Brett Johnson chairs our political committee, focusing on key local races in Pierce County. He also revises and contributes content for the newsletter and website. Endorsements are an important way to identify strong candidates with environmental goals and introduce them to advocates and donors. A complete slate of candidates encourages people to not just vote for President and Governor, but also farther down the ballot to elect folks who can make a difference and get things done here in our community.
Brett has volunteered for over 25 years with campaign efforts in Pierce County and northern Colorado. He canvasses neighborhoods and connects with voters. As a habitat steward, he started with the Pierce Conservation District Stream Team, coordinated Scotch broom removal on several large properties, and later served with the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers weed crew out of Fort Collins, Colorado. More recently, he coordinated the Ivy League at Point Defiance and the Legion of Broom at Parkland Prairie, where most of the English ivy and Scotch broom has been removed for native habitat restoration. He was named the 2002 Pierce Conservation District Volunteer of the Year and the 2016 Outstanding Adult Volunteer by Pierce County Parks & Recreation. He has served on the Parks Tacoma Nature & Environment Advisory Council, the Pierce County Arts Commission, and as a Precinct Committee Officer. Prior to joining the Coalition, he chaired the former Sierra Club Tatoosh Group Political Committee, which endorsed and supported local environmentally-minded candidates for many years.
Brett grew up in Puyallup and graduated from Rogers High School. As a student at the University of Puget Sound, he earned the college’s first interdisciplinary degree in Environmental Policy. He then joined the Peace Corps in Nepal as a Soil & Water Conservation Volunteer. He is grateful for this time living and working with local villagers, learning to speak fluent Nepali, and traveling daily by foot in the Himalayan foothills. Upon returning home, he taught pre-license courses to pesticide applicators, developed the first wave of online courses, and assisted with diagnosing plant diseases, insect problems, and invasive plants at WSU Puyallup. Nowadays, he works as a teacher and lives in Tacoma with his wife and daughter.