Mental Health First Aid Training
2021-02-23 09:00 - 15:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online, WA, 99354, United States
Mental Health First Aid consists of a 2-hour pre-work session followed by a 6-hour training that teaches skills to help someone who is experiencing a mental health crisis.
Participants learn about symptoms, crisis response, and active listening skills to support many disorders:

Depression and anxiety
Trauma
Psychosis
Eating disorders
Substance abuse

Pre-registration is required and course seating is limited. We invite all WSU campus locations–Pullman, Everett, Tri-Cities, Spokane, Vancouver, Yakima, and Global–to participate. All sessions will be facilitated via Zoom.
Cost:
WSU Pullman, Global and Vancouver students – FREE (supported by student activity fees)
WSU students from any other campus location (Everett, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Yakima) – $50
WSU faculty/staff from any campus location- $50
REGISTER NOW
If your department is paying for the training, you can submit an IRI through the registration form, or email Health Promotion. Seats will not be held until an IRI is received.
If you are paying yourself, select cash or check on the registration form and email Health Promotion to arrange a time to pay for class prior to the course date.

WSU Veteran & Military-Affiliated Students’ Symposium: The Power of a Veteran Ready College
2021-03-23 09:00 - 18:30 | Zoom, WA, United States
Tuesday, March 23
Sessions available 9:00 a.m.–6:30 p.m.
Hosted via Zoom | All WSU faculty, staff and students are welcome to attend

REGISTER NOW

AGENDA

9:00–10:00 a.m. Opening Session and Symposium Kickoff

Welcome and updates regarding WSU Veteran & Military-Affiliated student support.
(Speakers in order of appearance)

Jaime Nolan, Associate Vice President, Division of Student Affairs
Kirk Schulz, WSU President
Chris Mann, WSU Student Veterans Committee President
Matt Beer, Military Affairs Manager, Office of Graduate Programs
Jeff Willadsen, Public Relations and Communications Coordinator, Global Campus
Penny Martinez, Student Services Coordinator and Veterans Certifying Official
Michaela Loveridge, Student Services Coordinator and Veterans Certifying Official
Michael Highfill, Executive Director, Office of Academic Engagement

11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Student Panel Discussion

Raising awareness of challenges faced by WSU Veteran & Military-Affiliated students.

1:00–2:00 p.m. Workshop for Faculty and Staff

Training facilitated by special guest Derek Abbey, CEO of Project Recover.

Break for State of the University Address | 3:00–4:15 p.m.

4:30–5:30 p.m. Roundtable for WSU Veteran & Military-Affiliated Students

Discussion to address resources, misconceptions, and roadblocks related to physical and mental health.
Facilitated by

Joel Schwartzkopf, Executive Director, Cougar Health Services
Davi Kallman, Student Services Advisor, Access Center
Eliseo “Joe” Dumlao (MSW), Spokane Vet Center, EMDR Therapist, Spokane Vet Center
Walter Scott, Professor, WSU Department of Psychology

6:00–6:30 p.m. Keynote Address

Abby Kinch, Vice President of Programs and Services, Student Veterans of America.

Virtual Etiquette Dinner
2021-04-22 17:00 - 18:00 | ZOOM, WA, United States
Join us for the 2021 Virtual Etiquette Dinner! Learn how to prepare for a professional dining experience from our past 2003 ASWSU President Jesse Aspuria. Jesse, a Senior Account Executive with Marriott, has over 15 years of experience to share with you during this interactive virtual event.
The Etiquette Dinner will boost your confidence and give you a competitive edge as you navigate the professional world of virtual networking.
REGISTER FOR EVENT

