Marcus Harrison Green is the publisher of the South Seattle Emerald™ and a columnist with The Stranger. Growing up in South Seattle, he experienced first-hand the impact of one-dimensional stories on marginalized communities, which taught him the value of authentic narratives. After an unfulfilling stint in the investment world during his twenties, Marcus returned to his community with a newfound purpose of telling stories with nuance, complexity, and multidimensionality with the hope of advancing social change. This led him to become a writer and found the South Seattle Emerald™. An award-winning storyteller, he was awarded the Seattle Human Rights Commissions’ Individual Human Rights Leader Award for 2020 and named the inaugural James Baldwin Fellow by the Northwest African American Museum in 2022..
Andrew (AJ) Johnston (he/him) joined the Emerald board shortly after the Emerald’s first anniversary. He is a South Seattle-based architect specializing in residential and commercial projects. Andrew is an outspoken supporter of Black-led, community-centered media as a way to speak truth to power and inspire positive change within communities in need. He is also a passionate volunteer and organizer with Social Justice Fund NW (SJF) where he is working to foster a network of BIPOC donors in Seattle and the greater NW area.
Jini Palmer (she/her) is a podcaster, musician, and filmmaker. All of her trades are rooted in writing and inspired by the scope of media to communicate, inform, and inspire change. She is the digital media manager for Town Hall Seattle, where she is the creative video lead and host & producer of the In the Moment, Civics, Science, and Arts & Culture podcast series. She has been a joyful resident of Seattle since 2009, coming from her hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Brian Mannion works at King County Metro, helping a variety of teams to build and sustain our region's public transportation system. Driven by a passion for public service and helping people come together to achieve common goals, his previous work includes group facilitation, organizational development, and participatory public involvement for transportation, public health, and environmental agencies. Brian began his career as a newspaper journalist, a profession that instilled a lifelong interest in the power of stories to share knowledge, build trust, and imagine better futures.
Nikki Marie Barron is a creative entrepreneur, marketing expert, and advocate for artistic empowerment with over 15 years of experience in community and brand building. After defying conventional advice that financial success required sacrificing her creativity, Nikki launched her own freelance agency, kittenteeth, where she doubled her income in her first year and bought her first home in her second. She’s passionate about helping creators find financial sustainability and self-actualization, offering marketing, business strategy, content creation, and coaching services. Nikki’s professional journey includes roles such as Communications & Outreach Manager at SMASH, Marketing Manager at The Crocodile, and positions at Mastin Labs, Converge Media, and I Heart Media. Outside her professional work, Nikki founded The Papercut, a 900-member group advocating for equity in the music industry, and co-founded The Artistic Reclamation Movement (The ARM), which aims to rebuild a strong artistic middle class. Committed to creating an equitable future for women and marginalized creators, Nikki’s mission is to show that financial success is possible without compromising creative aspirations.
Florangela Davila is a longtime Seattle journalist whose work has centered on both race and the creative community. She’s the former race and immigration reporter at The Seattle Times; former arts reporter at KPLU; former managing editor and host at Crosscut/Cascade PBS; and most recently, the news director at KNKX Public Radio, where she led the newsroom to more than two dozen regional and national awards during her four-year tenure. She’s been acknowledged for both her advocacy and her success in diversifying newsrooms, and she’s long been a mentor to many journalists. She’s twice been named as one of Seattle’s “Most Influential” by Seattle Magazine. She lives in Seattle’s 98118.
Ijeoma Oluo (she/her) is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller So You Want to Talk About Race and the Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America. Her work on race has been featured in the New York Times and the Washington Post, among many others. She was named one of Seattle’s Most Influential People of 2015 by Seattle Magazine and one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Seattle by Seattle Met in 2018. She has twice been named to the Root 100, and she received both the 2018 Feminist Humanist Award and the 2020 Harvard Humanist of the Year Award from the American Humanist Association. She lives in Seattle, Washington.
Khyree Smith (he/him, they/them) is an educator, facilitator, and lifelong Seattleite working in various roles with Austin Foundation, OneWorld Now and Seattle University. Khyree has been fortunate to provide services for thousands of youth and young adults throughout King County, often known commonly as “Coach Khyree.” Khyree believes in doing work “for the sake of the children,” holding the importance that any work you do should be in efforts to make a safe, happy, and flourishing world for youth to grow up in and to continue to live in as adults.
Sarah Stuteville is a co-founder of the Seattle Globalist and a Mental Health Counselor who works with individuals and both monogamous and non-monogamous relationships. Compassionate, nonjudgemental, and curious, Sarah sees beauty and humor in the hard parts of life, believing that our struggles can lead to deeper meaning, stronger connections, and personal growth. A cis, white, queer, non-monogamous mother and wife living with a chosen family, Sarah grew up in Seattle, studied in New York City, and spent years working abroad. With a background as a journalist focused on international issues and social justice, Sarah's experience with postpartum depression inspired a shift to mental health. They are influenced by Existential, Systems, Feminist, Attachment-Based, and Trauma-Informed therapies and bring a commitment to social justice, anti-oppression, and anti-racist values to their work. Sarah is passionate about supporting those navigating depression, anxiety, life transitions, postpartum challenges, relationship dynamics, trauma, and more, always welcoming new clients to connect and share their stories.
