Eastside For All, the cities of Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, King County Library System, the Enterprise Welcoming Group, and OneEastside hosted a virtual Welcoming Week event for community leaders, elected officials, business owners, nonprofit organizations, and others interested in advancing racial equity and inclusion in our local economy.
Featured speakers included thought leaders Nwamaka Agbo, CEO, Kataly Foundation and Managing Director, Restorative Economies Fund (REF), and Prem Kumar, CEO and Co-Founder, Humanly.
Local Efforts To Date:
• Community-based organizations leading initiatives for small businesses owned by people of color and immigrants
• OneEastside SPARK: recovery and resiliency building efforts in collaboration with East King County’s 23 cities and towns; chambers of commerce; non-profits, and state and county government
• City of Kirkland’s Welcoming Economy pilot project
Explore:
• Ways to support businesses owned by people of color and immigrants
• Resources to advance racial equity and inclusion in local economic development efforts
Speakers:
Opening Keynote: Nwamaka Agbo, CEO, Kataly Foundation & Managing Director, Restorative Economies Fund (REF)
We welcome Nwamaka Agbo to share her Restorative Economics framework, which “centers on healing and restoration of vulnerable communities who have been marginalized and oppressed by a polluting and extractive economy, by investing in strategies that create shared prosperity and self-determination for a just transition to the next economy.”
Guest Speaker: Prem Kumar, CEO & Co-Founder, Humanly
Workforce shortage problems are the result of complex and interrelated factors in our region: affordable housing and retail, accessible transportation, livable wages, and workplace cultures that support retention and advancement for employees. What conversations and actions are required of us to address the current crisis and build stronger infrastructure for the future? Humanly, an AI platform that empowers hiring teams to be better at the candidate conversations that should remain Human-driven, while automating the ones that shouldn’t.
