JANUARY 2023 MAGAZINE

For more than 40 years, Jim McDermott has worked tirelessly on behalf of the people of Washington State. As a state legislator, he helped pass laws that offered healthcare to unemployed and low-income Washingtonians, the first such program in the nation. In the United States Congress, he continued to be a much-needed voice for his most vulnerable constituents. Across America, you'll find families that are better off because Jim McDermott was fighting for them.

 – President Obama in 2016 on Congressman Jim McDermott’s impending retirement.

This past fall Debbie Kiederer celebrated the 21st year of her company, ChalkDust Consulting. The company focuses on digital technology, ecommerce and tool selection for enterprise clients in Beauty/Fashion, the nonprofit sector, or for companies selling consumer products. ChalkDust is able to work successfully with a company of any size, so long as the relationship is highly collaborative, innovative, and committed to achieving excellence.

One literally monumental success story that went under-reported in 2022 was the U.S. Department of Interior’s commitment to review and replace the names of over 650 geographic features on federal lands. This was no frivolous endeavor, but a concerted effort to revoke place names that are repugnant in both racist and sexist terms.