Isaiah Slattery and Kiya Cornelius are sophomores at Evergreen High School.  Listening to them share their reflections about community, that "10th grade life", the construction of a new school and what it might take to get the bond passed in November is both, humbling and encouraging!  We were all bowled over by their wit, good nature and intelligence! Our time with them serves as an excellent reminder of why it's vital and absolutely our responsibilty to invest in the lives and in the future of our youth! 

Post Production: Zack Hamilton

Recorded at Lake Burien Presbyterian Church

Pt. 2 - picks up where we left off in Pt. 1, IWC Hosts Lisa Nguyễn and Christian Tautua in a sit down with community leader, mentor, colleague and friend, Aaron Garcia for this episode to share childhood stories and hear his reflections about growing up in White Center, leaving the community to go to college and then coming back to build a life in the neighborhood he loves.  Aaron's community work is stellar and he really is just getting started!  He is young, smart and passionate, driven by a vision and belief that our community's children, teenagers and youth, young people and their families should have access to all of the resources, relationships and opportunities they need to thrive.

This conversation was so rich and packed with good stuff that we decided to break it into two parts.  

*Recorded at YES! office in Burien

Post production: Zack Hamilton

Lisa Nguyễn and Christian Tautua sit down with community leader, mentor, colleague and friend, Aaron Garcia for this episode of IWC to share childhood stories and hear his reflections about growing up in White Center, leaving the community to go to college and then coming back to build a life in the neighborhood he loves.  Aaron's community work is stellar and he really is just getting started!  He is young, smart and passionate, driven by a vision and belief that our community's children, teenagers and youth, young people and their families should have access to all of the resources, relationships and opportunities they need to thrive.

**Editor's Note: Since recording, the proposal to the Highline School Board for the construction and rebuild of 3 Highline schools, one of which is Evergreen High School, was presented and passed and has moved forward for vote in the November ballot.

This conversation was so rich and packed with good stuff that we decided to break it into two parts.  Enjoy Part 1 today and look for Part 2 to drop soon!

*Recorded at YES! office in Burien

Post production: Zack Hamilton

Henok and Rasheed tell us about their experience with community advocacy and support as youth in the White Center area frequenting the Boys and Girls Club and Log Cabin, to adults leading programs through Southwest Youth and Family Services. Tune in to hear more about their event next week, GO Time, supported by White Center's Highly Hated clothing brand.

The Inside White Center crew got the chance to speak with Patrick Robinson, who has been a journalist in the White Center/West Seattle for the past 50 years. In this episode, Lisa and Frank ask Patrick about the history of local journalism, issues that affect our local community, and his photography as art.  

Learn more about Patrick Robinson below:

www.westsideseattle.com

https://open.spotify.com/show/6HT1ji6YQBrh1eR9YIpwHR

www.patrickrobinson.net

Recorded at Roots

When government determines how to allocate budgets for a city or neighborhood, marginalized communities can become the least represented in these processes.  We sat down with Gloria Briggs Manager at King County overseeing what is called a Participatory Budget (PB) to understand how this unique budgeting model can put power back in the hands of the people.  Gloria shares her early story of White Center, how the Community Investment Budget Committee members (CIBC, designers of the PB process) were selected and her hopes on how this can impact WC.  

CIBC members

Marissa Jauregui, Emijah Smith, Carmen Smith, Sahle Habte, Kimnang Seng

Recorded at Roots 

Frank and Lisa sat down with Jennifer Fichamba, who they’ve known since her time at Evergreen HS as College & Career Specialist and Mentor.  In this sit down with her former students, Jennifer shares about her life as a mom, an educator, a cheerleader for Evergreen, Highline and Foster HS students and alumni, her passion for her community and decision to run for Highline School Board Director.

Recorded at Roots 

In this episode, IWC host Lisa Nguyen sat down with music artists and producers, Glendal Tautua and Cham Ba, to talk family, friendship, Bonnie in Greenwood and music videos! Glendal and Cham are both sons of White Center. Their partnership was forged while growing up together and discovering a common passion for the art of story telling and making music.

Recorded at Roots

Young's Restaurant, a hood known White Center staple, has been a cornerstone of the White Center Community since 1982. Our neighbor Janice Young joins the Inside White Center Team to talk about cooking thru the pandemic, winning the Westsider of the year award, and how the restaurant was founded. 

Recorded at Roots Church

Hugo Garcia, Burien City Council Candidate visited Frank and Lisa of the Inside White Center podcast team to share about his decision to run! He’s a fantastic story teller and he regaled us with story after story about his family’s move to Burien from Guadalajara, his upbringing, doing announcements for the Seattle Sounders, and his work in economic development.  This podcast is a fun one, join us!

Recorded at Roots Church