washington business
around allowing people to fly drones over the Capitol
campus. We like to think we were first to start to air
that issue. To answer your question, yes, it was very
exciting to be at the actual awards ceremony and win.
We have five pieces we are putting forward this year.
We did a documentary on the Yakima Water Basin
agreement that just started airing at the end of last
year that I think is a very strong piece. We also did a
very touching piece about Mariachi Huenachi, which
is a leadership development program for kids using
music to develop their potential and to give them the
confidence to go on to college. In most cases, these
are kids who come from families that are in poverty.
It’s a very moving story. We also did a very short
documentary on school levies and how complicated
they are, first of all, but how districts are relying
on them to provide funding for teachers, which is
part of what the state Supreme Court is concerned
about in its McCleary decision. We did a short
documentary about a gentleman named Isadore
Starr. He’s 104 years old and is considered the father
of modern civics. A charming guy and it’s a fun little
piece taking a look at his teaching career from the 1930s to now.
We have lots of stuff in the works not necessarily on the awards
front. We are putting together a new judicial show. Since TVW
started 20 years ago, we’ve been running oral arguments before the
Supreme Court. But, there was never any follow-up so we’re putting
together a show I think is going to be really interesting. A lot of our
programming is picked up by traditional media, but this is one we
think will probably play on PBS stations and other stations as well.
I’m personally excited about this one.
Renee Radcliff Sinclair
“We’re really focused on anytime, anywhere
and any device. So we’re making our product
more accessible to people everywhere.”
connection with each other. It doesn’t really matter what the
party affiliation is. When you recognize in someone the desire
to solve problems, you need to connect with that person. I’m not
sure that’s happening as much as it used to.
Putting on your lawmaker hat, how do you believe the
discourse in the Legislature or politics has changed since
you were a lawmaker?
That’s really a great question. So, I’ve worked as a legislator and a
lobbyist at the state level and I’ve worked as a lobbyist at the federal
level. It’s much easier to get things done at the state level. I still
think that relationships and the camaraderie and the ability to work
across party lines is much more profound at the state level than it
is at the federal level. Things are better here than sometimes we
think they are because what we see is the rancor that occurs in
Washington, D.C. However, having said that, and I know this is going
to sound really hokey, but I’m going to say it anyway. In the building
that used to exist across the street, there was the Capitol Bar and
Grill. We used to go there every Thursday night and karaoke. It
was a fun time when everybody just let their hair down, singing
and playing jokes on each other. There was a lot of conversation
that occurred there that led to better conversations the next day.
Today, I think there is not enough emphasis on having a personal
renee radcliff sinclair at a glance
Education: Graduate of Sonoma State University in
northern California with a degree in anatomy and
physiology.
Career: Renee Radcliff Sinclair recently retired from
leading strategic initiatives for Apple, Inc. Previously,
she was editor-in-chief of Business Monthly Magazine,
CEO of the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce and the
executive director of congressional and public affairs for
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for the Pacific Northwest.
From 1995 to 2001, she served in the Washington State
House of Representatives.
spring 2016
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