Ruth Lipscomb

President

Ruth is a retired software engineer, investor, and philanthropist. She lives in Bellevue, volunteers with progressive nonprofit organizations, and fosters kittens. In 2021, she ran for Bellevue City Council against an incumbent Republican. Alas, Bellevue stuck with the Republican, but her campaign opened her eyes to the dearth of in-depth media coverage on the Eastside and inspired her to get more involved with The Urbanist and join the board. The Urbanist is one of the few organizations reporting on the happenings at Bellevue City Hall.

Rian Watt

Vice President

Rian Watt is the Executive Director of the Economic Opportunity Institute, a Seattle-based public policy think tank. He also serves on the board of Futurewise, a statewide land use organization, is a former Seattle Planning Commissioner, and has worked on housing and homelessness issues in a number of different professional roles. Rian has been involved with The Urbanist since 2018, including chairing the Elections Committee from 2021-23 and as part-time Executive Director from 2023-24. He rents in Capitol Hill with his wife, son, and two cats.

Shaun Kuo

Treasurer

Shaun is a recent graduate from the University of Washington Tacoma’s Master of Arts in Community Planning. He is an urban planner and a Seattle native who has lived in Wallingford, Northgate, and Lake Forest Park. He enjoys exploring the city by bus and foot. He joined the board as treasurer in 2020. Shaun also serves as an editor and writes about energy policy, development, and parks.

Jesse Swingle

Secretary

Jesse Swingle is a seasoned marketing leader with a diverse background spanning nonprofits, B2B startups, the public sector, and emerging markets. As the Managing Director at Cedar Collaborative, a dynamic marketing consultancy, he brings a wealth of experience and strategic insight to his clients. Jesse lives with his partner in Queen Anne, and is a long-time reader of The Urbanist. He grew up in the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula near Sequim before exploring the east coast and Canada, finally returning to settle in Seattle in 2014.

Jesse Simpson

Boardmember

Jesse Simpson is the Government Relations and Policy Manager for the Housing Development Consortium. Jesse grew up in West Seattle, majored in Environmental Studies at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, and has lived in Capitol Hill since 2018. He started out in the housing policy world by volunteering to advocate for more density in urban areas and funding for affordable homes. He spends his free time walking and biking around Seattle, traveling around to other cities, exploring local arts, playing chess, and building community.

Crystal Fincher

Boardmember

 Crystal Fincher is the Founder and Principal of Fincher Consulting, a full service political consulting firm. She hosts Hacks & Wonks, a twice weekly radio show discussing the impacts of Washington state politics and policy on local and disenfranchised communities that airs on Seattle’s KVRU 105.7 FM and via podcast. Over the past decade, Crystal has helped local, legislative and statewide candidates and issue campaigns win in Washington, California, Nevada. Fincher Consulting has helped advocacy and political organizations deploy successful strategies to build power, engagement and turnout, particularly in underrepresented areas and among infrequent voters. Crystal served on the City of Kent Land Use and Planning Board as the first African-American and youngest member in its history and on the board of Tabor 100 as the Economic Development Committee Chair. She resides in Kent with her son.

Pauly Tarricone

Boardmember

A recent transplant from Bloomington, IN, Pauly (he/they) brings a background in the arts to the conversations around urbanist causes. Pauly’s work focuses on public space activation, including the likes of street performance, public art, and outdoor dining programs. Before coming to Washington, Pauly served on the Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Commission for the City of Bloomington; co-founded Circle City Fire, a fire performance troupe based in Indianapolis, IN; and launched Stronger B-Town, a Strong Towns local conversation based in Bloomington. Pauly is also a practicing flow artist of 10 years, and when they’re not spending their free time advocating for human-centric cities, they can be found spinning props with the Seattle Flow Arts Collective at their local spin jams.

