This week on Inland Journal:
Katia Passerini celebrates her first year as president of Gonzaga University on July 15. What is sure to be one of her highlights will come this month when Gonzaga serves as a base camp for the Egyptian World Cup soccer team. But today, we talk with Passerini about other things. They include how and why to keep more Gonzaga students in Spokane after they graduate, Gonzaga and artificial intelligence, and the Zags joining the Pac-12 Conference next month.
"On the basketball level, I think we are very good competitors that we can really play up a lot of those teams and play up at a very great level within the conference and in the nation. But we can also bring some of the things that our athletes value, such as connection, holistic attention to not only your life as an athlete and on the court, but your life in the classroom and your life in the community. And we can create a lot of other opportunities for teams to engage beyond sports."
Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners, which serves the region’s low income population, is celebrating its 60th birthday this year. It’s marking that with a leadership transition. We’ll talk with the outgoing chief executive, Julie Honekamp, and her replacement, Amber Johnson, about SNAP’s legacy and place in the community.
"We used to operate food banks and a couple of other things that we shifted to our partners. And now we have focused in some areas that are very specific and are kind of our niche, so energy assistance, which is what a lot of people know us for, weatherization. We do a fair amount of small business lending and housing default counseling. So some really specific needs that we kind of help fill in our community."