WSU Visiting Writers Series
2021-09-22 18:30 - 21:00 | YouTube, WA, United States
Mark your calendars! WSU Visiting Writers Series invites you to a semester of free public in-person and live-streamed readings, Q&As, book signings, and museum exhibits. Zoe Hana Mikuta | YA Fiction Zoe Hana Mikuta is a Korean-American writer currently attending the University of Washington in Seattle where she is majoring in English with a creative writing focus and minoring in History of Religion. She grew up in Boulder, Colorado, where she developed a deep love of Muay Thai kickboxing and nurtured a slow and steady infatuation for fictional worlds. She enjoys writing about deteriorating worlds inhabited by characters with bad tempers, skewed morals, and big hearts. Her YA wlw sci-fi debut Gearbreakers was published by Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan in June 2021. An untitled sequel will follow in 2022. Wednesday, September 22, 2021 | 6:30 P.M. Watch live on YouTube! Haki R. Madhubuti | Poetry Haki R. Madhubuti is an award-winning poet, one of the architects of the Black Arts Movement, an essayist, educator, founder and publisher (Emeritus) of Third World Press (1967) and Third World Press Foundation. He is the author/editor of over thirty-six books of poetry and nonfiction including Don’t Cry, Scream (1969), Run Toward Fear: New Poems and a Poet’s Handbook (2004), YellowBlack: The First Twenty-One Years of a Poet’s Life (2006); Liberation Narratives: New and Collected Poems 1967-2009 (2009), Honoring genius, Gwendolyn Brooks: The narrative of Craft, Art, Kindness and Justice (2011); and the best-selling Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? (1991). A long-time community activist and institution builder, Madhubuti is a co-founder of the Institute of Positive Education and its three schools in Chicago. He retired in 2011 after a forty-two-year distinguished teaching career that included Cornell University, Howard University, Chicago State University where he was appointed its first University Distinguished Professor and was the founding Director of its MFA Program in Creative Writing, and DePaul University, where he served as the last Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor. Madhubuti’s most recent books are, Taking Bullets: Terrorism and Black Life in Twenty-First Century America (2016), co-editor of Not Our President: New Directions From the Pushed Out, the Others, and the Clear Majority in Trump’s Stolen America (2017) and Taught By Women: Poems As Resistance Language New And Selected (2020). Tuesday, October 5, 2021 | 6:00 P.M. Watch live on YouTube! Brian Blanchfield | Prose Brian Blanchfield is the author of three books of poetry and prose, including Proxies: Essays Near Knowing and A Several World, which received, respectively, a 2016 Whiting Award in Nonfiction and the 2014 Academy of American Poets’ James Laughlin Award. His recent work appears in The Oxford American, Grand, Tin House, A Public Space, The Map Is Not the Territory, Northwest Review, Textual Practice, and Chicago Review. A finalist for the National Book Award in Poetry and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Memoir and the recipient of fellowships from the Howard Foundation and the Idaho Council for the Arts, Blanchfield teaches in the Bennington Writing Seminars and directs the MFA writing program at the University of Idaho. Tuesday, October 19, 2021 | 5:30 P.M. Watch live on YouTube!

WSU Tri-Cities and Columbia Basin College Virtual Career Fair
2021-10-20 10:00 - 14:00 | Handshake, WA, United States
Columbia Basin College and WSU Tri-Cities are having a virtual Career Fair! Columbia Basin College is partnering with WSU Tri-Cities on October 20, 2021 from 10 am to 2 pm. Join us on Handshake to meet recruiters and learn about opportunities available at companies looking for students like you. This is the perfect opportunity to connect with your future employer and get recruited for your next career opportunity. Join here!

Feminist / Queer Dialogue Series
2021-11-03 16:30 - 17:30 | Zoom, WA, United States
The English Graduate Organization & The Program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality present the Fall 2021 Feminist / Queer Dialogue Series! Please join us for our Fall 2021 panel where WGSS affiliate faculty member Dr. Tanja Burkhard will present on her latest research. Wednesday, November 3, 2021 | 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Dr. Tanka Burkhard, “Toward Transnational Black Feminist Inquiry in Qualitative Research” Zoom Link

Virtual Internship Fair
2022-01-25 10:00 - 14:00 | Handshake, WA, United States
WSU Tri-Cities is proud to partner with Columbia Basin College and the Washington Workforce Portal to present the Virtual Internship Fair! Network with local companies and find internship opportunities in the Tri-Cities area!
Register: wsu.joinhandshake.com

