January/February 2024

Most Influential, Arts: Christina Scheppelmann

Most Influential, Arts: Christina Scheppelmann

General director, Seattle Opera

On November 22, 1981, a teenage Christina Scheppelmann saw Don Carlo in Hamburg, Germany. The five-act opera, which Scheppelmann called an “incredibly monumental, relevant piece of music,” displayed the life and conflicts of a fictional 16th-century European prince. From then on, she was in love. “(Opera) is incredibly emotional. It’s exciting,” she says. “If you…

Most Influential, Business: Marques Warren

Most Influential, Business: Marques Warren

Entrepreneur

The solution-minded Warren founded Cougar Mountain Financial, a lender specializing in loans to women and minority-owned businesses at airports. So far, he has financed restaurants at a food court at Los Angeles International Airport, and several retailers at San Francisco International Airport... Photo by Danielle Barnum

Most Influential, Education: Sheila Edwards Lange

Most Influential, Education: Sheila Edwards Lange

Educator

When Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange was appointed chancellor of the University of Washington Tacoma in the fall of 2021, she became the highest-ranking Black administrator in the UW system. Photo by Ryan Moriarty/UW Tacoma

Come Here Often?

Come Here Often?

The Seattle Book of Dates is a fun romp through the region

Eden Dawn and Ashod Simonian are married, but dating is very much on their minds...

Most Influential, Sports, Equity, Activism: Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe

Most Influential, Sports, Equity, Activism: Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe

Athletes, activists

Though Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird both retired last year, chances are you’ll hear from them more often than ever... Photo by Beau Grealy / Trunk Archive

Most Influential, Equity: Cynthia Brothers

Most Influential, Equity: Cynthia Brothers

Preservationist, activist

“I had been back in Seattle for a while,” says Brothers, who grew up in Seattle and went to graduate school at New York University. “There were a lot of changes happening fast. The tech boom, people getting pushed out, gentrification. It was something I didn’t like witnessing.” Photo by Tom Butcher

Most Influential, Hospitality: Keiji Tsukasaki

Most Influential, Hospitality: Keiji Tsukasaki

Chef, restaurateur

Volume in music is like seasoning food. Raise the volume too high and it warps the sound. Overseason the perfect bowl of crispy, warm, golden french fries with too much salt and you might as well be choking down a full salt shaker. The right balance of rhythm and harmony is akin to the balance

A Slice Above the Rest

A Slice Above the Rest

With grace and grit, Niles Peacock has worked his way to the top of the pizza world

“This has to be a joke.” That’s the first thing that passed through Niles Peacock’s head as he stood reading the results of the 2022 International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas... Photo by Steve Parent Photography

Most Influential, Arts: Anthony White

Most Influential, Arts: Anthony White

Artist, curator

White helped in the development and creation of the Lillian Miller Foundation Fellowship for Trans* and Indigiqueer Artists — a $10,000 unrestricted cash award offered for Washington state artists of all disciplines who self-identify as trans. “There was a lack of grants focused on trans and Indigiqueer artists,” White notes. “Offering this grant welcomes in

Most Influential, Sports: Beth Knox

Most Influential, Sports: Beth Knox

Seattle Sports Commission President, CEO

“I’m in this job because I love my community,” Knox says, “and I love creating celebration moments that bring the community together.” Photo by Jordan Somers/Converge Media

Most Influential, Health Care: Joel Bervell

Most Influential, Health Care: Joel Bervell

The medical mythbuster

“When (patients of color) go to the doctor’s office they are interacting with institutionalized issues, especially issues of race, ethnicity, and gender that impact their health care,” Bervell says. “A lot of the problems that are perpetuating bias are systems based. For me, empowering patients comes from education and awareness. That’s why I took to

Quiet Time

Quiet Time

Silent book clubs pop up across region

What began as a small group of friends in West Seattle has exploded across the Puget Sound region.