In this special bonus storytelling episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, we go inside the Seattle Chocolate factory with Jean Thompson to talk about making a career transition from marketing technology for Microsoft to manufacturing and marketing gourmet chocolate, the challenges of stepping into a CEO role, and what has driven her to make her company one of the largest women-owned businesses in Washington state.

In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, Lora Poepping talks with SoDo Consulting founder Amy Brown about her time at Microsoft, leaving the company to start her own business and the personal crisis that led to business changes that helped SoDo Consulting thrive.  

In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, Paul Shoemaker talks with Trish Millines Dziko how promoting diversity during her tenure at Microsoft became her fulltime job when founded Technology Access Foundation. Learn how her upbringing influenced her passion for preparing children of color for a career in technology, her new book and what’s next for TAF.

In the inaugural episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, Rich Kaplan sat down for a conversation with Rich Barton, the Microsoft alumnus who has hit homeruns with Expedia, Zillow and Glassdoor. The duo reminisced about how Expedia started inside the walls of Microsoft, how “power to the people” philosophy helped disrupt and transform three different industries, and how his own alumni network has been with him every step of the way.

A preview of the Microsoft Alumni Network's podcast, Beyond the Blue Badge.

Microsoft stories that inform and inspire.

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