Shyan Selah has accepted a position on the board of the Seattle Community Coalition as Entertainment, Education and Entrepreneurship Chairman.
The coalition is made up of individuals and organizations working alongside hedge fund manager Chris Hansen in his quest to bring an NBA team back to Seattle. The Coalition’s job is to make sure that the added perks and revenues of relaunching a Seattle Sonics team go to benefit the communities surrounding the SODO area, especially communities of color. This assurance is part of in-depth Community Benefit Agreement the Valiant Capital Management founder signed in 2017 that includes making community organizations an equity partner in the new Sonics Arena, creating grants for small minority-owned businesses, and prioritizing equal opportunity hiring for contractors and workers in the construction of the arena itself.
There should be nothing preventing the community from gaining job opportunities and Chris Hansen is able to make that a reality with his commitment to the community benefit agreement,” says Seattle Community Coalition Chair, Abin Nellams.
Pictured left to right: Executive Director of El Centro de la Raza, Estela Ortega; former Seattle SuperSonic, Wally Walker, President of NAACP (Alaska, Oregon, Washington State Area Conference); Chairman of the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Academy, Ty Peterson, Chris Hansen; and Abin Nellams.
Shyan brings over 20 years professional experience in merging the creative arts, outreach, and education with global and local powerhouses such as Starbucks, The Gap, Costco, University of Washington, and Pacific Lutheran University,to name a few. A local native from Federal Way who was a three sport prep all star athlete before getting his start in Hollywood in pursuit of a career in the arts and entertainment industry; Shyan also has a history working with the Sonics brand doing outreach for the Sonics Legends program from 2002 to 2005.
“It’s an honor to do anything productive that elevates and strengthens our community,” states Shyan. “Entertainment and Entrepreneurship through the platform of Education is the landscape I built my style of outreach on. It’s the soul of youth culture and it requires a unique expertise when you think of applying it to community development and anything that touches the realm of education. Our community and specifically black youth need dynamic resources to reach their potential and I’m here to help bring that fruition.”
