Staff – Business Impact NW

Joe Sky-Tucker has over twenty years’ experience working in the nonprofit world in a variety of positions and organizations including direct experience working with at risk youth and families in crisis, fund development, and strategic planning. Currently he works as the Executive Director with Business Impact NW, an asset building/community lender that specializes in supporting small and microbusinesses; helping them to achieve financial stability. He has also worked with “at-risk” youth in mental health settings including working with foster care youth, children in locked psychiatric settings, and group homes. Joe Sky-Tucker has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Washington. He lives in Seattle.

Danielle Moser is the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at Business Impact NW (BIN), and is responsible for the oversight and ensuring of proper operations of the organization. Prior, Danielle served within the Development & Communications Department as the Director of Development & Communications, responsible for fundraising, brand, and marketing. Danielle worked under contract with BIN beginning December, 2016 and was hired on as a full-time staff member as of April, 2017. Prior to joining BIN, Ms. Moser served as Development Officer for ArtsWest after serving on their Board of Directors, and as a high school English and History teacher before joining the nonprofit fundraising world. She brings a wide array of skills to her position derived from past experiences. Ms. Moser completed her Masters in Teaching degree from Seattle University, and her Bachelors Degree from Boston University.

Ashley Clark moved to Seattle from San Francisco, California in 2010 looking for a change of scenery and lifestyle. She studied English and Media Studies at the University of San Francisco and attended cosmetology school. It was during school that she began working at the front desk of a nearby salon and discovered a knack for small business management. She quickly progressed from receptionist to salon manager and has continued to develop her administrative career in a variety of industries. Other than salons, she has worked in insurance, private post-secondary education, accounting, and now the non-profit sector. She currently works as office manager and executive assistant for Business Impact NW and supports its mission to empower entrepreneurs from underserved communities.

Domonique’s bachelor’s degree in economics, entrepreneurship focused MBA, and her ten years of experience working within the small business community, produce a solid, balanced foundation of academic knowledge and practical experience. Domonique uses this knowledge and experience to assist veteran small businesses navigate the challenges posed when trying maintain bookkeeping, human resources, social media, marketing strategies, sales, and process improvement on a limited budget. Her strengths lie in tackling the complex problems small businesses face on a day-to-day basis. Growing businesses are her passion and she has helped businesses double the size of their staff, implement effective and aggressive marketing strategies, and win business plan competitions.

Susan Perreault, DBA is the Washington Women’s Business Center Program Director. Prior to joining BINW, Ms. Perreault earned a doctorate in business administration and spent the majority of her career as a serial entrepreneur and in senior management positions in the professional beauty industry. As a business owner, she understands how difficult it can be to start and run a business. Susan’s extensive business experience, interests, and academic training have prepared her to coach business owners in a broad range of areas including business administration, organizational leadership, entrepreneurship, operations management, distribution, marketing, sales, strategic management, and international business.
Ms. Perreault completed her Doctorate in Business Administration degree from University of Phoenix, and her Master of Business degree from Regis University. Susan’s doctoral dissertation, “Relationships between Leadership Styles and Organizational Success in Woman-owned and –led Small Businesses”, was a study of micro-enterprises in the service industries sector. A motivation for pursuing her doctorate was to assist others to achieve their business and entrepreneurial aspirations. In her role with Business Impact NW, Susan is honored to contribute to the success of the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Steve entered the Air Force right out of high school. During his time on active duty, he obtained his B.S. Degree in Workforce Education, Training and Development. After serving 8 years, Steve honorably separated from the military and began law school a short time later. While in law school, he did a legislative externship to assist homeless parents in Washington State and he was elected Student Bar Association Treasurer. Steve got his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law in 1999. Upon passing the bar, Steve went into partnership with a law school classmate and then ultimately went solo. After closing the firm, Steve went to work as a counselor for incarcerated youth. He subsequently worked for some tech companies in a role of recruitment and training.

Ms. Conaway graduated magna cum laude from the University of Arizona in 2001 with a B.A. in Political Science. She then attended law school at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia and received her J.D. in 2005. During law school Ms. Conaway served as a member of the Mercer Law Review and as a fund raising chair of Phi Alpha Delta. In her third year, Ms. Conaway’s comment, “Reversion Back to a State of Nature in the United States Southern Borderlands: A Look at Potential Causes of Action to Curb Vigilante Activity on the United States/Mexico Border,” was selected for publication. After law school, Ms. Conaway completing a two year clerkship with Judge Joseph Howard of the Arizona Court of Appeals.
Upon the completion of her clerkship in 2007, Ms. Conaway went into private practice at Burch & Cracchiolo, a preeminent Phoenix law firm. While in private practice, Ms. Conaway handled complex commercial litigation and appeals, on behalf of small businesses, large corporations, and corporate representatives. She not only assisted clients in navigating their immediate business disputes and challenges but also help them devise and implement practices, policies, and procedures to avoid future problems and drive revenue. For this work, she was recognized as a 2012, 2013, and 2014 Southwest Super Lawyers Rising Star. Ms. Conaway joined VBOC as a small business consultant in January 2015.

