Hello! My name is Marta Olson and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to step into this role as the Program Manager for Our Green Duwamish.

My first job with King County was as a summer seasonal with Noxious Weeds controlling knotweed, primarily in the Green/Duwamish watershed. I floated the Green River by kayak starting at Flaming Geyser State Park and working downstream, killing invasive knotweed along the way. I was struck by the difference in perspective compared to experiencing those same areas on land or by roads. It was such a cool experience to move through the wide variety of land uses: forest, parks, agriculture, industrial, urban that were all connected by this one river. I also explored the lower Green/Duwamish by power boat hunting for purple loosestrife, so I feel a keen appreciation for this environment. 

I am a Professional Landscape Architect in the State of Washington and for my master’s thesis at UW I explored the history of the Duwamish River, worked with the South Park community, and developed a design for activating a park space adjacent to the South Park Bridge. I also had the opportunity to support community co-design projects in slum communities in Lima, Peru and Phnom Penh, Cambodia – collaborating directly with community members on meaningful green space projects in their neighborhoods. These experiences convinced me of the power of partnering with communities to promote human and environmental health. 

After grad school I worked in private multi-disciplinary design firms on active transportation projects. But I realized that serving the public directly and having the opportunity to connect communities to nature and green spaces in their neighborhoods was a lot more rewarding than drafting design drawings. I returned to King County as an Education Specialist with Noxious Weeds where I had the opportunity to interact face to face (until the pandemic) with residents across the whole county.

For the past 4 years I have been working with the King County Stormwater Capital Unit on the planning, design, and construction of stormwater retrofits as a Capital Project Manager. My primary focus has been as the Project Manager for the White Center Ponds retrofit project, which is a multi-benefit project that will result in a stormwater park connecting the overburdened White Center community to nature, habitat restoration, recreation, and water quality improvements. 

I look forward to learning from and building relationships with existing OGD partners so that we can collaborate on projects to improve stormwater management throughout the Green/Duwamish Watershed. I’ll be reaching out to partners soon to learn more about successes, opportunities, and challenges you’re facing, but please feel free to reach out to me any time: molson@kingcounty.gov.