Seattle, WA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/09/2014 --The University of Washington Foster School of Business today announced the graduation of 29 participants of the Minority Business Executive Program. This innovative program was designed as part of strategic partnerships between the Foster School’s Executive Education and the Consulting & Business Development Center, the Northwest Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council (NW MTN MSDC), Boeing, Microsoft, and Zones to prepare minority and women-owned business leaders with the challenges of minority entrepreneurship today and in the future.

“The Minority Business Executive Program is an accelerated one-week intensive program that recruits minority and women-owned business leaders from all over the country who are continually improving themselves and we try to help prepare them to tackle current and future business challenges,” says Jennifer Lang, M.Ed., and Director of Executive Education at the UW Foster School of Business.

“This program has been running annually since 2008 and we just graduated 29 incredible participants who completed this program on June 20th. This brings our alumni total to 179 to date,” she adds.

Fernando Martinez, President and CEO of Northwest Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council (NW MTN MSDC) added; “At the Council, we excel at providing our MBEs with support services and insight into upcoming opportunities; what we can’t provide is executive-level training,” says Mr. Martinez.

“Through our partnership with UW and aid from our sponsors, we are able to provide our MBEs with a first-class executive education at one of the top ranked universities.”

The University of Washington is well-positioned to offer a program such as this due to its Consulting & Business Development Center. For 20 years, the Center has linked students, faculty, and staff from the UW Foster School of Business with a racially and ethnically diverse business and nonprofit community to expand students’ knowledge and skills, help small businesses grow, create and retain jobs, open educational opportunities for under-represented minority students, and stimulate innovative economic development research.

The University of Washington Foster School of Business and the NW MTN MSDC congratulates the following 15 of the 29 graduates of the Minority Business Executive Program Class of 2014:

Brian Arellanes, CEO, ITSource Technology, Inc.
Betta Beasley, CEO, Reveille Consulting
Voshte Demmert-Gustafson, President, Color Graphics Screenprint/Promotional Products
Sam Gollah, Planner, First United Engineering
Yul Hicks, President/CEO, Universal Medical Associates, Inc.
Sharilyn Hidalgo, President, H Studio Architecture + Drafting, P.C. *
Devin James, Founder/CEO, The Devin James Group *
Jill Nelson, Owner, INUS Group
Scott Paul, President, Premier Logitech
Juan Carlos Sanchez Soto, Import Manager, Grupo Ramos
Pita Siatan Cebujano, Finance Manager, Solutions Resource, LLC
Valerie Solorzano, Owner, Chick of All Trades, LLC
Valerie Stafford-Mallis, Business Development, Alternative Communication Services
Hien Tran, CEO/President of Anvil Builders Inc.
Michael Woods, CEO of Evolve Inc.

*The class of 2014 elected Devin S. James, Sr. as class president. Mr. James, is Founder/CEO of the Devin James Group, a Cause Marketing firm based in West Tennessee. Sharilyn Hidalgo, AIA, LEED AP BD+C and President of H Studio Architecture + Drafting, P.C. in Battle Ground, Washington; was elected as Vice President.

About the UW Foster School of Business Minority Business Executive Program
Executive Education and the Consulting & Business Development Center at the UW Foster School of Business created a strategic partnership with the Northwest Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council (NW MTN MSDC) to launch the Minority Business Executive (MBE) Program, which has been designed to increase the competitiveness of Minority Business Enterprises. The National Minority Supplier Development Council officially partnered with the Foster School to grow this program in 2013. To learn more about this program go to www.foster.washington.edu/mbep

For more than 30 years, NW MTN MSDC has been an advocate for minority businesses by working with corporations and public agencies that understand the importance of having a diverse supply base that reflects their customers, as well as today's global economy.