By Kelly Schermer

Thanks to all the fearless story champions who took part in 2A’s Give a Book campaign, we donated 1,000 books to kids and gathered a few interesting nuggets about how stories shape our communities along the way. Wondering if you’re more likely to be surrounded by Cats in Hats or Big Friendly Giants in any one part of the city? Read on to find out!

Making readers one book at a time

Through our work with Page Ahead Children’s Literacy Program to promote their annual luncheon, we learned there are tens of thousands of students in Washington state who live in low-literacy, low-income families and neighborhoods without access to books. The good news is that the simple act of giving new books to these children can help them learn to see themselves as readers and trigger lifelong learning. To help raise awareness among our local communities, 2A donated the cost of one book to Page Ahead for every participant who completed a survey. Six questions, one book, and a potentially brighter future. Who could say no?

Finding stories that unite us

People from all over the region—even across the country—volunteered to share their favorite childhood book with us and tell us which genre they prefer to read today. Given the hundreds of thousands of available kids’ books, we were excited to find a small handful of titles that reach across neighborhoods, industries, and professions. Here’s a glimpse of what we learned about these intrepid story champions:

• Remember Goodnight Moon, Where the Wild Things Are, and The Giving Tree? Those were the three most popular stories.
• Many of our story champions who live north of Seattle today grew up reading Roald Dahl, downtowners read a lot of Dr. Seuss, while those south of Seattle preferred Margaret Brown Wise (think Goodnight Moon).
• Over 70% of our story champions read fiction as adults: marketers tend to prefer literary fiction, while developers reach for sci-fi.

Sharing what storytelling means

In addition to asking what people do and where they live, we also asked what storytelling means to them. This question wasn’t required, so it wasn’t expected, but au contraire! Most of our story champions happily shared with us how storytelling has shaped their lives and their careers:

• Storytelling helps me visualize abstract thoughts.
• It influences my creative and imaginative side!
• It is a part of knowing where you come from.
• Storytelling provides a common thread out of uncommon topics.
• It opens a window to the world.
• It is the essence of all collaborative action.
• Storytelling provides alternative role models and voices.

We couldn’t agree more.

Page Ahead, we tip our cat-in-hat to you for recognizing, not only the importance of books in the home, but the power of storytelling to help children visualize themselves as successful readers. And a special thanks to all those who supported our Give a Book campaign! 

Did you miss the drive, but still want to get involved? It’s never too late to give a book!  

By Kelly Schermer

Director of web development, Don Selkirk, cranks out complex websites line by line while listening to the crispy lisp of vinyl, so when he says he’ll walk 1,000 miles to fall down at your door, you can bet he’s deep into the coding zone and bringing it home.

One part web genius, one part problem-solver extraordinaire, and a blazing spark of goofball, no one can diffuse stressful situations and clear roadblocks quite like Don. Over the course of his career, Don has walked 500 miles in a number of roles and figured out how to bring the best along with him. Today, his experiences provide him with a unique perspective across the web development process that he uses to architect brilliant solutions for clients.

A developer developing trust

While he’s built websites of all shapes and sizes, it’s developing trust that matters most to Don. Almost two years ago, he took a leap of faith and moved with his team to 2A in order to continue working with the colleagues and clients he loves. It may sound high stakes to some, but to Don, who’s been stranded on an island in the Pacific Ocean in the name of love, it’s not too far a stretch. For him, the chance to be part of a supportive team, one that would encourage growth and allow him to focus on helping others, was well worth the risk and it’s paid off in spades ever since.

The seasoned coder making space for what works

Like most tech guys you meet, Don loves checking out what’s new, but he understands the importance and value of preserving what works. He recently played an integral role in creating the Build Live website, which provides a new interactive experience for an established conference. Outside work, he’s focusing on making more time for woodworking, biking, and listening to his vinyl collection—all throwback passions of his that get his blood pumping and keep him young at heart. 

Our C# (and javascript) karaoke superstar

Ask Don a question and you’re likely to get the up-beat lyrics of an old classic as a prelude to the answer. Is it riddled advice in the form of well-chosen verse or stream of consciousness karaoke? Either way, you can bet on Don to show up and bring down the house.

Looking for someone to walk 1,000 miles for your next web project?  Or who will whip out the piña coladas when it rains? We know a guy. 

By Abby Breckenridge

(The following is a letter we submitted to the Seattle City Council urging councilmembers to help put an end to workplace discrimination.)

