Redmond City Council Special Meeting: Candidate Interviews for Commissions - October 14, 2025
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Redmond City Council Special Meeting: Candidate Interviews for Commissions - October 14, 2025
This special meeting of the Redmond City Council on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at 6:40 PM, focused on interviewing candidates for two city commissions: the Human Services Commission and the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Commission. Council members present included Councilmember Anderson, Councilmember Nuevacamina, Councilmember Stuart, Mayor Birney, Council Vice President Forsythe, Councilmember Salahuddin, and Council President Kritzer (online). No public comments were received, and no consent calendar items were considered during this meeting; the appointments are expected to be placed on the consent agenda the following week.
Discussion Items
Candidate Interview: Shavani Sogankar – Human Services Commission
- Introduction: Brooke Buckingham, Human Services Manager, introduced Shavani Sogankar, a Redmond resident of over 10 years who works at Microsoft and has a background in global health nonprofits and sustainable development.
- Candidate Remarks: Sogankar expressed a desire to support the local community, particularly those without access to basic needs, and emphasized climate readiness. She noted that Redmond is often associated with tech wealth but that many residents lack basic necessities. She hoped to see the community move from "surviving to thriving" by the end of her term, especially given potential cuts to programs like SNAP.
- Council Interaction: Councilmember Stewart highlighted recent council actions, including an increase in per-resident investment in human services and a push to fund culturally specific organizations. Sogankar was praised for her system-thinking approach and alignment with the commission's goals.
Candidate Interview: Kimberly Marciel Marcelino – Parks, Trails, and Recreation Commission
- Introduction: Lindsay Falkenberg, Parks Planning Manager, introduced Kim Marcelino, a newer Redmond resident (moved July 2024) who is active at Anderson Park Community Gardens, a parent, triathlete, and filmmaker with a background in urban planning and art history.
- Candidate Remarks: Marcelino expressed a passion for creating a destination playground in downtown Redmond, noting the lack of playgrounds in the core for families with young children. She emphasized the importance of shared public spaces in building community connections, drawing on her New York City background.
- Council Interaction: Council President Kritzer supported the idea of a downtown playground. Councilmember Stewart informed Marcelino about recent state funding for Idlewood Park improvements and a potential legislative request for a playground refresh at Hartman Park, including accessibility upgrades. Marcelino was commended for bringing fresh perspectives.
Key Outcomes
- Both candidates were well received by the council, with no objections to their appointments.
- The council indicated that the appointments for Shavani Sogankar to the Human Services Commission and Kimberly Marciel Marcelino to the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Commission would be placed on the consent agenda for the next council meeting (scheduled for the week of October 14, 2025).
- No formal votes were taken during this special meeting; action will occur at the subsequent regular meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Thank you. I'm calling this meeting to order. This is a Redmond City Council special meeting held on Tuesday, October 14th, 2025, commencing at 6 40 p.m. Council members in attendance are Councilmember Anderson, Councilmember Nueva Kamina, Councilmember Stewart, myself, Council Vice President Forsythe, and Councilmember Salahudin and Council President Kritzer are online. And in this meeting, we are going to be interviewing candidates for Human Services Commission and Parks and Trails Commission. Brooke Buckingham, Human Services Manager, will introduce the Human Services Commission candidate, Shavani Sogankar. Good evening, Council members. I'm so pleased to bring forth Travani Savgangar, who is applying for the Human Services Commission. And I just wanted to provide a little bit of background about her. She has lived in Radmond for a little over 10 years and lives close to downtown park. She just shared that she takes the light well to our work at Microsoft. So very exciting. She has uh worked in global health nonprofits prior to working at Microsoft and describes herself as a system thinker. Her parents also live in the area and our business owners, and we're really excited to have you get to know her tonight. Thank you. Would you like to introduce yourself and then we'll ask you some questions? Sure. Um, this is an interesting mic. Um I hope you're all able to hear me even virtually. Um, my name is Shravni. Um, like Brooke said, I've been in Redmond for 10 more than 10 years. Um, if I think about home in the United States, it is Redmond, and so um Washington or Redmond feels very synonymous to me. Um professionally, I've worked in global health nonprofits, then did a little bit of consulting and now work at Microsoft. I think it's my right to passage living in Redmond. I have to maybe work at Microsoft at least for a year or something. Um part from that, I um just a little bit of a background or like to take you on a personal journey. So I was born in India, uh, grew up on a small island called Singapore, and then uh moved to the United States. Um, and so before that I was also in Canada for a little bit to do my under undergraduate studies in public health, and um then did a master in sustainable development, and so just been traveling around. Um I'm now finally situated here, and um I'm married, I have a husband, and the fun conversation happened happening at home these days is when do we get a bed? Like when is the right time? Um, so yeah, that's a little bit a little bit about myself. Thank you. Uh questions for our candidate from council. Councilmember Naebakamina. Thank you. Out of all of the boards uh and opportunities to be get involved, what had you what was that drive to say, you know what, human services, that's what I want to do. Yeah. Um, I think I was missing out on a little bit of my um social impact world. Um, that's where it all started as I joined Microsoft. I was like, you know, I am creating impact, but at the same time, I don't think there's anything I'm doing to support the local community that I'm a part of. And so that's what really sparked my interest in specifically human services. Um I started noticing that when you think of Redmond, you think of all the tech companies in this area or people that can really afford those $1 million plus homes. But there are a lot of people in the community that still don't have access to basic needs. Um, you know, down the road, we're also going to face a lot of climate issues, and so I started thinking about climate readiness for the local community. Um, and that's what and when I started thinking through the different commissions, I was like, you know, human services aligns super closely with my interests. Um that's what that's what got me started on this journey, and then I feel like I made a good choice. I've just been going through the interview loops, and um the commission's great to talk to, and I feel like they're very purpose-driven and um think about all the issues from a holistic perspective. So that's been really um great to learn about. Councilmember Anderson if you had one wish to be achieved by the end of your term on the Human Services Commission, what would it be? Um, would you be able to repeat that, please?
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