Tending To the Garden

Cid Romero is Byrd Barr Place’s Operations Manager

It was Byrd Barr Place’s historic architecture that first drew Cid Romero to the organization in 2017. Strolling past, he was intrigued by the 1909 firehouse with the red doors; once he learned about the organization, he wanted in.

Cid began working at the organization shortly thereafter as a program coordinator, bringing his intellectual curiosity and tenacity to bear to make sure the Energy Assistance Team has the tools, resources and systems it needs to function at its best. Cid took the lead in building out Energy Assistance Online, an app that streamlines the application process, undertaking countless hours of self-directed study in coding, data management and business process management when he saw the need. “I am a firm believer in tending to the parts of the garden within reach,” he says.

Cid knows a thing or two about systems and processes; he also knows that when the right systems are in place, results can exceed expectations: “Time and time again, I witness proof that Byrd Barr Place is greater than the sum of its parts,” he says. “Nothing is more inspiring than the harmonized efforts of such a diverse group of individuals.”

As for the future, “change comes and always will,” says Cid. But Byrd Barr Place is “a source of light and sustenance, both figuratively and literally,” for Central Seattle. And, he says, “light and sustenance will forever be valuable to the community.”