Hearing about Seattle Silence Breakers was like a slap in the face. In the wave of #metoo, I thought for a moment our progressive, liberal community might be immune to the rampant harassment that still plagues women. Turns out I was wrong. Not only did upsetting examples of sexual harassment surface, but the Silence Breakers showed that our own city government was not the safe haven I had expected.

Upholding the rights of everyone in our city is something I believe in and was assured that the City of Seattle believed in it too. After all, the City of Seattle is the body that recognizes my business as women and minority owned. When I took on the role of partner in our growing marketing firm, I was thrilled to join the ranks of hundreds of other driven women business owners who are actively strengthening our economy. The WMBE certification meant our company was changing the face of leadership and fostering an environment for women in business, with the city’s full support behind us. That certification feels tarnished now, and the commitment from the City of Seattle to endorse women as leaders in business, hypocritical.

Why we need to take harassment seriously

Women make up half the population of Seattle, yet our region has one of the largest wage gaps in the U.S. Women in King County make 78.6 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn. Sadly, the glass ceiling is a reality in our city, and women are struggling to compete against men in the workforce. When you add sexual harassment into the mix, the gains women have made, are quickly lost. Nearly half the women who experience sexual harassment in the workplace leave their jobs or change careers. This can lead to stagnating careers and setbacks in earning potential. If you want to continue the prosperity our region has seen over the past decade, we need to take harassment seriously and put an end to workplace discrimination.

Why we need to foster women in the workplace

While women are still woefully underrepresented in leadership positions, companies like ours that put women in positions of power often change for the better. One study showed just by having women in C-suite positions (CEO, COO, CFO, for example) they added a 6% net profit margin. When a company’s leadership is uniform, valuable perspectives—and markets—are overlooked. Beyond profits, teams with a balance of men and women show greater psychological safety, team confidence, group experimentation, and team efficiency. It’s time we valued the women on our team—for the sake of our economy, community and sanity.

Why I believe in WMBE distinctions and want to keep it that way

Seattle has made huge progress in growing the number of women-owned businesses, but there’s still more work ahead. Based on the most recent federal data, Seattle had 83,000 companies, of which 30,000 were women-owned. Our city was ranked as a top place for women entrepreneurs in part because of the number of certified women-owned businesses that have already paved the way. The city’s backing of WMBE certification is working—it ensures an equitable playing field for women and it’s making a difference in our community. But we need the city’s full support to continue to realize these benefits. When the city is embroiled in sexual harassment events like those in Seattle City Light, it steals from programs like WBME and puts women back on the losing side.

So to the City of Seattle, please take workplace discrimination against women seriously. It affects us all.

By Kelly Schermer

A gust of wind rocketed her parachute forward, blurring her drop zone into the patchwork of Northern California fields. She evaluated her options—a vineyard spiked with wooden stakes or a bustling airfield. Airfield it was. Now to hit the ground at a sprint and dodge large aircraft. Her mother was not going to like this.

Just then, a shift in the wind brought a hangar roof into range.  Veronique negotiated the distance, pulled her cord, and crumpled onto the metal sheeting. Before she could take stock of the damage, a gale grabbed her chute and hurled her 30 feet down to the blacktop. She died on impact.

A day later, she awoke in a hospital bed.

Fast forward 19 years. Today, Veronique Serruya runs equally harrowing (albeit non-life threatening) product launches for 2A clients. While she may have retired her skydiving license, her passion for adventure, her grace under pressure, and her pragmatic tenacity keep her soaring.

Not your typical adrenaline junkie

James Patterson could easily crank out dozens of best sellers based on Veronique’s life story. Her character’s adrenaline-seeking antics would woo readers, but in real life it’s her ability to forge friendships in moments of extreme adversity that builds fans. Since flatlining and coming back to life, Veronique has led a dogsled team across parts of northern Quebec, hiked the Annapurna trail through the Himalayas in Nepal, and kayaked alongside penguins in Antarctica. In her free time, she works as a project manager for 2A, specializing in high-stakes product launches. Whether it’s across a barren tundra of ice, or a boardroom table, Veronique thrives on seeking out new experiences and building connections.

On a quest to complete 1,001 things

Running product launches requires the ability to plan and follow incredibly detailed schedules, the resilience to adapt on the fly, and an endless reserve of patience, optimism, and energy. One might (reasonably) think this line of work would be exhausting. Not for Veronique! When she punches out of work, she goes home to systematically dismantle her guiding manifesto, 1,001 Places to See Before You Die. While she’s already traveled to over 30 countries, with China and India planned for this year, she has thoroughly researched and mapped out dozens more in her personal OneNote travel notebook.

