Board of Directors
Hannah Kett
DRCC Board President
Hannah Kett (she / her) lives in South Park and has worked in the environmental field for many years, collaborating with communities to bring nature into our city spaces for healthy places to live and play. Currently, Hannah is the Cities Program Manager for the Nature Conservancy in Washington. Prior to that, Hannah worked at DRCC. In her free time, Hannah enjoys exploring South Park and Georgetown's delicious food, working in her garden, baking treats to share, and taking walks in one of the many beautiful parks around here.
Michelle Benetua
Board Member
Michelle Benetua (she/her) A Seattle resident since 2001, Michelle enjoys the outdoors and tries to keep up with her teens while hiking, biking, and kayaking. She finds solace in gardening and sharing home grown vegetables and flowers. As the Senior Manager for Community Partnerships and Planning at Seattle Parks Foundation, Michelle works with community members who are championing open space projects. In this capacity she has been working very close to the Duwamish Valley. She focuses on leadership development, planning, and strategy so that our public spaces are designed by, for, and with the people most impacted by environmental injustices. She has spent her career facilitating cross-cultural and community-based leadership to enhance civic engagement, promote food justice, and improve access to safe places to play. She is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and holds a master’s degree in public administration from the Evans School at the University of Washington, with certificates in non-profit management and international development.
Liana Beal
Board Member
Liana Beal (she/her) came to live in South Park in 1976 as a young child and learned quickly of the pollution in this area and how it affected her and her community members. Her father John Beal was a longtime advocate for restoration of South Parks Hamm Creek and the Green-Duwamish River Watershed. Liana continues his legacy at I’M A PAL Foundation, with connecting people to his work, the creek and the river. – “In Healing the Earth, You Heal Yourself” John Beal (1950 -2006)
Itzchel Bazan
Board Member
Itzchel Bazan (She/Her) is a South Park native who spends her free time, reading, sleeping with her cat, and catching up with friends over coffee. Other days, she spends her days raising money for the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance and Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund as the Development and Events Manager. She has a strong passion for deep racial equity work and hones in on housing justice, and environmental justice.
Heather Trim
Treasure
Heather (she/her) works in the environmental field on topics ranging from toxic chemicals and air pollution to stormwater and ecosystem recovery. She currently serves as Executive Director of Zero Waste Washington. She has been involved with DRCC since 2002, focusing mostly on technical issues related to the river cleanup and particularly source control and pollution prevention. In her free time, she loves to camp and is now learning how to make jam.
Sarneshea Evans
Board Member
Sarneshea Evans (she/her) As the Community Impact Manager at Friends of Waterfront Seattle, Sarneshea works with community members and community-based organizations to increase awareness and engagement in the future Waterfront Park. She loves both connecting people to parks and public spaces as well as co-creating spaces and experiences that are welcoming, inclusive, and culturally relevant for those who have traditionally been excluded. Prior to relocating to Seattle, Sarneshea worked in Washington, D.C. for a public lands management agency advancing youth programs and special initiatives throughout the region. She is a graduate of Howard University and holds a master's degree in urban environmental education from Antioch University Seattle.
Desiree Rose Fagan
Board Member
Desiree Rose Fagan was born in Seattle and has always called the Puget Sound home. As a Duwamish tribal member she has always known that her people have been here in this land since time immemorial. Her passion for her tribal members and culture takes precedence in her life. Social justice for the Duwamish tribe is a driving force behind her advocacy. In her free time she spends it with her husband, four children and Siberian husky Avia enjoying the beautiful Pacific Northwest especially near or on the Salish Sea.
Wilbur “JC” Clark
Board Member
Wilbur “JC” Clark (he/him) has been a part of the South Park community since 1996 when his family started a marine construction company on the banks of Duwamish River. JC joined the family business full time in 2007. During his time with the company, he has led several cleanups of Duwamish Superfund sites. Currently he is the Chief Operating Officer for the company, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the business. Outside of civil engineering at work, JC’s ultimate passion is acting as a “civic engineer” to design and build the teams, projects, and solutions to tackle some of the most important problems that affect the Duwamish communities. JC has worked as a curriculum advisor, teacher, and mentor for the Maritime High School, and also provides access, tools and managerial support to several South Park community groups. He is a graduate of the University of Washington and received a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Seattle University.
Melissa Bañales Mejia
Board Member
Melissa Bañales Mejia (She/Her) grew up in southern California and received her BA in Environmental Policy and Political Science at Pitzer College in Claremont. She has an environmental consulting background where she provided facilitation and stakeholder management on federal and local government contracts. She is passionate about environmental justice and working with the community. She currently works for King County Solid Waste Division where she advises on Equity and Social Justice issues pertaining to capital projects and working with frontline communities. Melissa is a native Spanish speaker. She enjoys cooking for gatherings, especially Mexican food. She loves hiking, recently took up kayaking, and is learning to swim!