2024 PROGRAM SPEAKERS

Dr. Steven McKinnon

Dr. Steven McKinnon is a professor at Renton Technical College (RTC). He has facilitated business classes at RTC for the past two years. Dr. McKinnon started his higher education career at Fayetteville Technical Community College as the Chair of the business department.

Preceding his higher education career, Dr. McKinnon spent fifteen plus years in the restaurant and hospitality industry. There he gained an extensive amount of hands-on leadership and management experience with roles in general management, district management, and regional training management.

Dr. McKinnon can often be found speaking at DECA Leadership Conferences, during WBW programs, and at the Black Male Summit at Highline College. He gets to live out his life-long dream lakeside in Kirkland, Washington. His interests are education (life-long learning), jazz, and learning to play chess.

Dr. McKinnon will be teaching Business 101, Teamwork, and Leadership at all of WBW’s programs.

Matt Hudgins

Matt Hudgins is an advertising strategist currently serving as Creative Strategy Lead at Zillow in Seattle, Washington. Previous brands and clients Matt has supported include BMW, Uber, HP, Kraft-Heinz, Expedia, Planet Fitness, Party City, and Liberty Mutual. Whether designing award-winning Super Bowl campaigns and Times Square takeovers or partnering with celebrities and influencers to launch new products, Matt is always looking for new ways to help brands more effectively and meaningfully connect with their customers. Matt studied Business and Communications at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA and is also a proud alum of Washington Business Week.

Matt will be the Opening Speaker at our virtual program.

Stacey Black and Ruth Kaneko from BECU

BECU is a credit union originally established to serve employees of The Boeing Company. BECU was founded as Fellowship Credit Union in 1935 by 18 Boeing employees, and was named Boeing Employees’ Credit Union for much of its history. Its headquarters are located in Tukwila, Washington.

Stacey Black – Stacey Black is a fierce advocate for financial literacy, and through financial education, she’s able to help people act on their finances and make a real impact on their lives. For over two decades, Stacey has frequently spoken on behalf of BECU’s financial education programs for adults, school-age children, teenagers, and college students. These programs cover topics such as budgeting, understanding credit, debt reduction, and more.

Ruth Kaneko – With over 12 years of experience in the financial industry, Ruth has a passion for bringing financial education topics to life. She graduated from the University of Washington with a major in Interdisciplinary Studies and a minor in Education. Helping others achieve their financial goals through bringing about intentional financial habits is the cornerstone of her work at BECU.


Ruth and Stacey will be holding a Financial Reality Fair at our virtual program.

Cynthia Seidel

Cynthia Seidel is an educational consultant and is the owner of On Course College Consulting. She supports students throughout their college planning process – from identifying majors and career interests to deciding which colleges to apply to and helping students develop strong applications. She works with students who are applying to colleges in the U.S. and internationally.

Cynthia will be the College Knowledge speaker at our virtual camp.

Aditya Sharma

Aditya Sharma is a distinguished Military Veteran and a Business expert and was awarded the Commission Award by the President of India. He has also won the International Outstanding Leadership Award at the CXO 2.0 Global Conference and will be a speaker and mentor at the Internet 2.0 Conference. He excelled as the Military’s Best Instructor and topped his batch in MS in Supply Chain Management at the University of Washington, earning the Dean’s Award. Currently employed as a Business Ops Manager at Zūm he is at the forefront of implementing Data and Technology driven Modernized Student transportation systems around the United States and is poised to bring about a transition in the bus fleet to all EVs. Aditya has been an Author and Reviewer at various International Research Journals and has had his contributions recognized for a supply chain analytics publication book. He also commits to sharing his knowledge through publishing research aimed at industry professionals and supports special needs children with tech education and career guidance. Aditya Sharma’s career is characterized by his drive for innovation, leadership excellence, and dedication to making a societal difference.

Aditya will be the Business breakout speaker at our virtual camp.

Fred Foose

Fred is currently the Marketing Director of True World Foods. He has over 40 years of retail and wholesale experience. During those years he has mentored and coached multiple people up through the ranks of corporate leadership. He is a proven leader with expert knowledge in all aspects of retail advertising, marketing, merchandising, operations, and sales.

Fred has been involved with Washington Business Week for the past three years and has enjoyed the role of CA, and Judge during our virtual programs. He also sits on Washington Business Week’s Board of Directors and serves as the Treasurer.

Fred will be the Advanced Business breakout speaker at our virtual camp.

