Biography

Commissioner Felleman currently serves on the Port’s Industrial Lands Committee, the Art Committee as well as the Energy, Climate and Sustainability Committee.  He is a Port tribal liaison and represents the Port on the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Growth Management Board, the Puget Sound Partnership’s Ecosystem Coordination Board and the Highline Forum.   He serves on the Visit Seattle Board and was recently appointed to the US Department of Commerce’s Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.

Elected in 2015, Commissioner Felleman’s first term in office was focused on making foundational changes in how the Port relates to the community and the planet which made subsequent accomplishments possible. As a member of the selection committee, he played a central role in the firing of the previous CEO and hiring of Executive Steve Metruck. He also continued to lead efforts to expand the capacity of the Commission office thereby enabling the Commission to develop policies more responsive to its constituents in King County.

As founding member of the Energy and Sustainability Committee, Commissioner Felleman championed the creation of a Center for Environmental Excellence with an elevated focus on climate change and environmental justice following the creation of the Office of Equity Diversity and Inclusion.  

Throughout his career, Felleman has been dedicated to working to protect the marine environment and all those dependent on it. Galvanized by the devasting impacts of Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, he established WAVE Consulting to advance maritime safety and innovation to help avert such a disaster from occurring in Washington. 

For 15 years prior to his first election, Felleman had been working to reduce the environmental impacts of cruise since the first ship arrived at Pier 69. He continues those efforts at the Port and consults with local, state, federal, international, and tribal governments as well as national ocean conservation organizations on other efforts to sustain the Salish Sea and beyond.

Commissioner Felleman earned his Master’s of Science in Fisheries Biology from the University of Washington in 1985 where he studied the feeding habits of killer whales. He has lived in Ballard for the past 30 years where he raised his son and is married to Amy Trainer.