Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is bringing together leaders from Amazon, Spotify, the Port of Seattle, organized labor, technology, cleantech, small business and other sectors as part of a new task force focused on rebuilding and diversifying the city’s economy.
Wilson on Wednesday announced 18 members of the Resilient Seattle Economy Task Force, which will look for ways to remove barriers to business growth, attract and retain companies and improve the process of starting and operating a business in Seattle.
“I’m charging this task force with identifying where the City can make connections, remove barriers and provide support within individual industries and across our economy,” Wilson said. “We need to diversify our economy while expanding opportunities for local entrepreneurs and young people.”
The effort builds on the city’s recently released Seawall: Building a Resilient Seattle Economy report, which called for Seattle to diversify beyond its heavy reliance on large technology companies and focus on sectors including artificial intelligence, cleantech, maritime, life sciences and space.
That report found that companies with at least 100 employees accounted for 74.5% of net job growth in the Seattle metro area from 2014 to 2023, while mid-sized companies accounted for just 16.6%.
The economic challenges have also put a spotlight on Seattle’s tax structure. As GeekWire recently reported, Seattle lost roughly 24,000 jobs between March 2020 and March 2025 even as city tax collections continued to grow, shifting more of the tax burden onto businesses.
Wilson has responded in part by freezing JumpStart tax rates in her proposed 2027 budget, citing “seismic shifts” in the technology sector.
The new task force will initially focus on downtown revitalization, business attraction and retention, cross-sector collaboration, and making it easier to open and operate a business. The task force also comes as Seattle’s business community has pressed City Hall for action on public safety, with dozens of regional CEOs recently calling for a 100-day plan with measurable goals and progress reports.
“Seattle is open for business,” said Beto Yarce, director of the Seattle Office of Economic Development.
The task force will hold industry-specific roundtables and listening sessions this year, with initial findings due in February 2027 and a final report expected in November 2027. Here’s a look at the task force members:
- Alvertis Brooks, Executive Director, Rainier Valley Community Development Fund
- Anson Fatland, Associate Vice Provost for Innovation Strategy & Ventures, University of Washington Co-Motion
- Bill Frame, Chairman & CEO, Kidder Mathews
- Cate Bridenstine, CEO, The Imagine Institute
- Dae Shik Kim, Executive Development Producer, Spotify & Get Me Outta Here
- Donna Moodie, Chief Impact Officer, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle and Founder & CEO, Marjorie Restaurants
- Jared Axelrod, Sr. Manager, Public Policy, Amazon
- Joe Nguyen, President & CEO, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
- Katie Garrow, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, MLK Labor
- Laura Clise, Founder & CEO, Intentionalist
- Marcus Lalario, Founder & CEO, Sugarshack Unlimited
- Mel Clark, President & CEO, Cleantech Alliance
- Rian Watt, Executive Director, Economic Opportunity Institute
- Ryan Calkins, President, Port of Seattle
- Shannon Braddock, President & CEO, Greater Seattle Partners
- Tammy Canavan, President & CEO, Visit Seattle
- Terrance Stevenson, Director of Industry and Community Relations, Washington Technology Industry Association
- Yifan Zhang, Managing Director, AI House
