A Conversation on Collaboration and Belonging

By Corey Fawcett, Copy Editor at Washington Technology

Here’s a conversation between Frank Nam, the project director for Civic Commons’ We Belong Here program and Julie Pham, the head of WTIA’s Ion Collaborators program. In 2019, they partnered in building a special “belonging” cohort of Ion Collaborators.

JP: You were in the first cohort of Ion. Back then, you were working for city government and now you’re at Seattle Foundation for the We Belong Here program. What did you like about your Ion experience and why did you decide to partner with Ion?

FN: I had no idea what I was getting into when I decided to join the first cohort of Ion but I am so glad I participated. Ever since my Leadership Tomorrow year in 2013, I’ve been very interested in cross-sector collaboration and I enjoyed the opportunity to do this work with my team members. However, the part I enjoyed the most was something unexpected. Instead of quick intros and jumping into the work, we spent the first month really learning about each other. We told stories and shared our backgrounds and got real very quickly. This strengthening of the bonds that connect us made me stick with the program later on when my full-time work got more and more hectic. The social connections I made kept me engaged and that was really interesting when I spent some time being introspective.

When I started working on belonging with We Belong Here I realized that the Ion cohort I participated in was a shining example of belonging. The hypothesis we have is connected to what I learned during my time at Ion. When we connect more strongly together, the work becomes so much richer….

Continue reading the rest of the discussion between Frank & Julie on collaboration and belonging at Washington Technology here.