WSU Visiting Writers Series
2022-02-09 18:00 | YouTube, WA, United States
The WSU Visiting Writers Series brings noted poets and writers of fiction and nonfiction to campus for creative readings, class visits, workshops, and collaborative exchanges across intellectual and artistic disciplines. Natalie Diaz Natalie Diaz was born and raised in the Fort Mojave Indian Village in Needles, California, on the banks of the Colorado River. She is Mojave and an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Tribe. Her first poetry collection, When My Brother Was an Aztec, was published by Copper Canyon Press and won an American Book Award. Her second book, Postcolonial Love Poem, was published by Graywolf Press in March 2020 and was a finalist for the National Book Award the Forward Prize, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2021. She is a 2018 MacArthur Fellow, as well as a Lannan Literary Fellow and a Native Arts Council Foundation Artist Fellow. She was awarded the Princeton Holmes National Poetry Prize and a Hodder Fellowship. She is a member of the Board of Trustees for the United States Artists, where she is an alumni of the Ford Fellowship. Diaz is Director of the Center for Imagination in the Borderlands and is the Maxine and Jonathan Marshall Chair in Modern and Contemporary Poetry at Arizona State University. Wednesday, February 9, 2022 | 6 P.M. Watch live on YouTube! Beth Piatote Beth Piatote is a Nez Perce writer, scholar, and Indigenous language activist. She is the author of two books, including the mixed-genre collection, The Beadworkers: Stories (Counterpoint 2019), which was long listed for the Aspen Words Literary Prize, the PEN/Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction; and shortlisted for the California Independent Booksellers Association “Golden Poppy” Award for fiction; as well as numerous stories, essays, and poems in literary and scholarly journals. She is an associate professor of Comparative Literature and Native American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and chair of the Designated Emphasis in Indigenous Language Revitalization. She is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and works in her heritage language of Nez Perce. Thursday, March 3, 2022 | 6 P.M. Watch live on YouTube! Storme Webber Storme Webber is a Two Spirit Sugpiaq / Black / Choctaw poet and an interdisciplinary artist. She is second generation Two Spirit and lesbian. Her work is cross genre: incorporating text, performance, audio, and altar installation; archival photographs and collaboration in order to engage with ideas of history, lineage, gender, race and sexuality. Her practice explores liminal identities, survivance and decolonization, and does so in a blues/jazz-based experimental manner, often incorporating acapella vocals. Her performance is described by the artist Laiwan as poetics / jazz. Storme has received numerous honors and residencies; including from Hedgebrook, Ragdale and Banff Arts Centre, and recently was honored with the James W Ray Award. Her first solo museum exhibition, “Casino: A Palimpsest,” was presented at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle. Wednesday, March 23, 2022 | 6 P.M. Watch live on YouTube! Michelle Nijhuis Michelle Nijhuis is a contributing editor at High Country News and project editor at The Atlantic Monthly. Nijhuis’s most recent book Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction was shortlisted for the 2020 J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award, one of LitHub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2021, winner of the Sierra Club’s 2021 Rachel Carson Award, and one of the Chicago Tribune’s 10 Best Books of 2021. She is author of co-editor of the Science Writer’s Handbook. Her reporting has won national honors, including two AAAS/Kavli Science Journalism Awards, the Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism, and inclusion in four Best American anthologies. Her work takes her throughout the western United States and beyond and has been supported by the Alicia Patterson Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, and the Food and Environmental Reporting Network. Wednesday, March 30, 2022 | 6 P.M. Watch live on YouTube! Inés Hernández-Avila Inés Hernández-Ávila (Niimiipuu/Nez Perce and Tejana), Professor, Native American Studies, UC Davis, is one of the six founders of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA). Her research focuses on the interrelationships between autonomy, the arts, spirit, and social justice, through the study of Native American/Indigenous poetry, U.S./Mexico, with a particular focus on Chiapas. She is a poet, scholar, translator, visual artist, and a member of Luk’upsíimey/The North Star Collective, a group of Niimiipuu creative writers and language workers. She has received two grants to take a Luk’upsíimey delegation to San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, to meet with Mayan counterparts, in Spring 2022. She has a contract with SUNY Press for the multi-lingual collection Donde Nacen los Cantos/Where the Songs Are Born: Contemporary Mayan and Zoque Poetry, featuring twenty poets in translation. She collaborated with the Library of Congress to produce the site La Palabra Indigenous Voices. Throughout her career she has been a bridge between Chicanx Studies/Chicanx community and Native American Studies/Native American community, and between Native writers in the U.S. and Indigenous writers in Mexico, Guatemala, and Chile. In April 2017, she received the Frank Bonilla Public Intellectual Award from the Latinx Studies section of LASA. Wednesday, April 6, 2022 | 6 P.M. Watch live on YouTube! Naomi Littlebear Morena Naomi Littlebear Morena is a Chicana lesbian writer and musician who is featured in the seminal third-wave feminist anthology, This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color. Her song, “Can’t Kill the Spirit” has been adopted in protests internationally from England to Nicaragua. In the 1980s, the Greenham Common Peace Camps adopted the song to protest the storing of nuclear cruise missiles, which lasted nearly two decades and was some 30,000 women strong. In her essay, “Tierra Sagrada: The Roots of a Revolution,” Cherrie Moraga names Naomi Littlebear Morena as a groundbreaking figure of Chicana feminism: “Since the early 1980s, Chicana lesbian feminists have explored these traditionally dangerous topics in both critical and creative writings. Chicana lesbian-identified writers such as Ana Castillo, Gloria Anzaldua, and Naomi Littlebear Morena were among the first to articulate a Chicana feminism, which included a radical woman-centered critique of sexism and sexuality from which both lesbian and heterosexual women benefited” (160). Wednesday, April 20, 2022 | 6 P.M. Watch live on YouTube!

