SHINY FLANARY
Founder, Come Thru Market
Interim Executive Director, Black Food Sovereignty Coalition
Morning PLENARY:
WED., JULY 10th 2024, 9:00AM
shiny flanary is a queer Black farmer living in so-called Portland, Oregon. shiny wears a lot of hats. She runs her farm and herbal products business, Scrapberry Farm, and is also the founder and manager of Come Thru Market, a Black and Indigenous incubator market and farmer training program. She also manages the Black and Brown Herb Exchange, which connects farmers with buyers, learners with teachers, and offers business support to farmers and makers.
shiny grew up in Oakland, California – not a place traditionally known for inspiring little Black girls to grow up to be farmers. Despite trying (and mostly not succeeding) to grow carrots and sunflowers as a little girl, it never occurred to her to pursue farming. She imagined that “growing things” was the purview of wealthy white people.
A meandering 20-year journey as a telephone operator, tow truck dispatcher, community worker, and librarian/teacher in community colleges eventually brought her full circle to growing carrots, sunflowers, and medicinal herbs. Add in a little community and a lot of sweat and she now proudly calls herself a farmer, food justice worker, and farmers market manager. Oh, and most recently, Interim Executive Director at BFSC!
Bob Whitener
Owner & Corporate Executive Officer, The Whitener Group
Closing Plenary
Thurs., July 11, 2024, 3:30pm
As co-owner and CEO of The Whitener Group, Bob Whitener provides tribal governmental and enterprise development services for tribes.
Bob has over 40 years of experience working with tribal governments and Indian Country enterprises, serving as the CEO/Board President for Island Enterprises, as the economic development arm of the Squaxin Island Tribe for over 8 years, and spending 6 years as the Executive Director for the Squaxin Island Tribe itself. Bob’s Masters in Public Administration is from The Evergreen State College.
Bob has expertise in the areas of finance, administration, human resources systems, tribal-state compact negotiations, policy development, natural resources management, and federal negotiations.
When not found deep in work, you will find Bob traveling (to Maine and Mexico, mainly), tinkering in his garage (either at home or here at TWG’s offices) usually on a boat or TWO, or out on the water, of course.
Legislative Panel
Sen. Yasmin Trudeau
Washington Senate District 27
Legislative panel
Thurs., July 11, 2024, 3:30pm
Sen. Yasmin Trudeau represents Washington’s 27th Legislative District, which includes Tacoma, Ruston, Browns Point, Dash Point, and Fife. She currently serves as vice-chair of the Law & Justice Committee and is a member of the Environment, Energy & Technology Committee and Housing Committee. She is also one of the two Senate Democrats negotiating the Capital Budget. Additionally, she serves as Chair of the Senate Members of Color Caucus.
Yasmin was appointed to the Senate in 2021 and won election to a full term in 2022. She is the first woman of color to serve as senator for the 27th Legislative District. Her motivation for inclusive, equitable public policy comes from her professional and lived experiences.
Representative Annessa Hartman
Oregon House District 40
Legislative panel
Thurs., July 11, 2024, 3:30pm
Oregon State Representative Annessa Hartman (she/her) is a member of the Haudenosaunee, Cayuga Nation, Snipe Clan, and the third Indigenous person elected to the Oregon House of Representatives.
Representative Hartman serves House District 40, including Oregon City, Gladstone, and Unincorporated Clackamas County. Representative Hartman’s legislative focus includes supporting working families, human services, and infrastructure, which stems from her experiences as the child of a single, working mother, being a military brat, and being a Gladstone City Councilor.
Transparency, accessibility, and amplifying historically unheard voices are guiding values that have impacted her work to diligently view policy from an equitable lens, empowering others to speak their stories to local leadership.
Representative Hartman’s background in events and hospitality has enabled her to utilize her strengths in planning, goal setting, collaboration, and communication. Hospitality can be a thankless calling-like leadership that builds small wins and eventually leads to monumental change with diligence, focus, and humility.
Representative David Hackney
Washington House District 11
Legislative Panel
Thurs., July 11, 2024, 3:30pm
David currently represents the 11th LD consisting of Tukwila, Renton, and parts of Kent, in the Washington State House of Representatives. David serves as the Vice Chair of the Capital Budget Committee, and on the Transportation, Consumer Protection & Business, and Legislative Ethics Committees. David is also a founding member and co-chair of the Hydrogen Caucus. First elected in 2020, he has focused primarily on environmental justice, income equality, and public safety.
David has practiced international and domestic criminal and labor law for approximately 30 years. In the public sector, he has tried over 25 felony cases as a federal prosecutor, and trained prosecutors and judges in Kosovo while working for the U.S. Department of Justice. He has also served as an international war crimes prosecutor with the United Nations. In the private sector, David has served as in-house employment counsel for several non-profits and start-ups, as well as the lead employment attorney for The Nature Conservancy, the largest environmental NGO in the world. Outside work, David managed a commercial-scale kitchen at his church to feed the homeless, raised money with friends to build an elementary school in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and traveled to Uzbekistan several times to participate in a criminal justice reform project sponsored by the U.S. State Department. David currently serves on the board of King County Habitat for Humanity.
David has a BS in Industrial & Labor Relations from Cornell University and a joint JD/MPA from Harvard Law School and the John F. Kennedy of Government.
Representative Jake Fey
Washington House District 27
Legislative Panel
Thurs., July 11, 2024, 3:30pm
Born and raised in Port Angeles, in the NW corner of Washington State, Jake's experience in the YMCA Youth and Government program pointed him early on toward a life of public service. He was the first in his family to graduate from college, earning a BA in Political Science from the University of Washington and then an MPA from the University of Puget Sound.
Jake served as the Director of the WSU Energy program from 2001 to 2019, providing leadership in alternative-energy and energy-efficiency. Prior to his time with WSU, Jake was the Energy Services Manager for fourteen years at Tacoma Power where he managed major energy efficiency investments for the utility. From 2006 – 2012 Jake served on the Tacoma City Council. During his time as a Councilmember, Jake also represented the City on the Sound Transit and Pierce Transit Boards as well as being the Vice Chair of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.
Elected into the WA State House of Representatives in 2012, Jake currently serves as Chair of the House Transportation Committee and as a member of the House Environment and Energy Committee.
One of Jake's top priorities in the legislature is ensuring a cleaner, more sustainable transportation system for our state. During the 2019 Legislative session, Jake introduced the Green Transportation bill, aimed at helping switch to electric vehicles and cleaner fuels, with incentives to buy electric vehicles and help to build the infrastructure to charge electric cars in Washington State.
During the 2022 Legislative Session, Jake led his colleagues in passage of the Move Ahead Washington transportation package- a $17 billion, 16 year package that makes unprecedented investments in transit, active transportation and highway preservation and maintenance.
Jake has lived in Tacoma for more than 30 years. He has two children and two grandkids.
Header Image: Agate Passage Preserve © Shaun Swalley/Bainbridge Island Land Trust