In pursuit of the real story

The linchpin that makes Veronique pure 2A gold is her storyteller heart. Through all her travels and her projects, she seeks to understand and reflect the world around her. Rather than trying to force her personal agenda, Veronique’s success stems from her ability to find the truth of a situation and cultivate that story.

Looking for an intrepid PM to guide your next product launch? We know just the show-stopper for you!

By Clinton Bowman

Twenty-two years ago this summer, I experienced my first family reunion. It was a humid summer affair near the lush Ozark National Forest, and it brought together family from across the U.S. and one Canadian cattle farmer. It was the same summer that gave way to the eternal classics—Blackstreet’s No Diggity and the Smashing Pumpkins’ Tonight, Tonight. I was 12 years old.

At that age a family reunion is essentially a license for fun. For me, it meant near-limitless cake, followed (not surprisingly) by a spirited cousin dance off. It marked the first time I drove a 4-wheeler. And, I got to meet the legendary family funny man, my great-uncle, in the flesh. Yet surpassing the fun, the greatest takeaway occurred after we said our goodbyes. I left knowing that I was a part of something bigger. I was a part of a grander story. Cue the music.

Now, you may be thinking, that’s nice, but what does any of this have to do with 2A? Well, last week I had a flashback to that summer of ’96. You see, I just started at 2A in the beginning of August. Fortunately for me, only a few weeks in, I got to party down at the Meet in the Middle party, which unites 2A teammates from east and west King County at a central location on Mercer Island. For me this meant I would finally get to see nearly all the team in one place, put faces to names, and get to learn a bit more about my new team. 

The party kicked off with tunes and treats under the clear summer sky. And before long we were served up choripans with a chimichurri that was alone worth the trip. The fun in the sun then continued with colleagues making diving football catches into Lake Washington, while others soaked up the rays. Ultimately, the day crescendoed with some new colorful team swag and glorious cookies.

All in all, it was an incredible Friday away from the office. But beyond the fun, I learned that this group of individuals is intent on cultivating authentic, deep connections with one another. The party was a step toward building the collective story of us, to fortify a team. Reflecting on this, I now know—as I did that summer nearly two decades ago—that I am part of something larger than I anticipated. And, I couldn’t be more excited. No diggity, no doubt.

By Kelly Schermer

For those of us who grew up with books sprinkled around our schools, homes, and beds, it’s hard to explain how our access to stories and our comfort with reading has shaped us.

Books can be our friends, our favorite destinations, even our escape. We use them to teach ourselves how the world around us works and to learn how storytelling can help us envision a future that’s all our own. 

And yet, tens of thousands of children in Washington state live in low-income, low-literacy communities without books to sweep them up in a current of learning.

Power up learning with books

At 2A, we believe deeply in the power of storytelling. That’s why, as kids head back to school, 2A will donate money for one new book to Page Ahead on behalf of each person who shares their favorite childhood story.

Page Ahead Children’s Literacy Program works with schools, centers, and agencies across the state to help get new books into the hands and homes of children who need them. They help at-risk children see themselves as readers and start down a lifelong path of learning. 

Give a book and get a story

As part of our Give a Book campaign, we’re asking participants to take a trip of their own down memory lane.

When you share your favorite children’s book with us, not only will we donate a book to a kid who needs one, but we’ll also use the survey data to tell fun stories about how our favorite reads have shaped our communities.

Want to get involved? Share your favorite story with us!

By Kelly Schermer

The long stretch between summer blockbuster releases and Halloween costumes can have a comic book fan jonesing for a good superhero story.  Thankfully, at 2A, you don’t have to look any further than our own Drue Stewart. Unlike her fictitious foils, who rely on radioactive spiders and extraterrestrial rock for their superpowers, Drue’s fueled by her own optimistic, can-do attitude, her tireless perseverance, and her dedication to building up those around her. If Marvel ever meets her, they’ll probably make a problem-solving action figure that protects with a big-laugh forcefield and shirks olives like Kryptonite.

Drue is a present-tense action verb

Drue works as the Practice Lead for 2A’s team of Project Managers meaning she coordinates, fills, and oversees every PM position. She started with 2A as a project manager back in 2015, proving her mettle in steep ramp-up situations. Her passion for learning from experiences (both good and bad), as well as her ability to adapt to rapid-fire changes make her a natural at 2A.