One Hanford Virtual Career Fair
2022-03-02 10:00 - 14:00 | Brazen, WA, United States
Explore approximately 1,700 job opportunities including entry level and internships for all majors! Wednesday, March 2nd
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Register Here

3-Minute Thesis Contest
2022-03-09 15:00 - 17:00 | Zoom, WA, United States
Clearly present your thesis in three minutes or less with only one slide! This competition is for masters and doctoral students to share your research, prepare for Research Showcase, and also win a $500 monetary award. Wednesday, March 9th
3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Zoom To register, please email your name and your presentation title to holly.davis@wsu.edu. The deadline to submit your presentation is Tuesday, February 22nd at 9 a.m.

Boeing Info Session
2022-03-24 12:10 - 13:00 | WSU Tri-Cities, 2710 Crimson Way, Richland, WA, 99354, United States
Engage with Boeing engineers and managers. Boeing is looking to create connections with soon-to be grads. No RSVP required Thursday, March 24th
12:10 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Floyd Atrium near the stairwell

Boeing Meet and Greet Lunch
2022-03-25 12:00 - 13:30 | CIC 120, WA, United States
Boeing is looking to create connections with soon-to be grads. Learn more about what Boeing has to offer and to get some practice engaging with professionals. Space is limited. RSVP Required: bit.ly/rsvpboeing Friday, March 25th
Noon – 1:30 p.m.
CIC 120

Creating a "Yes, And" Culture with Galen Emanuele
2022-04-01 10:00 - 12:00 | East Auditorium, 2710 University Dr, Richland, WA, 99354, United States
Presenter Galen Emanuele transforms the way teams and organizations approach and establish culture, perform together and impact each other at work. He will walk us through his process of skillfully giving and receiving feedback, and share a simple model to establish a “culture of feedback” for increasing trust, growth and accountability. Participation is what’s going to make this workshop the most fun and impactful. All employees are encouraged to participate. Light refreshments will be served. Friday, April 1st
10 a.m. – Noon or 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
East Auditorium Register by March 30th. Register Here

Master's proposal defense: Alexis Sullivan
2022-04-12 12:00 - 13:30 | ZOOM, WA, United States
Open to WSU Tri-Cities faculty, staff, and students.
Final Examination Announcement for Alexis Sullivan, who will be defending her thesis proposal for the degree of Master of Science in Biology. The exam announcement is to be posted in a public space within the department. As a publicly-funded institution of higher education, all WSU final exams are required to be open to the public without exception.
Alexis Sullivan’s Master’s proposal defense will be held on Tuesday, April 12 at noon over Zoom.

Title: Impact of invasion by annual grasses on mycorrhizal inoculation potential in the Palouse Prairie.

Abstract: The Palouse Prairie is one of the most critically endangered ecosystems in the United States, with less than 1% of native prairie remaining. The native prairie that remains today is increasingly threatened by land-use change and invasive species. The invasive winter annual grass Ventenata dubia has become a dominant threat to native prairie remnants, as it decreases native plant species diversity and native plant species richness. Although we have seen the effects of V. dubia on native plant communities since its introduction in the 1950’s, the impact V. dubia may have on soil microbial communities such as arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi is not known. My graduate work has focused on understanding the impact that V. dubia invasion has, if any, on AM fungi in the Palouse Prairie.

