A Blue Zones Boosts

Executive director and PLU alumnus Tono Sablan ’18 leads the Blue Zones Project Parkland-Spanaway. “Where I’m from — where my neighbors live — we’ll live up to 10 years less on average than anywhere else in Pierce County,” Sablan said in an in-depth feature in the Tacoma News Tribune. “That is incredibly concerning to me as a resident, and somebody who doesn’t plan on leaving. So we’re really energized, waking up every morning and trying to make some progress on that.”

The Parkland-Spanaway initiative is part of the larger Blue Zones Project, a national program that works to co-create and implement transformation programs to create sustainable, systems-level solutions that improve population health and economic vitality.

In September 2023, Blue Zones opened a field office in PLU’s Blomquist House. In its first year in Parkland-Spanaway, deputy director Queena Tupou says the organization has prioritized community engagement and education.

“We’ve been focused on the foundational work of connecting with community partners, making sure that they understand what the Blue Zones Project is doing in Parkland and Spanaway, and sharing the mission and model of this community-wide well-being initiative,” says Tupou.

In addition to setting up an office on the edge of the PLU campus, Blue Zones organizers have collaborated with staff from a wide range of university departments, including the Wang Center for Global and Community Engaged Education, Campus Ministry, Human Resources, and the Wild Hope Center for Vocation. President Belton serves on the Blue Zones steering committee, and PLU is working to become the first Blue Zones certified work site in the Parkland area.

*Based on 2023-24 academic year enrollment