Meet Our Rainmakers: Martin Pagel

Rainmaker Martin Pagel says, "Local journalism is very important in developing ideas to improve how the community functions."

by Amanda Sorell

Welcome to a new series: Meet Our Rainmakers!

Rainmakers are readers like you who make regular donations to the Emerald — their contributions help us amplify the authentic voices of the South End, and we couldn't do it without them.

Stay tuned for more Rainmaker mini-profiles, where you can learn more about the communities that support the Emerald.

Want to be a Rainmaker? Head to our official Kindful website to support BIPOC-led media in South Seattle with a monthly contribution of any amount.

Already a Rainmaker? Thank you! '

Martin Pagel

Martin Pagel has been a Rainmaker for about a year. He signed up to support the Emerald to hear "South Seattle voices" in a local-media landscape where "the South End is not covered." "I find that local journalism is very important in developing ideas to improve how the community functions," Pagel said. "Traditionally, South Seattle has not been well represented, so the South Seattle Emerald is filling an important role!"

Pagel works remotely for a tech company from his home in Columbia City. To Pagel, the Columbia City Night Market is representative of the sights, smells, and sounds of the South End. He likes riding his bike along Lake Washington Boulevard — in fact, he's an "avid cyclist and transit advocate. Growing up in Germany, I experienced some of the impact that can make." Through his writing for the Seattle Transit Blog, his advocacy for "better transit in the Rainier Valley and across the Puget Sound" is interlinked with his belief in local journalism. He has also written for the Urbanist.

This passion also shapes what he likes to read in the Emerald: he keeps an eye out for transit coverage and enjoys Lizz Giordano's transportation-related articles.

Amanda Sorell is a storyteller who lives in Seattle. She's an editor for the Emerald. Read her newsletter at eClips.Substack.com.

Featured Image designed by the Emerald team; photo courtesy of Martin Pagel.