Zoom Link: https://wsu.zoom.us/j/94290055300?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 942 9005 5300
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Nursing Career Fair
2022-04-21 15:00 - 18:30 | WSU Tri Cities Nursing Facility, 1266 Lee Blvd., Richland, 99352
WSU Tri-Cities invites you to participate in our inaugural Nursing Career Fair! The in-person fair is designated specifically for nursing students to meet and learn more about regional healthcare organizations and hospitals seeking to hire. Thursday, April 21st
3 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
WSU Tri-Cities Nursing Building Student Registration Employer Registration If you have any questions or need assistance, please email laura.sanchez1@wsu.edu.

Registration Deadline: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit 2022
2022-06-01 | Online, WA, United States
WSU Professional Education presents Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit 2022.
Admission is free and open to all employees from Washington state agencies, boards and commissions. The website provides additional information about the event. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit is presented by the State on four Tuesdays in June. REGISTER

Health Care Virtual Job Fair
2022-06-01 10:00 - 13:00 | Brazen, WA, United States
Featuring hospitals, medical clinics and laboratories. Wednesday and Thursday, June 1st and 2nd
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Brazen June 1st Registration June 2nd Registration

Labor and Automation Effects on Social Sustainability and Resilience in U.S. Agriculture
2022-09-07 08:30 - 12:30 | East Auditorium, 2710 University Dr, Richland, WA, 99354, United States
The workshop includes speakers from around the country talking about technical innovations in agriculture, the economic impacts of new technology, the social implications of labor-saving technology and more. The public is welcome to attend the first day workshop, pre-registration is optional for in-person attendance and required for online watching.

Presentation by NASA Astronaut Kyla Barron
2022-09-14 15:00 | Collaboration Hall, WA, United States
Faculty, staff and students who are interested in learning about STEM careers, especially those related to space exploration, engineering, research and education, will appreciate hearing about Kayla Barron’s process of becoming an astronaut and her time (177 days) aboard the International Space Station. Barron is a Richland native and is returning to share her experiences as a Naval officer aboard nuclear submarines and astronaut. With a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering from Annapolis and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Cambridge, Kayla can speak to faculty and students about the importance of STEM careers and being open to opportunities.

Graduate Student Fall Meet & Greet
2022-09-16 16:00 - 17:00 | Collaboration Hall, WA, United States
Come meet your fellow graduate students from all across the Tri-Cities campus and also meet Dr. Judith Morrison, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Programs. Free pizza provided! Please register by emailing Graduate Programs Coordinator Niamh O’Leary at niamh.oleary@wsu.edu. Please register by noon on September 15th.

Working with Disabilities: Resource and Networking Fair
2022-10-04 15:30 - 17:00 | CIC 120, WA, United States
Did you know that October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month? WSU Tri-Cities Access Services and Career Services will be hosting the Working with Disabilities: Resource and Networking Fair to give students and the community an opportunity to network. Tuesday, October 4th
3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.
CIC 120

WSU Visiting Writers Series
2022-10-04 18:00 | YouTube, WA, United States
The WSU Visiting Writers Series brings noted poets and writers of fiction and nonfiction to campus for creative readings, class visits, workshops, and collaborative exchanges across intellectual and artistic disciplines. Roger Reeves Roger Reeves is the author of Best Barbarian (W.W. Norton & Co., 2022), which Tracy K. Smith called “a revelation and a form of reparation,” and King Me (Copper Canyon Press, 2013), a Library Journal Best Poetry Book of the year, and winner of the Larry Levis Reading Prize, the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award, and a John C. Zacharis First Book Award. His poems have appeared in journals such as Poetry, Ploughshares, American Poetry Review, Boston Review, and Tin House, among others. He was awarded a 2013 NEA Fellowship, Ruth Lilly Fellowship by the Poetry Foundation in 2008, a Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University, two Bread Loaf Scholarships, an Alberta H. Walker Scholarship from the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, two Cave Canem Fellowships and a Whiting Award. Tuesday, October 4 | 6 P.M. Watch live on YouTube! Sam Roxas-Chua Sam Roxas-Chua 姚 (Yao) is a transracial/transcultural adopted person. He is the author of Saying Your Name Three Times Underwater, Echolalia in Script, Fawn Language, and the podcast Dear Someone Somewhere, an audio-journal project. His open-form calligraphy, artworks, and writing have appeared in various journals and galleries. Sam is a poet in the periphery, a multimedia artist, field recordist, and an amateur radio operator. He’s read for PEN International, city government events, and is currently an artist-in-residence at the Portland Chinatown Museum. Poet Tyehimba Jess describes Sam’s poems as “surreal yet rooted in palpable color and history … it transcends oceans, blends geographies, and bleeds a multitongued heritage for us to better find ourselves.” Tuesday, October 25 | 5 P.M. Watch live on YouTube!

