Interview with Claudia Balducci
As Leadership Eastside enters our 20th year, we are taking time throughout 2025 to reflect on the impact we have made on our community, our partners, and our leaders in the region. This month, we are chatting with King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci about her reflections on Adaptive Leadership and Leadership Eastside’s impact. Councilmember Balducci has been a fierce advocate for Leadership Eastside since our founding. As an Advance Bellevue Alumna, she is a Legacy Alum of Leadership Eastside and we are so appreciative of the collaborative approach she takes in her leadership.
Firstly, thank you for spending time with us! Let’s start with you telling us a little about yourself:
Great to be here! I’m Claudia Balducci. My passion is improving the lives of people across King County, with a particular focus on transportation, housing and public safety. I’ve been dedicated to this work for more than 25 years, and since 2016, I’ve had the privilege of serving the people of King County as Councilmember.
Why are you involved with Leadership Eastside and what unique value do they bring to the Eastside?
I choose to support Leadership Eastside because they are truly doing some of the best work in King County to bring together and develop a diverse group of future leaders. Our ability to make systemic regional change depends on building community capacity to listen and embrace different points of view. Leadership Eastside plays a pivotal role in this process, intentionally elevating voices of differing experiences, perspectives, beliefs, cultures, and ideas to be part of the community building process and have the hard conversations that move the needle on the issues that matter the most. This is why I continue to attend and participate in Leadership Eastside events, and regularly send my staff through their Adaptive Leadership programs.
Why do you trust Leadership Eastside with developing members of your team?
Leadership Eastside doesn’t just teach skills, they equip leaders with an inclusive approach to address issues that help change hearts and minds, not just apply a quick fix that will unwind over time. Leadership Eastside’s Adaptive Leadership and Executive Insights programs equip participants to listen for understanding, new tools to be thoughtful in their approach, trainings to help to bring the temperature down in heated situations, and ideas for how to create environments where people feel heard and respected.
Do you have a favorite Leadership Eastside event?
Yes! The Leadership Eastside’s Mayors Lunch. I’ve both been on stage and an audience member. The event is unlike any other event you can find in King County, and I can tell you from experience, the mayors love attending this event. You get to hear from most Eastside mayors about how they are approaching the most critical issues in our community. More and more of the elected officials in the room and on stage are Leadership Eastside graduates. You can tell who they are because they share stories about working collaboratively across city lines on big issues. The ripple effect of this leadership approach is transformative, creating a network of leaders who are committed to collaboration and positive change.
Any final thoughts?
Leadership Eastside is also a conduit for connecting leaders to serve on boards and commissions, and a great steppingstone for those seeking public office. Often, people reach out to me because they are interested in running for office. I meet them for coffee and always talk about the benefits of Leadership Eastside’s program to the work they want to do.
Our region needs leaders who understand diverse perspectives and make the time and space for real relationship building to occur. Leadership Eastside is a catalyst for readying leaders with tools and insights to foster systemic change. Leadership Eastside provides the toolbox, and the toolbox goes with you everywhere.