Drue’s past experiences help her operate

Like all superheroes, Drue’s origin story stems from remarkable feats achieved in civilian clothing. Starting at age 15, as a receptionist for a small software company, Drue acquired a deep appreciation for service, efficiency, and people which established the foundation for her operations expertise today. Along the way, she honed her natural talents through experiences in home loan underwriting and end-to-end operations management for a semi-truck trailer skirt manufacturing company (yeah, that’s right, trucks can wear skirts too). Across all of that, Drue has sprinkled in accounting, business, English literature and nursing classes.

Drue wields a golden lasso of problem solving

Drue’s wealth of education and experiences across industries and organizations has given her a unique perspective on problem solving that shines in her role at 2A. She moves gracefully from 30,000 feet to the trenches, from outside the situation to in, until she lassos the heart of the issue and tames it.

From our view at 2A, there’s no limit to what Drue can accomplish. Need help getting your project off the ground? Ask Drue how a 2A project manager can take you up, up, and away!

By Katy Nally

The summer slide should really be some enormous slip ‘n slide where kids glide down a grassy hill to stick it to the summer heat. Instead, I just learned, it’s when kids’ brains obliterate one month of learning over the summer and come back to school slightly dumber than when they left. But I don’t think this is a kids-only affair. As far as I can tell, adults are just as susceptible to the summer slide and also experience brain melting as the thermometer bumps into the mid-80s.

So, if you’re like me and you think your neurons might be atrophying, here are a few grammar tips to encourage a little brain exercise this summer. (And if you want more of a challenge, there’s always summer reading BINGO from the Seattle Public Library.)

By Katherine Thichava

As a project manager supporting Microsoft ebooks, I’m steeped in the art and science of book selling. The process requires a careful weighing of titles for their market performance, appeal to readers, and overall message to create a uniquely themed collection.

So when Microsoft launched an ebooks store to reflect its mission—to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more—I helped create and curate featured collections full of personal productivity and self-improvement titles.

Five favorites that helped me achieve more

Five self-improvement titles I’ve come to love since starting this project are:

1. Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. The concept of servant leadership is clearly explained in this book. Great leaders must look out for their team’s well being and comfort, not the other way around.
2. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. I love Anne’s hilarious and frank insights on the writer’s life. My favorite quote? “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”
3. The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach. As a millennial still spooked by the Great Recession of 2008, this book offers wisdom and objectivity to automating financial independence.
4. Journeys of a Lifetime by National Geographic. Working hard means playing hard too. This book has inspired some amazing ideas for must-take vacations when it’s time to get away from the office.
5. How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler. Any bibliophile can gain something from learning more about how to appreciate books and improve their reading comprehension.

An ever-growing backlog

Needless to say, my to-read list expands every time I develop a new collection. There’s just so much great material out there, and I take immense pride in recommending impactful books to readers eager to achieve more.

Check out Microsoft’s eBook store to find your next read to help you achieve more too.

By Annie Wegrich

I’m an Oregonian—lover of blustery days and practical rain gear. In the spring, the first sunshine brings a vitamin D rush, and summer the annual cringe when SPF 100 wasn’t enough. 

But I wouldn’t have it any other way. There aren’t many places in the world where you’re a few hours from skiing, sailing, and hiking. The only thing we’re missing (okay, not only) is a tropical breeze. Washington has miles of windy beaches, but they’re not exactly beckoning for lounge chairs and drinks with tiny umbrellas.

But now, when I step into our office, I have a little oasis all year round thanks to Carey Wendel of Bleedfoot Florals. A horticulturist with a fine arts background, she went creative and strategic when curating our selection of office plants.

Our new plant crew made their debut during our annual summer party this week. In case you missed it, let’s meet a few.

With bright skylights and 22-foot ceilings, our new space deserved more than ferns punished to corners and succulents struggling against florescent lights. We went bold. Walk up our stairs and expect a smile from two classically island Kentia Palms. Open the doors and the Giant Bird of Paradise will offer a firm handshake. Fun fact, this plant can grow over 12 feet tall. Why have 22-foot ceilings if you’re just going to waste them?

Now join us for a team meeting. Our best collaboration is cultivated over the humble Hoya Obovata, a traditional hanging plant with creeping vines and dark green leaves. On our communal table, this little plant has plenty of room to grow and explore—and by using it in an unexpected way, we’re inspired to break from tradition too.

Finally, the newcomer. Our Philodendron Monstera joined us right in time for our summer office party, and the lace-patterned leaves have left us craving swiss cheese ever since. This beauty will require a little more fertilizer, pruning, teamwork and strategy to thrive—just like our best stories. 

We take our plants and our marketing seriously. Let us freshen your brand like a tropical breeze.