Campus Community / People of SUDean Joe Phillips Contributes to Economic Growth DialogueWritten by Lincoln Vander VeenNovember 18, 2020Invalid ImageNo Image Credit ProvidedNo Caption ProvidedSeattle University is a proud partner of many of our region’s most integral nonprofit and corporate entities. One of those partners is the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce and Dean Joe Phillips of the Albers School of Business and Economics contributes to the Chamber’s virtual 2020 Economic Forecast Summit by moderating a discussion on the emerging industries and companies that will lead our region—and the world—forward. Seattle University is a proud partner of many of our region’s most integral nonprofit and corporate entities. One of those partners is the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce and Dean Joe Phillips of the Albers School of Business and Economics contributes to the Chamber’s virtual 2020 Economic Forecast Summit by moderating a discussion on the emerging industries and companies that will lead our region—and the world—forward. Joining Phillips on the panel were a trio of local entrepreneurs and business leaders: Heather Redman of Flying Fish Partners, Andy Liu of Unlock Venture Partners and Richard Gustafson of Powerlight Technologies. Dean Phillips pulled important insights out of each panelist. “What I found uplifting was the optimism for entrepreneurship and new start-ups in our region,” Phillips said. “We’ve had so many suggestions that Seattle is headed downhill, and there are certainly some changes we need to see in public policy, but it was good to have the panel confirm that this (the Puget Sound region) is still a healthy environment for entrepreneurship and business creation.” Liu, in particular, hinted at the continued explosion of companies and entrepreneurs locally because “our region’s talent pipeline is robust, especially individuals with deep insight” into all things technology. Albers and Seattle University are doing their part in continuing to develop that talent, comprehensively leaning into the present and future. “Anything using data and artificial intelligence is the big draw, that is where the (career) opportunities will be. Not just in our business analytics programs but also accounting, finance and marketing,” explained Dean Phillips. “Albers has already demonstrated that we can take any face-to-face program we offer and make it virtual. Not just classes but also club events, the speaker series, the mentor program, the business plan competition and many other activities. The ingenuity of our faculty and staff has just been amazing to watch.”