Washington Business Spring 2015 | Page 11

washington business New in Government Affairs New in AWB Institute Amy Anderson Joins Government Affairs Team Leadership Washington Visits Olympia, Seattle, Vancouver Bringing more than 10 years of policy analysis and advocacy experience, Amy K. Anderson has joined AWB’s Government Affairs team. She leads AWB’s advocacy for education and workforce development in the state Legislature, and she coordinates AWB’s federal lobbying efforts, including February’s AWB fly-in to Washington, D.C. Anderson is not new to AWB. She worked as a consultant to the AWB Institute for nearly four years, and continues to work part-time with the Institute. The inaugural class of Leadership Washington continued its tour of the state’s diverse regions and economic drivers before graduating from the program during AWB’s 2015 Spring Meeting. Leadership Washington, the AWB Institute’s program for developing the next generation of the state’s business leaders, began its nine-month program last fall at Policy Summit and with a tour of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and food production in the Tri-Cities. Recent sessions included a January visit to Olympia for a look at the legislative and lobbying process, including time at AWB’s Legislative Summit, and a tour of the Shining Ocean facility in Sumner and Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Anderson, an attorney with a law degree from Gonzaga University, has worked in policy and workforce development for Greater Spokane Incorporated and served as legislative director for Premera Blue Cross in Oregon and Alaska. She has also worked with the Washington Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee and the Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board as a policy analyst. Lobby Lunch, Webinars Bring Policymakers and Leaders to AWB Members AWB continued to host panels of legislative leaders and nonpartisan experts for weekly Lobby Lunch events, and this year the outreach expanded to include live webinars hosted in AWB’s new digital conference room. Top legislative leaders and Washington Treasurer Jim McIntire gave live talks to AWB members who watched online or listened in by telephone, and members asked questions of policymakers on taxation and other important issues. Lobby Lunch included addresses from the state’s top economist, Dr. Steve Lerch, as w