LISC to Expand Local Investments, Tackle Racial Gaps and Build Economic Opportunity with Renewed LISC Puget Sound

6.30.2021 - Press Releases

National social enterprise is set to expand local investments, tackle racial gaps and build economic opportunity with launch of renewed LISC Puget Sound

Local LISC program will be led by Brian Surratt and support community-driven plans for economic development, housing, health and jobs

SEATTLE (June 30, 2021)—The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), one of the country’s largest community development organizations, is ramping up its investment activity in the Puget Sound region, opening a full-service program office here with a top economic development official at its helm.

Brian Surratt, who previously served as director of the city of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development, has been named as executive director of LISC Puget Sound. Most recently, he was vice president of real estate development and community relations at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, a leading developer of life science and technology campuses in urban innovation centers.

In various development and policy roles with the city, Surratt oversaw efforts that spanned workforce development, manufacturing growth, youth employment, racial equity plans and anti-displacement strategies—including serving as the policy lead in Seattle’s historic efforts to raise the minimum wage and negotiating the city’s $1 billion development agreement to build Climate Pledge Arena in the heart of Seattle Center.

“Brian brings 20 years of experience in both the public and private sectors that will help us deepen our impact throughout the region,” said Lisa Glover, interim LISC president and CEO. “He understands how to build economic opportunity, address the systemic aspects of inequality, and help make the regional economy work better for everyone.”

Over the last 30 years, LISC has made more than $1 billion in social investments throughout Washington, including COVID-19 relief for more than 100 small business owners and community-based organizations. But, in recent years, the national nonprofit has not had a full-service LISC program office in the region. The opening of LISC Puget Sound renews and expands the organization’s long-standing commitment with ambitious plans to support economic opportunity and community gains.

“While the Puget Sound region has witnessed remarkable growth over the last several decades, our economy has not worked for everyone. Significant barriers to prosperity, especially for communities of color, have limited our full potential as a region,” Surratt said. “A vision of broadly shared prosperity and inclusive and equitable economic opportunity requires deeper investment and stronger coordination between community stakeholders, public and private investors, and policymakers. That is particularly true now, given the massive scale of the pandemic’s impact and the way it has exacerbated the loss of businesses, jobs, and wealth in so many of our communities.

“That’s why LISC is such a valuable part of local community development ecosystems,” he continued. “We know that better access to quality jobs, affordable housing, capital, health, job training, and education can fundamentally change an individual’s and a community’s ability to flourish. We can take on risk and test new models to accelerate economic advancement. We can convene key partners that might not otherwise come together. And we can assemble capital from local and national sources to directly respond to the needs of people and communities often overlooked for investment.”

Among the most promising recent efforts is a LISC collaboration with Sound Transit to support affordable housing and transit-oriented development in the region.  LISC is helping identify opportunities, structure deals and efficiently deploy capital for development projects that benefit families with low and moderate incomes.

LISC has also been active on jobs, health and safety over the last decade. That includes two LISC Financial Opportunity Centers (FOC) in Tacoma, which offer employment training, education, financial coaching and other life skills for people looking to build a stronger financial future. The FOCs seeded a larger local network, managed by the United Way of Pierce County with additional LISC technical support, and are part of a national network of more than 100 LISC FOC programs serving 25,000 people annually.

The LISC AmeriCorps team has members serving at local nonprofits, like Low Income Housing Institute, as part of the WA COVID Response Corps. The initiative recruits local residents to provide staffing support for organizations that are addressing pandemic-related food security concerns – all while simultaneously addressing the rising rate of youth unemployment among Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC).

And, LISC’s national community safety team has also collaborated with local leaders to mitigate crime hotspots in Rainier Beach and to improve relations between law enforcement and community members. LISC is also working in Spokane Public Schools to respond to victimization, violence and trauma by diverting youth from suspensions and expulsions and placing them with mentors and into restorative justice programming.

“LISC is not new to Puget Sound,” Glover explained, “but having on-the-ground staff driving this work will energize our strategies. We know from experience how much local expertise and engagement matters,” she said, pointing to LISC’s local program offices in nearly 40 cities, as well as a national rural investment program that supports work in 2000 counties. “We are excited that someone of Brian’s caliber and experience will lead our new work throughout the region.”

In addition to his senior positions in economic development, Surratt’s career also spans work as public affairs manager for the Seattle Seahawks and Lumen Field and as a legislative aide in the Washington State House of Representatives.

He has served in a range of community leadership roles as well, including co-chair of the Greater Seattle Economic Recovery Task Force and co-chair of the City of Seattle’s Industrial Lands Task Force. Surratt was recently named a trustee for the Seattle Colleges District and serves on the boards for several prominent regional organizations, including FareStart, the Seattle Center Foundation, Downtown Seattle Association, William D. Ruckelshaus Center, Downtown Emergency Services Center, and University of Washington’s Runstad Department of Real Estate.

Surratt can be reached at bsurratt@lisc.org. Learn more at lisc.org/puget-sound.

About LISC

With residents and partners, LISC forges resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America – great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families. Since 1979, LISC has invested $24 billion to build or rehab more than 436,320 affordable homes and apartments and develop 74.4 million square feet of retail, community and educational space.