leads a conversation about the future of the Republican party with a group of party stalwarts, fence-sitters and folks who say the only way forward is to leave the GOP behind.

Speakers

Austin Jenkins (Moderator)

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy as well as the Washington State legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's... Read More →

Bill Bryant

Bill Bryant is founder and chairman of Bryant Christie Inc. Since founding the firm in 1992, Bill has been appointed under both Republican and Democratic administrations to advise USTR, USDA, and the Ex-Im Bank on our nation’s trade policy. In 2007, Bill was elected to the King... Read More →

Slade Gorton

Slade’s political career began in 1958 when he was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives. He served for ten years, including a term as House Majority Leader. He was elected state Attorney General in 1968 and served twelve years in that position, during which... Read More →

Lori Sotelo

Lori has been the Chairman of the King County Republican Party since 2007.

Chris Vance

Chris Vance is a public affairs consultant, a member of the management team for King County Assessor John Wilson, and an adjunct faculty member in the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. He was chair of the Republican Party in Washington from 2001-06... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 4:30pm - 5:30pm PST
Pigott Auditorium

Politics

4:30pm PST

Rethinking schools to create education equity

Closing performance gaps between student groups consumes nearly every conversation about American education. Usually, discussion collects around the possibility of biased testing or teachers. But the work of Dr. Nadine Burke Harris suggests another angle. In her pioneering research with low-income children in the San Francisco area, Dr. Burke Harris found that adverse — but common — childhood experiences like parental divorce, substance abuse or neglect can change students’ neurology and directly affect learning. Should public education expand its mission, moving from a tight focus on academic-concept delivery to something more holistic? Dr. Burke Harris will tackle this question in a moderated discussion with Washington’s Superintendent for Public Instruction and a national expert on multicultural education.

Speakers

Claudia Rowe (Moderator)

Claudia Rowe is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist. Her work has been published in The New York Times, Mother Jones, Women’s Day, the Huffington Post and The Stranger, among other magazines and newspapers. She currently covers education as a staff reporter at The Seattle Tim... Read More →

James Banks

James A. Banks holds the Kerry and Linda Killinger Endowed Chair in Diversity Studies and is the founding director of the Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Washington. He was the Russell F. Stark University Professor at the University of Washington from 2001... Read More →

Nadine Burke Harris

A pioneer in the field of medicine, pediatrician Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is a leader in the movement totransform how we respond to early childhood adversity and the resulting toxic stress that dramaticallyimpacts our health and longevity. By exploring the science behind childhood... Read More →

Chris Reykdal

Chris Reykdal is the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. His professional career has been devoted to public education. Chris has worked as a high school history teacher, local school board member, state legislator, and budget and education policy executive for our state’s... Read More →

Lyon Terry

Lyon Terry, a National Board Certified Teacher, teaches 4th grade at Lawton Elementary in the Seattle Public Schools. He has taught elementary aged students for over 20 years in Seattle, Portland, and Brooklyn. He is a member of the Council of Distinguished Educators at the Aspen... Read More →

Saturday February 3, 2018 4:30pm - 5:30pm PST
Fr. LeRoux, S.J. Conference Center

Race & Social Justice