Washington

DDC Recognizes First Annual Ambassador Circle Award Winners | Washington DC

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2 years ago

January 25, 2024

Washington, DC – Destination DC (DDC), the official destination marketing organization for the nation’s capital, today announced its inaugural Ambassador Circle Award recipients. Honorees include some of the leading medical experts in the region, and one of the city’s leading venues.

The awards recognize distinguished leaders, innovators and researchers who position Washington, DC as a premier destination for global excellence and innovation. These ambassadors have helped to attract and shape prestigious international conferences, meetings and business events in the greater Washington, DC region with an impact of $51 million (includes forecast for meetings booked through 2029). The recipients were recognized during a luncheon at the Riggs Hotel in downtown Washington.

“We know how important it is to compete for global market share and in doing so, we rely on the advocacy and intellectual capital of our Ambassador Circle members who champion the city as a destination for meetings and events,” said Elliott L. Ferguson, II, president and CEO, DDC. “By engaging the academic community, medical community, universities and research centers to attract investments in innovative and knowledge sectors, we’re able to sustain our city’s reputation for advocacy, excellence and global standing. These ambassadors help connect Destination DC to the networks for their organizations and associations. The result is more international conferences in the nation’s capital, significantly impacting the local economy.”

Founded in 2010, the Ambassador Circle program partners with local experts, top innovators, researchers and scholars in a variety of sectors (medical, biotech/pharma, technology, sustainability, education, transportation, financial and tech) to target international meetings. The network is a noteworthy group of professionals in the region who are experts in their respective fields and share a common goal of showcasing the city as a business hub for the international community.

“We are grateful to have a strong network of private and public partners who are championing DC as a great place to visit and do business,” said Nina Albert, Acting Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. “Together, we will tell our story about why there’s Only One DC and ensure we continue to build a vibrant and diverse economic ecosystem here in the District.”

The 2024 awards and awardees:

Business Attraction Ambassador Award
Awarded in partnership with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Recognizes the contributions and support of an ambassador for the District’s business attraction, retention, and expansion activities. Serves as a champion for promoting DC as a place to do business.
• JLL

Partner Award
Recognizes a DDC member business (or team of businesses) that has leveraged resources, reach and credibility to support international meetings sales and attract visitation to DC from around the world.
• Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

Impact Award
Recognizes an ambassador leading a bid or program associated with a recent or upcoming conference that will have a positive economic and social impact on the city.
• Andrew B. Wolff, MD | Orthopedic Surgeon | Washington Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, Chairman of the Annual Scientific Meeting for ISHA-The International Hip Preservation Society

Connector Award
Recognizes an individual in the community who eagerly helps DDC make connections through their existing networks. A champion of DDC’s work and a steadfast supporter of the Ambassador Circle program.
• Cattleya Wongkongkatap, CMP, M.B.A. | Director, University Events | The George Washington University

Leadership Award
Recognizes an ambassador who has demonstrated outstanding guidance, strategic vision and impactful leadership in the organization of a conference.

• Mitchell Cohen, MD, FACC, FHRS | Co-Director of the Heart Center and Chief of Pediatric Cardiology | Inova Children’s Hospital Clinical Professor of Pediatrics | University of Virginia School of Medicine Chair Scientific Committee, 8th World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

Ambassador of the Year
Recognizes an ambassador who has excelled in chairing a major conference and passionately represented our destination, significantly enhancing its profile and appeal.
• Gil Wernovsky, MD, FAAP, FACC | Cardiac Critical Care Physician and Pediatric Cardiologist | Children’s National Hospital, Professor of Pediatrics | George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Co-Chair, 8th World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

About Destination DC: Destination DC, the official destination marketing organization for the nation’s capital, is a private, non-profit membership organization committed to marketing the area as a premier global convention, tourism and special events destination with a special emphasis on the arts, cultural and historic communities.

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Washington

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury has announced that she and her husband Matt are expecting a baby in July.

