Sharing our stories. Strengthening our communities.

What's New? November 2024

Window Seat launches a new branch of Community Roots Oral History Project:
The Pride Storytelling Project

We are excited to welcome our 2024-25 cohort (pictured below) to grow the archive of LGBTQIAA2S+ history and experience in Thurston County in partnership with Capital City Pride! Cohort members meet monthly between October and June and will visit archives, design projects, and record and transcribe interviews. In year 2, (Oct 2025 - June 2026), we will invite new and continuing cohort members to design a creative project from the materials gathered for public presentation in the spring of 2026. Capital City Pride, our 2024-26 Community Roots project partner, initiated the Pride Storytelling Project with us because they identified a lack of historical accounts of LGBTQIAA2S+ history in local library and archival collections. We look forward to taking steps to address this gap within community partnership.

Welcome 2024-25 Pride Storytelling Project Cohort!

CK Combs (He/Him) is a trans nonbinary writer, parent, and activist living in Olympia, Washington. Combs has been part of the queer history of Olympia since the 90s when he was a writer and editor for Sound Out, an Olympia-based, monthly queer magazine. He volunteered with Pizza Klatch for 10 years and served as a facilitator and Board member. Capital City Pride recognized him as Activist of the Year in 2019. Currently finishing his debut novel — a YA murder mystery featuring a nonbinary protagonist with a queer friend group — he believes in the power of storytelling to empower, teach and transform.

Daniel Garcia (He/Him) recently completed his Master of Public Administration after a capstone project on the challenges and opportunities facing downtown Olympia, exploring strategies to enhance urban development and community engagement. Currently, he works as a legislative analyst where he is responsible for researching and analyzing bills, developing one-pagers, and engaging in cross-agency workgroups. Beyond his professional role, Daniel serves as a commissioner on the Olympia Planning Commission (OPC), providing recommendations to the city council on matters related to land use, urban development, and regulatory changes. In 2024, he chaired the Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) subcommittee, leading efforts to prioritize long-term infrastructure investments for the city. His diverse background in public administration, policy analysis, and urban planning reflects his commitment to improving community connectedness, good governance, and public service.

Jonah Barnett (They/Them) is a disabled genderqueer author, ex-filmmaker, art archivist, and multimedia-ish artist from the forests of Tenino, Washington. Their debut book, Moss-Covered Claws, came out from Blue Cactus Press in 2021. Jonah has directed three feature films and four web series, as well as a dozen short films–often dealing with subjects such as queer fantasy, the natural world, prehistory, and a love of books. They currently work at the Washington State Arts Commission; before that, they worked at the Olympia Film Society and helped establish Orca Books as a cooperative.

Lucas Claussen (He/Him) a Queer Olympia resident, educator, historian, and social justice activist living on the lands of the Squaxin Island and Nisqually people and is originally from western Iowa and the stolen lands of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ and other Indigenous peoples. A graduate of The Evergreen State College (BA) and Eastern Washington University (MA History) he earned his teaching certification at Seattle Pacific University. Lucas' activism has ranged from work around Palestinian solidarity, union organizing, and political and legislative advocacy work at the local and state levels. His historical work focuses primarily on uncovering and highlighting silenced histories. He also has over 20 years of experience in food service at several local historic spaces. You will likely find him searching out Pacific Northwest hot springs or one of Olympia's bakery spots.

Natalie “WildTiny” Coblentz (They/Them) is a Queer Latinx Native artist, published poet, and local leader based in Olympia. With a BA in Fine Arts from Seattle University, they are a passionate advocate for creativity, community, philanthropy, and environmental causes. Wild’s work embodies their roles as an activist, family member, friend, and dedicated community member. Since joining Capital City Pride in 2019, they have expanded their impact within the organization, beginning as a Stage Manager and eventually stepping into key roles as Event Producer, President, and Festival Director. Known for their dedication to training and supporting the Pride Team, Wild brings vision and heart to every project they undertake. Currently, they channel their artistic vision into immersive lighting design and fabrication. When not working, you’ll likely find them savoring coffee, kale, and the company of kittens.

Support Pride Storytelling Project During Give Local

Our Give Local proceeds this year will go to our Pride Storytelling Project, a new branch of our Community Roots Oral History Project in partnership with Capital City Pride, documenting local LGBTQIAA2S+ history. Our campaign highlights this ongoing documentation effort and the work of our cohort of community oral historians.

Join us in person for a guided community conversation around the theme, “The Gifts of Queer History" on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, 5:30 pm - 7 pm at Oly Taproom Upstairs to raise funds for the campaign. Share memories about how our local LGBTQIAA2S+ community spaces, events, organizations, and community impacted you. We can't wait to hear your stories.

Reserve My Spot

Early Giving begins on November 4 and ends on November 10. Early giving helps jumpstart our campaign by letting others know they're joining something exciting. Give early to create momentum, bring people together, and inspire others to make a gift for the betterment of all.

We invite you to make a meaningful gift to Window Seat on our Give Local campaign page. Help us spread the word by sharing with others why you love Window Seat and sharing our donation page link: https://mtyc.co/8cvbdg.

Community Roots Partners with Evergreen This Fall

Our Community Roots Oral History Project has been busy this fall! Our exhibit moved to Evan's Hall at The Evergreen State College in September. We then collaborated with staff and faculty on two events.

In September, we hosted a storytelling circle with incoming freshmen who were a part of Evergreen's Civic Engagement Institute. We listened to stories from our Camp Quixote and Liberation Cafe series and explored: What does it mean to be educated? How does learning happen in communities in informal spaces and places through listening to each others’ stories and lived experiences? How does that learning translate into action?

Then, in October, in collaboration with the Evergreen Childcare Center as part of Return to Evergreen, we hosted an interactive theatre & storytelling performance, "That's What Community is All About," to activate histories from our Driftwood Daycare Exhibit. Audience members, including the very little ones, shared about what community means to them and how the Childcare Center has impacted lives (across its 50-year history!). We heard that community is "family, support, connection, MEMORY" and so much more.

Thank you to staff, students, and families for participating in these meaningful events!

Listen to the Stories from the Series

"That's What Community is All About"

Capacity Building Projects

Advocacy Storytelling Workshop Series

Window Seat offers workshops and services to community groups, nonprofits, and governments to build their capacity to tell their own stories. We're currently partnering with the Civic Engagement Program of the Office of the Secretary of State to offer a state-wide workshop series for rural communities and justice-involved individuals. The series, "Telling Your Story to the Public and Policymakers," provides a framework and tools to craft collective stories of impact. We launched the series in October at the Washington State Association of EACAP and Head Start conference in Wenatchee with a wonderfully engaged group of staff, educators, and families.

Learn more about our capacity building services

Food for Thought
stories, projects, events, and works we love

We've been delving into local archival materials and community memoirs as part of our research for the Pride Storytelling Project. We're grateful for wonderful work of local elders who have been sharing their stories and memories through the Olywa Days of Change project!Check out Anna Schlecht's reflection on Matrix, a lesbian community newspaper written and published in Olympia in the 1979-1984. This is one of many stories about local change making that this group has been documenting. You can explore the whole collection on their website. OlyWa Days of Change Story Collection