In Session with ULI

Michelle helped organize and facilitate Session 3 of the Urban Land Institute’s Center for Leadership Program. This day-long session focused on the Puget Sound BioRegion and highlighted the relationship of development to other land uses.

The session was held on June 23rd at Soldier’s Home in Orting, WA. This facility, mandated by Abraham Lincoln to rehabilitate Civil War veterans, uses farming as part of the rehab process. Who knew such a place existed? The day started with a tour and was followed by a panel discussion with Dennis Suarez, facility manager; Carrie Little, facility farming manager; and Kathryn Gardow, land use consultant. The panel spoke to the challenges of establishing farming uses in an area not zoned for agriculture, maintaining and repurposing a campus of 100 year old buildings, and their bold plan to become entirely self-sustaining. Between the embodied energy and the self-sufficiency goals, it just doesn’t get more sustainable.

The second speaker, Aaron Fairchild of Green Canopy NODE, introduced some new ways to approach housing and market transformation using mass timber and a fail fast methodology. The ability to not only embrace new tools and approaches but also learn quickly from the inevitable mistakes and false starts that accompany their implementation is a valuable way to move an organization and a culture forward. Incrementally.

And finally, the keynote speaker Bevin McLeod of the Department of Natural Resources, brought us back to people. Versed in both the workings of the public sector and non-profit sector, she shared insights into how she brings stakeholders into alignment with big picture goals in both worlds.