Tony North

Tony is an IT, Cyber Security and HR Industry management leader. Through these areas he has provided sales, professional services, consulting & implementations, conference hosting (emcee), speaking, facilitating, and training/support for customers. As a great start to technology while in the United States Marine Corp, Tony became the first PC Software Trainer at SAFECO Insurance Home Office, later evolving to service and speak in 26 countries and 42 states. After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Operations and Supervision from the University of Phoenix in 2017, he was awarded a Life Time Member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Now living in Bothell with his three children, Tony helps youth in his community as a Speaker promoting volunteering for the YMCA and local school sports activities.

Tony will be speaking at our virtual camp and at University of Puget Sound.

Clark Roberts

Clark Roberts is the Executive Director and founder of Ultimate Vision. Ultimate Vision “Inspiring Others to See in New Ways” is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that teaches people of all ages that life does not stop when adversity occurs. It is not a matter of if, but when, life is going to happen. At age 24 Clark lost his sight to Retinitis Pigmentosa. He discovered that when life hits, you must learn how to embrace the challenge, find your potential and live life to its fullest! 

Clark is a subject matter expert who has dedicated his life to sharing a message of hope and encouragement. From CEOs in Corporate America to students ranging in age from Preschool – High School, Clark, accompanied by his guide dog, has shared with thousands of people, providing tools and knowledge to inspire and motivate them to see their life and their opportunities differently. He shows each person how to reach beyond their limitations inspiring them to live a life of significance, one with compassion, kindness, and confidence. Through this increased awareness each person learns how to overcome the challenges that life can bring, celebrate their differences, and live a life that is full and rewarding, inspiring others to do the same. Clark has recently added to his subject matter the importance of “Resilience” and “Adaptability”. 

Clark has a natural gift of humor, is married to his amazing wife Karrie, who he met on a blind date, and 2 adult children. His son Jacob is married and has a 1½ year old daughter which makes Clark an enormously proud grandpa “Papa” and a daughter, Rebekah who has just graduated from college and is now taking her Masters. All of them love to mess with him regarding his sight loss but also embrace fun adventures alongside of him. Clark is also an author and enjoys story telling. He is an outdoor and sports enthusiast, who loves to downhill ski, tandem cycle, water ski, drive rally cars, swim, and hike in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Clark will be the Opening Speaker at our camps at Northwest University and at University of Puget Sound.

Kyle Kavas

Kyle Kavas is the President of UPLIFT Leadership—a nonprofit organization that empowers young people with career success education. Her key areas of focus include: youth leadership development, job readiness training, workforce development initiatives and economic equity. Kyle’s past work experience with Better Business Bureau, Oregon Public Broadcasting and Young Entrepreneurs Business Week ignited a love of working with students, emerging leaders, and changemakers.

Kyle is coming to speak at our camps at University of Puget Sound and Renton Technical College.

Anthony Covington

Anthony is a highly successful student service director who effectively partners with college staff and admin, community organizations, and industry representatives. He is committed to motivating and mentoring students and professionals in higher education.


Anthony is the College Knowledge Speaker at both of our camps at University of Puget Sound and Renton Technical College.

Jen Reed from Sound Credit Union

Jen Reed is the Vice President of Public Relations at Sound Credit Union.

Sound Credit Union operates as a financial cooperative. The Union provides financial solutions such as saving and checking accounts, loans, investment, credit and debit cards, insurance, ATMs, online banking, and other related services. Sound Credit Union serves communities in the State of Washington.


Jen will be holding a “Bite of Reality” session at our camps at the University of Puget Sound at Renton Technical College.

Steve Dobosz

Steve taught high school students for 30 years at North Thurston HS and River Ridge HS in Lacey, WA. He coached cross country, track, and soccer at these high schools for 45 years. His teams, both male and female, have earned 10 league high school championships and one 4th place finish at state. He has coached premier league teams to 5 state championships, 1 district championship, and 1 national championship.

Steve has participated as a Company Advisor and/or Chair at Washington Business Week’s in-school, day, and international programs. He sat as a member of the Board of Directors for 5 years.  


Steve is the Advanced Business Breakout Speaker at our camp at Renton Technical College.

REGISTRATION FOR 2024 IS NOW OPEN

WBW will have in-person and virtual camps in 2024!

I learned so much about teamwork, leadership, and professionalism. Washington Business Week was my first time in a leadership position (as the CEO of the company). I learned what it meant to lead a team. At University of Washington, we have team projects in every class. Everything I learned directly applies to what I do now.

– Emmeline Vu, WBW alumna and University of Washington Student