Who we are
Mission
Got Green organizes for environmental, racial, and economic justice as a South Seattle-based grassroots organization led by people of color and low income people. We cultivate multi-generational community leaders to be central voices in the Green Movement in order to ensure that the benefits of the green movement and green economy (green jobs, healthy food, energy efficient & healthy homes, public transit) reach low income communities and communities of color.
Values
Vision
People of color and low income families are exercising self-determination to create and govern resilient and healthy communities where they live, work, learn, play and pray.
We envision healthy communities where all people:
1) Work meaningful jobs that nourish our earth, our communities, and our souls;
2) Eat affordable, healthy food that is grown with dignity for workers and the environment;
3) Live in safe and sustainable housing, rooted in climate resilient neighborhoods;
4) Care for our environment in our relationships to the land, the climate, and each other
Our Staff
Emily Chan
Research Organizer
Sean O’Neill
Development Director
Tammy Nguyen
Power Building Organizer
Tanika Thompson
Campaign Director
Shaylea Pilarski
Membership Builder
Vera Hoang
Coalition Organizer
Marion Romero
Organizing Director
Steph Ikeda
Operations Manager
Emily Chan
Research Organizer
Emily’s roots are planted in South Seattle, where she grew up. She has witnessed environmental health impacts and the displacement of community members and businesses in her neighborhood over the years. This sparked her to join Got Green’s climate justice committee to organize for climate resilient communities that are rooted in place. Emily is excited to continue this work as a community organizer supporting Got Green’s campaigns.
Emily studied Environmental Science and Resource Management at the University of Washington. Through her experiences, Emily works to connect the dots between different environmental crises and social injustices to understand the interconnections between different fields of study, struggles, and movements. This framework of thinking, based on relationships and connection, guides her work to this day. Emily previously worked in the waste and recycling industry on data collection, outreach, and education, where she learned about the types of stories garbage can tell about a community, and society at large. In her free time, Emily enjoys watching Disney movies, drawing, and daydreaming about marine animals (southern resident killer whales hold a special place in her heart).
Pronouns: She, Her
Email: emily@gotgreen.org
Sean O'Neill
Development Director
Sean has been working within social movements as an organizer, fundraiser, and educator for the last ten years. As Development Director, Sean is building the grassroots fundraising capacity of Got Green. Outside of Got Green, Sean volunteers with Firelands Workers United – a rural people’s organization in WA State. Prior to Got Green, Sean has worked for various organizations working on issues ranging from housing justice to fighting U.S. military & economic policy. Sean also has a history working locally with CARW and nationally with Showing Up for Racial Justice — organizing white communities for racial justice and building multiracial movements. In his spare time, Sean enjoys books and happy hour.
Pronouns: He, Him
Email: sean@gotgreen.org
Tammy Nguyen
Power Building Organizer
Tammy is a Vietnamese-American community activist who joined Got Green as one of its first members in 2008. Since then she has been working to put women of color, low income and immigrant women’s voices front and center in the green economy, founding the Women in the Green Economy Project in 2010. Tammy is a young, single parent of three children (Julie, Tuyet-Nhi and Alan) from an immigrant family living in New Holly, where she is a neighborhood leader. She is also involved in her kids’ education.
Pronouns: She, Her
Email: tammy@gotgreen.org
Tanika Thompson
Campaign Director
Tanika Thompson is a African American community organizer and activist who has lived in Seattle her entire life. She first started as an organizer at SEIU 775NW in 2007, as a Member Organizer, and later became an Executive Board Member as well as a Member Political Organizer, door knocking for the 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign. Tanika was recruited to Got Green’s Jobs Committee in 2013 by Michael Woo and worked to win a “Priority Hire” Ordinance in 2015. She joined Got Green’s Board of Directors and continued to volunteer on the Food Access Team until joining the staff in May 2016. Tanika is a young grandmother who wants to help change the world that her grandchildren will grow up to live in.
Pronouns: She, Her
Email: tanika@gotgreen.org
Shaylea Pilarski
Membership Builder
Shaylea has spent most of her childhood growing up in South Park. During her time there, she worked with the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps. In fact, she was involved with a few cohorts through the program. Afterwards, she worked with Choose 180, a nonprofit to help in youth diversion programs to help keep youth out of the justice system. She then moved on to join Community Passageways, where she found her passion for nonprofits. It was a great community that she loved being a part of, but moved on after some time to go into the working world. She is currently living life as a first-time mom and enjoying every second of it.
