2019 – Professional Development Center News

November 25, 2019uwtpdc

UW Tacoma Black Belt graduate receives Governor’s Leadership in Management Award

A graduate of the University of Washington Tacoma’s Lean Six Sigma: Black Belt program was presented the Governor’s Leadership in Management Award in a ceremony recently.

Lisa Heaton, who attended the UW Tacoma Professional Development Center program in 2018, led a program team that “recovered almost $16 million for Washington consumers” as a result of complaints filed with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Her Black Belt project streamlined processes to improve information flow for executive decision-making. She and her team “use performance metrics to measure improvement,” according to a citation listed on the Washington governor’s website. The award “recognizes managers in state government who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through performance results in the previous year.”

Heaton currently serves as the Consumer Advocacy Program Manager within the Consumer Protection Division at the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Doing that work, she oversees a program responsible for protecting and advising insurance consumers in Washington state.

“It’s a lot of work because we always have to be up on the new laws and regulations in our state, also with what’s happening on the federal level – that’s a fast moving train,” said Heaton.

While Heaton is quick to credit her staff for the impressive results that earned the award, it is easy to see the impact her Lean Six Sigma initiatives have had on the office.

“When I started here, I felt as program manager it was really helpful to be able to identify changes in our processes, to better inform our deputies and commissioners,” said Heaton.

“That’s why I wanted to take the Black Belt. It helps me as a program manager better understand how to actively involve our subject matter experts to identify problems and develop processes that work best for our customers and employees within state government,” she said.

In the program’s offices, Heaton encourages her staff to use a shared idea board – a practice she said helps problems get solved more effectively. This is another Lean Six Sigma approach, and while Heaton’s staff isn’t pulling Andon Cords on an assembly line, they are empowered with the responsibility to call attention to identify problems as they arise.

“Setting up new implementation processes, you have to understand how mapping works and how to involve the subject matter experts who are actually doing the work,” she said. “They can really point out how a process should work because they’re aware of any gaps.”

Heaton said she is happy with her decision to pursue a Black Belt at the UW Tacoma PDC.

“I would recommend this kind of training for any manager,” she said.

Before she attended the Black Belt program, Heaton had a journey through education, and Latin America, to get here. Heaton grew up in Panama, completed a master’s degree in Chile and moved to Bolivia before earning her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

She had planned to return to Bolivia to work in international development, but her focus changed when she moved to Washington with her husband and took a job in state government. In this new context, process improvement caught her attention.

“I’m at heart more of a social science researcher, so everything I look at is like a social science experiment,” she said. “I like to see how people and organizational culture changes.”

“I was in Chile when they were instituting national education reform,” she said. “So everything I’ve learned from organizational culture and transformation of a workplace, I’ve seen happen on large scales, as well.”

She also experienced major changes in higher education while working for a university in Bolivia. Seeing how theories are used to bring about practical change is part of what drew Heaton to the Black Belt program at UW Tacoma.

“I soaked up all the information [instructor Wendy Fraser] provided in her articles. You have to start with a concept or a theory to get to practical action,” said Heaton.

Heaton has been using Lean Six Sigma since around 2015, when she took a Green Belt equivalent program through the state’s Department of Enterprise Services. She especially enjoyed the Black Belt program, she said.

“I did the course on Fridays. I was with mostly other people who were working in state government,” she said. “It was an ideal setting, having a small group, because we could really talk about our experiences and talk through some of the challenges.”

Beyond just the content, Heaton said the instructor’s innovative style of leading the program added value to her experience.

“I thought it was a well thought out course that Wendy designed,” said Heaton. “She clearly has a broad depth of experience, which I think is important for students who are practitioners.”

“I’ve been in courses where it’s lecture formatted – with her it was much more experiential and driven by a really well selected curation of articles by topic,” she said.

In some instances, Heaton was able to immediately apply what she learned in class to her work.

“We worked on real projects in class,” she said. “I selected a project that would help us better escalate consumer complaints to make sure they were addressed more quickly and to streamline and map out processes when we send them to enforcement.”

“It was definitely useful,” said Heaton. “I would recommend this kind of training for any manager.”