Rubén Casas

Boardmember

Rubén is a scholar and teacher of rhetoric and writing at the University of Washington Tacoma. He is also the faculty lead of the Urban Environmental Justice Initiative at Urban@UW. In his work and advocacy, Rubén examines how cities and the institutions that comprise them imagine, plan, and build in ways that promote and/or discourage community and a sense of place.

Jazmine Smith

Boardmember

Jazmine (she/her) is the Vice Chair of the The Urbanist Elections Committee and a political hack/policy wonk who won’t shut up about niche local and statewide politics, bikes, bus lanes, and building more housing. She has been serving on the Queen Anne Community Council as a board member and formerly Transportation Co-Chair, and serves on the Uptown Land Use Review Committee. She’s an ardent renter in Lower Queen Anne and e-bikes around town when she doesn’t just take the bus/train. Jazmine loves being an organizer and will relationally organize YOU into caring about things.

Sarah Gustafson

Boardmember

Sarah’s favorite example of a walkable town is Choibalsan, Mongolia — with its parklets, public art, and 4-floor-and-corner-store urban core. That’s where she had the privilege to work as a Peace Corps teacher in 2007-09. That’s also where Sarah decided to become a CPA, with the goal of helping non-profits with their finances. Among Sarah’s experiences is 3 years volunteering as Board Treasurer at Seattle’s EarthCorps. There, she supported the organization through both risks (e.g. the pandemic) and opportunities (e.g. EarthCorps’ journey, trailblazed by its visionary staff, towards a more equitable mission). Sarah works at a Bellevue accounting firm. She lives in Bothell with her bike-nut husband David and their three outspoken kids. They appreciate The Urbanist because it not only informs our Salish Sea region but presses us all to do better.

Efrain Hudnell

Boardmember

Efrain first came to the Puget Sound region just as the Sound Transit 3 ballot measure was beginning to build momentum in late 2015, igniting a curiosity for transportation in him. Several years later, Efrain joins the Urbanist Board after years of advocacy culminating in him serving as the Executive Director of the Seattle Subway organization and a run for Seattle City Council in 2023. He aims to center communities of color in the urbanist movement so as to undo the harms current transportation policy and land use. He has a Bachelor of Arts from New Mexico State University, a Juris Doctorate from Seattle University, and splits his time between Seattle and Berlin with his fiancée, Nina.

Whitney Rearick

Boardmember

Whitney is a long-time affordable housing nerd and urban planner who has worked as a nonprofit executive director and housing developer, campus planner, housing organizer and urban policy instructor. She’s currently a senior advisor for capital projects for a local government. She spends her spare time exploring cities and forests with old film cameras. 

Sarah Mills

Boardmember

Sarah is a Managing Director and head of the ESG practice at Revision Real Estate Partners, a consulting firm focused on the commercial real estate industry. She moved to Seattle in 2013 by way of Atlanta to experience the magic of the PNW. Originally from rural South Georgia, she fell in love with cities on trips in high school to New York and Paris where the buzz of humanity pulled her in. Having worked in commercial real estate, technology, and sustainability, she is passionate about the intersection of the built environment, environmental sustainability, social support, and urban vitality. Sarah is also on the Board of Directors for the Pike Place Market foundation, serving as a member of the finance committee. She lives in Capitol Hill with her husband Derek and Irishdoodle Zuko.

Zak Ott

Boardmember

Zachary Ott is a Community Engagement Associate at a local women-owned environmental consulting firm. Zak grew up in Lynnwood, majored in Political Science at Western Washington University, and has a Masters in Policy Studies from UW. He currently lives in Bothell, where he is a member of a community advisory committee for the Climate Action Plan of the City of Bothell. His work is focused on the Built Environment and works with both public and private agencies to address issues relating to land use, transportation, affordable housing, and energy. Outside of work, Zak enjoys spending time with his wife and two dogs hiking, walking, and enjoying all the beauty the PNW has to offer, along with attending Mariners games and planning his next trip somewhere in the US or abroad.