Tacoma committee recommends appointments, reappointments to Equity and Contracting Advisory Committee

The City of Tacoma Economic Development Committee on Aug. 12, 2025, interviewed five applicants for the Equity and Contracting Advisory Committee and voted to recommend two reappointments and four appointments to fill vacancies.

Committee members interviewed applicants in two-minute presentations with five-minute follow-ups before moving to formal recommendations. The committee recommended reappointment of Cliff Myers and Justin Baker to three-year terms and recommended appointments of Thomas Ebeneau, Christopher (Chris) Brown, Sushil Nahal and Kadi (Kadi) Barreta to fill vacant seats and unexpired terms. The recommendations will be forwarded to the full Tacoma City Council for final action.

City Clerk Nicole Emery told the committee there are nine positions on the advisory committee and said two current positions representing Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU) service areas were vacant following a recent resignation. Each applicant summarized their contracting and procurement experience and identified priorities they would pursue if appointed.

Kadi Barreta, an applicant and business navigator, said she would focus on improving outreach and transparency. "I bring a background in data analytics," Barreta said, and she called for using data to "uncover disparity in contract access and outcomes" and for expanded vendor education and outreach.

Christopher Brown, who uses the name Chris and described himself as a longtime nonprofit and business strategist, said he has "spent over two decades" helping organizations navigate RFPs and government contracting and emphasized simplifying procurement and building feedback loops so underrepresented vendors can participate.

Thomas (Tom) Ebeneau described more than 20 years of contracting experience that included federal procurement roles and work with programs aimed at supporting small and disadvantaged businesses; he listed reducing barriers, improving outreach and better use of data as priorities. Sushil Nahal described approximately a decade of procurement work in hospital systems and said he wanted to "utilize my procurement experience" to help the committee identify and close gaps.

After the interview round, the committee adopted motions to recommend the following to the full council (motions carried by voice vote; the committee declared each motion adopted): - Reappointment of Cliff Myers to a three-year term as a large-prime representative, effective Sept. 1, 2025, to expire Aug. 31, 2028. - Reappointment of Justin Baker to a three-year term representing a union-signatory firm, effective Sept. 1, 2025, to expire Aug. 31, 2028. - Appointment of Thomas Ebeneau to the Council District No. 2 seat to fill an unexpired term, expiring Aug. 31, 2027. - Appointment of Christopher (Chris) Brown to the Council District No. 5 seat to fill an unexpired term, expiring Aug. 31, 2027. - Appointment of Sushil Nahal to the TPU service area No. 1 seat to fill an unexpired term expiring Aug. 31, 2026, followed by a three-year term effective Sept. 1, 2026, to expire Aug. 31, 2029 (the committee voted to recommend both the remainder of the unexpired term and the subsequent full term). - Appointment of Kadi Barreta to the TPU service area No. 3 seat for a three-year term effective Sept. 1, 2025, to expire Aug. 31, 2028.

The committee recorded each motion as "recommended" during the meeting; specific individual roll-call vote tallies were not read into the record and motions were adopted by voice vote. City staff said the clerk's office will notify applicants of next steps and that the full City Council will receive the committee's recommendations for final appointment.

Committee members praised the applicant pool as experienced and broadly qualified. Clerk Nicole Emery confirmed applicants completed a written application and that interviews followed the committee's stated format: two-minute prepared answers and five-minute follow-ups. The committee did not take additional policy action related to contracting on Aug. 12; the interviews and recommendations were limited to filling advisory committee vacancies.

The clerk's office and staff liaison Casey Woods will follow up with applicants and forward the committee's recommendations to the full council.