Even though she has graduated, future PDC students may find themselves sitting next to Heaton in another classroom someday.

“No matter where you are in life, you don’t stop learning,” said Heaton. “I have to constantly be taking courses and stay up-to-date on things.”

UW Tacoma’s Lean Six Sigma: Black Belt class is offered at locations ranging from Lacey to Everett. The program, which meets weekdays and weekday evenings depending on the location, is designed for experienced Lean Six Sigma practitioners who wish to develop critical skills for leadership in government, manufacturing, service and any professional field that involves processes.

“I would highly recommend it to anybody. It’s relevant, it’s up to date, it’s stuff that incorporates all the other approaches,” she said. “When I hear ‘it’s the flavor of the day,’ I don’t agree. I think it’s something everybody in government should be trained in.”

It’s about serving the public, your customer, better,” said Heaton. “That’s what we’re in the business of doing in state government.”

For more information about Lean Six Sigma programs at the UW Tacoma Professional Development Center, please visit our website.

September 18, 2019uwtpdc 2 Comments

Meet the Instructors: Ariel Klein, Mastering Beer Styles

[Meet the Instructors is a series intended to introduce you to one of the greatest resources the University of Washington Tacoma Professional Development Center has to offer: its diverse team of veteran, industry-tested professionals. The Center’s professional development programs are designed to be rewarding, challenging and cutting-edge. Our instructors play no small part in that, ensuring students are exposed to the most current industry trends while remaining well-versed in the tried-and-true best practices of their professions. We’re excited to share our instructors with you, and their stories are a great place to start.]

You’ve been a homebrewer and now a professional brewer – tell us about that journey. How did you decide to brew professionally?

My journey from homebrew to professional brewing happened surprisingly organically. I started homebrewing over well over a decade ago while in college, and the hobby grew from there. While living in Bristol, England, I became more and more fascinated with sensory analysis and began to be more involved in stewarding and judging homebrew competitions. Eventually, I was able to earn my BJCP judging certifications. By 2015, I had become more ensconced in the beer industry, and when a friend of mine, Richard Poole, was hired on as the Head Brewer for a brewery called Left Handed Giant, he asked if I’d like to help out. The choice seemed obvious, and I have not looked back since!

What is the biggest difference between brewing for fun and as a professional?

Of course the first thing that strikes every homebrewer who enters a brewery is the scale, the sheer size of everything, plus the complex equipment. I have a distinct recollection of my first day in a professional brewery, being told to weigh out 24kg of hops and being blown away at the sheer quantity! However, I would argue that the real difference is the stakes are much, much higher. In homebrewing, if you mess up some aspect of a batch, it’s certainly not fun, and is of course disappointing, but your livelihood is not on the line. In comparison, for nano and microbreweries, a ruined batch can mean the difference between a given brewery’s success or failure. As such, all good brewers develop a keen attention to detail, ensuring that you are creating the best product possible.

Are there any “homebrewer tricks” that you apply to your work now?

I don’t know that I would call it a “trick” per se, but I believe I’ve taken the “MacGyver” spirit that so many homebrewers have, and translated that to my professional life – I am more prone to creative problem solving (that may or may not work). I think this is one of the biggest differences between those who have spent time homebrewing and those who have not. When the wrong fitting was ordered or some other minor issue crops up, a creative solution can always be found!

Oppositely, what is some pro-brewing knowledge you think a good home brewer could take advantage of?

I think many homebrewers ignore their water. More and more research is constantly coming to the fore that demonstrates how essential our water treatment is! I know many homebrewers are starting to catch on to this, and are doing their own research and making huge improvements, but it’s still too widely ignored. We’re very lucky that in the Seattle area, we have some great water that’s essentially the closest to a blank slate that you can get. Unfortunately, in order to make styles from around the world, the first step is to attempt to emulate the naturally occurring water in those regions. If you’ve ever wondered why your stout isn’t quite smooth enough, or your pilsner has a harsh finish, it’s likely due to water chemistry.

You work at two breweries – both Outer Planet and Lowercase Brewing? What’s that like?

