The Prosperity Partnership is a coalition of over 260 government, business, labor and community organizations from King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties dedicated to developing and implementing a common economic strategy. Our shared goal is two-fold: long-term economic prosperity and 100,000 new jobs for the central Puget Sound region.

Building on the success of the work the Prosperity Partnership has done to support the growth and success of its five initial pilot clusters, the Partnership is conducting economic analysis and strategy development for two additional industry clusters: Military and Tourism/Visitors. The Military cluster is the source of significant economic activity in the region, both in terms of direct employment and contracting opportunities. Tourism has the largest cluster employment in the region, providing jobs at a range of skill levels for 95,500 people in the central Puget Sound.

The Partnership’s strategy development process brings together a diverse group of key stakeholders to develop tangible action items that will improve the business climate for these clusters. The Tourism/Visitors Working Group - chaired by Carla Murray of Starwood Hotels, Bob Aylward of the Seattle Mariners and Mel Sheldon of the Tulalip Tribes - has 40 members, representing diverse stakeholders from hotels, restaurants, wine, ports, airlines, sports and events, arts and culture, and more. The Military Working group - chaired by Carol Evanoff from Lockheed Martin and RDML James Symonds of the U.S. Navy – is composed of military personnel, veterans, industry groups and contractors.

Specific tasks will include economic data collection and analysis, facilitation of the working groups’ meetings and the creation of a report based on tangible recommendations from the groups that indicate specific steps, timelines and implementation responsibility. Implementation of this report will be part of the Prosperity Partnership's 2009 Action Items.

Tourism/Visitors Cluster
Military Cluster