Seattle Welcome Day – May 17, 2025

Arts & Culture

“The Seattle Welcome Day is the perfect way to start your Seattle community! – Welcome Day Participant

Join us for Seattle’s Welcome Day—an event for every newcomer or resident ready for a fresh start. The day is designed to provide the tools you need to create your best socially connected life in the Seattle area:

• Meet other newcomers and long-time residents from your neighborhood and across the region who are looking to connect.
• Build a personalized action plan for your connected life in Seattle with the support of science-based prompts and professional facilitators. 
• Get advice from everyone in the room on activities, events and communities you can explore.
• Become part of an ongoing community to support each other moving forward.

Every attendee receives the Seattle Newcomers Club Journal, which includes scientifically designed prompts to help you envision a socially connected life in your new home city.

Meet the Panelists 

Terrance Stevenson is the Director of SeaCiti, a community affairs program of the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA). In this role, he connects tech professionals across Washington State through professional development events, workshops, and civic engagement opportunities that aim to retain talent and foster thriving, inclusive communities within the region’s tech ecosystem. 

He holds a B.A. in International Relations, an M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution, and an M.Sc. in Economics and Finance for Development, completed as a Rotary Peace Fellow. A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Armenia, 2012–2014), Terrance is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and serves on the boards of the Dispute Resolution Center of King County and the Seattle National Pan-Hellenic Council. 

Aaron Hurst, the founder and head of the US Chamber of Connection, is a leading expert on purpose and connection. The best-selling author of the Purpose Economy, he has written for or been featured in the New York Times, Seattle Times, Wall Street Journal, FastCompany, and Time. He has founded several influential organizations—including the Taproot Foundation, Imperative, and Board.Dev—each dedicated to building more connected, purposeful, and resilient communities. Aaron is fellow of Ashoka, Draper Richards Kaplan, and the Manhattan Institute. 

Olivia Coning moved to Ballard with her husband 2.5 years ago after living and working abroad, with travel at the center of her life and career. She is a digital marketing manager for Mindtrip, a travel tech startup, founder of Club Cascadia — a 3,000+ member women’s community in Seattle — and a content creator at @shewillbewandering, reaching 2M+ monthly. She has partnered with brands like Visit Ischia and the State of Washington to inspire connection through travel and storytelling. 

Audrey Hart is from Seattle, WA! She started Hart to Harts in 2017 when she experienced her own loneliness. She decided to take a conversation card deck that she had created and post on MeetUp.com for strangers to meet her at a bar for meaningful conversations. Four people showed up and the five of them talked for hours – and from that moment, Audrey was hooked on hosting these events. Since then, Audrey has hosted hundreds of events across Seattle. She now operates a vintage, in-person space in the Central District where every weeknight strangers are welcomed to discuss a topic guided by curated conversation cards. Audrey also runs a private practice (AudreyHartTherapy.com) in Seattle where she sees couples for therapy. If Audrey is not working on Hart to Harts or being a therapist, then she’s probably hanging out with her dog, backpacking in the PNW, jumping in the ocean, binging storytelling podcasts, and doodling at coffee shops!

What people are saying about Seattle Welcome Day:

“Until today, I never felt ready to call myself a Seattleite. Thank you for giving me the confidence to truly connect with my community.” – Welcome Day Participant 

“Relationships take time and energy. You have to put yourself out there, even in small ways, it can make a big difference in life. The energy in the room with people interested in taking those first steps is powerful.” – Welcome Day Participant 

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