Meet Bronwyn
Tacoma is special because people don’t just live here—we show up for each other, and we fight for a better future. That spirit is what makes this city the only place I want to serve with my whole heart.
I fell in love with that spirit while attending UW Tacoma in 2014. Though I left after graduation to earn a master’s in social policy at Oxford, Tacoma never left my mind. I knew it was where I wanted to grow roots, build community, and contribute my skills. So I returned to make Tacoma my home again in 2019. Since then, I’ve dedicated my time to public service as a civic designer and researcher, helping government serve people better. I’m proud of having worked hard on issues from distributing $100M+ in pandemic cash aid to detangling Medicaid bureaucracy and helping cities innovate to prevent gun violence and increase resident involvement.
But my true passion lies in designing for relationships – how our systems, services, and built environment bring us together. Or, more often, reinforce division. Through my work in social services, I’ve seen firsthand how strong relationships make the difference between stability and crisis. Without those, the safety net is thin.
As a first-generation American, this is unacceptable to me. I’m driven to help this country advance beyond its many injustices by advancing equity and access.
That starts at home for me. I want to put my skills to use to bolster belonging in parks, our city’s most important spaces for community.
In Tacoma, parks are how our diverse community comes together. But it’s still segregated. More often than not, residents of the South End (where I live) and Eastside of Tacoma have to drive to get to a park, wait at an unsheltered bus stop to get home, or risk walking and biking on roads made to protect cars, not people. Because of sparse tree canopies, our neighborhoods face life-threatening heatwaves. Not being able to access shaded spaces to gather and get relief literally kills.
When the heat dome hit in 2021, I remember having to drive to an air-conditioned North End coffee shop because my home in Lincoln was 93F inside. Watching smoke summers become more prevalent over my two decades as a Washingtonian has made me a fierce advocate for urgent action to grow our resilience. I take this so seriously that I’m starting in my own back yard. Thinking about Tacoma, I know Parks has a role to play in adapting our public spaces for this future.
Because of my work in social services, I know that resilience work is relationship work.
I’m running to bring this focus on intentional design for climate and community to Tacoma’s parks.