Annual Employee Awards Ceremony
2023-05-03 15:00 - 16:00 | Collaboration Hall, WA, United States
Each year, time is set aside to celebrate and honor our distinguished faculty and staff. In 2020, WSU Tri-Cities established campus awards to be given annually to honor those who epitomize the highest levels of excellence in the pursuit of the university’s mission and goals.
This year’s celebration will honor faculty and staff in these categories:

Distinguished Teaching Award
Distinguished Research Excellence Award
Outstanding Adjunct Business Faculty Award
Outstanding Adjunct STEM Faculty Award
Chancellor’s Distinguished Employee Excellence Award
In addition, we will recognize tenures and promotions.

Light refreshments will be provided.

3 Minute Thesis & 2 Minute Talk Competitions
2024-03-06 15:00 - 16:00 | Collaboration Hall Room 202, WA, United States
Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a research communication competition for doctoral students. The challenge is to clearly present your doctoral thesis to a non-specialized audience in 3 minutes or less, using a single static PowerPoint slide. Two Minute Talk (2MT) is a communication competition for master’s students. The challenge is to clearly present your master’s thesis research or non-thesis focus to a non-specialized audience in 2 minutes or less, using a single static PowerPoint slide. Only Tri-Cities students can compete in this Tri-Cities event. Attending the event is free and open to all. This event is sponsored by Research and Graduate Programs. Learn more about 3MT/2MT and register

Cougar Tracks Tourism & Hospitality Service Excellence Workshop
2025-05-13 09:00 - 16:00 | HAPO Center, 6600 Burden Blvd., Pasco, 99301, United States
This immersive, in-person workshop is tailored for service professionals in hospitality, tourism, and customer-facing roles who want to master the skills that drive guest satisfaction, increase business success, and create unforgettable experiences. Learn from local industry leaders through hands-on activities, real-world case studies, and interactive discussions that will transform the way you engage with guests. Perfect for hotel, attraction, winery, retail and restaurant staff and tourism professionals representing service-driven businesses looking to elevate their hospitality standards and set themselves apart.

Date: May 13, 2025
Time: 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: HAPO Center
Format: Interactive, In-Person
Facilitator: Visit Tri-Cities Excellence in Service Award Recipient
Cost: Free!

Register for the Tourism & Hospitality Service Excellence Workshop
This workshop is sponsored by Visit Tri-Cities and Battelle.

Powerful Learning Objectives

Turn Every Guest into a Loyal Advocate
Learn how to create personalized guest experiences that build lasting relationships, encourage repeat business, and boost word-of-mouth referrals.
Handle Difficult Situations with Confidence
Master proactive communication and problem-solving techniques to resolve challenges quickly and professionally, ensuring guests leave with a positive impression.
Leverage Local Tourism to Enhance Guest Experiences
Gain Master Concierge Tourism Training with in-depth knowledge of Tri-Cities’ attractions, venues, and events and Visit Tri-Cities services to provide tailored recommendations that elevate guest satisfaction.
Drive Business Growth Through Service Excellence
Discover how exceptional service directly impacts revenue, from increased customer retention to enhanced brand reputation in the hospitality industry.

Cougar Tracks Wine Service Excellence Workshop
2025-06-03 12:00 - 16:00 | Wine Science Center, 359 George Washington Way, Richland, WA, 99354
An exclusive workshop for hospitality employees in Benton County — just in time for the tourism season.
Boost wine club conversions and customer loyalty, strengthen hospitality and conflict resolution skills, deepen your Washington wine knowledge, learn frfom top wine industry experts, and gain tools for real-world tasting room success.

