2026 Annual Partner Celebration + Love Parks Awards!

By Yordanos Tesfazion

Our community partners’ projects serve neighborhoods across the region. Their allegiance to our communities is apparent through their leadership, volunteering their time and resources to ensure the completion and success of projects and other initiatives. On June 4, Seattle Parks Foundation partners, board members, donors, and staff convened for the Annual Partner Celebration to give community partners their flowers and commend them for all they do.

At this year’s Annual Parter Celebration, we also recognized the winners of this year’s Love Parks Awards, who were all nominated by members of their community:

Love Parks Award
The Love Parks Award recognizes those involved in projects that have been transformational, with replicable ideas to benefit the community. This year’s winner: Ridge 2 River and West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails!

Ridge 2 River and West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails are longstanding stewards of our urban forests and collaborate with community members and groups to acknowledge the history of our public spaces. Together, they are transforming and activating Seattle’s largest contiguous forest, the West Duwamish Greenbelt. Ridge 2 River ensures that the forest stays clean with restoration parties and community outreach, and is actively seeking long-term solutions to keeping the greenbelt healthy. West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails is building a growing interconnected trail system in the greenbelt and regularly hosts group walks and hikes every month. Their longstanding stewardship of our urban forests, and for the collaboration of community members and groups to acknowledge the history of our public spaces, come together in restoration, and thoughtfully approach design for the future.

Community Impact Award
The Community Impact Award recognizes those with a track record of grassroots community leadership in parks and public spaces. This year’s winner: Dr. David K. Bulindah!

Dr. David K. Bulindah has reconnected immigrant and refugee communities to land, nature, and each other through community farming and shared public spaces. His work in the Puget Sound region with Wakulima USA has turned green and open spaces into vibrant, productive environments where families gather, grow culturally relevant food, and build lasting connections. What he began with a small group of farmers has grown into a thriving cooperative supporting dozens of participants, demonstrating the power of community-led stewardship of public land.

Ken Bounds Leadership Award
The Ken Bounds Leadership Award recognizes pillars of the community either through civic leadership or philanthropy. This year’s winner: Tom Byers!

Tom Byers is a true trailblazer in the world of Seattle parks and public greenspaces. Hired by the Mayor’s office as consultant in the mid 90’s to come up with the concept of a parks foundation, Tom is a founding member of Seattle Parks Foundation. He then went on to work as Deputy Mayor for Paul Schell, where he implemented community-driven ideas through a number of levies including the first Parks Levy. Later, he worked on the Bands of Green plan, which became a roadmap for work at Seattle Parks Foundation, while also extending the legacy of the Olmsted Parks. He continues to be an active and outspoken advocate for our public spaces, helping the city’s leaders understand the value of community engagement and greenspace creation throughout comprehensive planning.

Congratulations to our Love Parks Award recipients! The parks and public spaces in and around our city started as ideas shared with committees, local government, volunteers, and others united by their devotion to community and the future of our region. We are incredibly proud and honored to work alongside our partners and thankful for the support that makes this work possible.

Many thanks to Aleksa Manila for emceeing this special gathering and Board Member Marlon Herrera for presenting the awards. This year’s Annual Partner Celebration and Love Parks Awards event was presented with support from Pacifica Law.