Pronouns: She, Her
Email: shaylea@gotgreen.org
Vera Hoang
Coalition Organizer
Vera is a Chinese and Vietnamese American racial and environmental justice organizer. She holds degrees in Biology and Community, Environment & Planning from the University of Washington. She has worn a variety of hats – honing her skills in fundraising operations, board recruitment and management, communications, research, event planning, policy, and community engagement. Vera joined Got Green’s Young Leaders Committee in 2016 to organize for living-wage green jobs for young and low-income people of color. In her free time, she can be found paddling outrigger canoes and cooking for loved ones.
Pronouns: She, Her
Email: vera@gotgreen.org
Marion Romero
Organizing Director
Marion Romero joins Got Green through the Rainier Valley Corps Fellowship. Marion graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Environmental Studies, where she was an active member of Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlan (M.E.Ch.A) de UW, or the Chicano student movement. Through MEChA Marion’s political lense was formed and she found herself wanting to do more for the community. Marion enjoys hiking to experience Mother Nature in her truest form: “the waters that flow to the wind that blows and the beauty of life in every form.”
Pronouns: She, Her, Ella
Email: marion@gotgreen.org
Steph Ikeda
Operations Manager
Steph (they/them) is a descendant of Chinese and Japanese settlers on the West Coast of Turtle Island. They have called the land of the Duwamish, Suquamish and Muckleshoot home since 2012. As a queer person of color, they are the most interested in work that involves solidarity with other QTBIPOC and/or working class folks of color in the Southend. They are a member of the Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee, which organizes an annual Pilgrimage to the Minidoka National Historic Site in Idaho where over 13,000 Japanese Americans were wrongfully imprisoned from 1942 to 1945, and of the Alphabet Alliance of Color, which brings together QTBIPOC from around the Seattle metro area. They are also a dedicated cat parent, passionate about all things food and culture, and an aspiring guitarist.
Pronouns: They/Them
Email: steph@gotgreen.org
Our Board
Johnny Mao
Board Member
Debolina Banerjee
Board Member
Melia Paguirigan
Board Member
Publications
Annual Report
2019
Ten Year Anniversary Comic
2018
Annual Report
2017
In the Press
+ South Seattle Emerald | December 19, 2017 | Organizers Rally for Beacon Hill Elder “Little Dove” John
+ Seattle Weekly | December 6, 2017 | Activists and Politicians Rally for Stronger Tenant Protections
+ South Seattle Emerald | October 30, 2017 | Ending Displacement Requires a Movement
+ South Seattle Emerald | October 28, 2017 | Beacon Hill Community Rallies to Denounce Esther “Little Dove” John’s Displacement
+ South Seattle Emerald | October 13, 2017 | We Are Not Fighting Against the Future, We Just Want to Be Included In It
+ South Seattle Emerald | August 4, 2017 | Resisting the Heat and the Haze
+ Seattle Globalist | June 22, 2017 | Tackling Seattle’s Housing Crisis Requires Cleaning Up City Toxic Sites
+ Seattle Globalist | June 7, 2017 | Seattle City Council Passes Soda Tax
+ CBS News | June 6, 2017 | Seattle Soda Tax Energy Drinks, Sugary Beverages
+ Huffington Post | June 5, 2017 | Seattle Sugary Drinks Tax Passes Council
+ Seattle Times | June 5, 2017 | Seattle City Council Says Yes to Soda Tax
+ Seattle Weekly | June 5, 2017 | No Tax on Diet, Reduced Rate
+ Seattle Weekly | April 24, 2017 | The Debate Over How to Spend Soda Tax Money
+ The Stranger | January 12, 2017 |Activists Hold Anti-Incarceration Rally Outside Youth Jail
+ The Stranger | April 4, 2017 | Mayor Murray Amends Soda Tax
+ Seattle Weekly | Nov 15th,2016 | Trump Is Going to Be President. Time to Organize.
+ International Examiner | Nov 14th,2016 | Letter to the community: #Our100Seattle
+ Seattle Weekly | Nov 9th,2016 | Did a Divided Left Really Kill Our Nation’s First Carbon Tax?
