Federal Way’s leadership has drawn some heated discussions over the selection of a consulting firm — and supposed rejection of another firm — to handle the city’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs. The decision ultimately led to the resignation of the Federal Way Diversity Commission chairperson along with conflicting views over the direction of the city’s DEI programming.

DEI in Federal Way

The City of Federal Way has employed three Diversity, Equity and Inclusion managers since 2021, but this year is moving forward with a consultant contract instead of a full-time staff position.

The first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion person was hired for a part time role in April 2021. Erica Azcueta left after four months, then the position was vacant for eight months. The next person hired was Kia McGlone, who was in the role for just under a year. Most recently, Levi Luft took over the role from June 2023 to April 2024.

According to Mayor Jim Ferrell, all three of the city’s previous DEI managers left for other opportunities that better fit their needs.

The city opened up a Request for Proposals (RFP) to contract with a consulting firm. After reviewing 39 proposals, the list was narrowed down to five that were then interviewed by a panel that did not include the mayor, although he had the final decision-making power.

At the Oct. 10 Diversity Commission meeting, minutes stated that Community Service Manager Chris Grier discussed that after careful and thoughtful deliberation, the consultant chosen was Chanin Kelly-Rae from Chanin Kelly-Rae LLC.

The minutes added that “with a wealth of experience and knowledge, she is a welcomed addition,” and Diversity Committee Chair Saudia Abdullah stated the reason she was in agreeance with this choice is because “the consultant is local and understands how things operate in Washington.”

Kelly-Rae was initially selected to recommend to the mayor by a 3-1-1 vote in the interview panel. Kelly-Rae said she received a phone call from a city staff member letting her know that she had been selected and that she was in the process of negotiating the contract with the city.

The situation then took a turn.

Although Kelly-Rae was the initial top pick for the interview panel, the Mayor Jim Ferrell said this all changed when several staff members saw a video of Kelly-Rae discussing discrimination she experienced while an employee at Amazon.

The videos in question came after she was hired as a global manager of diversity in Amazon’s company’s cloud computing division in 2019, and was the only individual who was willing to go on record out of the “more than a dozen former and current Amazon corporate employees” who were interviewed for a Vox article.

After the article was published, Kelly-Rae was interviewed by multiple news outlets to discuss racism at Amazon in general.

“The only Black people that I saw every day were either opening doors or cleaning floors,” said Kelly-Rae in a King 5 interview.

King 5 shared a statement from Amazon during the segment stating: “We work hard to make Amazon a company where our Black employees and people of all backgrounds feel included respected and want to grow their careers. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment in any form.”

Ferrell told the Mirror that after seeing the videos, Community Development Director Keith Niven reconvened the original interview panel to share the videos. He stated that another individual changed their vote in addition to Niven, resulting in a split vote with the majority choosing Melanie F. Ryan Coaching and Consulting (MFR).

Saudia Abdullah stepped down from her role as chair of the Diversity Commission over the change, saying the selection process was discriminatory and citing other concerns around DEI.

“I joined the Diversity Commission to champion the idea that Federal Way could genuinely become an inclusive community. However, over the past year I have witnessed actions that make it impossible for me to continue believing in that vision,” Abdullah stated in her emailed resignation on Nov. 14.

In a public comment at the Federal Way City Council meeting on Dec. 3, Abdullah said that “everything changed when a city staff member viewed an unrelated video in which Ms. Kelly-Rae shared her lived experience of workplace discrimination. To be clear this video contained no disparaging remarks or disputed facts, yet a senior staff reversed their vote to favor a less equipped firm. What’s particularly troubling is that this same staff member spoke highly of Ms. Kelly-Rae’s qualifications and technical assistance and was skeptical of the person you eventually hired.”

The city has issued a statement that “the race of company ownership for firms that submitted proposals was not one of the selection criteria” adding that “the city is eager to move forward and advance this critical initiative.”

Behind the decision

Although he did not view the videos himself, Ferrell said he made the decision not to contract with this initial top pick of the hiring panel, instead relying on the advice of the head of human resources, the community development director and the city administrator.

“I didn’t watch the video, but I looked it up online, and I read about it online, and I knew enough to say that it gives me pause,” the mayor said.

The mayor said that seeing Kelly-Rae speak about discrimination she faced as an employee made the city cautious about taking her on as a contractor.

When she worked for Amazon, Kelly-Rae was not a contractor, but was instead one of a group of employees who were interviewed about their experiences.

Mayor Ferrell told the Mirror that “I make the final decision” and that the interview panel’s recommendation had not been brought to him when Kelly-Rae was supposedly chosen, “so it would not have been possible for her to have been, quote, awarded the contract. Now, her misunderstanding of the process is not the fault of the city.”

In the RFP document obtained via public records request, Chanin Kelly-Rae’s consulting firm checked every box. The document compared all 39 consulting firms that submitted RFPs and had columns for the following attributes: 5+ years DEI, Train/Present, Resources, Training, Commission Support and LAP (language access program).

The consulting firm that was ultimately selected, Melanie F. Ryan Coaching and Consulting (MFR), lacked a checkmark in the Train/Present, Training and LAP columns.

A contract was signed with MFR on Nov. 15.

Kelly-Rae’s response

At the Dec. 3 Federal Way City Council meeting, Kelly-Rae attended and spoke directly to the mayor during public comment. She said she did so because “I felt that because my name keeps coming up, I should come and address you directly.”

After the meeting, the Mayor Ferrell told the Mirror that “I’m glad we didn’t hire her because this is what happens when you disagree with her,” referring to her speaking at public comment.

Ferrell added that “what gave us concern was that she got in a very public disagreement on national media with someone that she worked with … people have every right to stick up for themselves, to tell their stories … but to my understanding she was using Amazon as a sort of prior work she had done and as an example of how she can work together. And how did that end? That ended in national media that did not put Amazon in a very good light. And I’m like, huh, is that where I want to end up? Do we want to end up in national media? And the answer to that is no, and not what we’re looking for in a DEI person.”

Kelly-Rae shared at public comment that when she was notified that she had not received the contract after all, it was for a different reason.

“I was told that the offer was rescinded because I said that to do those things would require leadership support,” she said, explaining that she said this after learning that three DEI managers had left the Federal Way role within three years.

She added that “I was told by your staff that this council and this leadership did not truly support DEI. I was told by your staff that you are ten years behind other cities.”

In his interview with the Mirror, Mayor Ferrell affirmed his commitment to DEI: “I’m a very idealistic person…and I believe this nation was built on that concept of diversity and built on the concept of the diversity of the people that came together to make this country. And I think our diversity, as a nation, has historically been our greatest strength. And I think that we’ve come a long way in this country, a tremendous way.”