It’s fantastic! I get to have the best of both worlds – I love the creative freedom I’m allotted at OPB, and the real sense of control I have in the product. However, as OPB is a smaller brewery, we don’t have the resources to make certain styles (lagers in particular) or to use certain equipment. I have the unique opportunity to learn from John Marti at Lowercase, working to perfect lager techniques, as well as learning to use higher end lab equipment and larger, more complex equipment.

What is your favorite type of beer to brew? To drink?

My favorite beers have always been Belgians! My first real love affair with beer was tasting Belgian ales in college, though I will admit that my taste has developed drastically since then. Having trained in the U.K., I also have quite a soft spot for British Ales – give me a good Wee Heavy or a proper stout and I’ll be happy.

I love brewing Belgian Witbiers. I have done quite a bit of experimentation, and have found it to be a surprisingly versatile style. The flavors that the yeast emits pair amazingly with so many flavors, not just the traditional coriander and orange peel. I wish they were more popular in the area so I could brew more of them!

You’re now adding teaching about beer to your career – what makes you want to do that?

I have actually been teaching off flavor classes at Sound Homebrew Supply in Georgetown for about a year now. I find that I thoroughly enjoy helping students really learn to pick apart a beer and the flavors they taste. I love seeing a student realize that they can indeed recognize and diagnose problems, they just need a little help to recognize the flavors.

Have you ever had any brewing education yourself? If not, how did you learn your trade?

Generally speaking, I am self-taught. I started homebrewing as a hobby, not imagining it would amount to more than a fun way to pass the time and a cheaper way to drink beer. The more I learned, the more I realized I knew pretty much nothing. I read voraciously and conducted my own experiments with hops and water treatments.

It was eventually suggested to me that I just go ahead and take the judging certification exam, which I studied for quite intensely. This involved a huge amount of reading, as well as tasting beers from around the world (whether I had interest in them or not – I recall a few days in particular spent tasting American Light Lagers, which was certainly not an interest of mine at the time!)

Why should a student interested in beer or a career in craft brewing take a course like Mastering Beer Styles?

First of all, learning the basics of the industry is incredibly important – I often wish I had been able to take a class like this before I entered the professional industry. I also I feel strongly that part of truly understanding beer is to spend time with many different beers from varying places. As I mentioned earlier, in preparation for my exams I spent quite a bit of time tasting beers that I might not have thought about twice, but spending that time thinking critically about them gave me new insights into the product.

Perhaps even more important is understanding your own palette. I cannot emphasize enough that every person’s palette is totally unique. What I might perceive in some beers, you may experience totally differently! It is essential to understand this, and to understand how your taste receptors process flavors and mouthfeel. I think this is probably one of the most fundamental aspects of brewing that is frequently overlooked.

Why is it important to have a handle on beer styles?

There are so many reasons! First of all, if you know what styles should taste like, you can work towards accurately recreating them. Think about it this way: if you were a chef, would you attempt to create a complex mole sauce or a bouillabaisse without knowing what it should taste like? Second, once you have an understanding of how a style should taste and is traditionally brewed, you can begin to put your own spin on it and truly flex your creative muscles! And third, having a handle on these styles allows you to be part of a greater conversation – you can contribute to industry conversations on how styles are shifting or changing. Pale ale and the IPA are perfect examples right now: the definition of both of these is beginning to shift in the public eye (in my opinion), and if you don’t understand what the fundamental definition of the beer is, then you cannot begin to understand how it has changed.

What most excites you about this new endeavor?

Introducing students to exciting new styles that they never knew existed! As well as helping students understand their own palettes – seeing a student realize that they taste something differently than everyone else and finally understanding how that plays into their craft is immensely satisfying. I’m hoping I can truly help some people to get to know their taste buds on a deeper level.

What excites you about the craft beer industry today? In Seattle, in Washington and in general?

I find the creativity and willingness to take risks is one of the best parts of the beer industry today. Ten years ago, you would never have seen tiny nanobreweries creating ancient styles using insane ingredients and not only seeing mild success, but have their bottles widely sought after. I love witnessing the incredible amount of innovation that goes in to some of these beers! I think this is something that Seattle, and Washington in general, excel at. I suspect a beer brewed using 700F pillow basalt would not have gone over quite as well a decade ago (a beer Lowercase made early last year)!

