Virtual Playground

Virtual Playground

VR social gaming launches in Bellevue

Brush up on your VR gaming skills so you don’t flail in front of an audience — though, that’s meant to be part of the fun…

The Museum of Flight’s New Exhibit Explores Life in Orbit | Sponsored

The Museum of Flight’s New Exhibit Explores Life in Orbit | Sponsored

The Museum of Flight’s New Exhibit Highlights the Wonder of Living in Space

The Museum of Flight’s immersive new exhibition, Home Beyond Earth, goes to the heart of living in a place somewhere between Earth and Moon. With a focus on space stations past, present and future, Home Beyond Earth visualizes our orbital dreams and accomplishments with large digital projections and more than 50 artifacts, models, space-flown objects and uniforms. To…

Downtown Seattle Gains Ground

Downtown Seattle Gains Ground

Foot traffic is on the rise

Downtown Seattle foot traffic continues to increase even though major retailers are increasingly moving out…

Erasing The Pay Gap

Erasing The Pay Gap

The essential connection between pay equity and DEIB best practices

Pay equity is a hot topic right now. For many employers, it’s a complicated and challenging issue to solve. Opportunity gaps and unclear decision-making are just a few issues employers across the region can face when tackling these complex topics. Compensation adjustments and sticking with proven diversity, equity and inclusion principles can help. The first…

Seattle Aquarium’s Ocean Pavilion To Open This Summer

Seattle Aquarium’s Ocean Pavilion To Open This Summer

The pavilion features 3,500 animals and plants, including sharks

Seattle Aquarium’s much-anticipated Ocean Pavilion opens Aug. 29. The pavilion is the first project to be completed as part of the city’s waterfront renovation…

Health Hub of the Future

Health Hub of the Future

The $1.3 billion Swedish First Hill expansion aims to evoke a sense of holistic care and a healing environment enhanced by natural light

Hospitals aren’t always the most inviting places. Never-ending corridors, sterile fluorescent lights, and a labyrinthine maze of rooms often create an environment that make patients and health care providers feel uneasy. It doesn’t have to be that way. And Swedish Health Services’ ambitious First Hill expansion project aims to prove it. After 10 years of…

Remembering Amazon’s First Prime Day: ‘Intimidating as Hell’

Remembering Amazon’s First Prime Day: ‘Intimidating as Hell’

Former Executive Creative Director Michael Boychuk recalls secrecy, pressure

Back in 2014, Michael Boychuk began his career as the executive creative director of Amazon’s in-house creative agency…

Proof of Washington’s Retail Muscle

Proof of Washington’s Retail Muscle

National Retail Federation ranking showcases an often-overlooked strength

A prominent business executive new to town once told me he loved shopping at Nordstrom’s. He was sheepish when he discovered that the upscale retailer’s headquarters are based in Seattle…

Costco Hikes Membership Fees

Costco Hikes Membership Fees

The company last raised the price in 2017

I love shopping at Costco. Sure, our household doesn’t always need 18 tubes of toothpaste at once, but that’s a small price to pay for the savings. Even just one purchase — a computer, for instance — can recoup a basic membership fee. Rumors have been swirling for years that the company would raise fees,…

A Medical Journey

A Medical Journey

Jody Elsom has spent a career designing health care facilities. She never expected to become a patient in one of them.

Jody Elsom never imagined she’d wind up a patient in a health care center she had designed. But there she was at the recently opened True Family Women’s Cancer Center on the Swedish Hospital First Hill campus shortly after an unexpected diagnosis for breast cancer. “It wasn’t what I expected, but it was actually an…

Lori Hill: The Seattleite

Lori Hill: The Seattleite

The commercial real estate veteran is upbeat about the future of Seattle

Lori Hill has seemingly worked at just about every job in commercial real estate. Last September, she pivoted to the leasing side at Clise Properties, where she serves as executive vice president. Her resume includes stops at Unico Properties as senior vice president of investment management, and as managing director of capital markets at JLL….

Jon Jones: The Mindful CEO

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

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…

Left to Her Own Device

Left to Her Own Device

Monica Plath couldn't find a suitable tracker for her young kids, so she invented her own

Monica Plath wants her two young children to be safe. She feels the same way about yours. Plath created Seattle-based Littlebird Connected Care after a concerning care experience for her child. The wearable tracking device, called the Littlebird Toddler Care- Tracker, is a wristband for kids that helps parents ensure that their children are safe….

Lots of Joy, People and Pie

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,…

The Fixer: Alicia Crank

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

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…

Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution

Revolution tops ‘Best Companies’ list by emphasizing teamwork and open communication

Revolution Custom/Civil Builders employees and their families very much anticipate the Issaquah-based builder’s annual company retreat to Chelan. Pizza is served on Friday night, followed by an elegant dinner the next day at a winery. Last year, one disappointed worker was unable to attend the company-paid bash. You’d never know it by looking at a…

Whale Wins

Whale Wins

A new study pinpoints massive economic impact

Most people look at Puget Sound and think of its natural beauty. They notice nearby islands, or Washington state’s fleet of 21 ferry vessels. Add whales to that mix. A study for the Pacific Whale Watch Association by Martin Associates finds that whale watching expeditions in Washington state create $119.1 million in economic value and…

Statshot: Maritime Punch

Statshot: Maritime Punch

A hub of innovation

Working waterfronts across Washington state boast significant economic benefits. The state maritime industry creates more than 174,000 direct and indirect jobs and $14.4 billion in labor income. A study commissioned by the Washington Maritime Federation found that the average annual salary for maritime-related jobs is $112,000, including benefits. The study notes that, while the majority…

Counterfeit Crackdown

Counterfeit Crackdown

Amazon bulks up fraud-fighting efforts as global scams increase

Amazon’s extensive efforts to fight fraud are paying off. The Seattle e-commerce giant says it stopped more than 700,000 “bad actor” attempts to create new selling accounts last year. Amazon’s recently released 2023 Brand Protection Report reveals that the company invested a staggering $1.2 billion into fighting fraud last year. Amazon has more than 15,000…

Every Body is Different

Every Body is Different

How to build awareness around body and size diversity

Conversations around body-size inclusion are becoming more prevalent in the workplace, allowing us all to examine both professional and personal biases that can be deeply embedded into our workplace culture. Learning genuine ways to discuss body size to establish inclusivity, increase representation internally and externally, and refrain from harmful practices can ensure that your organization’s…

Empowering Black Seattleites in Pursuit of Homeownership  

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

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

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…