DATE: December 28, 2007

The Seattle Times editorial board has named Debra Glassman, a senior lecturer in business economics at the Michael G. Foster School of Business, one of ten people and institutions that have done the most to make the Puget Sound region a better place to live in 2007.

As faculty director of the Global Business Center and the Certificate for International Studies in Business (CISB) at the University of Washington's Foster School, Glassman has been instrumental in guiding development of the UW Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC). For its upcoming fourth edition, the GSEC drew 80 plans from enterprising student teams at universities around the world. Each is working on a creative and commercially sustainable way to improve the quality of life in developing countries in the areas of agriculture, education, energy, green building, health care, market development, microfinance, waste management, technology and water provision. From February 25-29, 2008, the 16 finalist teams will convene in Seattle to hone their plans under the tutelage of UW faculty and expert mentors from the Seattle business and non-profit community, and compete for seed money in their ventures.

Glassman, an expert in global macroeconomics and international finance, trade policy and institutions, has been on faculty at the Foster School of Business since 1992.