Darren is a Senior Business Consultant at Business Impact NW, focusing on personalized one-on-one coaching, and specializing in marketing, branding, social media, content editing/design, crowdfunding and creative pursuits. He has an MBA in Sustainable Entrepreneurship, an MS in Environmental Studies/Writing and has co-founded five businesses over the past ten years, including a freelance writing/photography business, two concert production companies, and a touring folk band.

He currently plays in and co-manages the folk duo/band, March to May, a nationally-touring, modern folk group based in Seattle. They have opened for larger touring acts such as The von Trapps, Robert Wynia, and Jenn Grinels, filling well-known local venues such as The Triple Door, the Crocodile, and Columbia City Theater. He also currently founded and runs DRYFT, a concert production company in Seattle that produces intimate concerts in unique venues, with the core mission of supporting up-and-coming singer/songwriters and changing the paradigm of live music in the Pacific NW.

Henry Wong is a business consultant at Business Impact NW where he helps support clients in the conceptual and early-growth stages of their business planning through one-on-one coaching and trainings. He is also the Office of Labor Standards project manager where he focuses on educating and training small business owners on complying with Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards (OLS) ordinances through outreach, one-on-one counseling, resource development, and trainings, while also seeking to understand the impacts of those ordinances on the communities that Business Impact NW serves. Prior to joining the Business Impact NW team, he spent 7 years working in the Strategy group at CarMax developing and implementing inventory and buying strategies. Following his time at CarMax, he spent 3 years running his own mobile food truck business and consulting other mobile food start-ups in Tennessee. After selling his food truck, he moved to Seattle where he worked briefly with a food delivery tech startup. He did contract work for some local nonprofit organizations, including Business Impact NW, before joining the organization full-time. Henry is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science in Systems and Information Engineering

Adra Waits is currently the Senior Technical Assistance Coordinator and Small Business Coach/Workshop Trainer at Business Impact NW. As her business, Adra Boo LLC, she has been performing in Washington State for 20 years, starting in local theater, moving into hosting, and recently in music. She was formerly half of indie-soul duo, Fly Moon Royalty, and is now performing as a featured artist with various local bands like The True Loves, Meanie Jaguar (Amos Miller), and Andrew Joslyn. She can also be found at many local cabaret, non-profits, performance venues and corporate events. Outside of that, Adra is also a performance coach for stage performers and she does consulting for both artists and various new entrepreneurs.

A proud U.S. Navy veteran as both enlisted and officer, professional speaker and mentor, and successful business owner, Shawn brings his wealth of experience and passion for mentoring and coaching to the Boots to Business program and aspiring entrepreneurs. Shawn holds a BS in Business Administration from Central Washington University and a Masters in Management & Leadership from Western Governors University. His career path has emphasized consulting, teaching, and mentoring; early on as the owner/operator of a boutique financial advising firm which prioritized financial literacy, then as a public speaker and trainer on team-building and leadership development prior to joining the mission at Business Impact NW. Shawn is currently 2.5 projects behind at his home in Monroe while he is a volunteer at the SeaTac USO and father to a vivacious and talented teen daughter, volleyball player, and student leader.

Roland Chaiton is a Sr. VP/Loan Officer with Seattle Economic Development Fund (SEDF) dba Business Impact NW. He has over 22 years of financial services experience through two CDFI’s, Business Impact NW—Washington State’s 2nd largest CDFI and before that, Snohomish County Private Industry Council (SnoPIC)—WA State’s 3rd largest CDFI, at that time. In 2011, Roland was selected by SBA as their Financial Services Champion for WA State and for SBA’s Region 10 (WA, OR, ID, AK). Besides doing Small Business and SBA7a lending, Roland has done successful grant writing for both SEDF and SnoPIC. He has also been instrumental in helping numerous SEDF clients achieve award winning results through the financial packages and counsel he has provided to them. Awards winners have included (but are not limited to) the Seattle Mayor’s best small business of the year award-2004 (two clients); King County Executive’s Best Green/Sustainable Business of the Year-2011; SBA’s Best Small Business Owner of the Year for WA-2013, and as a National finalist for SBA-2014.

