Local Commitment
Inclusion is often treated like a policy problem or a compliance checkbox. I’ve seen something different: when communities commit to local ownership, local production, and local investment, they create the conditions for inclusion to become a practical, measurable advantage.
Innovative Impact, LLC is joining the Good Business Network of Washington because building a local economy where everyone has a meaningful stake requires the same thing inclusion requires: relationships, shared standards, and a willingness to do the work together.
Why I’m Joining Now
I launched Innovative Impact, LLC in the summer of 2022 to help organizations move beyond good intentions and build disability inclusion into how they hire, lead, and design their workplaces. The throughline in my work is simple:
Inclusion isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s a strategic advantage.
That advantage is clearest when the people who shape local economies, businesses, municipalities, community organizations, and residents, are connected in a real network, not a loose collection of logos. That’s exactly what the Good Business Network of Washington is built to do.
As of 2026, Innovative Impact is a member of the Good Business Network of Washington. I’m proud of that, and I’m even more interested in what we can build together.
What The Good Business Network Of Washington Is (And What Makes It Different)
The Good Business Network of Washington (GBN) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit coalition that connects and inspires people to buy, produce, and invest locally, so that everyone has a meaningful stake in the local economy. It began in 2010 as Seattle Good Business Network and rebranded in 2025 to reflect a broader statewide posture while retaining its program brands.
The network’s philosophy is refreshingly clear. It doesn’t treat the economy as something that “happens” to a community. It treats the economy as something we design, together. GBN’s language captures what I’ve seen repeatedly in workforce inclusion:
- Ownership and opportunity matter.
- Place and nature matter.
- What we measure matters.
- Relationships matter most.
That last line, relationships, might be the most important. Inclusion is not a standalone initiative. It’s a network effect.
The Programs That Show What GBN Is Really About
You can tell what an organization believes by what it builds. GBN has built practical, on-the-ground programs that help local economies function better, especially in moments when resilience is tested.
Seattle Restored: Turning Vacancies Into Opportunity
Seattle Restored pairs vacant storefronts with pop-ups and art installations as an economic recovery strategy. It launched in December 2021 in partnership with Seattle’s Office of Economic Development, with ARPA recovery funding. The model is tangible: property owners provide space for a few months; participants receive no-cost leases, $2,500 in working capital, and technical assistance.
The scale matters: the program has transformed 100+ vacant storefronts across Seattle since launch, and in earlier cohorts, some pop-ups extended their runs. This is what local recovery looks like when a network makes it easier for people to start, test, and grow.
Good Food Kitchens: A “Triple Win” That Protected Dignity And Local Businesses
Good Food Kitchens launched in 2020 as a pandemic response, funding local restaurants and caterers to prepare free, nourishing, culturally relevant meals for people facing food insecurity. The model directed roughly $10 per meal to participating businesses.
By 2023, it had partnered with 40+ restaurants/chefs/caterers and 35+ community organizations, directed $763,000+ to food businesses, and funded 75,000+ meals in King County. Those are outcomes, real ones, produced by local coordination.
Seattle Made And NW Sewn: Local Production As A Jobs Strategy
Seattle Made launched in 2015 after a 2014 convening and grew to a collaboration of 700+ makers. NW Sewn (formerly Seattle Sewn) secured Washington’s first registered apprenticeship for industrial sewing machine operators in January 2020. That’s not branding, that’s workforce infrastructure.
Sustainability And Circular Economy Work: Closing Loops Together
GBN’s sustainability and circular economy work emphasizes collaboration to “close the loops” in material flows and de-silo stakeholders. It’s the same mindset required for disability inclusion: fragmented efforts don’t scale; connected systems do.
Where Innovative Impact Fits, And What I Can Contribute To This Network
Innovative Impact exists to help organizations fast-track disability inclusion in the workforce in ways that are practical, measurable, and durable. My approach is informed by research on blind adults successfully employed in American corporations, and by years of lived experience as a blind professional, on both sides of the hiring equation.
Here’s What I Bring To The Table For Fellow GBN Members And Partners:
- A Clear Path From Intention To Implementation
My work typically begins with a discovery process, interviews and assessments to understand current practices, culture, and constraints, then moves into tailored recommendations, and finally a co-created statement of work that defines scope, timeline, and deliverables. Many engagements work best as multi-month partnerships (often around six months), with a flat monthly retainer structured around the depth of involvement. - Concrete Service Areas That Help Local Businesses Now
Innovative Impact provides:
- Workforce accessibility and inclusion audits.
- Strategic planning for inclusive leadership.
- Training and development programs.
- Inclusive design and universal access consultation (physical, digital, and social spaces).
And importantly: I emphasize measurement. Inclusion is not real if you can’t see it, track it, and improve it.
- A Workforce-Development Lens That Aligns With Economic Resilience
My broader work includes building career pathways, most notably in cybersecurity, where structured training, industry certifications (like Network+ and Security+), and employer partnerships can translate into real jobs. Workforce development isn’t separate from local economic health; it’s a core driver of it.
A Counterpoint Worth Naming: Inclusion Takes Time, And Local Businesses Are Stretched
If you’re running a small or mid-sized business, you already have more priorities than hours in the day. The tradeoff is real: meaningful inclusion work requires attention, learning, and sometimes changes to systems you didn’t build to begin with.
That’s exactly why networks like GBN matter. When businesses are connected, sharing resources, vendors, lessons learned, and trusted partners, the cost of doing the right thing goes down, and the likelihood of doing it well goes up.
And it’s why my approach is built around practical sequencing: start with what’s highest-impact and most feasible, measure progress, and build from there.
Practical Implications / What This Means
If you’re a business owner or operator:
You don’t need to “be perfect” to start. But you do need a plan. Membership in a values-driven network is an opportunity to turn inclusion into a competitive advantage, especially in hiring, retention, customer experience, and operational excellence.
If you lead a municipality, program, or community organization:
GBN’s model shows what works: convene stakeholders, fund practical pilots, and build infrastructure that outlasts any single grant cycle. Disability inclusion belongs inside that model, not as a separate initiative, but as a design principle.
If you’re a potential partner:
If your work touches local food systems, manufacturing, storefront activation, sustainability, or workforce pipelines, there’s room to build joint efforts where inclusion is baked into the project from day one, so the benefits are shared and the outcomes are stronger.
Local Economies Matter
I joined the Good Business Network of Washington because local economies are built by people, and people thrive when systems are designed to include them. The work GBN is already doing proves what I’ve long believed: when we invest locally and collaborate intentionally, we don’t just strengthen communities, we expand opportunity.
My final takeaway: Inclusion is a strategic advantage. And the best place to build it is together, right here, locally.
” Inclusion isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s a strategic advantage. “
Dr. Kirk Adams, Ph.D.
Advocate, Leader and Keynote Speaker on Disability Inclusion & Leadership
Leading the Way to Accessible Innovation
Institute for Sustainable Diversity and Inclusion (ISDI)
Executive Director
Strengthening individual and organizational capability for creating diverse, inclusive and equitable workplaces.
Innovative Impact, LLC Consulting
Managing Director
Impactful Workforce Inclusion Starts Here
American Foundation for the Blind
Immediate Past President & CEO
To create a world of no limits for people who are blind or visually impaired.
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