The couple made the announcement in a video on the Spirit’s social media channels, holding a baby goalkeeper jersey on the pitch at Audi Field.

Kingsbury becomes the most recent Spirit star to go on maternity leave, following defender Casey Krueger, midfielder Andi Sullivan and forward Ashley Hatch.

Sullivan gave birth to daughter Millie in July, while Hatch welcomed her son Leo in January.

Krueger announced she was pregnant with her second child in October.

Kingsbury has served as the Spirit’s starting goalkeeper since 2018, and has been named the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year twice (2019 and 2021).

The 34-year-old has two caps with the U.S. women’s national team, and was named to the 2023 World Cup roster.

The club captain will leave a major void for the Spirit, who have finished as NWSL runner-up in back-to-back seasons.

Sandy MacIver and Kaylie Collins are expected to compete for the starting role while Kingsbury is on maternity leave.

The Spirit kick off their 2026 campaign on March 13 against the Portland Thorns.

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Washington

Washington state board awards Yakima $985,600 loan for Sixth Avenue project design

Published

2 days ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Washington state board awards Yakima 5,600 loan for Sixth Avenue project design

YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakima could soon take a major step toward redesigning Sixth Avenue after the Washington State Public Works Board awarded the city a $985,600 loan.

The loan was approved for the design engineering phase of the Sixth Avenue project. The funding can also be used along Sixth Avenue for utility replacement and updated ADA use.

The Yakima City Council must decide whether to accept the award. If the council accepts it, the city’s engineering work will move forward with the design of Sixth Avenue.

The cost of installing trolley lines is excluded from the plan. The historic trolleys would need to raise the funds required to add trolley lines.

The award is scheduled to be discussed during next week’s City Council meeting.

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Washington

Microsoft promises more AI investments at University of Washington

Published

2 days ago

February 25, 2026

Press Room

Microsoft promises more AI investments at University of Washington

Microsoft will ramp up its investment in the University of Washington.

Brad Smith, the company’s president, made the announcement at a press conference with University of Washington President Robert Jones on Tuesday.

That means hiring more UW graduates as interns at Microsoft, he said.

And he said all students, faculty, and researchers should have access to free, or at least deeply-discounted, AI.

“ Some of it is compute that Microsoft is donating, and some of it is pursuant to an agreement where, believe me, we give the University of Washington probably the best pricing that anybody’s gonna find anywhere,” Smith said. He assured the small group of reporters present that it would be “many millions of dollars of additional computational resources.”

The announcement today didn’t include any specific numbers.

But Smith said Microsoft has already invested $165 million in the UW over several decades.

He pointed to Jones’ vision to spur “radical collaborations with businesses and communities to advance positive change,” and eliminate “any artificial barriers between the university and the communities it serves.”

Microsoft’s goal is for AI to help UW researchers solve some of the world’s biggest problems without introducing new ones.

At Tuesday’s announcement, several research students were present to demonstrate how AI supports their work.

Amelia Keyser-Gibson is an environmental scientist at the UW. She’s using AI to analyze photographs of vines, to find which adapt best to climate change.

It’s a paradox: AI produces carbon emissions. At the same time, it’s also a new tool to help reduce them.

So how do those things square for Keyser-Gibson?

“ That’s a great question, and honestly, I don’t know the answer to that,” she said. “I’m highly aware that there’s a lot of environmental impact of using AI, but what I can say is that this has allowed us to make research innovations that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”

“If we had had to manually annotate every single image that would’ve been an undergrad doing that for hours,” Keyser-Gibson continued. “And we didn’t have the budget. We didn’t have the manpower to do that.”

“AI exists. If we don’t use it as researchers, we’re gonna fall behind.”

Microsoft reports on its own carbon emissions. But like most AI companies, it doesn’t reveal everything.

That’s one reason another UW student named Zhihan Zhang is using AI to estimate how much energy AI is using.

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