Kathy Kaminski, Seattle Neighborhood Group

 Kathy is a community organizer with the Seattle Neighborhood Group.  She currently coordinates the Weed & Seed program in two neighborhoods, White Center and Rainier Beach.  Weed & Seed is a federally funded program of the Department of Justice, so a portion of Kathy’s time is spent doing grant management, but her passion lies in the community organizing aspects of the job.  Kathy works in both neighborhoods to improve the relationships between the community and law enforcement.  She coordinates with residents, service providers, business owners, and other community members to develop and implement strategies to improve community safety.

One project that Kathy was proud to be a part of last year was the “Ultimate Park Makeover” at White Center Heights Park.  The King County park is almost 6 acres, but prior to last summer, was only known as a location for drug activity and prostitution.  Starbucks donated $550,000 to King County Parks to renovate the park in one week with community volunteers doing the majority of the work.  Community workshops were held to gather input from residents about what they would like to see in the park and landscape architecture students from the University of Washington developed the plans.  A team of community members also developed recommendations for the park based on SafeGrowth CPTED principals.  Over 1,000 volunteers participated in the 2nd week of June to “makeover” the park.  It is now home to a community P-Patch, a stage for community celebrations, a picnic shelter, a cistern, numerous art pieces, a pig-roasting pit, and a walking trail.  It is now a safe, well-used park for the families of White Center.

Kathy is originally from Woodstock, IL and moved to Seattle five years ago as an AmeriCorps volunteer working in anti-oppression and violence prevention.  When Kathy isn’t organizing in White Center and Rainier Beach, she tries to get out of the city for camping, hiking, rock climbing, or snowboarding.  She plays basketball every Saturday morning and loves to share her homebrewed beers with her friends in the evening.