Women in Finance Event

To celebrate Women's History Month, we had a fantastic time celebrating our Women in Finance Event at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. We had nearly 50 women show up for a great food spread and excellent wine tasting that made for a great networking event.

A few thank you's...

Chelsea Burns did an amazing job setting this up on Seattle Finance Collective's end. Chelsea does outstanding work on the board of SFC as the Membership Committee Chair, a Principal at Escaladora Ventures, and advising and consulting at other investment firms focused on climate tech and impact investing.

Lynn Loacker helped sponsor this event as the Managing Director of Project W at Davis Wright Tremaine (website below). Project W offers a series of accelerator programs for female founders, organizes affinity groups for women professionals, and partners with like-minded organizations to help women scale great companies and elevate their careers.
https://lnkd.in/g6mrCSZ

🌎 Gillian Muessig, Anne F. Kennedy, and Karen Cone from Mastersfund were also sponsors of this event (website below). Mastersfund focuses on investments in women-led companies that make a positive impact, and they're doing very well!
https://masters.vc/about/

If you have any interest in joining Seattle Finance Collective, please contact us using the link below.
https://lnkd.in/gvhre4u3

2024 M&A Middle Market Outlook Panel Event

Sponsored by Perkins Coie and Cascadia Capital.

The 2024 M&A Middle Market Outlook panel event was a huge success! We had a great time discussing what to expect when it comes to M&A/middle market investment activity this year given what we’ve seen in the last couple years post COVID.

One of our biggest takeaways: 2024 has a lot of pent-up investment demand relative to last year. A lot of PE firms have an appetite to invest, especially with a lot of dry powder available. Valuations have been slipping and hindered deal making last year, so we can expect an increase in deal activity.

SFC Seattle Kraken Viewing Party

Fantastic happy hour outing! We hosted about 25 members and guests for a Seattle Kraken viewing party at Queen Anne Beerhall.
Additionally, 3 students from UW Bothell and their Finance Association faculty advisor were special guests. They were incredibly appreciative of the training, mentorship and opportunity to connect with SFC members. It was great to combine networking with our philanthropic and community impact mission.
Special thanks to Ces Espiritu Zane Carmean, CFA Jason Morrison for the pre event coaching session with the UW Bothell Finance Association!

SFC UW Foster, The Finance Society, and Women In Business Collaboration

SFC partnered with two student clubs at UW Foster, The Finance Society and Women in Business, to put on event last Thursday for MBA students, including a panel discussion on careers in investment finance followed by a networking happy hour. Our panel focused on the different types of investment finance careers and pathways, how to break into finance from non-traditional backgrounds, navigating the finance world as a woman, and how to our support our peers and colleagues through allyship. The event was well-attended, with at least 20 Foster MBA students joining (mostly women!), and about five other SFC members, in addition to our four SFC panelists – Alima Vanderholm, Ces Espiritu, Emily Powell, and Lu Yang. The MBA students asked great questions, and a few follow-up meetings between SFC members and MBA students have already been set up. The MBA students shared positive feedback with their club presidents (Allie Glans and Liz Townsend) about how valuable the candid discussion was. Ces and Emily have already discussed with Liz & Allie about repeating this event next Fall, and also about another partnership event with the two clubs in the Spring. We’re hoping to make this annual event, and look forward to getting even more SFC members engaged next year.
Thank you to Alima, Lu, Ces, and Emily for contributing to such an great event!

Seaplanes and Champagne Summer Soiree

SFC hosted an extraordinary Summer Soiree this year with a special treat of Seaplane tours to truly take networking to new heights! After enjoying amazing Seattle views, SFC members and guests spent the morning connecting over brunch and great music. It was a memorable way to end the summer on a high note!

Special thanks to the Advisory Board for hosting this event and Jason Morrison's band Harper Joy for playing great tunes during the event.

Mariners Game

Despite the consistent mediocrity of our beloved Seattle Mariners, the SFC team bore the cold and wind to witness the Mariner's triumph of the Texas Rangers 5-0 in mid-May. The night kicked off at the Columbia Bank terrace downtown where the members enjoyed drinks, pizza, and lawn games. Although we didn't watch much of the game, SFC members fostered new connections and rekindled old relationships. The night capped off with an after-party at Ryan Morrison's downtown apartment. 

Huge Shoutouts to Ryan Morrison, Tyler Hannon, and Mary Neuman for planning such a lovely event. This was the best attended SFC event since 2019!

Pedis and Pinot

We had a great event with all the gals of SFC! Pedis and pinot with some amazing connections. Great toes are the foundation to putting your best foot forward in business... right?

Thanks to everyone that came and thanks to Cindy Zu for organizing such a fun evening.

UW Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program

SFC hosted a finance workshop & two office hours for the UW Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Program (WEL), a certificate program designed as a jumping-off point for women who want to learn entrepreneurial skills, build a network and take the leap to owning their own business. Shoutout to Advisory Board Member Ces Espiritu for leading the charge! Dani Blanchard, Soren Peterson, Ryan Morrison, Ryan Flores, Josh Chao, and Mary Neuman had active and impactful roles for the WEL program.

Golf Nights at Jefferson

Consistency and cadence was a goal for us, so we hosted and kicked off monthly golf nights at Jefferson. SFC Members got warmed up for what looks like a long, very enjoyable upcoming golf season. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming information regarding spring-time golf events! And remember, you can always come hangout in an outdoor setting with food and drinks, hitting around is optional.

SFC Ski Weekend

Crystal Mountain is having its best season in 10 years, and SFC capitalized on the sunshine and blower-pow by hitting the slopes. Spearheaded by Andrew Summerville, Cindy Zu, and Ryan Morrison the team hosted guests at Crystal Condos and spent two days shredding the gnar, having meals together, and enjoying a healthy amount of apres and on-mountain beers! It was great to connect and bond with members in a unique setting. The nighttime festivities were full of spirits and games, highlighted by Ryan taking home hefty winnings from the poker game.

SFC Walk Around Greenlake

With stomachs full of donuts and coffee, new and old members of SFC strapped on their Skechers and Allbirds to trek around Greenlake. Dogs Tofu, Ziggy, Tank, and Bailey enthusiastically led the charge as the humans asked the age-old question - "What do you do for a living?"

Thank you to everyone who facilitated and participated in these events!