Danyal Lotfi

Strategic Advisor to the Superintendent @Seattle Parks and Recreation

Seattle, WA, US

In this role, I support the department\'s values and goals by developing, maintaining and expanding our relationships with the community and various constituency groups. My portfolio at SPR has included the following- Managing existing partnerships between SPR and various stakeholders, in fields ranging from park maintenance, activation and development projects; cultivating new relationships and creating opportunities for SPR to support community-led initiatives and programs - Overseeing an annual budget of for the 14 Off Leash Areas (OLA) owned and operated by SPR; serving as liaison between SPR and volunteer stewards of these parks and drastically improving a historically fraught relationship; working with stewards on volunteer work parties, Capitol Improvement Projects and educating the community about appropriate use of our OLAs- Launching and co-leading our equity-centered Language Access Initiative, aimed at improving internal and external communication with those who have Limited English Proficiency; training and providing Language Access tools to staff for internal and external use; working with local interpreters on translating communication material into top spoken languages in Seattle; cultivating relationships with immigrant and refugee communities and ethnic media to help disseminate vital information to Seattle residents- Representing the Superintendent and the department on Interdepartmental Teams- Facilitating citizen-led task forces, resulting in a set of recommendations to the department on topics like Seattle’s historic Olmsted parks- Serving (annually since 2018) as facilitator for the department-wide Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI) trainings, educating staff about various forms of discrimination and bias in the workplace as well as how to identify and dismantle these oppressive systems; collaborating with other RSJI teams across the City toward becoming an antiracist and multicultural organization

Western Washington University

Bachelor's Degree