Date: June 3, 2025
Time: Noon – 4 p.m.
Location: WSU Wine Science Center
Format: Interactive, In-Person
Audience: Tasting Room Staff & Mangers
Cost: Free!

Register for the Wine Service Excellence Workshop
Meet Our Experts

April Reddout
Reddout Wine Consulting
Michelle Vaughters
Wine Club Strategist
Reggie Daigneault
Wine Educator, REGGIE Wine LLC

Cougar Tracks Change Architects Workshop
2025-06-04 08:30 - 15:30 | WSU Tri-Cities, 2710 Crimson Way, Richland, WA, 99354, United States
In today’s rapidly evolving marketplace, successful businesses in the Tri-Cities region recognize that true transformation isn’t just about adopting new technologies, it’s about redefining how teams collaborate, innovate, and lead meaningful change. The Cougar Tracks Change Architects workshop is specifically designed for project managers, team leaders, and forward-thinking professionals seeking to drive transformative business operations, innovate solutions, and build highly cohesive teams. Join us to ignite lasting change, foster innovative excellence, and transform challenges into powerful opportunities for your organization’s growth and impact.

Date: June 4, 2025
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. (lunch included)
Location: WSU Tri-Cities
Format: Interactive, In-Person
Instructor: Dr. Wade Larson
Cost: $1,295 (apply for scholarships here)

Register for the Cougar Tracks Change Architects Course
Purpose-Driven Learning Objectives

Understand essential project management methodologies tailored for innovative, transformative projects.
Cultivate leadership skills that inspire cohesive teamwork and effective communication.
Equip participants with tools for overcoming resistance and navigating the complexities of organizational change.
Foster an innovative mindset that turns challenges into opportunities for business growth and development.

Program Structure

Transformative Project Management Essentials

Core principles of project management specific to transformative business initiatives.
Identifying clear, compelling purposes behind projects to motivate teams and stakeholders.

Building Cohesive Teams

Strategies to nurture team cohesion, trust, and accountability.
Interactive exercises highlighting the power of collaboration in achieving innovative outcomes.

Navigating and Leading Change

Tactics to effectively manage resistance and facilitate meaningful change within organizations.
Case study analyses tailored to prominent local businesses to ground theory in regional relevance.

Innovation Lab: From Insight to Action

Practical application: Participants collaboratively solve real-world business challenges using innovative project management techniques.
Teams present solutions and receive constructive, actionable feedback.

Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours
2025-10-09 16:00 - 18:00 | CIC 120, WA, United States
Connect with local business professionals while enjoying refreshments and beverages. Bring your business card to enter to win a door prize. It’s free to attend – bring a friend!

ProPEL Poster & Internship Panel
2025-11-03 08:30 - 10:00 | Floyd Atrium, WA, United States
Hear from students who’ve been there – learn how to find, apply for, and succeed in internships!
Coffee and refreshments provided.

Bio-In Seminar Series: Turning the Page in Aviation — Growth, Availability, and Sustainability
2025-11-20 14:00 - 15:00 | WA
Learn more about the state of the art in commercial manufacturing of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and elucidate a path forward. Various elements of the necessary ecosystem including but not limited to feedstock, technology, policy, and finance will be discussed. Join us in-person or online! Join online
Mukund Karanjikar
Mukund Karanjikar is founder and CEO of CleanJoule Inc., a U.S.-based fuel technology company advancing high-performance sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). An inventor with 20+ patents, he previously led Technology Holding and worked at Chevron and Rallis India Ltd. He has served as a visiting fellow at Harvard University, adjunct faculty at the University of Utah, and on expert panels for the International Energy Agency, Bureau of Land Management of the Department of Interior, and Industrial Research Institute. Former chair of the Management Division at the American Institue of Chemical Engineers, he holds a Chemical Engineering degree from ICT Mumbai and a PhD from Auburn University. Aviation fuel demand is expected to grow to 160-210 billion gallons globally by 2050 from the current 95 B gallons. In parallel, surface transport is rapidly electrifying. The world is faced with the challenge of accurately predicting petroleum demand as surface transport fuels and aviation fuels are produced from the same barrel. All the same, decarbonization of aviation remains to be a substantial challenge. Such challenge needs to be addressed head on by developing alternative sources of aviation fuel that will decouple the aviation industry from the petroleum industry.
