Bringing a unique background to the group's mission
Mount Baker resident Susan Davis knows herself only too well.
"If I say it, I do it," she laughed.
The 50-year-old Davis, the new executive director of the Rainier Chamber of Commerce, admits she is one of those who can think creatively and then feel compelled to handle all the mundane, follow-up details.
It's an ambidextrous art that should serve Davis well in her new role.
She brings a unique resume to the job.
Born deaf in one ear, Davis worked as a sign-language interpreter for many years, a role requiring professional tact and empathy. There were times she had to serve as medium for people's innermost thoughts and feelings at crucial junctures in their lives. The Jewish-born Davis has also worked for Middle East peace and reconciliation, and has considerable experience with non-profit agencies.
The Rainier Chamber, comprised of some 160 members, is one of the major players in the Valley, which has been called the most diverse neighborhood in the country. While conventional chambers of commerce usually focus only on what's good for business, the Rainier Chamber takes a more holistic approach to its mission, which is to "advance the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and socio-economic interests of Southeast Seattle."
Any chamber of commerce is the nexus for the business community, which sometimes consists of competing agendas and personalities, and the Rainier Chamber is no different. After all, chambers are driven by business owners and top executives - shrinking violets tend to be in short supply.
Like other chambers, a slate of officers and board of directors set Rainier Chamber policy. It's the executive director who implements the day-to-day details. As facilitator and main face for the Rainier Chamber, the job demands diplomatic aplomb and a clear vision.
Susan Jones, Rainier Chamber board president, saw in Davis other attributes as well: "The combination of her past experience with other non-profit organizations and her latching on to the fact that building and retaining membership is vital," was, according to Jones, one of the factors in hiring Davis. "She grasped that in the beginning."
Jones said the executive directorship, the Chamber's only paid position, can be a difficult one because it means doing "everything from soup to nuts."
Davis, understated, with a ready sense of humor, can talk as fluently about Middle East politics and personalities as she can about the Rainier Chamber's mission or the business down the street. She sees an underlying pattern to her life, describing herself as a "change agent" who commits herself to issues where her personal interests intersect.
"I got involved with sign language because of my own deafness," she said. "I got involved in Jewish causes because I'm Jewish. I'm involved with the Chamber because I live in the Valley and I want to learn more about business."
Arriving here from the East Coast 20 years ago, Davis had planned to stay a year. Eventually, she came around to telling herself: "I'm not going to become a lawyer or move back to Washington D.C. I'm going to do it here."
REPAIRING THE WORLD
Davis was born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y.
"It's like a small Chicago," she said of her hometown. She knew, at some point, that her future included leaving Buffalo to experience the wider world her family had known.
After earning her bachelor's degree at State University of New York in 1979, Davis moved to Washington D.C., where she worked with the deaf and as an advocate for the developmentally disabled.
Davis came to Seattle in 1986 to study with noted sign-language instructor Theresa Smith, who at the time was teaching at Seattle Central Community College. Seattle is where she met her future husband, Bruce Kochis (raised Catholic) who teaches public policy and human rights at the University of Washington's Bothell campus.
"I loved it," Davis said of Seattle. "I thought it was beautiful, and a very casual place." Along the way, Davis became involved with Kadima, a locally based, progressive Jewish organization working for, among other things, peace in the Middle East. That vision includes the co-existence of an Israeli state and a Palestinian state. Kadima has also commissioned the first Torah in history to be scribed and embellished by women.
Kadima stresses politics and culture over religion, Davis said. Still, the organization, in some orthodox eyes, was considered "out there."
"As our issues became more mainstream," she recalled. "We became more respectable. We were trying to keep things egalitarian."
Davis cited the Jewish injunction to "repair the world" as the mainspring of the group's mission.
That injunction was put to the test after the events of Sept. 11, 2001. The creation of the Middle East Peace Camp followed in 2002, founded by Davis, noted philanthropist Kay Bullitt and Maha Gebara, a board member of the Arab Center of Washington.
Last summer, the camp's sixth year, saw 40 kids and 20 counselors - Jewish, Arab and some Christians - gather at Bullitt's Capitol Hill home to immerse themselves in music, dance and art.
As she learned from her peace activities, "I don't think dialogues in themselves work. You need a lot more happening to build trust."
That meant, for the kids, no face-to-face preaching but doing things together side by side. Next year the camp will be conducted in Magnuson Park.
HEARING RESTORED
Last spring Davis underwent surgery on her left ear: 80 percent of her hearing was restored.
"Initially it (the world) sounded really loud," she joked.
Two weeks after her surgery Davis attended the Rainier Chamber's President's Luncheon. She carried on a normal conversation with board member Greg Anderson, seated on her left. Gone were the days of employing social stratagems - placing her purse on the seat to her left - in order to cope.
Davis recalls thinking at the time of her conversation with Anderson: "He doesn't know I haven't done this before."
"I think she's wonderful," said Diana Vinh of Davis. Vinh, a public health nurse, has worked with Davis on a number of projects, including the Healthy and Active Rainier Valley Coalition.
"She has an ability to get people to do things they normally wouldn't do," Vinh continued. "In a nice way."
The Rainier Chamber, among other priorities, is looking to expand tourism into the Valley. Davis knows Ballard or Queen Anne might consider the Rainier Valley the far side of the moon, even though it's only a 15-minute drive. Davis is looking to change that.
And then there are other standing activities on the Chamber plate: the Rainier Valley Heritage Parade and Festival; several neighborhood cleanups annually; the awarding of up to a half-dozen scholarships each year; working with local government on public safety and other issues.
And, as with all chambers, there are the monthly luncheons. The Nov. 1 luncheon at the Rainier Community Center features a town hall meeting with state Sen. Adam Kline and representatives Sharon Tomiko Santos and Eric Pettigrew.
But Davis' main mission will be to expand membership amidst the Valley's rich diversity.
Vinh agrees.
"I think she's going to raise the profile of the Chamber," Vinh said. "We're poised to be even more inclusive."
The Rainier Chamber is at 1700 21st Ave. S., Suite 206. www.rainierchamber.com. [[In-content Ad]]
