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UW Impact Awards

The UW Impact Awards recognize business, civic, and student leaders who are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in business and have made a substantial impact in growing businesses in underserved communities and accelerating students’ careers. This event draws more than 500 leaders in Washington’s corporate community, small business owners, civic leaders and the University of Washington.

Event Details
The 2023 UW Impact Awards have passed.

Proceeds from this event support the Center’s work in Central Washington. If you would like to support this work, you can make a donation below.

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2023 UW Impact Award Winners

Alumni of the Year Award

This award is presented to a UW alum whose investment of talent and treasure has significantly advanced the Center’s mission.

Congratulations to Tyler Price! Tyler is a proud 4th generation Husky, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the Foster School of Business in 2008. Before returning to his family’s apple growing, packing, and shipping business in 2018, he held various finance and strategy roles at Nike and Apple and received his MBA from Stanford University. Tyler now serves as the 4th generation CEO of Price Cold Storage & Packing Co in Yakima, WA. He would like to encourage everyone to eat more apples!

The UW Impact Awards will recognize Foster School of Business students and alumni, small business owners, and community and corporate leaders who have influenced the growth of diverse-owned businesses across Washington.

Accenture Student of the Year Award

This award is presented to an undergraduate who has demonstrated exceptional skills, leadership ability, and commitment to inclusion and diversity through work with the Center.

Hailing from Asia, she proudly calls Beijing her hometown and embarked on an educational journey through three countries – China, Canada, and the United States. Along the way, Maggie embraced various cultures and educational systems, igniting her passion for innovation and an unwavering drive for improvement. Participating in the Business Technology Consulting program and volunteering with CBDC on various events, she showcased her dedication to supporting minority- and women-owned businesses. She then served as the teaching assistant in the Business Technology Consulting Program

Board Fellow of the Year Award Winner

Olivia Garcia

This award is presented to an MBA student who has demonstrated exceptional skills, leadership ability, and commitment to inclusion and diversity through work with the Center.
Olivia completed her undergraduate studies in anthropology at USC and earned her MBA from Foster this past June. Starting in January 2024, Olivia will begin her consulting career with Bain, where she is eager to apply her analytical skills and passion for problem-solving to make a meaningful impact for clients. Beyond her professional pursuits, Olivia is deeply committed to giving back to the community. Olivia is currently working with the Project Girl Mentoring team and serves on the board of Pottery Northwest.

Corporate Partner of the Year Award

Costco WholesaleThis award is presented to a corporation whose investment of talent and treasure has significantly advanced the Center’s mission. Congratulations to Costco! Costco has given the CBDC an opportunity to expand its Business Certificate Program to enable more than 160 employees throughout Eastern Washington.

Costco is dedicated to bringing their members the best possible prices on quality brand-name merchandise. With hundreds of locations worldwide, Costco provides a wide selection of merchandise, including local products from Washington’s fruit industry. Since 2018, Costco has supported the Center’s Yakima Business Certificate Program, which more than 1,000 residents have completed across central and eastern Washington.

William D. Bradford Minority Business of the Year Award

Legends Casino HotelThis award recognizes an outstanding business owned by a person of color that has demonstrated leadership through its revenue growth, management quality, and investments in efforts to grow other businesses owned by people of color.

Congratulations to Legends Casino!

Legends Casino Hotel is owned and operated by the Yakama Nation. Yakama Legends Casino was founded 25 years ago. With 700 employees, Legends Casino Hotel is the 13th largest employer in Yakima county. Legends Casino Hotel is one of the founding partners of the UW Tribal Gaming and Hospitality Management Program. This program grows the skills of tribal members and employees moving into new to front-line management positions.

Accelerating Student Careers & Growing Businesses and Jobs

The Consulting & Business Development Center links Foster School resources with a racially and ethnically diverse business and nonprofit community to expand students’ skills, help small businesses grow, create and retain jobs, open educational opportunities for under-represented minority students, and stimulate innovative economic development research.

Each year, the Center enables 325 undergraduate and MBA students to provide consulting services and a dozen faculty to provide management education to 200+ small businesses and nonprofit organizations in Washington State.

National Leadership

The Center is leading the national Ascend network of entrepreneurial support organizations that is growing businesses owned by people of color. In 2020 the network supported more than 190 companies that grew revenue by more than $85 million. Over the next three years, Ascend will grow 500 more multi-million dollar businesses owned by people of color. The Center’s M3 model improves Management skills, increasing access to Money (loans and investment) and growing Market opportunities. This work is building sustainable ecosystems to support growth of diverse businesses.
The Center is also the research partner for the Billion Dollar Roundtable, an association of 30 corporations that spend more than $1 billion annually with minority-, women-, LGBTQ-, disability-, and veteran-owned businesses.

Growing Business Skills in Central Washington

The Center has been improving the business skills of employees who work in agricultural, transportation, food & beverage, and other industries in Yakima and throughout Central Washington for nearly 25 years. Through both Business Basics and Advanced Business Certificate programs, more than 125 employees advance their careers each year and increase the competitiveness of businesses from Yakima to Wenatchee to the Tri-Cities.

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