I also think that the push for more local and more sustainable ingredients and techniques is very exciting. I love seeing breweries pair with sustainable hop farms and maltsters, working to lower than carbon footprint by using more energy efficient equipment, changing up water procedures and moving away from gas-fired systems.

What do you hope your students take away from Mastering Beer Styles?

If nothing else, I hope they take away a greater appreciation for styles that they might not have put much stock into previously. I would love to see students really pick apart styles they hadn’t thought about before, and see that every region has evolved wildly different styles of beer.

I also hope they come away from the class with more of an understanding of their own personal palette. Every person tastes differently, and learning how your palette differs from someone else’s and how you perceive certain flavors if one of the best tools you can have in your arsenal.

July 22, 2019uwtpdc 1 Comment

Meet the Instructors: Davis Freeman, Art and Business of Photography

Davis Freeman has photographed a wide variety of subjects, from the Dalai Llama and the first brain surgery broadcast around the world to his barber and the covers of corporate annual reports. To say that he is an experienced photographer is truly an understatement.

This year, he will be teaching others how to pursue their own photographic dreams. Freeman joins the team at the UW Tacoma Professional Development Center as an instructor in a brand-new program, Art and Business of Photography.

This non-credit certificate program is designed for photographers who are interested in going into business, as well as working photographers looking to revamp their businesses or head in another direction in the world of photography. In short, and as named, the program will look at the world of professional photography from the perspectives of both art and business.

Freeman’s first official gig was as his high school’s yearbook photographer. Something about seeing a picture emerge in the darkroom, he said, got him hooked. Freeman took a hiatus from photography in college, getting a degree in social sciences. He discovered it again when he was drafted to serve during the Vietnam War. His army post had a darkroom, and Freeman spent his free time there learning the art of making negatives come to life.

After his military service and a second degree in psychology, he took his passion for people to the business world. Freeman received his third degree, cum laude, from an esteemed program in biomedical photography and spent his next years photographing medical procedures in hospitals. Next, the University of Washington asked him to become the head of its staff photography department, a position he held for many years. Eventually, he felt a call to begin his own business. Since then, Freeman’s career has included all types of corporate, retail and fine art photography.

“I’m a person who likes diversity,” he said. “That’s why I went from the university, which is by most standards a job for life, on to the corporate world to the family portrait world, from there to books and teaching.”

Through all of it, Freeman said his favorite job is “the next one.”

“There’s so much to photograph,” he said. “It gives me an entry to life.”

Looking back, today Freeman thinks the trait that enabled him to have such a long and successful career was his interest in people and dedication to his work, no matter what it was.

“To be successful creatively, you need a love affair,” he said. “To be successful financially, you need to understand business. Two very different skillsets, but they’re both very important.”

Freeman, who has succeeded in both realms, is excited to impart the lessons he has learned in this new program.

“I’ve designed this program to be interactive, to get people involved much earlier on in using the techniques that we’ll talk about for business or photography,” he said.

“We’ll do a lot of work on marketing and sales,” he said. “What this is going to offer students is an entrée to what they’ll need to do to start a business. This will be a stepping-stone to a career. If you’re extremely dedicated, you can take this into a career, take it into the real world.”

Art and Business of Photography is scheduled to start Sept. 28. Registration is open to the public, with no application required. For more information, visit the program’s webpage here.

April 19, 2019uwtpdc 3 Comments

Better Events, Bigger Returns: Seattle Fundraising Duo Brings Workshop to Tacoma

Rebecca Dietz and Carol Dole knew right away that they wanted to go into business together.

It was 2008 and Barack Obama had just been elected president.

“We were very excited about Obama winning the presidency and we were not going to fly to Washington D.C., so we said, ‘let’s have our own ball,’” remembered Dietz. “We planned a phenomenal inaugural ball. We had people dressed up in costumes, we had entertainment, it was amazing.”

“People loved it. We realized we worked really well together,” she said. “We looked at each other and said, ‘let’s start this business.’”

Since then, Dietz, a former designer and project manager, and Dole, who previously worked as a producer in Hollywood, have been joined at the hip as the “duo of inspired professionals” behind Well Done Events, LLC. Managing events ranging from small gatherings to large productions with thousands in attendance, the two combine their skills effectively to pull off events for clients. They typically work in the nonprofit space with organizations with small staffs and development operations.

