First entry!

Hey everyone!

My name is Laura Umetsu and I am a senior at the University of Washington majoring in entrepreneurship. Since January of 2007, I have been acting as project manager for the International Leadership Academy of Ethiopia.

Flashback to last January:

I get an email from my business school professor, Dr. John Castle of the UW School of Entrepreneurship telling me about two Ethiopian Americans, Haddis Tadesse and David Makonnen,

Little did I know what I was getting into...

It started out with just the three of us, writing things on napkins in a coffee shop. Man, did we come up with some crazy ideas while brainstorming (if you want any details on some of the weirder ideas we came up with, give me an email).

Anyways, fast forward to today. A few months ago, David got to meet with various members of the Prime Minister's cabinet. Negotiations are underway for a land grant (15 acres of prime real estate!) in Addis Ababa.

We just launched our website a few weeks ago and have developed several major partnerships both domestically and abroad. I attended the annual Business Luncheon for the African Chamber of Commerce to exchange ideas in a symposium, and got to meet with several ambassadors.

We got an article in the University of Washington Daily featuring the school's progress. I've got two enormously talented young ladies, Naomi and Heather helping me out. Heather helped me the other night take video footage and Naomi got us prime media coverage. The support is overwhelming! We're getting emails of support from all over the world from Seattle to Switzerland to Addis Ababa to Beijing!

I just got back KOMO 4 News this morning. Northwest Afternoon is airing a feature story next week to inform the Pacific Northwest region about our school. I'll try my best to upload a clip of the interview ASAP.

Our latest goal: fill the HUB West Ballroom at the University of Washington with supporters as we celebrate the unveiling of the school's models.

I have to run now and answer emails, but I'll definately keep you guys updated on the happenings!

Laura Umetsu