The Winter 2025 Washington Advancement & Foundation Leaders (WAFL) Conference was held February 13–14, 2025.

Videos of the sessions livestreamed are available by clicking the word "WATCH" next to the session description of interest.   

LIVESTREAMED EVENTS:

DAY 1 | Thursday, February 13, 2025 — at Pacific Tower

9–9:15 - Welcome and Land Acknowledgement - Kerry Howell, VC of Advancement, Seattle Colleges; CEO, Seattle Colleges Foundation; Steve Hill, Chair, Seattle Colleges Foundation - Panorama Rm. WATCH

9:15–9:45 - Icebreaker Introductions - Whitney Keyes, Exec. Dir., Corporate and Foundation Relations, Seattle Colleges Foundation: Emma Lacalli, Assoc. Dir., Comms and Alumni Relations, Seattle Colleges Foundation, Panorama Rm. WATCH

9:45–10:45 - Alumni Relations: Insights on Alumni Engagement - Paul Rucker, Vice President, Alumni and Stakeholder Engagement, University of Washington; Executive Director, UW Alumni Association; Tom Bull, Executive Director, Edmonds College Foundation; Paul Rucker and Tom Bull discuss how to establish or strengthen your alumni relations function, best practices, and pitfalls to avoid. The session includes a Q&A., Panorama Rm. WATCH

11 am–Noon - Scholarship Administration and Affirmative Action - Victoria Bejarano Muirhead, Attorney, Stoel Rives LLP. In this session, we will discuss legal considerations for administering scholarships in light of the Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which declared unlawful the use of race as “plus” in higher education admissions . We’ll also discuss guidance from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, Panorama Rm. WATCH 

1–2 - Data-Based Storytelling: Beyond the Infographic - Wing Yew Lum, CEO, storytellers.ai. Effectively engaging donors often requires appealing to both the heart (through stories) and the head (through data). But too often how we make our data-based case is too abstract or dull to truly make an impression. In this session, hear about exciting new approaches to data visualization from an industry expert, Panorama Rm. WATCH

2:15–3:30 Breakout Session 1a - Scholarships: Adapting Processes in the Wake of Affirmative Action Changes - Annabel Cholico Williams, Director of Scholarships, Seattle Colleges Foundation; Jasmine Meraz, Scholarship Program Manager, Seattle Colleges Foundation, Panorama Rm. WATCH

3:45–5 Breakout Sessions 2a - Scholarships: Adapting Processes in the Wake of Affirmative Action Changes - Annabel Cholico Williams, Director of Scholarships, Seattle Colleges Foundation; Jasmine Meraz, Scholarship Program Manager, Seattle Colleges Foundation, Panorama Rm. WATCH

5:30–8:30 - Evening Reception (featuring a panel discussion with Q&A) - Enjoy a networking reception with colleagues, CTC leaders and foundation board directors. This gathering includes a panel of CTC presidents who will address the fast-changing landscape, how CTCs can position themselves as excellent opportunities in these shifting times, and how institutions can partner more closely with their foundations to increase private support, Panorama Rm. WATCH

DAY 2 | Friday, February 14, 2025 — at Pacific Tower

9:00–9:15 Opening Remarks, Panorama Rm. WATCH

9:15–10 - Managing Your Financial Narrative - Nick Pennington, Executive Director of Finance and Administration, Seattle Colleges Foundation; Amy Michael, CFO Consultant Empowering your team to confidently respond to board inquiries about financials is essential for fostering trust. This session explores how your financial data reflects your organization’s values and offers strategies for leveraging KPIs and financial dashboards to shape and manage the narrative. We’ll dive into how KPIs and financial dashboards can be derived from financial data, providing insights on using key metrics to evaluate performance and drive informed decision-making, Panorama Rm. WATCH

10:15–11:15 Navigating This Moment as Builders of a More Equitable World - Sophia K. R. Agtarap, Equitable Communication Consultant - Amid growing anti-DEI and anti-Affirmative Action maneuvers that could take us off course, how do we move forward in solidarity? Hear from an equity leader about how to channel our energy into building what we want and know our communities and students need. We can radically imagine the world we know can exist when we focus our resources and allow our dreams to guide our actions, Panorama Rm.  WATCH

11:45a.m.–Noon - Conference Closing Remarks - Kerry Howell, VC of Advancement, Seattle Colleges; CEO, Seattle Colleges Foundation. WATCH

For more information about the Seattle Colleges Foundation, CLICK HERE.

For more information about the Seattle Colleges, CLICK HERE.