Mar 18, 2021

CWU College of Business

The Central Washington University College of Business has received continuing accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AASCB), joining about five percent of business schools globally that have earned the designation. CWU was among 73 business schools that received continuing accreditation this year by AACSB, a global nonprofit association that connects educational institutions and businesses in more than 100 countries and territories worldwide. Following a virtual campus visit in November, the AASCB review team identified the College of Business Career Advising and Tutoring Center as a best practice, and further commended the college for its Industry Leadership Board, peer and alumni mentorship programs, and initiatives to support diversity and inclusivity. CWU first achieved AASCB accreditation in 2010. Schools undergo comprehensive “continuous-improvement” peer reviews every five years to reaffirm accreditation.

Tacoma Arts Commission

The Tacoma Arts Commission recently awarded $72,000 in Tacoma Artists Initiative Program funding to 24 Tacoma-based artists working in artistic disciplines including visual, literary, film, music, digital, and interdisciplinary arts. The 2021-2022 Tacoma Artists Initiative Program funded artists are: Curtis Ashby, Marit Berg, Katie Dean, Priscilla Dobler, Lance Griffith, Maria Jost, Kareem Kandi, Rian Kelly, Gene Kemper, Rico Lastrapes, David Long, Miriam McBride, Adrian Milanio, Mark Monlux, Gloria Muhammad, Tamiko Nimura, Chandler O'Leary, Gerardo Peña, Kellie Richardson, Mauricio Robalino, Suzanne Skaar, Cydney Stephens, Jacob Sunday and Chuck Taylor. The Tacoma Artists Initiative Program was established in 1999 to encourage the contributions made by individual artists within the city of Tacoma.

Zipwhip

Zipwhip and the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) announced a scholarship for Black students pursuing a college degree. The selected student will receive $2,000 from Zipwhip for college expenses and an annual NBMBAA student membership, which includes access to its career success network, entry-level professional development and local chapter virtual events. Zipwhip will announce the recipient, as well as publish the winner's writing submission, on the company's blog on July 19. For eligibility information and instructions on how to apply, visit Zipwhip.com/scholarship. The deadline is June 14. Seattle-based Zipwhip is a business-texting platform helping organizations engage their customers and drive growth through texting. NBMBAA is a member-based professional organization which leads in the creation of educational, wealth building and growth opportunities for Black students, professionals, and entrepreneurs.

Mar 17, 2021

Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance

The Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance (PNAA), the region's largest and longest running aerospace trade organization, presented four aerospace industry awards, including Aerospace Company of the Year, Aerospace Executive of the Year, the Inspire Award, and the Chairwoman's Award during its 20th Annual Aerospace Conference. PNAA awarded Blue Origin its 2020 Company of the Year Award for its outstanding commitment to aerospace excellence. Headquartered in Kent, Blue Origin was founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos and is currently guided by CEO Bob Smith. Frank Nichols was awarded the 2020 Executive of the Year Award for his leadership of Silicon Forest Electronics and the significant contributions he has made to the advancement of the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Industry. Silicon Forest Electronics is headquartered in Vancouver. Orion Industries was awarded PNAA's 2020 Inspire Award for its dedication to its employees by creating an on-premises learning pod for children of Orion employees when schools were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Bothell-based Impact Washington was awarded PNAA's 2020 Chairwoman's Award to honor its outstanding accomplishments which have significantly contributed to the support, growth, and future of the aerospace industry in the Pacific Northwest. Impact Washington is led by president/center director Deloit Wolfe Jr.

SeekOut

Redmond-based SeekOut, an AI-powered Talent 360 platform, raised $65 million in Series B funding led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from existing investors Madrona Venture Group and Mayfield. This capital raise brings SeekOut's total funding to $73 million. With this funding, SeekOut will expand its Talent 360 platform, and invest in sales, marketing, and customer success to reach new customers. Anoop Gupta is co-founder and CEO at SeekOut. The founders collectively hold over 200 issued US patents. Tiger Global Management was founded in 2001 and is based in New York with affiliate offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangalore and Melbourne. Madrona is a venture capital firm based in Seattle.

FashWire

Seattle-based FashWire Announced GlossPitch, a $10,000 competition for female founders on its newly launched beauty platform, GlossWire. GlossWire, a two-sided global beauty marketplace, invited its beauty brands to submit an application to pitch in front of some of the most influential leaders in the beauty and media industries, while competing for the chance to claim a grand prize of $10,000 to assist in supporting their businesses. GlossWire received applicants worldwide, including Canada, France, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States. The ten finalists will have the chance to share their stories, the inspiration behind their brands, how these unprecedented times have impacted their businesses and how they would use the prize money at a virtual event on Thursday, March 18th.

Mar 16, 2021

Department of Corrections

Thompson

Secretary Stephen Sinclair has named Adrian Thompson as the Washington Department of Corrections' interim Equity & Inclusion Administrator. He has worked for the Department of Corrections as a staff psychologist for over two years. In his previous work, Thompson helped research mental health disparities in the court system, advocated and treated youth who were sexually abused and co-created a medical mentoring program designed to target disparities in high school achievement and medical school enrollment. He earned his doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Howard University. Thompson takes over from Karen Johnson, who was recently appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee to the role of director of the Office of Equity.

ExtraHop

ExtraHop, a provider of cloud-native network detection and response, has received several product and company award recognitions in the 2021 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards. ExtraHop was named a Best Cybersecurity Company and a Fastest-Growing Cybersecurity Company. Additionally, Reveal(x) was recognized for two product awards including a Gold Award in Artificial Intelligence Security and a Silver Award in AWS Cloud Security. These awards recognize the company for its demonstrated excellence and innovation in improving hybrid and cloud security for the enterprise. ExtraHop is headquartered in Seattle.

Smartsheet

Bellevue-based Smartsheet appointed Alissa Abdullah its board of directors. Abdullah currently serves as deputy chief security officer at Mastercard. Prior to Mastercard, she served in several executive roles including vice president, chief information security officer at Xerox, chief information security officer at Stryker and deputy chief information officer for the White House during the Obama administration. Smartsheet is an enterprise platform for dynamic work.