Freweini Tesfai is currently the Loan Documentation Specialist at Business Impact NW. Her responsibilities include processing loan documents and monitoring loan files. Additional duties include preparing payoff statements, releasing collateral and processing paid in full loans. Prior to joining BIN, Freweini worked in the financial services industry for 6 years, both in retail banking and back office. She worked at Chase as teller and Assistant Manager Trainee and as Operation Specialist at Washington Federal bank. Freweini attended Eastern Washington University and received her Business Administration degree in Finance.

Christopher Stone is Loan Portfolio Manager and IT Manager at Business Impact NW. Before joining in mid-2014, his career was primarily spent in the education and non-profit fields. In addition to work with universities, school districts, preschool language programs, and the American Red Cross, he has worked with tech startups in Seattle and other technology companies. Passionate about Business Impact NW’s mission to combine financial empowerment with business education, Christopher also uses his experience as a former Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Georgia to work with BIN’s diverse client base. Originally from the Midwest, Christopher moved to the Seattle area in 2009 and has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in linguistics from Truman State University in Missouri.

Tui Landa has a Masters in Business Education and has been servicing loans since 1986. Having worked at banks such as Bank of America and BECU, Tui is well-versed in consumer lending, commercials loans, loan documentation, SBA audits and credit review. Tui started working part-time for Business Impact NW in 2017, and current reviews the risk rating of all portfolios and reviews all current SBA loans, in addition to being a loan officer for new clients. Born in Thailand, Tui came to the US in 1971 and is proud have a husband, two daughters, three grandchildren and three dogs. She also plans to retire again soon.

Chloe Tang is currently the Client Relationship Manger at the Seattle Economic Development Fund dba Business Impact NW. Her responsibilities include meeting with clients to evaluate their financing needs, underwriting their credit worthiness, and helping businesses thrive after the loan has closed. She is also involved in marketing and business outreach and can be found at many corporate, non-profit, and other local events. A Seattle native, Ms. Tang obtained her BA in Political Science with a focus in Political Economy from the University of Washington. She is also certified to teach English as a second language in the U.S. and abroad. Being fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin, she taught American students Chinese and international students English. She worked as a Media and Marketing Specialist at a gender equity center in Seattle before becoming a researcher at the Social Development Research Group at the University of Washington. She subsequently worked in refunds and exams at the IRS and in-patient consultation at Northwest Hospital – UW Medicine. She enjoys learning about new health and fitness methods, traveling, cultural exchanges, and trying new things.

Alyssa Pizarro is the Corporate Giving Officer at Business Impact NW (BIN), and is responsible for corporate relationships. Prior to joining BIN, Alyssa served as the Corporate Partnership and Donor Engagement Specialist, and the Development Coordinator at Yoga Behind Bars. Her career began as a 10-year fashion sales manager and director in New York before moving to Seattle in 2013. Alyssa is able to combine her belief in social justice, community and corporate experience to culminate into her current life at BIN. She completed one year of her MBA at Northeastern University, and has a Bachelor’s degree from State University of New York at Albany.

As Business Impact NW’s Communications & Outreach Officer, Megan implements a robust communications plan for our social media, newsletter and blog, incorporating a dynamic digital marketing strategy to increase awareness about our programs and services. Megan holds a BA in English with an emphasis in creative writing from the University of Montana and is a candidate for Seattle University’s Arts Leadership MFA Program. Before joining Business Impact NW, Megan was an Account Lead at the boutique PR firm, Darby Communications in Asheville, NC and the former Development Associate at NW Documentary, a nonprofit dedicated to the art of nonfiction storytelling in Portland, OR.

Ying Zhou is the Controller for Seattle Economic Development Fund dba Business Impact NW. Ms. Ying comes to this position after completing her MBA degree at the University of Bridgeport. While there, she worked 3 years as the budget analysis assistant in the finance department of University of Bridgeport. She also volunteered as tax preparer for international students and US residents in University of Bridgeport and United Way of King County 5+ years. She is also currently helping in her family’s business management.

Mari holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and over 12 years of expertise in finance with business and industry companies in her home country. Her last position was senior accountant and her prior experience includes computing taxes, budget and financial forecasts, conducting year-end close processes and calculating the cost of goods. Mari completed a professional ACCA accounting course in 2016 to further develop her career. She moved to the United States in 2017 and was hired as an accountant, then joined Business impact NW in 2018 as our new Staff Accountant.

Business Impact NW Staff

Administration

Joe Sky-Tucker, MSW

Danielle Moser

Ashley Clark

Technical Assistance

Domonique Juleon

Susan Perreault, DBA

Steve Watts-Oelrich

Jessica Conaway

Darren Guyaz

Henry Wong

Adra Waits

Shawn Palmer

Lending

Roland Chaiton

Freweini Tesfai

Christopher Stone

Tui Landa

Chloe Tang

Development & Communications

Alyssa Pizarro

Megan Torgerson

Accounting

Ying Frisch

Mari Bahmani