Seattle City Makers

If you live or work downtown, there’s a really good chance you benefit from infrastructure that is more than 100 years old under your feet. We’re talking steam as we kick off the fifth season of the Seattle City Makers podcast. Jon is joined by CenTrio Energy Vice President Ian Goepferd. Jon and Ian wind their way through a steam heating utility that features 20 miles of piping under downtown Seattle, providing heat to around 150 buildings in the heart of Seattle. They discuss the evolution of this utility; Elliott Bay as a heat source; its future and the state of energy in Washington state; Ian’s perfect Saturday in Seattle and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Ian Goepferd.

It’s a milestone episode for the Seattle City Makers podcast – we've hit the century mark! While all our guests are special to us, for show number 100 we have a guest who is known well beyond our city as we welcome actor, host and comedian Joel McHale to the program. Jon and Joel talk about the actor’s start on the stage at Unexpected Productions; the springboard from the KING 5 show Almost Live!; the waterfront and Joel’s thoughts on the old viaduct; Joel’s incredibly dark character on The Bear; Jon wearing a lot of layers in the office and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Joel McHale.

Now that the dust has settled on the November election, it’s time to dig into the analysis, the issues facing our newly elected leaders, the what-does-it-all-mean conversation Seattleites are surely having right now. Political and public affairs consultant Sandeep Kaushik helps us unpack everything.  Jon and Sandeep discuss the Trump effect on our local elections; the idea of issue paralysis; the affordability agenda and contributing factors to a pricey Seattle; Mayor-elect Katie Wilson as an ‘outsider mayor’; a possible narrowing of the gap between far-left and center-left and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Sandeep Kaushik.

We’re raising the curtain at one of Seattle’s greatest venues on this episode of Seattle City Makers. Bill Berry, the executive & artistic director of the venerable 5th Avenue Theatre joins us to dig into arts & culture in downtown Seattle. Jon and Bill discuss the state of the theatre; upcoming performances, including a production Jesus Christ Superstar that will feature a Seattle music icon; how the 5th compares to venues and production houses across the country; the alliance with the Seattle Theater Group and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Bill Berry.

Seattle City Maker listeners, you now have the option to watch these conversations on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/downtownseattle. Kicking off this platform enhancement is Chief Amy Barden, leader of Seattle’s CARE public safety department.  This alternative response team was piloted in downtown two years ago, now they’ve expanded citywide. Jon and Amy talk about the CARE team expansion; the progress that’s been made and the challenges that remain with public safety in Seattle; the rhetoric around unarmed response; the essential attributes for CARE responders; the latest on the fentanyl pandemic; re-entry from incarceration and the capacity for people to change; the podcast she co-hosts with her husband and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Amy Barden.

If you’re looking for a brick-and-mortar retail success story, head to Marios on Sixth Avenue in downtown Seattle. This men’s and women’s specialty store has been a fixture for high-end fashion in Seattle since 1982. Now operating under the Mitchell Stores umbrella, Marios has sibling retail shops in New England, Portland, the Bay Area and Dallas. Scott Mitchell runs Marios in Seattle and has been at the helm for a little over a year now. With fresh eyes on our market, Jon and Scott talk about the retail sector in Seattle and how Marios is performing; the importance of having great operators near Marios; navigating the twists and turns of family-run operations; his thoughts on retail nationally and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Scott Mitchell.

Since 2021, Amazon has invested more than $3.5 billion in affordable housing production and preservation. Leading that charge is Alice Shobe. As Amazon’s outgoing Director of Community Impact, Shobe has taken the tech and logistics giant to new heights regarding direct impact in the communities where its presence is large: Seattle, Arlington, Va., and Nashville. In the Seattle area alone, Amazon has produced 10,000 affordable units. Jon and Alice talk about her path from city planning in Kent to leadership at Amazon; the speed and volume of Amazon’s affordable housing production; the five priorities for Amazon’s community impact team; how an email about a headline in The Seattle Times led to a pilot program and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Alice Shobe.

As summer comes to a close in Seattle, we’re joined by one of the lead architects of our city’s signature September festival, Bumbershoot. New Rising Sun CEO Joe Paganelli has had a busy and extremely productive year that has significantly impacted downtown’s arts & cultural scene. In addition to producing their third iteration of the music, art, culture and fashion event that is Bumbershoot, New Rising Sun opened the doors to Cannonball Arts, downtown’s largest creative arts center spanning 66,000 square feet. Jon and Joe talk about the evolution of Bumbershoot; the origin story of and vision for Cannonball Arts; Joe’s days at The Fillmore in San Francisco with a Prince story; and you absolutely do not want to miss Joe’s story about his first job. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Joe Paganelli.

The Moriguchi family has deep, impactful roots in the Puget Sound region. Fujimatsu and Sadako opened up their first store in Tacoma in 1928, after selling fishcakes and other items out of a truck to loggers, fisherman and local farmers. Think of it as a forefather of the food truck. After World War II, the Moriguchis opened Uwajimaya in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District neighborhood. Fujimatsu and Sadako’s granddaughter, Denise, is the third generation CEO of Uwajimaya, which is now one of the largest Asian grocery retailers in the Pacific Northwest. Jon and Denise talk about Uwajimaya’s origin story; her path to leadership of the family-run operation; the state of the grocery sector; the Chinatown-International District neighborhood; her ideal Saturday in Seattle and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Denise Moriguchi.

