Futurewise Welcomes Alex Brennan as New Executive Director

Futurewise is excited to announce that Alex Brennan will be joining the organization as our new Executive Director!

For the past year and a half, Alex has served as a Board member for Futurewise, most recently as Vice President of the Board. Alex comes to Futurewise after eight years as a Senior Planner for Capitol Hill Housing, where he also served as the Executive Director of the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict. Prior to working at Capitol Hill Housing, Alex worked in the Bay Area as a researcher and planning economics consultant. Alex has a Master’s in Urban Planning degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Alex as the new Executive Director of Futurewise,” says Jennifer Price, current Board president. “Alex brings a wealth of experience in land use planning, policy development and community engagement. We’re very excited for this new phase for Futurewise.”

“I’m honored to build on Futurewise’s 29-year legacy of groundbreaking advocacy, organizing and legal action to shape growth across Washington State,” says Alex. “Our work is critical to protecting our farms, forests and shorelines and meeting the challenges of our state’s affordable housing and climate crises. Now is the time for bold action.“

Category Archives: News

Futurewise Welcomes Alex Brennan as New Executive Director

Futurewise is excited to announce that Alex Brennan will be joining the organization as our new Executive Director! For the past year and a half, Alex has served as a Board member for Futurewise, most recently as Vice President of … Continue reading →

Wonkabout Washington: Equity in SEPA Reform, Improving Watersheds in Port Angeles

Keeping an Equity Focus for SEPA Reform in Seattle This year’s legislative session saw the passage of a major bill, House Bill 1923 that aims to transform zoning and density in communities across Washington state. HB 1923 encourages cities to … Continue reading →

Futurewise Summary Analysis of the Road Map to Washington’s Future

For almost 30 years, Futurewise has worked to encourage sustainable natural and built environments by using the policy, advocacy and legal tools available through Washington State’s Growth Management Act (GMA).  We have great appreciation for the GMA framework, however, we … Continue reading →

A Letter to Our Supporters

Dear Supporters of Futurewise, I’m writing to inform you that our Executive Director, Chris Wierzbicki, has resigned from Futurewise effective July 30th. Chris was offered a position as the Public Works Director for the City of Bainbridge Island (where he … Continue reading →

Wonkabout Washington: Pierce County Subarea Plan Draft EIS Is Inadequate

In this month’s Wonkabout Washington, we’re diving into amendments to four of Pierce County’s subarea plans. Specifically, we’re examining the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for amended Community Plans for South Hill, Mid-County, Frederickson and Parkland-Spanaway-Midland, which make up the central … Continue reading →

Wonkabout Washington: Designing High-Speed Rail for Equity and Regulating King County Wineries

Futurewise is pushing the advisory group to use an equity lens in high-speed rail planning. As The Urbanist recently reported, Washington state is moving forward with funding studies for an interstate high-speed rail line corridor between Vancouver, British Columbia and Eugene, Oregon. … Continue reading →

Legislative Update – April 24, 2019

We’re pleased to announce that HB 1923 passed both the House and Senate yesterday – the final version of the bill closely reflects the summary that we offered in our blog post of April 12th. Even though the bill has weaknesses – particularly … Continue reading →

Wonkabout Washington: Waterways and Skyway

Snohomish County Reconsiders Developing Channel Migration Zones The Growth Management Act, including the Shoreline Master Program, touches many different land use issues in many different parts of the state. Futurewise works with local partners across Washington who keep us informed … Continue reading →

Legislative Update – April 19, 2019

While we wait for our priority bill, HB 1923 to make it out of the Senate after some minor language changes, here’s an update on the status of some of the other bills we have been supporting in Olympia in … Continue reading →

Improvements to the Benton County Comprehensive Plan Protect Rural Residents

Benton County is the second fastest growing county in all of Washington state. As the County welcomes thousands of new residents each year, we as a community have a responsibility to plan wisely for growth. County residents want to protect … Continue reading →