Matt Laukaitis

The Runway of Dreams Foundation was founded in 2014 by Mindy Scheier - a fashion designer and mother of a child with a disability. Her journey began when her son Oliver, who has a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy, wanted to wear jeans to school like his friends, but couldn’t manage the buttons and zippers. That night, she used her background in design to adapt a pair that not only met his needs but increased his confidence and independence. She realized then that millions of people around the world must also be struggling to access stylish clothing that meets their needs. She began to envision a world where all styles of clothing were available with adaptations that would make them accessible for people with disabilities and that adaptive clothing would become as commonplace as petite and plus size. After spending 20 years in the fashion industry, Mindy decided to combine her experience and her passion by creating Runway of Dreams. Founded on the basis that clothing is a basic human need, Runway of Dreams develops, delivers, and supports programs and events that celebrate people’s differences, break down stereotypes, highlight the need for mainstream adaptive apparel, and showcase people with disabilities in fashion. Through our campaign for inclusion, national adaptive runway shows featuring models with varying disabilities, scholarships for the next generation of adaptive designers, wardrobe grants and apparel donations for organizations serving people with disabilities in need, and college clubs across the country, Runway of Dreams is bringing positive visibility to a disability, leading a movement of inclusion in the apparel industry, and empowering people with disabilities with confidence, independence, and style. Our mission fills a void that no other charitable organization is currently addressing.

The Bellevue Chamber is the voice of business on the Eastside, representing thousands of jobs in the community.

EverBlue Partners is a trusted industry advisor for businesses looking to transform and grow through innovative technology solutions. Specializing in SAP and consumer industries (retail, consumer products, life sciences, fashion and wholesale), we help companies streamline operations, improve customer experiences, and drive growth by leveraging the power of SAPs cloud-based solutions. Whether youre adopting SAP for the first time or upgrading legacy systems, EverBlue Partners provides expert guidance and tailored strategies to ensure a successful digital transformation. We enable businesses to optimize their operations, scale efficiently, and stay competitive in todays fast-evolving marketplace. Our mission is to elevate individual talent to achieve SAP excellence. We provide a world-class employee experience and tailored solutions to meet the global client demand for SAP consulting and implementation services. By leveraging our industry expertise, we enable companies to run smoothly and collaboratively. Join us to get a unique perspective of the SAP community and a diverse experience working across consumer industries.

Stage 2 Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in early stage B2B software companies and sits shoulder to shoulder with leadership teams to operationalize sustainable revenue growth and sales operations. Backed by top go-to-market professionals from leading tech companies, Stage 2 Capital leverages its deep sales expertise to help entrepreneurs scale their businesses in addition to providing capital.

The Runway of Dreams Foundation was founded in 2014 by Mindy Scheier - a fashion designer and mother of a child with a disability. Her journey began when her son Oliver, who has a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy, wanted to wear jeans to school like his friends, but couldn’t manage the buttons and zippers. That night, she used her background in design to adapt a pair that not only met his needs but increased his confidence and independence. She realized then that millions of people around the world must also be struggling to access stylish clothing that meets their needs. She began to envision a world where all styles of clothing were available with adaptations that would make them accessible for people with disabilities and that adaptive clothing would become as commonplace as petite and plus size. After spending 20 years in the fashion industry, Mindy decided to combine her experience and her passion by creating Runway of Dreams. Founded on the basis that clothing is a basic human need, Runway of Dreams develops, delivers, and supports programs and events that celebrate people’s differences, break down stereotypes, highlight the need for mainstream adaptive apparel, and showcase people with disabilities in fashion. Through our campaign for inclusion, national adaptive runway shows featuring models with varying disabilities, scholarships for the next generation of adaptive designers, wardrobe grants and apparel donations for organizations serving people with disabilities in need, and college clubs across the country, Runway of Dreams is bringing positive visibility to a disability, leading a movement of inclusion in the apparel industry, and empowering people with disabilities with confidence, independence, and style. Our mission fills a void that no other charitable organization is currently addressing.

The Fashion Scholarship fund is an international non-profit organization composed of influential members of the fashion industry. Our goal is to advance the fashion industry by encouraging gifted and enterprising young people to pursue careers in design, merchandising, retailing and business so the industry will continue to attract dedicated, capable and creative individuals. We regard our scholarship grants as a very worthwhile investment in the future of the fashion industry and, since inception, have awarded millions of dollars in scholarships to thousands of students nationwide from 60 member universities. Record donations of over $20 million have been received in the past ten years. As further support to scholars, we facilitate internships with prestigious fashion companies and provide career mentoring by prominent senior executives who serve on our Board of Governors.