Seattle Growth Podcast

Seattle Growth Podcast returns for a special episode with West Seattle's Ben Weagraff. Ben and Jeff discuss the crisis of addiction facing Seattle. Then the tables turn as Jeff answers the questions sharing why he directed a new film: What It Takes. What It Takes is a documentary about recovery, redemption, and people finding the will to change. Ben and Jeff discuss what the audience can learn fro...

King County Executive Dow Constantine discusses navigating the pandemic and the future of King County. Julia Nagele, Principal and Director of Design for the architecture studio at Hewitt, discusses the urbanization of Seattle and how the pandemic economy has affected her business.

Brian Robinson and Dale Kutzera close out this season. Robinson is on the Seattle Center Advisory Commission and well know for his efforts to have NBA basketball in Seattle. Dale Kutzera is the author of The Death of Seattle: How A Great Town Became a Lousy City.

Today’s episode features Mari Horita, Seattle Kraken’s VP of Community Engagement and Social Impact, who discusses how the pandemic has impacted her community work. Her interview gives insight into adapting the evolving needs. The episode also features Ben Petter, President of Avara Construction. His interview gives insight into the construction business and what we can expect for the future of Se...

NBA champion and former GM & CEO of the Seattle Supersonics, Wally Walker. Walker gives an update on his quest to bring an NBA franchise to a SODO arena and shares his perspective on whether the pandemic makes it more or less likely that Seattle gets an NBA franchise. You will also hear from longtime Seattle Growth Podcast listener and Seattle Supersonics super fan, Josh Shea. Shea shares the chan...

Stories from two industries hit hard by the pandemic: retail and restaurants. Interviews with Lisa Bridge, the president and CEO of Ben Bridge Jeweler, and restaurateur Bernie Garcia, the president of Moctezuma’s Restaurants. The interviews give lessons of resilience and offer distinct perspectives on the changes in Seattle

UW Foster professor Jeff Shulman interviews the entrepreneur Dhruv Agarwal and former Lt. Governor candidate Ann Davison. The interviews give insight into different ways the people and businesses of Seattle are adapting to the pandemic.

UW Foster professor Jeff Shulman interviews the executive director of the SODO Business Improvement Area, Erin Goodman. SODO is home to Starbucks headquarters, many industrial companies, and an active port. The episode also features an interview with musician Marco Antonio de Carvalho. The interviews give insight into different ways the people and businesses of Seattle are adapting to the pandemic...

UW Foster professor Jeff Shulman interviews UW Husky Football Hall of Fame Running Back Greg Lewis who is the executive director of the Meredith Mathews East Madison YMCA. The episode also features an interview with musician Tekla Waterfield. The interviews give insight into how non-profits and musicians are navigating the pandemic.

UW Foster School of Business professor Jeff Shulman interviews the president/CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association, Jon Scholes, and a long-time Central District entrepreneur and advocate Jesdarnel “Squirt” Henton. Scholes and Henton share how they are navigating the changes in Seattle and their outlook for the future of the city.

UW Foster School of Business professor Jeff Shulman interviews Pete Nordstrom and noted musician Robbie Hill to learn how they are navigating the changes in Seattle and their outlook for the future of the city.

UW Foster School of Business professor Jeff Shulman interviews the managing partner at Din Tai Fung Restaurants and the co-founder of the Weaver Byrne Group to learn how they are navigating the changes in Seattle and their outlook for the future of the city.

On today's episode: Zan Fiskum, a Seattle singer-songwriter who burst onto the national music scene as a finalist on the recent season of The Voice. Alec Shaw, an emerging artist in Seattle's music community. Both talk about Seattle's music scene, adapting to COVID-19, and their upcoming performance in the St. Jude Songwriters Showcase.

Today’s extra episode of Seattle Growth Podcast features an interview with a small business owner, an artist, and someone who wants to see a positive shared future for the people of Seattle as the city transforms. The episode tells a story of a community-led effort to make the Rainier Farmer Market a desirable place to visit and buy fresh produce. Gavin Amos, associate strategic coordinator for th...

Today’s extra episode of Seattle Growth Podcast features an interview with Husky Basketball legend Donald Watts. Watts, owner and player development specialist at Watts Basketball, contributes to this season’s theme of finding community in a dynamic city. Watts shares the work being done to foster a community of children and parents who are interested in basketball as a means to build life skills....

Vivian Hua, Executive Director of the Northwest Film Forum, shares the work she is doing to build community in the dynamic city of Seattle. She shares insights for other arts & culture leaders and previous some exciting events available to filmmakers and film lovers alike.

Jeff Shulman continues his look at finding community in a dynamic city. In today’s episode, UW football Hall of Famer Greg Lewis shares his community work at the Meredith Mathews YMCA, where he serves as executive director. Lewis was the first Doak Walker Award winner for the nation’s top running back in college football and was an important piece of the Rose Bowl winning Husky team. Lewis shares...

Seattle has an abundance of professional opportunities. Today’s episode shares stories from communities being formed to facilitate connections among professionals who are willing to support and help one another. With an increasing number of innovative products being developed in Seattle, there are opportunities for Foster graduates and others to lead the development of products as product managers...

State Representative Eric Pettigrew and Orlando Morales of 5th Avenue Theatre discuss their efforts to nurture community, empower youth, and empower underserved communities to play a role in building a shared future. The interviews give insight that businesses and non-profits can utilize as they seek to give back and cultivate relationships with previously underserved communities.

Laura Elfline shares how a community of home builders is coming together to share information about sustainable building practices. Elfline, co-owner of Mighty House Construction and Mighty Energy Solutions, discusses her work with the NW EcoBuilding Guild. The interview some lessons about how to bring together a community and the benefits of doing so. Elfline also offers some interesting facts ab...

Today’s episode may be the first Seattle Growth Podcast episode that can save your life. Cindi Barker talks about the Seattle Emergency Hubs. She’s not only bringing Seattleites together, she is preparing them for when disaster strikes. In this interview, you will learn the surprising amount of time you should be prepared to survive in case of an emergency and how you can find the people who can h...

Today’s episode features an interview with a nationally touring comedian who has appeared on Late Night TV many times and had his own special on Comedy Central. Shane Mauss was in town for his Stand Up Science show and sat down for an interview in which he offers an outsider’s impressions of Seattle. He shares his views on how the business of comedy has changed over the years and offers advice on...

Today’s episode features John Barr, founder of NHLtoSeattle. Barr shares the story of how his love of hockey evolved from a hobby newsletter to an expansive online community on Facebook and Twitter, to a rich Seattle community that brings people together to watch hockey and advocate for Seattle to join the ranks of NHL cities. Barr discusses what motivates him to pour his effort into the community...

Season 6 of Seattle Growth Podcast focuses on finding community in a dynamic city. Each episode spotlights some of the interesting people in Seattle who are building community and bringing people together. You will hear from leaders in tech, comedy, music, art, dance, and emergency preparation. Today’s episode features Nathan Vass, an artist, filmmaker, photographer, and author by day, and a Metro...

Continue the exploration of finding community in a dynamic city. Today’s episode features Farah Abdallah, a lead product manager at eBay who co-founded Seattle’s chapter of Women in Product. Abdallah shares how she collaborated with Claire Fang of Facebook to bring together hundreds of women in Seattle who are building products for some of the world’s most innovative companies. The episode also fe...