The scene couldn’t have been more idyllic. The golden hour sunset spreading across Capitol Hill. Autumn leaves gently falling on rainbow crosswalks. The sound of excited reunions and 90s music echoing out the doors of the Vermillion art gallery as current staff and former employees of Department of Neighborhoods (DON) gathered for the 35th Anniversary Staff Alumni Reunion.
On October 20, 2026, DON’s first director Jim Diers and our current director Quynh Pham welcomed nearly 50 guests spanning 35 years of community-led action and community building both outside and inside the Department.
In 1988, three years before Mayor Norm Rice established the Department of Neighborhoods, it got its start as the Office of Neighborhoods. Back then, Jim wasn’t so sure they would survive more than a year or two—they had to show results quickly. The Department quickly grew, creating the Neighborhood Matching Fund, then adding Little City Halls, Historic Preservation, P-Patch Community Gardening, Neighborhood Planning, and more until there was a staff of 100.
“As we celebrate the Department of Neighborhoods’ 35th Anniversary, I’ve been thinking about all the people who have carried this department forward over the years. The people who believed government could be something different. Better. Something closer to the people. Our neighbors. Something that listens, that shows up, that makes room for communities to shape their own future. What I love about this work is that it reminds us that a city isn’t just buildings or streets or the decisions made inside City Hall. A city is its people. It’s the relationships we build, the trust we earn, and the moments when someone feels that they belong here.”
-Quynh Pham, DON Director
To this day, the Department of Neighborhoods is a model in the nation for community engagement, civic engagement, and our Neighborhood Matching Fund and the P-Patch Community Gardening Program.
Jim said it best during the event, “We need to keep the focus on supporting the community to do what it does best. If we do, the community will have our backs, and we’ll be around for many more years.”
Thank you for the care you bring to this work, and for the ways you continue to show up for Seattle and for one another. Happy 35th Anniversary Department of Neighborhoods Staff and Alumni! Here’s to the next 35!