The return of PCC to Rainier Square is enormous for downtown residents, workers and visitors. Leading this impactful move (and relocation of office space to Rainier Square) is PCC President & CEO Krishnan Srinivasan. At the helm of PCC since 2022, Krishnan joined the member-owned certified organic retailer grocer in 2018 after holding business and finance leadership positions in some of the biggest names in tech: Amazon, Microsoft, Remitly and Lyft to name a few. Jon and Krishnan discuss PCC’s return to downtown and how the new Corner Market is performing; the retail grocery landscape; how PCC made its way to Late Night with Stephen Colbert; the power of food and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Krishnan Srinivasan.

Seafair is synonymous with summer in Seattle. This year’s festivities were filled with time-honored traditions and new elements under the direction of first-year President & CEO Emily Cantrell. Emily and Jon sat down a few days after wrapping up the 76th iteration of Seafair, and there was plenty to unpack about this enormous summer celebration. The two discuss her career path which started in broadcast news and led to organizations focused on this place; taking the Torchlight Parade to the new waterfront; her favorite Seafair moments and those that caused a little bit of stress; getting Nascar racer Jimmie Johnson into a hydroplane cockpit;  the itinerary for her perfect Saturday in Seattle and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Emily Cantrell.

Many cities across the country have built their convention centers outside of their city center – Seattle avoided that mistake and the community is reaping the rewards of that decision. Conventions, business events and “bleisure travel” (more on that in a moment) are playing big roles in Seattle’s economic symphony and Seattle Convention Center President & CEO Jennifer LeMaster is the conductor of those contributors. Jon and Jennifer discuss her path to leadership through college athletics; the importance of the Convention Center to Seattle’s economy; the concept of blending business and leisure travel (bleisure); Seattle’s competitive positioning in the convention space and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Jennifer LeMaster.

Fair to say there are not many people with resumes that include work at the Department of Commerce, Microsoft and founding two art spaces in Seattle. A unique career path seems appropriate when you witness the one-of-a-kind experiences Nick Ferderer curates at Base Camp Studios and Base Camp Studios 2. Jon and Nick discuss the origins of his dynamic art galleries; discoveries he’s made at vacant buildings; what’s to come at Base Camp 2; the beautification work along the Spark Block on Third Avenue and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Nick Ferderer.

Summers in Seattle are sublime. For the Port of Seattle, the summer months are slammed with activity. One of the 10 busiest ports in the nation, the Port of Seattle has been led by Executive Director Steve Metruck since 2018. Jon and Steve discuss Seattle’s growing cruise industry; trends in domestic and business travel; the enormous scope of business for the Port of Seattle; his career path from the Coast Guard to the Port and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Steve Metruck.

As we put a cap on the NBA Finals, and look ahead to an NBA Board of Governors meeting with expansion on the agenda, we have a timely conversation Brian Robinson. For nearly 20 years now, Brian has led a number of groups dedicated to Sonics fandom and bringing the NBA back to Seattle. His latest effort is Seattle NBA Fans, which he founded with a mission of uniting the region and preparing for the return of the NBA. And that’s not even his day job. Jon and Brian talk about the origins of his love for the Sonics; Seattle’s positioning for expansion; the rough timeline for a return; the goal of Seattle NBA fans and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Brian Robinson.

You don’t make the Forbes 30 Under 30 list without serious talent and execution – both strong suits of Yifan Zhang. The Harvard grad and entrepreneur founded two companies, one in San Francisco and another in Seattle. She’s now the managing director of AI2 Incubator and the founder of AI House, a place for community, collaboration and creating the next era of AI in Seattle. Jon and Yifan talk about her earlier ventures and path to AI House; the importance of collaborating in-person; her advice for founders; the AI sector in Seattle; the growing ranks of female founders in the city and more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Yifan Zhang.

Who doesn’t love a freshly baked cookie? Warm cookies are a mood changer, and in the case of Tiffany Lewis, a career changer. Lewis left a corporate job in banking and went headfirst into baking. But she did not follow a standard recipe. Graduation from Le Cordon Bleu, working with celebrity chefs like Curtis Stone and Giada De Laurentiis and eventually landing at Sur La Table. The pandemic led to a pivot, pop-ups and the founding of Cookies with Tiffany – and downtown Seattle is certainly sweeter for it.  Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Tiffany Lewis.

Seattle’s Chief of Police Shon Barnes has an encyclopedic knowledge of public safety data – but he also knows data doesn’t tell the whole story. Chief Barnes arrived in Seattle after spending four years at the helm of the Madison, Wisconsin police department. Shon and Jon talk about his first few months on the job in Seattle; the power of perception in public safety; his perspective on crime in downtown; the latest on police staffing levels; the work of the CARE department and much more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Shon Barnes.

Pacific Northwest Ballet is a powerhouse – and the same could be said for its Executive Director, Seattle native Ellen Walker. The fifth-largest ballet company in the nation, PNB has been thrilling audiences for more than 50 years. Ellen and Jon talk about her path to leadership at PNB; the health of Seattle’s arts & culture sector; the importance of diversity in talent and audience; how PNB tries to build the patron base and more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Ellen Walker.

Seattle’s music scene is well known and overflowing with talent across a wide range of genres. But there’s one local record label with a worldwide reputation that produced the sound of the city – Sub Pop Records. CEO Megan Jasper sat down with Jon to talk about the evolution of Seattle’s music industry; how she came to lead this legendary label; Sub Pop’s “no a-holes” policy; her favorite venues; new albums on the horizon and more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Megan Jasper.