Chris S. Nishiwaki

Most Influential, Equity: Matt Chan

Most Influential, Equity: Matt Chan

Activist, entrepreneur

Matt Chan has been a provocateur much of his life, from his childhood in Portland, to his time as a student at the University of Oregon, and throughout a successful career in television production. “The main mistake people make about storytelling is to want to tell their story,” Chan says of his communications strategy. “A successful storyteller targets the audience.”

Seattle’s Guide to New Year’s Eve

Seattle’s Guide to New Year’s Eve

A full slate of events to welcome 2024

The center of Seattle’s New Year’s Eve festivities is at the Seattle Center. More specifically, the T-Mobile New Year’s at the Needle. This year’s expanded 18-minute show will begin at 11:53 p.m. with a performance of 500 drones produced for the second year by Sky Elements. The fireworks show by Pyro Spectacular by Souza, recognized as “the largest structurally launched firework show in North America” according to a statement from the Space Needle, kicks off 2024 at the stroke of midnight.

Festive Seattle

Festive Seattle

Enjoy a sense of wonder and discovery this holiday season

For many arts organizations, holiday shows represent more than half of ticket sales for the entire season. And, as arts audiences come and go, so can the surrounding economy. Studies show that every dollar spent by patrons in the arts creates $3 of economic impact. The arts and entertainment options in and around Seattle are varied. Here are some recommendations.

Media: Tom Mara

Media: Tom Mara

Retirement didn’t last long for the Seattle radio legend

Tom Mara is one of Seattle’s 25 most influential people reshaping our region. #mostinfluential   Media and entertainment executive Tom Mara vowed to retire when he left Seattle-based nonprofit radio station KEXP last June 30 after two stints, a name change and 34 years altogether. Retirement didn’t last long.  After months serving as a consultant to…

Food & Drink: Donna Moodie

Food & Drink: Donna Moodie

Restaurateur and activist Donna Moodie is all about community

Donna Moodie is one of Seattle’s 25 most influential people reshaping our region. #mostinfluential   “If music be the food of love, play on,” wrote William Shakespeare in “Twelfth Night.” At Donna Moodie’s intimate Capitol Hill restaurant, Marjorie, music, food and love collide to create an alchemy of community as organic as the ingredients Chef Cheyenne…

Food & Drink: David Nichols

Food & Drink: David Nichols

Restaurateur David Nichols once had a drinking problem. He now helps others who still do.

David Nichols is one of Seattle’s 25 most influential people reshaping our region. #mostinfluential   Chef and restaurateur David Nichols would like to share about the time he hit rock bottom. But he can’t remember it. He was blackout drunk, driving home after another arduous day and night of work and talking on the phone with…

Equity: Marc Dones

Equity: Marc Dones

Working tirelessly to end homelessness

Marc Dones is one of Seattle’s 25 most influential people reshaping our region. #mostinfluential   No task is too massive for King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) CEO Marc Dones.  The consummate consensus builder, the diplomatic Dones has worked toward finding a solution to Seattle’s homelessness problem with the difficult task of intergovernmental communication, coordinating federal,…

Most Influential, Equity: T’wina Nobles

Most Influential, Equity: T’wina Nobles

Community leader and lawmaker seeks to grow generational wealth in the African American community

T’wina Nobles is one of Seattle’s 25 most influential people reshaping our region. #mostinfluential   Growing up in and out of foster care and homelessness with a drug-addicted mother, T’wina Nobles became familiar with social services and community needs. Now, 41, the wife, mother of four, state senator and leader of two influential organizations — the…

Arts: Kate Becker

Arts: Kate Becker

Growing the region’s creative economy

Kate Becker is one of Seattle’s 25 most influential people reshaping our region. #mostinfluential   Kate Becker is equally at ease analyzing spreadsheets as she is reading sheet music. The King County Creative Economy and Recovery director has combined her passion for music and film with her business acumen to build a stronger cultural and financial…

Most Influential, Politics: Sam Cho

Most Influential, Politics: Sam Cho

Port official is already making his mark. He's just getting started

Sam Cho is one of Seattle’s 25 most influential people reshaping our region. #mostinfluential   When King County voters elected Sam Cho to the Seattle Port Commission at age 29, he became the youngest commissioner in the Port’s 111-year history. Now 32, he is poised to become the youngest and first ever commissioner of color selected…

Most Influential, Arts: Bernie Griffin

Most Influential, Arts: Bernie Griffin

The arts executive left Seattle several times. She couldn’t stay away.

Bernie Griffin is one of Seattle’s 25 most influential people reshaping our region. #mostinfluential   Every time 5th Avenue Theatre Managing Director Bernie Griffin pursued her professional ambitions around the country, she always returned to Seattle for an encore performance. The nonprofit arts executive will make one final curtain call at the end of the current…

Most Influential, Equity: Travonna Thompson-Wiley

Most Influential, Equity: Travonna Thompson-Wiley

Difficult childhood shapes activist's social justice focus

Travonna Thompson-Wiley is one of Seattle’s 25 most influential people reshaping our region. #mostinfluential   Family matters. It certainly does to Seattle activist Travonna Thompson-Wiley. She is the oldest of six on her mother’s side and one of 10 children on her father’s. Yet, she insists her family is much larger.  “I don’t define family as…

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