+ The Stranger | Nov, 1st,2016 | Guest Editorial: Initiative 732 Is a False Promise for Climate Justice
+ Crosscut | Oct 24th,2016 | Environmentalists are struggling with carbon tax proposal
+ International Examiner | Oct 20th,2016 | City Council approves Green Pathways resolution
+ The Seattle Globalist | Oct 10th,2016 | Environmental groups split over racial, economic equity in I-732
+ KNKX 88.5 | Oct 3rd,2016 | Initiative 732: A ‘Carbon Tax Swap’ To Address Climate Change
+ International Examiner | Oct 2nd,2016 | Jill Mangaliman honored with Tatsuo Nakata Youth Award
+ Seattle Weekly | Sep 29th,2016 | How Can Seattle Get More Diversity Into the Green Movement?
+ The Seattle Globalist | Sep 23rd,2016 | Green careers proposal advances to Seattle City Council
+ Crosscut | Apr 24th,2016 | City environmental efforts: Got justice?
+ Seattle Weekly | Aug 10th,2016 | In South Seattle, a New Effort to Develop the Leaders of Tomorrow
+ The Seattle Globalist | Aug 1st,2016 | New resolution sparks jobs for young adults left out of Seattle’s Climate Action Plan
+ The Seattle Globalist | Jun 20th,2016 | What you missed at the Block Party at the Station
+ Crosscut | May 3, 2016 | Communities of color should lead on environmental fight
+ International Examiner | April 27, 2016 | Got Green, Puget Sound Sage climate change report puts focus on South Seattle community
+ Seattle Foundation | Apr 25, 2016 | Equity & Environment Agenda Released
+ International Examiner | April 22, 2016 | Washington State Climate Policy (and beyond)
+ PBS NEWS | Apr 21, 2016 | Can a tax help cut down greenhouse gas pollution?
+ Investigate West | Apr 20, 2016 | Seattle may finally get its environmental justice act together
+ UW Public Health Blog | Apr 18, 2016 | The Next Systems Teach-In
+ KEXP FM |Mar 28 2016 | Sustainability Segment – Jill Mangaliman
+ Nextdoor | Mar 24, 2016 | Got Green Presents: For Our Community And Our Planet
+ Seattle City Council | Mar 23, 2016 | Got Got Green Lunch & Learn
+ Next City | Mar 21, 2016 | Need an Environmental Expert? Ask the Person Living in That Environment
+ Seattle Globalist | March 18, 2016 | Polar bears and melting ice caps or gentrification and asthma?
+ Seattle Weekly | Mar 15, 2016 | Gentrification and Climate Change Are Totally Related, Report says
+ The Stranger | Mar 14, 2016 | New Report: In Seattle, Who Will Climate Change First
+ The Stranger | Mar 2, 2016 | What Will It Take for Washington State to Put a Price on Carbon?
+ University of Washington Daily | Feb 8, 2016 | Immigration rights movement moves forward with tribunal
+ Real Change | Jan 6, 2016 |Local climate
+ Go South Seattle | Dec 19, 2015 |10 Small Organizations Doing Big Things in South Seattle (Part 1)
+ Democracy Now! | Dec 14, 2015 | Protest in Paris: Climate Justice Activists Decry Accord as “Death Sentence for Millions”
+ Catalytic Community | Dec 13, 2015 | Climate red line in Seattle and Paris: “Nature doesn’t compromise.
+ The Stranger | Dec 10, 2015 | A Climate Justice Activist at the Paris Climate Talks Says Police Are Racially Profiling Attendees
+ The Voice | Nov 30, 2015 | New Holly community gathers for climate change discussion
+ Yes! Magazine | Nov 27, 2015 | COP21: Meet 5 Everyday People Heading to the Paris Climate Talks
+ The Leap | Nov 12, 2015 | New Economy Week 2015: Organizing for a Just Transition in Washington State
+ Rainier Valley Corps | Nov 12, 2015 | GOT GREEN! Our Roots Will Weather The Storm! Community Town Hall
+ Humanosphere | Nov 3, 2015 | Climate justice: Can foodies and farm workers unite?