This spring, they will be leading a workshop designed to help nonprofit organizations navigate the complex world of fundraising events, with a focus on planning, purpose and strategy. Titled “Better Events, Bigger Returns: Fundraising Events Management,” the workshop will meet the evenings of June 18 and 20 at UW Tacoma.

Registration for the workshop is open to the public through the UW Tacoma Professional Development Center, who also offers certificates and short courses in Nonprofit and Fundraising Management. Unlike the certificate programs, which offer more comprehensive curriculums, this workshop offers attendees six hours focused exclusively on the topic of event management.

Events shouldn’t be isolated incidents, cutoff from the rest of an organization’s operations, Dietz and Dole are quick to point out. Events are most effective when they are integrated with a nonprofit’s development strategy.

“You don’t just have a party because it feels good or because the neighbor is having one,” said Dietz. “To do it effectively, you need to think about what your strategy is for the next few years.”

Over the course of two evenings, the workshop will go beyond what it takes to run an event successfully to exploring questions like, “Why are we having an event in the first place?” to “What is your ‘ask’ going to be at this event?”

Unpacked, the “better” in the workshop’s title goes beyond making an event flashy and fun. To Dietz and Dole, a “better event” is one whose design incorporates strategy, public relations and branding with intention.

“The misunderstanding we run into all the time is ‘we’re having an auction because everyone else is having an auction; we’re going to make $200,000 at the auction because this organization made that much at an auction,’” said Dietz.

Here, Dole said, is where they often see organizations making mistakes.

“They haven’t really thought about first of all, how are we making $200,000 at this auction, whose coming? It gets into a cycle that is not good business planning and not maximizing what events should be,” she said.

That’s not to say that Dietz and Dole are down on nonprofits; they are very excited about working in the sector.

“They’re doing great work and that’s why we love to work with them,” said Dole.

The mission of Well Done Events, and the UW Tacoma workshop, is to enhance local nonprofits’ use of events as a strategic tool.

“It’s really about getting out in the community, finding the people who believe in the work, moving the mission along and that takes time,” said Dietz.

“At events you’re thanking people, you’re acknowledging people, you’re bringing your community together, but as we often say: Bill Gates is not going to come to your auction and raise his paddle for $10 million,” said Dietz.

“That’s not how you’re going to get money from Bill and his friends,” she said. “He might come to your auction, but if you don’t have a strategy as to how you’re going to follow up with Bill for one, two, five, ten years, to get that kind of money, why are you having that event?”

“We come in and say, ‘Why are you doing this?’” said Dole. “The more savvy people going into the industry are about the role events should be playing, the better for everybody.”

To learn more from Dietz and Dole, you will have to join them in person this June at “Better Events, Bigger Returns: Fundraising Events Management.” You can learn more about the duo on their website, Well Done Events. For more information on our Fundraising and Nonprofit programs, visit our website.

April 15, 2019uwtpdc

Meet the Instructors: Wendy Fraser, Lean Six Sigma and CPM®

Dr. Wendy Fraser is no stranger to the UW Tacoma Professional Development Center. We know her type well.

Fraser is what you call a lifelong learner. Like many PDC students, she has a passion for learning and sees the value of pursuing new educational experiences. Graduating from Saint Martin’s University with a Bachelor’s in Management and Finance, Fraser was only getting started on her journey through higher education. Since 1991, she has gone on to earn Master’s degrees in human resources, organizational leadership and human and organizational systems. She completed her Doctorate in Human and Organizational Development from Fielding Graduate University in 2010. Read more Meet the Instructors: Wendy Fraser, Lean Six Sigma and CPM®

March 18, 2019uwtpdc

Meet the Instructors: Dean Priebe, Mastering Beer Styles

In this installation of Meet the Instructors, we’re pleased to introduce Dean Priebe. Dean is Brewmaster at Icicle Brewing Company in Leavenworth, Wash., and the instructor for our newest Mastering Beer Styles in Bothell, Wash. Read on to learn more about Dean and sign up to attend class at Beardslee Public House!