Marcus Harrison Green
Founder, Publisher, and Board Co-President
Marcus Harrison Green is the publisher of the South Seattle Emerald™. Growing up in South Seattle, he experienced first-hand the impact of one-dimensional stories on marginalized communities, which taught him the value of authentic narratives. After an unfulfilling stint in the investment world during his twenties, Marcus returned to his community with a newfound purpose of telling stories with nuance, complexity, and multidimensionality with the hope of advancing social change. This led him to become a writer and found the South Seattle Emerald™. He was named one of Seattle’s most influential people by Seattle Magazine in 2016 and was awarded 2020 Individual Human Rights Leader by the Seattle Human Rights Commission.
Andrew (AJ) Johnston
Board Co-President
Andrew (AJ) Johnston (he/him) joined the Emerald™ board shortly after the Emerald™’s first anniversary. He is a South Seattle-based architect specializing in residential and commercial projects. Andrew is an outspoken supporter of Black-led, community-centered media as a way to speak truth to power and inspire positive change within communities in need. He is also a passionate volunteer and organizer with Social Justice Fund NW (SJF) where he is working to foster a network of BIPOC donors in Seattle and the greater NW area.
Jini Palmer
Board Secretary
Jini Palmer (she/her) is a podcaster, musician, and filmmaker. All of her trades are rooted in writing and inspired by the scope of media to communicate, inform, and inspire change. She is the digital media manager for Town Hall Seattle, where she is the creative video lead and host & producer of the In the Moment, Civics, Science, and Arts & Culture podcast series. She has been a joyful resident of Seattle since 2009, coming from her hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Ijeoma Oluo
Board Director
Ijeoma Oluo (she/her) is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller So You Want to Talk About Race and the forthcoming Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America. Her work on race has been featured in the New York Times and the Washington Post, among many others. She was named one of Seattle’s Most Influential People of 2015 by Seattle Magazine and one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Seattle by Seattle Met in 2018. She has twice been named to the Root 100, and she received both the 2018 Feminist Humanist Award and the 2020 Harvard Humanist of the Year Award from the American Humanist Association. She lives in Seattle, Washington.
Khyree Smith
Board Director
Khyree Smith (he/him, they/them) is an educator, facilitator, and lifelong Seattleite working in various roles with Austin Foundation, OneWorld Now and Seattle University. Khyree has been fortunate to provide services for thousands of youth and young adults throughout King County, often known commonly as “Coach Khyree.” Khyree believes in doing work “for the sake of the children,” holding the importance that any work you do should be in efforts to make a safe, happy, and flourishing world for youth to grow up in and to continue to live in as adults.