In the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, we helped the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) program keep community voices front and center. Over the course of a year, Espousal Strategies led outreach to more than 330 community-based organizations and hit the pavement with in-person visits to 35 local businesses and groups in the project area. We also showed up online—big time. Our team rolled out virtual office hours, multilingual tools, interactive maps, and briefing sessions with subject matter experts, making it easy for people to engage from wherever they were. The result? Nearly 11,000 new visitors explored the IBR website in just six weeks. Beyond broad outreach, we helped launch focused Community Working Groups to dive deeper into key topics like transit, walking and biking, downtown Vancouver, and Hayden Island. These were built with intention—reflecting a mix of identities, ages, and lived experiences. We used tools like live polls and pre-meeting orientations to keep things accessible and engaging. To top it off, we designed a 26-question community survey that brought in over 9,600 responses—with 75% of participants learning about it through social media. We didn’t just crunch the numbers—we broke down responses by race, age, and identity, and sifted through 1,700+ open-ended comments to identify key themes. That mix of data and real stories helped IBR truly understand what the community cared about—and why it matters.

Big infrastructure projects can easily steamroll community needs. That’s why, on the IBR program—a major bi-state effort to replace a key interstate bridge—we helped lead a new kind of conversation. Over two years, we worked alongside an advisory group to co-create a powerful, people-centered set of community benefits. Instead of using the usual top-down playbook, we designed a flexible, collaborative process that brought together folks with very different perspectives and kept them at the table. No formal co-chairs, just trusted co-conveners. No Robert’s Rules of Order, just real conversations and smart facilitation through tools like modified consensus. The result? A new, more inclusive way to shape community benefits—without the red tape of a formal legal agreement. We tackled tough issues like accessible design that goes beyond ADA minimums, cross-agency coordination on homelessness impacts, better experiences for transit and bike users, and meaningful placemaking that honors local culture. We also made sure the work could actually move forward—mapping out where funding and partnerships already existed, and helping agencies align their commitments. It's proof that big government projects can still deliver real, local impact—with the community leading the way.

We’re teaming up with the City of Seattle to support a community-led vision for Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD). Our role? Facilitate a Community Advisory Group (CAG) that’s shaping a healing and racial equity-informed strategy — grounded in lived experience and built to last. To start, we are co-designing a flexible, month-by-month work plan with CAG members and City staff, kicking off with relationship-building, shared history, and big-picture visioning. Along the way, we will help members step into leadership roles, form committees, and co-create the process. This work moves at the speed of trust. We’re blending community urgency with a thoughtful, anti-oppression approach—keeping things transparent, inclusive, and aligned with citywide planning efforts like the Seattle Comprehensive Plan and Sound Transit’s LINK extension. From workforce equity to surplus land use, we’re making space for community voices to drive bold, actionable recommendations—so the future of transit in Seattle reflects the people who call it home.

The Northwest Native Chamber (NWNC) is the country’s largest provider of technical assistance for Native-owned businesses—and we’re proud to support their mission. Based in Portland and serving Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, NWNC offers culturally rooted services and programs like the Native Technical Assistance Program (TAP) and the Northwest Native APEX Accelerator. Espousal Strategies is their go-to partner for public affairs and government relations—and together, we’ve made some big moves: Secured $5M in funding to protect and grow Oregon’s technical assistance program for small businesses—after it was at risk of being cut. We also lined up future commitments from key legislators and briefed the State’s BIPOC caucus to keep the momentum going. Backed funding for the Center for Tribal Nations, a visionary project that reconnects Native communities to the Willamette River while advancing resilience and equity. Helped launch a coalition of culturally specific Chambers of Commerce to build collective power and advocate for BIPOC-owned businesses statewide. We're honored to help NWNC fight for economic justice—and win.

When the Port of Portland set out to invest in an economic development strategy for East Multnomah County, they knew it would need to be shaped by the people who live it every day. Alongside C&S Companies, Espousal Strategies helped bring together local businesses, nonprofits, caregivers, and community leaders to shape an inclusive economic development strategy—one grounded in equity, trust, and real community priorities. We dug into past engagement efforts and offered a fresh, healing-informed perspective, mapping out assets, gaps, and where the community was feeling stretched. That insight turned into a living guide for the Port’s future work in the region. We also hosted three culturally rooted focus groups—in spaces that felt right for each community—to explore key topics and industries like: Distilleries/Food Processing Small Business Support Ecosystems Community-Based Organizations Placemaking and Community Assets Our findings helped shape the Port’s economic roadmap, with smart, community-driven strategies around surplus property, workforce development, childcare, and supplier diversity. It all came together at a kickoff meeting where partners began identifying real funding gaps and top priorities—laying the groundwork for a stronger, more inclusive economic future.