Connecting with Community for Women’s Equality Day, 2025
On Tuesday, August 26th, Rice Fergus Miller hosted their fourth annual community celebration for Women’s Equality Day. Each year, we celebrate the achievements of women in our community and explore ways to uplift and support women and girls in their education and careers. This year’s event was hosted by RFM’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) committee and included a keynote panel featuring three highly inspirational women in leadership roles across the Kitsap Peninsula:
– Lucretia Robertson, Principal and Owner, Clarity Partnernships
– Haskit Hall, Infant and Toddler Program Director, Holly Ridge Center
– Ashley Oaksmith, Branch Manager, Sylvan Way Library
Moderated by Kirsten Dahlquist, RFM Associate and President Elect of AIA’s Seattle chapter, the panel discussion provided numerous thought-provoking anecdotes. When asked how she plans to “accelerate action,” Robertson considered, “How am I leading and advocating for my daughters to be actively part of society in the future? How am I setting an example to them and talking to them consistently about their right to action? My action is to cultivate that fire in my daughters… that they see this is a conversation that they can be a part of. We’re going to make mistakes, but we can actively be a part of whatever changes that we want to see.”
Oaksmith agreed on the importance of women-focused spaces and also added, “I hope that in the future, organizations like the Kitsap Women’s Summit will no longer be needed as all spaces [will be] spaces for women…”
In reminiscing on her grandmother’s founding of the American Indian Women’s Service League in Seattle, Hall encouraged the audience to forge connection with each other. “There has been a lot of isolation and polarization these last few years… we used to have conversations with people in our community who hold differing opinions and not think they were bad people. If we feel like our neighbors are enemies, then we can’t accelerate anything except for fear and hate. We need to connect and believe each other when we tell our stories.”
“We have a story that we tell in indigenous communities. There are two wolves within you; one wolf sees the community as a place to connect, and the other wolf is about being alone. And there is a grandfather telling us that there are two wolves that you will experience in your life, and the grandson asks, “well which wolf am I?” And he said, “That is your choice.” Either one has its own strengths, but we find a much richer life if we decide that we’re a wolf that sees community as being safe instead of something to fear.
As a community-focused design practice, Rice Fergus Miller hopes to continue to host more events like this – to celebrate our diverse perspectives and hear more stories from our neighbors.
Our next JEDI Committee-sponsored event is coming up this November. In partnership with The Roxy Theatre, and to honor Indigenous Peoples’ Month, we will be hosting discussions and screenings of Sugarcane, From Earth to Sky, and Fish War on November 6, 13, and 20, respectively. Stay tuned for more information soon or commit to helping us make this series possible through a donation to the Roxy Theatre foundation.
We hope to see you all there!
-Rowan Atherley, Architect, CPHC, LEED GA, NCARB Rice Fergus Miller
Rowan Atherley is an Architect at Rice Fergus Miller and a Certified Passive House Consultant. She minored in Native American Studies at University of Oregon, and is a co-chair of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee at Rice Fergus Miller. Rowan is passionate about tribal-led and community focused design projects.