Meet the Connectors!

 

Maria Guadalupe Ramirez

RSP Project Manager

Maria leads a coalition of Duwamish Valley organizations and residents to identify and act on strategies to address displacement, bridging the gap between development partners and local residents. The DV Affordable Housing Coalition has been a strong advocate for affordable housing, the preservation of existing, naturally occurring affordable housing and a new multi purpose building to house several Duwamish Valley CBO’s. Maria contributes project management experience from King County Community and Human services, acquiring new affordable housing funded with local, state and federal funds. Her leadership continues onwards to Reconnect South Park and realizing new community opportunities.

Cayce James

Seattle OPCD Project Manager

Cayce serves as a Strategic Advisor for the City of Seattle, overseeing the City's involvement in the Reconnect South Park project. They have been collaborating with the South Park community members and organizations on various environmental initiatives since 2018, and have supported the Reconnect South Park initiative from its inception. They are deeply committed to environmental and climate justice, and dedicated to ensuring that community needs and priorities play a central role in shaping project processes and outcomes. Cayce has worked on several neighborhood projects, bringing different government agencies together in partnership with community-based organizations to improve connectivity, access to green space, and environmental quality in South Park. They also lead the City's Outside Citywide initiative, which aims to increase equitable access to public space across Seattle.

Nicolas Morin

PLA, ASLA | Director of Landscape Architecture

In practice for over 20 years, Nicolas (he/him) has a passion for supporting and orchestrating successful, community-based planning and design efforts. He strives to listen, identify common ground, and realize the needs of all stakeholders with meaningful, playful, and imaginative solutions. Nicolas is a native West Coaster who loves the opportunity to energize public landscapes by encouraging connections, vitality, liveliness, and new partnerships. Environmental Works Community Design Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community-based architectural firm. founded in 1970, we have provided feasibility/pre-development studies and complete design services for human services agencies, community facilities, affordable housing providers, and public art projects.

Gloria Ramirez Santiago

Conectora comunitaria.

HE TRABAJADO CON LA COMUNIDAD LATINA E INDIGENA EN BURIEN, WHITE CENTER, RAINIER VALLEY Y EL VALLE DE DUWAMISH. SOY PORTA VOZ DE LA COMUNIDAD. I have been working with the latin and indigenous communities in Burien, White center, rainier valley and the duwamish valley.

Kim Schwarzkopf

RSP Media Team & Filmmaker

Kim is a Filmmaker, Skateboarder, Mom, and Co-Leader of River City SkatePark (RCSP) located on the corner of Cloverdale and 99N. For two decades, she has been working towards a shared vision of a free and public SkatePark, inspired by local teens and caring neighbors. Kim is proud to be part of a core team that has been organizing, raising funds, throwing events and forging alliances with artists, non-profit organizations, businesses and skateboarders to help build a green, healthy and fun space for all to gather and enjoy. Kim loves connecting with others, sharing stories and learning about our local history and environment and thinks deeply about what it takes to have sustainable peace for all. River City Skateapark is a neighborhood treasure and there is nothing else like it in the world! It’s a free and public skatepark on private land with a unique design based on sacred geometry, we’ve planted trees, made space for a rain garden and a green wall and we have one of the city’a only free grafiti walls!

Brice Maryman

PLA,FASLA,LEED AP | Landscape Architect/Urban Designer

For two decades, Brice Maryman has designed, written about, and advocated for empathetic, publicly-accessible open spaces in the Puget Sound region and across the United States. He has managed several high-profile projects in the central Puget Sound region including the Pioneer Square East-West Streets Pedestrian Improvements, Van Lierop Park, and Beacon Mountain at Jefferson Park. Through his project work, he manages teams with humor and clarity prioritizing regular communication, identifying pathways around potential obstacles, and helping to define elegant solutions. In 2017, he was awarded a Landscape Architecture Foundation fellowship to explore the intersection of homelessness and public space. He currently serves on the board of Cascade Bicycle Club and is the incoming board president of Washington Bikes.

Robert Hanlon

PE, Env SP | Community Convener and Infrastructure Connector

West-coast born, rust-belt raised, part-time nomad centered in the Duwamish Valley, Robert brings diverse engineering experience working with public & private organizations. He began Utility² through volunteering with other NPO’s, organizing Infrastructure Week events and workshops to build public awareness of the urbanized environment and many processes within. His primary role working at King County Wastewater Treatment Division enables advocacy for community and environment in a portlio of projects. Robert considers Reconnect South Park a key enabler to realize environmental justice for residents on both sides of the Duwamish, bringing transformative Collaboratives for generations to come…Together, let’s #buildfortomorrow!

Dene Diaz

Community Connector

Dene Diaz is an artist of Dominican decent. Born in New York and currently living in Seattle. He understands that everyone has a story to tell and that all deserve to seen and heard.He enjoys co-creating with others through photo-journalism, videography and poetry.

Todos Dios (Dominican Republic): https://www.instagram.com/_c_h_e_z_/ Photography: https://www.instagram.com/_dene_7/