ABOUT US
Educating, Inspiring, and Impacting the Leaders of Tomorrow
Washington Business Week (WBW) provides a hands-on, experiential environment that educates, empowers, and inspires a diverse group of high school students to recognize and achieve their potential. Business leaders, educators, high school students, and community volunteers teach and inspire one another to be responsible employees, employers and community members.
Founded in 1976, through a partnership between The Association of Washington Business, the President of Central Washington University, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington Business Week’s model has been replicated in more than 25 states & countries and has educated more than 75,000 Washington Students.
WBW’s programs immerse students in dynamic simulations where they act as industry professionals, enhance communication skills, and tackle real-world challenges. With the guidance of a mentor from the business community, students gain a competitive edge in college preparation, workplace readiness, and overall life success.
Our programs are hosted in-school, where WBW takes over an entire school week for the Junior Class or during the summer as a week long summer camp.
Students, families, and volunteers have experienced the life-changing impact of Washington Business Week, citing our work as central to their lives and careers.
More about The Magic of Business Week
Learn more about how the week runs and hear directly from the students and business leaders who have benefited from the program in this video showcasing everthing Washington Business Week offers.
Mission
Washington Business Week provides a dynamic real-world, immersive business experience that builds confidence, sense of purpose, and leadership.
Vision
Washington Business Week unleashes passion for entrepreneurship and leadership, empowering business teams of tomorrow.
From our annual report…
For almost 50 years, we have delivered transformative learning experiences to emerging employees, entrepreneurs and executives. The impact is evident:
- A better prepared workforce: Job readiness, career pathways and work-based learning.
- Economic expansion: Financial literacy, college preparation, business acumen, creative ideation and entrepreneurship exposure.
- Youth character development and skill building: confidence, leadership, teamwork, problem solving, resiliency and more.
When we invest in business education for young people, everyone benefits. In the next 50 years, we are committed to continue prioritizing your children, your future team members and our collective prosperity.
We are excited to pursue this work with you. Read More »
Our Team
Meet the team
Our dedicated, hardworking, and creative staff members make our programs possible every single day.
Nick Quinlan
Executive Director
Nick is an alumnus of Washington Business Week offshoot Junior Achievement Business Week, attending every year of high school, it was his favorite part of the summer. He credits Business Week with giving him the foundations to succeed in his career. Prior to joining as WBW’s Executive Director, Nick was a passionate volunteer, serving as a Company Advisor and appointed Chair of the Week.
A graduate of Western Washington University’s College of Business and Economics, Nick’s professional experience includes marketing and engineering roles for Washington based Ethoseo and NYSE listed Twilio (formerly SendGrid). Previously, he served as Chief Operating Officer of the Certified B-Corp Major League Hacking, a company focused on providing experiential technical education to high school and college students. Nick also served on the board of Northwest Education Access a Washington non-profit supporting low-income young people in their education.
Nick lives in Seattle. He is always on the lookout for a loon and will passionately tell you about the birds he’s seen recently, or a new favorite read.
Aiyana Holloway
Operations Manager
Aiyana grew up in the Pacific Northwest lived on Vashon Island for the first 20 years of her life. She earned her associate degree in Psychology from Seattle College in 2018. She is now a senior at the University of Washington Tacoma and will be graduating with her bachelor’s degree in Communications in 2022. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the national parks near where she lives and playing with her dog.
Danielle Ina Urmaza
Marketing and Program Specialist
Dani comes from a small town in the Philippines, but she considers herself as a citizen of the world. She graduated with a degree in Business Management in 2014, and she has then started and managed small businesses throughout the span of her career.
In 2022, she joined Washington Business Week as a part-time dedicated assistant. A few months after, she joined the organization full-time as a Marketing and Program Specialist.
Outside of work, she enjoys language learning, cooking, traveling, and leading a healthy active lifestyle.
Noor Kaur
Program Assistant
Noor, born in India, relocated to the United States as an infant and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. After recently graduating from high school, Noor made the decision to take a gap year before heading to the East Coast for college.
In 2021, Noor became a student in the Telehealth program at WBW, honing her skills and gaining invaluable knowledge. A year later, she took on an intern role at the UW Tacoma Camp, further expanding her experience within the organization.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Noor indulges in a variety of passions during her leisure time – such as reading, shopping, traveling, and engaging in rheumatological research.
Meet the board
Washington Business Week is governed by a 100% volunteer Board of Directors. Many of our board members have experienced the life-changing nature of our programs either by participating as high school students and/or volunteering for the program as adults. They are passionate and committed to improving the lives of Washington State’s youth. Our board not only reflects the students we serve but the wide range of industries in Washington State.
Executive Committee
- Ian Farrell, B&G Foods
Board President - Denise Mitchell, PEMCO
Secretary - Michaela Wesselman, Lembeck Appraisal & Consulting
Treasurer - Alyssa Norwood, Starbucks
- Prithvi Addepalli, Optum
General Board Members
- Brittanya Bryant, Bryant & DeValle
- Fred Foose, True World Foods
- Jeff Kelly, AssetLab Marketing
- Jeff Mallula, Raymond James
- Jessica Eide Molenaar, Microsoft
- Raegan Berry, Boeing
- Steve Miranda, Gartner
- Thomas Gill, Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce
- Tracey Turcotte, Yellowstone Club
My enrollment in Washington Business Week allowed me to learn from proven leaders in the professional business world. Both programs have enhanced my skills as an effective communicator and quality producer through their competitive business formats. These experiences have proven my ability to achieve goals and meet deadlines while handling multiple priorities.
– Anthony Yun, WBW Participant, Intern, UW Operations & Supply Chain Management Student, Supplier Quality Intern, The Boeing Company
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statement
WBW is committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and connectedness. We recognize that we’re not all the same and that is our greatest strength. We are able to grow and learn better together with a diverse team of employees, volunteers, mentors, and students. Each of us contributes to inclusion – we all have a role to play.
WBW draws on the differences in who we are, what we’ve experienced, and how we think throughout Washington State and the world. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experience, knowledge, innovation, and self-expression shape our collective future and the next generation of leaders we are cultivating. Our culture is the result of our behaviors, our personal commitment, our curiosity, how we collaborate, and the ways that we courageously share our perspectives and encourage others to do the same.
We welcome and celebrate the unique contributions of culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs. Our inclusive culture inspires us to try new things, push boundaries, speak openly and be bold.