It’s 2020. Happy New Year everyone. Happy Lunar New Year too, as we kick off the “Year of the Metal Rat”. I recently read a New Year’s letter to all of the Washington Technology Industry Association’s board members from CEO, Michael Schutzler, and I started reflecting on the words and the context of the region and time we live together. We have an amazing opportunity in front of us to really be the leader of global change – by starting right here.

The year 2020 is the beginning of a whole new cycle, and thus, a year of new beginnings and renewals. This year is also said to be a lucky year of strength and prosperity for most folks as well. After all, it’s a new year and a new decade. We are at a crossroads of opportunity in so many ways in history and we truly have a chance to create a much better future for generations right now. 2020 is a great time to be alive.

The Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) has undergone significant change and growth under the leadership of current CEO, Michael Schutzler. I’ve had the opportunity to engage with WTIA and Michael Schutzler regularly (that means at least weekly, many times daily) since September of 2018. And at first, I was really hesitant about WTIA. When I first heard about WTIA back in 2011 and 2012 (during my prime management consulting years from KPMG to Logic20/20), the events that they hosted were large tech events. Back then, I didn’t quite get what WTIA was, what it did, and why it existed. I knew that members received discounts at certain events. In my role as Chair of the Cascadia Blockchain Council, powered by WTIA, I’ve seen and experienced firsthand what WTIA means.

WTIA is the technology sector’s “Power of We” for the community. And we should be proud of all that’s been accomplished to date through the Power of We.  Today, in 2020, our western society is concerned and fascinated with stories of startups and entrepreneurs, mergers, acquisitions and IPOs, technology versus regulation, the future of work, and inclusive diversity. This is where WTIA is truly walking the talk and is a shining example of what the power of over a thousand technology companies in the region coming together can achieve. Together. In Michael’s New Year’s letter, he highlighted the 151 diverse people that are working together to build an amazing tech sector in a thriving community. From the words of Michael:

• 48 full-time employees & 5 part-time employees.
• 56 volunteer board members in six legal entities under the WTIA umbrella.
• 42 volunteer steering committee members serving tech policy, startups, and blockchain.
• WTIA staff is 61% women and 25% people of color with deep subject matter expertise in financial services, workforce development, customer service, event planning, and a common core of entrepreneurial spirit.
• WTIA boards and committees are 44% women and 20% people of color with an astounding breadth of expertise in every functional discipline from HR to public policy to engineering in dozens of industry segments from real estate to software to retail.

The Power of We really comes through when you look at the fact that there are over a thousand member companies that collectively employ 200,000 people. That group can do so much work together to amplify the work that’s already been done to date over the years:

• More than 500 small companies get affordable healthcare, 401(k), and/or business insurance thanks to our work. This means 15,000+ people are empowered to build great products and strong families. 
• 90 highly diverse volunteers from tech, government, non-profits, labor unions, and educational institutions have invested more than 5,000 hours to help us develop a new methodology to help teams solve highly complex problems.
• More than 700 people have been lifted from subsistence level, dead-end jobs into high-wage careers through a tech apprenticeship created from whole cloth.

That’s only 500 companies out of the thousands of tech companies in our state. That’s only 90 volunteers from hundreds of thousands of people in our community.  That’s only 700 people so far that we have helped transition into tech careers that on average lifts salaries at least $50,000 per year.

Michael and Heather Redman (WTIA Board Chair) said it best in a recent podcast interview we did with them on Windshield Time: the technology industry is now finally mature after going strong for six decades (Link to podcast, excerpt starts at 19 minutes). The time is now for the technology industry and sector to step into the shoes of maturity and reach outwards into the community and beyond. It should now be expected that a tech company has a government affairs manager and a community liaison. There is so much that can be done when the collective energy and power of 200,000 people come together to serve our communities and truly help solve society’s biggest challenges.

In this year of new beginnings, I’d love to see more councils, working-groups, public-private partnerships, and beyond happen using the Power of We and WTIA. In the Pacific Northwest, we have a leg up on many other regions, because this region 1) is the cloud and platform capital of the world, 2) has the best engineering talent, 3) has a history of entrepreneurs creating and/or growing great companies like Starbucks, Boeing, Offer-Up, Microsoft, and Amazon, Nordstrom, REI, Costco, Weyerhaeuser, Tommy Bahama, Nintendo, and Alaska Airlines to name several, 4) sits shoulder-to-shoulder with many other important sectors like Agriculture, Manufacturing, and Services, and 5) enjoys the beautiful natural resources of mountains, lakes, oceans, and its trees. This region is also home to humble ancestry with Native Americans and also early Norwegian settlers, which gives it the signature Pacific Northwest wholesome charm. Let’s all of us, no matter where we sit, put our palms up and our hands out to work together to make this region the best place to work and the best place to live in the world.

Join the Power of We today.

–Arry
Chair, Cascadia Blockchain Council