+ CAGJ | Oct 30, 2015 | VIDEO: “Climate, Food & Race: Challenges for the Food Movement
+ International Examiner | October 18, 2015 |Climate Justice is stopping deportations
+ International Examiner | October 13, 2015| Why gender and climate justice are inextricable
+ The Stranger | Oct 6, 2015 | Unions and Climate Justice Groups Team Up to Put a Climate Initiative on the Ballot Next Year
+ Seattle Globalist | Aug 28, 2015 | Climate Justice coalition links poverty with environment woes
+ Seattle Times | August 27, 2015 | Expanding climate-change issue to diverse communities
+ Cascadia Weekly | Aug 12, 2015 | Diverse groups to celebrate a Summer of Our Power
+ Real Change | Jul 8, 2015| Communities of Color say Carbon Washington Initiative 732 confuses equity with treating everyone the same
+ Seattle Weekly – Jun 27, 2015| Like the Pope says, climate change in Seattle will impact the poor most
+ International Examiner | Jun 3, 2015 | Climate change: Groups launch Research
+ International Examiner| May 27, 2015 | May Day marchers rally around immigration, labor, police brutality
+ Rolling Stone| May 22, 2015 | Meet the Rappers and ‘Kayaktivists’ Out to Stop Shell’s Giant Oil Rig
+ Common Dreams | May 18, 2015 | YouShellNotPass Blockades Shut Down Terminal 5
+ Climate Stew | May 13, 2015 | People Not Polar Bears–Refocusing the Message
+ Real Change | May 6, 2015 | Shades of green
+ On the Boards | May 5, 2015 | Community Partners of Complex Movements: Got Green?
+ Yes Magazine | Apr 27, 2015 | Why Seattleites Think They Can Stop Shell Oil From Drilling in the Arctic
+ The Stranger | Apr 27, 2015 | This Weekend’s “Shell No” Rally Focused on People, Not Polar Bears
+ Seattle Post Intelligencer | Apr 27, 2015 | Seattle’s “Shell No” Rally sends strong message to Seattle Port
+ KBCS | March 13,2015 | Seattle’s Priority Hire Law
+ South Seattle Emerald | Mar 4, 2015 | “We Can Do Something Together”: Priority Hire Set To Target South End Unemployment Disparity
+ Capitol Hill News | Feb 10, 2015 | Despite protest, County Council votes to build new youth detention center
+ International Examiner | January 6, 2014 | New Got Green director Jill Mangaliman
+ Farm to Family | Feb 25, 2014 | Got Green? Hosting 4 Workshops – Farm to Family
+ Seattle Globalist | Mar 11, 2014 | Got Green’s First Women’s Leadership Institute Workshop
+ Healthy King County | Mar 2014 | Free workshops from Got Green in March
+ International Examiner | May 29, 2014 | Young leaders oppose ‘Training Wage’ proposal: An open letter to the Seattle City Council
+ Northwest Asian Weekly | Jun 20, 2014 | Hire local workers on City of Seattle public works projects now
+ The Seattle Times | Sep 19, 2014| Mayor’s plan would ensure work goes to poor, jobless in Seattle
+ Real Change | October 9, 2014 | Higher Priority
+ South Seattle Emerald | Nov 28, 2014 | Events – Climate Justice Forum
+ International Examiner | Nov 13, 2014 | Climate Justice Forum a call to action for Communities of Color
+ Seattle Globalist | Dec 1, 2014 | Getting our priorities straight on local jobs
+ The International Examiner | Dec 1, 2014 | Priority Hire plan aims to secure jobs for local communities
+Seattle Globalist | Dec 23, 2014 | Gov. Inslee’s ‘polluter pays’ proposal a step toward climate justice
+ International Examiner | December 4, 2013 | Students of Color Speak Out on Employment and School Obstacles
+ International Examiner |October 2, 2013 | Local Hire Policy Development is Underway
+ International Examiner |June 19, 2013 | Op-Ed: Seattle Should Adopt Targeted Local Hire, a Green Solution for Job Inequity, by Jill Mangaliman
+ International Examiner | April 3, 2013 | Local Hire Ordinance Campaign Starts Strong
+ Real Change News | December 4, 2013 | Op-Ed: Metro Bus Cuts Will Lead to Missed Opportunities for Young People of Color in SE Seattle
+ Real Change News | June 26, 2013 | Group pressing to make city-funded projects employ workers from disadvantaged communities
+ Real Change News | June 12, 2013 | Op-Ed: A City ordinance to promote hiring local people could put residents of Rainier Valley back to work, by Michael Woo
+ Real Change News | April 14, 2013 | Council address how to diversify workforce on City construction projects
+ The Stranger | November 13, 2013 | The Smartest People in Seattle Politics; They’re Obsessed with Smart Policy, Not Power
+ The Stranger | September 23, 2013 | The 2014 Budget Is All Fun, Pro-Children, Pro-Elderly, Pro-Neighborhood, Pro-Everything
+ The Stranger | July 10, 2013 | City program helping food stamp users buy more produce starts up again this week
+ The Stranger | May 23, 2013 | How Local-Hire Proponents Want to Turn the Creed “Work Where You Live” Into Law
+ The Stranger | March 26, 2013 | City will help fund fresh bucks matching funds program for food stamp users at farmers markets says mayor’s office
+ The Stranger | March 21, 2013 | Should Seattle mandate that construction companies hire locally?
