350 Seattle was founded almost six years ago. In that time, we’ve grown from a handful of climate-concerned people with little organizing experience into a strong organization with a dedicated base of supporters. We helped to stop Arctic drilling by turning out hundreds of people in kayaks to slow down Shell’s oil rig. Over 1,000 people attended a City of Seattle Finance Committee meeting, following which the City passed a resolution to end its banking relationship with Wells Fargo, due in large part to the bank’s investment in the Dakota Access Pipeline. And with partner organizations and tribes across the Pacific Northwest, we have managed to stop or slow down every single new coal, oil, and gas infrastructure project, effectively keeping fossil fuels in the ground. Our pause will include our Staff Collective plus an Amazon team lead for a week and two weekends. On the first weekend, we’d invite multiple allies--people with more knowledge and experience of working at the County level, and who otherwise have perspective on regional fights and power-mapping. Following the departure of these allies, we would spend the rest of the pause visioning and mapping out a strategy for achieving deep emissions reductions over the next 1-3 years by leveraging City and County legal processes, regulatory processes, elections, and pressure on Amazon and other big tech employers.

Jess Wallach is rooted in the Pacific Northwest and makes her home in occupied Duwamish territory (Seattle). She is an organizer with 350 Seattle, a grassroots nonprofit working towards climate justice by organizing people to make deep system change: resisting fossil fuels; building momentum for healthy alternatives; and fostering resilient communities. Prior to jamming with 350 Seattle, Jess was a gardener/permaculturist and before that, an educator with big passion for community-based participatory research. She's currently training for the Wallach family biannual scrabble tournament, and welcomes any cool words you'd like to share with her.