Bellevue Chamber, UW-Bothell celebrate first class of Eastside miniMBA graduates

Congratulations to our first cohort of Eastside miniMBA graduates! Forty-one local business professionals completed their “miniMBA” crash course this week, all thanks to a collaboration between the University of Washington - Bothell and the Bellevue Chamber.

Valedictorians Megan Adams (Village Theater) and Jessica Nichols (Symetra) gave remarks after the student team presentations, followed up with a few words from the Chamber’s own Joe Fain.

The presentations – which covered topics such across the business industry – were as follows:

  • Gender Equity, sponsored by Gavriella Schuster
  • Visit Bellevue, sponsored by Brad Jones
  • Racial Equity, sponsored by Dr. Sandeep Krishnamurthy
  • Affordable Housing, sponsored by Abigail Pearl DeWeese
  • Woodinville Wine Country, sponsored by Adam Acampora
  • Gig Economy, sponsored by Lisa Hufford
  • Financial Health of our Youth, sponsored by Dustin Goss
  • Software as a Service, sponsored by Feyzi Fatehi
  • Creativity in the Workforce, sponsored by Dr. Pronita Mehrotra
  • Building Entrepreneurship Capacity in the Community, sponsored by Aseem Datar and Shashi Koteshwara

The program was so successful that a second cohort will be invited to participate this fall. Learn more about what makes a good miniMBA candidate and nominate a colleague here.

“We have demonstrated that community challenges are not one to walk away from or ignore, but rather embrace and approach with empathy, collaboration, data and determination. Collectively, we have shown that challenges are opportunities to make a difference.”


- miniMBA Valedictorian, Megan Adams