Lots of Joy, People and Pie
Lorrie Baldevia: 'If you can't change the environment, change the game & how you play'
As Lorrie Baldevia says, “It’s not who you know. It’s who remembers you.” Baldevia, a native of Guam, was recently promoted to platform president at insurance brokerage AssuredPartners, where she oversees Oregon, Washington, and Northern California. The company is closing in on $100 million in annual revenue, and the region includes about 350 employees. Baldevia,…
‘Profanity Hill’ No More
Seattle's first subsidized housing community is unrecognizable today
Jessie Epstein would not recognize this place today. Not the crop of brand-new apartment buildings with restaurants and roof gardens. Not the pedestrian walkways, pea patches and public art exhibits. Not the friendly modern streetcar. Not even the modest building named in his honor. And probably not the people who are living here. But once…
Hayden Homes: A Culture of Caring | Sponsored
Giving back, changing lives
Since 1989, Hayden Homes has worked hard to build a reputation for the quality of our homes and the passionate support we give to the communities in which we live and work. The balance of building and giving is essential to who we are. It’s what connects our people, passion, and purpose. We believe in…
Washington Nurses Rank No. 1
During National Nurses Week, it’s time to recognize those who hold our health care system together
National Nurses week began yesterday, and it turns out that Washington state is the best place to work as a nurse in the United States. A study by personal finance website WalletHub analyzed 20 metrics, including job openings, nurses per capita, salary, and the quality of nursing homes.
Breaking Into The Entertainment Industry, The Bumbershoot Way
Workforce program focuses on concert promotion and production
For the second consecutive year, the Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival’s Workforce Development Program will teach young adults the ins and outs of the entertainment business. The six-month, tuition-free program provides mentorship and teaches the “technical, creative and business aspects” of the live entertainment industry to 19 young adults between the ages of 17 and 25.
Jon Jones: The Mindful CEO
Jon Jones isn’t your ordinary boss, and Brighton Jones isn’t your ordinary company
Jon Jones is a business executive by trade and a guiding light by nature. The culture at the wealth management firm he co-founded with Charles Brighton 25 years ago, Brighton Jones, is a mix of spiritual, practical and, when appropriate, lighthearted. Acronyms such as “MESI” and “RLP” spill from his tongue like a free-flowing river….
Downtown’s ‘It’ Man
Jon Scholes is leading the effort to bring downtown Seattle back. It’s working
For Jon Scholes, the state of downtown Seattle is deeply personal. As a longtime resident, he’s keenly invested in downtown’s post-pandemic recovery. As president and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association, he’s inarguably the neighborhood’s most fervent advocate. He keeps close tabs on store openings, crime rates, transportation issues, and public policy decisions. And he’s…
‘It’s Not About the Visitors’
Visit Seattle CEO Tammy Blount-Canavan reveals some secrets about tourism
Tammy Blount-Canavan calls herself a “travel evangelist.” Visit Seattle calls her its CEO. Blount-Canavan had big shoes to fill when she took over the regional destination marketing organization last year from Tom Norwalk, who served as CEO for almost 14 years. Blount-Canavan, who lives in downtown Seattle just blocks from her office, has a long…
How Four Letters and AI Can Create a Cure
François Vigneault’s Shape Therapeutics seeks to find answers for incurable disease
The impetus for François Vigneault’s decades-long love affair with biology was actor Dustin Hoffman. Vigneault watched the movie Outbreak in 1995, in which Hoffman plays an Army epidemiologist searching for a cure for a quickly spreading and deadly virus. “That’s what I want to do,” he thought. The movie motivated Vigneault, who was serving in…
The Fixer: Alicia Crank
Seattle CityClub executive director Alicia Crank wants to inject respect into civic discourse, one conversation at a time
Alicia Crank wants you to know this: She’s on a mission to elevate civic discussion in Seattle and beyond. Crank, a long time fundraising executive who has worked at AtWork!, YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish, and CityYear Seattle, took the executive director role at Seattle CityClub 18 months ago. The nonprofit seeks to improve…
Community, Coffee, Culture
Darnesha Weary has big plans for Black Coffee Northwest. Many don’t even involve caffeine
DarNesha Weary first bonded with her husband, Erwin, over coffee. Their first date was in a coffee shop. It makes sense, then, that the couple — married for 25 years — now own Black Coffee Northwest. Caffeine, though, isn’t the most important part of the growing company. The Wearys launched Black Coffee Northwest in June…
Building a Better Nugget
Rebellyous Foods founder Christie Lagally is bringing plant-based chicken to the masses
As the name of her company implies, Christie Lagally believes that rules are meant to be broken. Lagally in 2017 founded Seattle-based Rebellyous Foods, a company whose proprietary technology allows it to produce plant-based chicken nuggets, tenders, and patties at a fraction of the cost of competitors. Lagally, a former mechanical engineer at The Boeing…
A Passion for Many Missions
KD Hall has racked up a long list of accomplishments. She’s not done yet
KD Hall launched her own eponymous communications firm. Two years later, she founded the KD Hall Foundation, a nonprofit that offers educations and workforce preparation and workshops for women and girls. She is also a four-time Emmy nominee who has produced several short films and a 10-episode television talk show series. She was recently appointed…
On Reflection: Dogs and Chickens
Costco's trajectory just keeps rising
You can buy virtually anything at Costco. Costco has its own travel agency. It offers health. The company sold 11 million tires last year and filled 60 million prescriptions. You can buy a 5-carat diamond for $260,000 or a Mickey Mantle autographed rookie card for $250,000. But it’s the hot dogs and rotisserie chickens that…
Statshot: Weapons of Mass Construction
Seattle boasts an impressive number of new office buildings
Downtown Seattle’s vacancy rate continues to rise, though new office buildings are going up at a rapid rate. A report from Kidder Mathews pegs the vacancy rate at 23.9%. For comparison purposes, it was about 10% at the end of 2019, just before the pandemic. Despite that, data firm Commercial Edge reports that Seattle has…
Healthy Food Drives Deal
Entrepreneurs Norman Wu and Lisa Nordstrom join forces over a shared passion
It began with the creation of a healthy snack. It morphed into a café. Now, a major investment will transform the very nature of Sano Café. Conscious Hospitality Group co-founder Norman Wu is making a major investment in Sano Café, a small establishment on Mercer Island that offers espresso, juices, smoothies, breakfast, and lunch. Lisa…
Empowering Black Seattleites in Pursuit of Homeownership
How Seattle’s lack of affordable housing is affecting its Black residents
As a Black woman and financial advisor deeply engrained in Seattle’s community, I’ve witnessed firsthand the struggles many Black individuals face in securing affordable housing…
The Battle Against Bias
How to create an inclusive, psychologically safe workplace
Creating inclusive spaces for folks with expanded gender identities can have a profound impact on both mental and physical health, and the workplace should be no exception. Employers have the unique opportunity to create a sense of belonging for individuals who might not feel inclusion in other areas of their lives. How do you create…
Second-Chance Hiring
Would your organization hire formerly incarcerated individuals?
Even though many studies show that formerly incarcerated talent has equal-to-better job performance stats when compared to peers, some organizations still have systemic bias against employees and applicants with a criminal history. If employers are truly committed to infusing DEIB into their practices, instituting intentional fair-chance hiring practices must be considered. Here are some frequently…
Respect, Not Agreement
We can agree to disagree. Let's just be civil about it
“Can we all get along?” While not an uncommon phrase, it became part of the American fabric on May 1, 1992, when Rodney King posed this question at a press conference after his beating from four police officers went viral. I was a senior in high school at the time, and it was both a…