Amazon’s private meeting with Seattle leaders is coming into focus.
The Feb. 9 roundtable will convene Amazon executives and city officials for breakout sessions on four topics, according to an agenda for the meeting obtained by GeekWire. The topics for discussion are: “Providing Affordability and Opportunity in Seattle,” “Transportation and Mobility Session,” “Seattle Business Environment,” and “Education and the Future of Work.”
Before the breakout sessions, attendees are invited to take an optional tour of Amazon’s campus, then city leaders will be welcomed by Brian Huseman, the company’s vice president of public policy for the Americas, and John Schoettler, vice president of global real estate and facilities.
A group discussion, led by Braden Cox, Amazon’s U.S. state and local public policy director, will follow the breakout sessions. Amazon General Counsel David Zapolsky will close the discussion out before a happy hour with city leaders and Amazon employees.
The meeting is in response to a letter that Seattle politicians sent to Amazon in October, seeking to “hit the refresh button” on their relationship. Seattle officials sent the original letter a few weeks after Amazon announced plans to establish a second headquarters in another North American city. The letter was signed by five Seattle City Council members and representatives from Washington’s legislature, King County Council, Port of Seattle, and others.
Continue reading for a list of city leaders and Amazon employees attending the meeting.
Seattle leaders:
- Hon. Sally Bagshaw, Councilmember, Seattle City Council
- Kyla Blair, Business Liaison, Office of Mayor Jenny Durkan
- Brian Bonlender, Director, Washington State Department of Commerce
- Hon. Stephanie Bowman, Commissioner, Port of Seattle Commission
- Hon. Rick Burke, Director, Seattle Public Schools
- Ahmed Darrat, Transportation Policy Advisor, Office of Mayor Jenny Durkan
- Will Daugherty, President and CEO, Pacific Science Center
- Hon. Rod Dembowski, Councilmember, King County Council
- Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange, Ph.D., President, Seattle Central College
- Hon. M. Lorena González, Councilmember, Seattle City Council
- Hon. Courtney Gregoire, Commission President, Port of Seattle Commission
- Hon. Bruce Harrell, President, Seattle City Council
- Hon. Leslie Harris, Board President, Seattle Public Schools
- Hon. Lisa Herbold, Councilmember, Seattle City Council
- Hon. Rob Johnson, Councilmember, Seattle City Council
- Dr. Kristen Jones, Ed.D., Vice President for Instruction, North Seattle College
- Megan Karch, Chief Executive Officer, FareStart
- Scott Kennedy, Sr. Policy Manager, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
- Hon. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Councilmember, King County Council
- Grant Lahmann, Chief of Staff, Office of King County Council Chair Joe McDermott
- Dr. Ed Lazowska, Ph.D., Bill & Melinda Gates Chair, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington
- Mindi Linquist, VP of External Relations, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
- Peter Lortz, Interim President, South Seattle College
- Rebecca Lovell, Acting Director, Seattle Office of Economic Development
- Dr. Dan Martin, Ed.D., President, Seattle Pacific University
- Dan McGrady, Vice Chair, Mary’s Place Board of Directors
- Markham McIntyre, Chief of Staff, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
- Yazmin Mehdi, Outreach Coordinator, Office of Rep. Pramila Jayapal
- Hon. Guy Palumbo, State Senator, Washington State Senate
- Dr. Shouan Pan, Ph.D., Chancellor, Seattle Colleges
- David Postman, Chief of Staff, Office of Governor Jay Inslee
- Carol Rava, CEO, Technology Alliance
- Jeremy Racca, Legislative Aide, Office of Council President Bruce Harrell
- Heather Redman, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Flying Fish Partners
- Jon Scholes, President and CEO, Downtown Seattle Association
- Rachel Smith, Chief of Staff, Office of King County Executive Dow Constantine
Amazon employees:
- Jared Axelrod, Manager, Public Policy
- Grace Beaudin, Specialist, Community Engagement
- Patty Bedard, Sr. Manager, Strategy & Operation, AWS Educate
- Krystal Brun, Specialist, Community Engagement
- Braden Cox, Director, U.S. State & Local Public Policy
- Melissa Eamer, Vice President, Customer Relationships
- Angel Enriquez, Sr. Manager, Diversity Recruiting
- LeAaron Foley, Manager, Public Policy
- Ezra Hodge, Head of STEM Education Outreach and Strategy, Community Engagement Brian Huseman, Vice President, Americas Public Policy
- Steven Johnson, Director, Employee Relations, WW Ops HR
- Kurt Lamp, Vice President, State Tax and Tax Operations
- Meghan Reibstein, Technical Advisor, Human Resources
- John Schoettler, Vice President, Global Real Estate & Facilities
- Alice Shobe, Director, Community Engagement
- Eileen Sullivan, Sr. Manager, Public Policy
- Tammy Thieman, Manager, AWS Military Recruiting
- Heidi Westling, Asset Manager, Global Real Estate & Facilities
- David Zapolsky, Senior Vice President & General Counsel
