What are the most pressing issues on the Eastside? And what can area leaders do to tackle them on a regional level?

Those were the questions driving the first Eastside Futures conference, the latter of which was intended to challenge the government, business and nonprofit representatives in attendance to step away from what organizers described as narrow and siloed thinking.

On Monday, more than 600 of those people gathered to discuss the future of the region.

The event was held at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue and was the final event for host organization Leadership Eastside’s 10th anniversary celebration.

Throughout the working lunch, attendees were asked to discuss and voice the issues they felt were most pressing for the Eastside. Leadership Eastside CEO James Whitfield and board chair Jeff Borgida stressed the importance of the audience’s thoughts and opinions.

“Today’s event is about you and what you think,” Borgida said.

Attendees informally discussed their prized issues at their lunch tables, then dispersed into caucus groups for focused discussions on subjects like arts and culture, basic needs, the economy, health and wellness, the environment, education and neighborhoods and community building.

Participants in the arts and culture caucus discussed arts in schools and how it was not being prioritized.

Self-employed consultant Una McAlinden said one issue for the arts is that the funding school districts receive is not specified for any particular subject or department. She said, because of that, funding for the arts — part of the basic education defined by state law — is not prioritized at the local level.

“In many cases, (districts are) not putting money into the arts,” she said.

In the health and wellness caucus, participants discussed how teen mental health diagnoses have to be taken just as seriously as other diagnoses such as cancer. They also expressed concern about how parents don’t always know how to deal with mental health issues.

“It’s really tough being a kid,” one participant said during the discussions.

The environmental caucus discussed their desire to see renewed focus on reducing use, per capita, of natural resources. They also discussed the potential for attracting businesses to environmentally protected areas.

The basic needs caucus discussed the need for translating public information resources into multiple languages for maximum efficacy. They also discussed education for parents and families to obtain human services and advocate for themselves within the system.

The neighborhoods and community building caucus discussed transportation. One participant said having services such as a light rail station and line close to where she lives or works may be nice but that convenience becomes more complicated if she can’t park her car nearby. Members of the group said they would also like to see more affordable housing in the area.

Those in the education caucus voiced the importance of acknowledging that you cannot approach education with a one-size-fits-all mindset — whether teaching style, discipline or another obstacle. They also discussed the difficulty of retaining willing and able volunteers from a pool of parents who often work during the day. Some suggested tapping into the senior citizen or recently retired population to bolster volunteer rosters.

While discussing the economy, group participants focused on livable-wage jobs as well as the importance of public- and private-sector collaboration when it comes to economic development.

Following these breakout sessions, highlights from the seven caucus groups’ discussions were shared with the whole room. The crowd was then asked to vote on issue is most important to them in each category. These issues were determined based on what was brought up during the breakout sessions.

Whitfield told attendees that their feedback and input will drive LE’s Civic Incubator to drive innovation and collaboration in the Eastside’s future.