+ Crosscut |November 12, 2013 | The Daily Troll: Jobs Wanted for Minority Youth
+ Crosscut | July 15, 2013 | Farmers market food stamps: more beet for your buck!
+ Northwest Asian Weekly | November 22, 2013 | Seattle’s Young Adults of Color Get Real about Success
+ Northwest Asian Weekly | March 28, 2013 | South Seattle coalition holds forum demanding equity in construction jobs
+ Seattle Globalist | December 2, 2013 | Report finds youth left behind in new Northwest economy
+ KEXP Radio | November 23, 2013| Diane Horn’s Mind Over Matters – Sustainability Segment with Jill Mangaliman and Nanyonju Mukungu
+ Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action Blog | August 2, 2013 | We need jobs and the environment
+ Join For Justice: Jewish Organizing Institute and Network | August 23, 2013 | The BackStory: Lauren Spokane’s Organizing Journey
+ Crosscut | September 18, 2012 | Food Stamps Now Go Further At Farmers’ Markets
+ Green Acre Radio | September 14, 2012 | Fresh Bucks For Fresh Farmer’s Market Produce: Grassroots Organizing Celebrates A Victory For Low-Income Communities
+ Evangelical Lutheran Church in America | September 14, 2012 | I Had To Make Sure My Voice Is Heard
+ Seattle Channel | August 22, 2012 | Mayor’s Media Availability: Fresh Bucks (feat. Got Green organizer Tammy Nguyen)
+ Fellowship of Reconciliation, Western Washington | May 8, 2012 | Got Green?
+ Seattle Channel | April 26, 2012 | Mayor’s Town Hall: Rainier Beach 4/26 (feat. Got Green speakers at the 39-minute mark)
+ Rainier Beach Community Empowerment Coalition | January 14, 2012 | Rainier Beach 2011 Unsung Heroes Honored
+ Social Justice Fund NW Blog | March 2, 2012 | Grantee Spotlight: Got Green
+ Crosscut | December 9, 2011 | Low Income? No Farmers Markets for You
+ International Examiner | December 7, 2011 | Protesters Rally at South Seattle Chase Bank, Criticizing its Profits at the Expense of Families
+ International Examiner | December 7, 2011 | International Examiner Readers’ Choice Awards: Michael Woo, Defender of Green Causes
+ International Examiner | November 3, 2011 | Reversing the Cost of Ramen and Apples
+ International Examiner | October 19, 2011 | “Op-Ed Green the Ghetto First”
+ Crosscut | October 7, 2011 | Southeast Seattle Women Want Access to Healthier Food
+ NW Asian Weekly | October 6, 2011 | Lack of Fresh Produce Damages Immigrant Communities
+ Real Change | October 5, 2011 | Report shows a lack of money, not desire, keeping South Seattle women from making green choices
+ Grist | September 27, 2011 | People know how to eat better; they just can’t afford it.
+ Seattle Times | September 24, 2011 | Survey: Affordability Key to Healthier Diet
+ NW Asian Weekly | September 10, 2011 | Eco-women make their footprint in the environment
+ International Examiner | June 16, 2011 | Op-Ed: Women in the Green Economy
+International Examiner | May 4, 2011 | Op-Ed: Fighting A Green Fight
+ International Examiner | April 6, 2011 | Will City of Seattle Make Good on Promise of Green Jobs?
+ Rainier Valley Post | March 30, 2011 | Rainier Valley Residents Look to City to Make Good on Promise of Green Jobs
+ Rainier Valley Post | March 22, 2011 | Rainier Valley Residents “Got Green”; Stimulus Dollars Training Low-Income Workers to Enter Green Economy
+ Real Change News| March 23, 2011 | Got Green makes stimulus work
+ South Seattle Beacon | March 2, 2011 | Seeing green: Group aims to bring women’s voices into green movement
Real Change News | May 12, 2010 | Stimulus jobs at minimum wage? State uses loophole
West Seattle Herald | November 12, 2010 | Greenlight Project helps low income people find green jobs
The Voice | August, 2010 | Weatherization training program plugs low income workers into the green economy
The Seattle Times | November 8, 2009 | Union readies low income trainees for Got Green jobs
Real Change News | November 5, 2008 |Got Green? They’re working on it