This interview was conducted in August 2019

How have WPC and YP influenced your personal life or career?
“I’ve been involved with Washington Policy Center for 7 years and have found the organization to be a place that allows people to engage around ideas and solutions in a way that is collaborative and productive. This framework has helped me build bridges and relationships with people of different backgrounds and ideologies across the state centered on the idea of helping improve people’s lives through sound public policy. The organization compels one to move forward towards action and to think about ways to craft a better future for our state.”

Why does this cause matter to you? Why now in particular?
“More than ever, the presence of balanced free-market solutions is needed. It is the most sustainable approach to protecting the ongoing strength of our society moving forward and it is the most efficient way to improve peoples’ lives and narrow the gap of opportunity within our communities. WPC is a strong advocate for free-market solutions within Washington State at a time when some may be swayed by a misunderstanding of socialism and the wasteful consequences of government expansion. To ensure our system’s sustainability, there must be a balance between reasonable government involvement and the innovation, ingenuity and competition of a market-based economy.”

What interests you most about this organization?
“Two things: The first is the ability to support and undergird our elected officials throughout the state. WPC produces topical and balanced research allowing elected officials to be well-versed and prepared to vote and engage with their constituents on specific issues that matter. Second is the Young Professionals program. I currently serve as the Vice Chair of the Young Professionals Advisory Board and chair the Events Committee. This group provides a conduit for education, networking and meaningful discussions with an engaged demographic who is actively asking provocative questions about government and is willing to challenge the status quo in pursuit of positive change.

What value do you think WPC brings to the state?
“There are few statewide organizations that have strong convictions in their ideas yet support productive dialogues with people of different ideologies. WPC allows ideas to compete and are willing to let lesser ideas fall away and others to win. No singular group has a monopoly on solutions and a diversity of ideas is necessary for our society to address difficult issues. This past year, the WPC Young Professionals hosted a moderated forum on homelessness that included participants from different ideologies and backgrounds focused on bringing solutions to a pressing issue. People are craving for a dialogue that is collaborative and constructive, allowing for a diversity of ideas where one can decide for themselves the best solution. Unfortunately, the present trend is the tendency across the spectrum to rely on a singular narrative that can’t be challenged—again…no one has a monopoly on the best ideas, we need to continue to create and support spaces where a diversity of solutions-focused ideas can live and compete.”

What have you learned from being a part of WPC?
“Balanced free-market solutions have the ability to help people from all different geographies, industries and walks of life. WPC demonstrates this by hosting events across both Eastern and Western Washington where people from different backgrounds actively engage with a conviction that their lives will be improved by the policies WPC advocates for.”

What is one word you would use to describe Washington Policy Center?
“Needed.”

How does WPC empower members of YP in their professional/personal aspirations?
“Two ways: first, it’s an incredible source of networking. No matter the industry you are in, there is someone to meet and someone to collaborate with in a meaningful way. Second, WPC offers a visibility in the policy formation and legislative process within our state and provides an important awareness into how these policies affect our personal and professional lives (transportation, education, taxation, etc).”