Joe Lawless grew up in South Tacoma and was the first person in his family to earn a bachelor’s degree. After graduating from Seattle University, Lawless worked in several fields, including sports management. He managed the hockey division of the 1990 Goodwill Games and later worked with the Tacoma Stars and Tacoma Rockets, former soccer and hockey teams in Tacoma.

He worked for more than a decade in marketing and fund development at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, and later, for 14 months, he served as director of corporate partnerships at Goodwill. He returned to school and graduated this year from the University of Washington Tacoma with a master’s degree in business administration.

Last month, he was appointed to the newly created position of executive director of the UWT Milgard School of Business Center for Corporate Leadership and Social Responsibility.

You were raised in South Tacoma and attended Mount Tahoma High School. What was your first job?

I was a meat carver at the Royal Fork. Then I worked at Pleasurecraft Marina in Gig Harbor. Then I was the guy who sat out at the dump and told people where to park. My first real job after college was at Ackerly Communications. I leased property for two years and sold advertising for one year. I realized that the advertising sales business was not for me. I spent too much time building relationships and not making the deal, making the deal.

After working in marketing and fundraising for nonprofit organizations, you decided to go back to school.

I had always wanted to go back and get more education, but the time was never right. Diane Cecchettini (MultiCare Health System president and CEO) took me aside and said, “This is something you really need to do. It’s the ticket to the show.”

In order to progress in my career, I needed to move ahead.

Why the University of Washington Tacoma?

I talked to someone who had an MBA from here. He really sold it. He thought it was a good group of people, and the professors were top-notch. I sent Diane a thank-you note the day I graduated. I thanked her for giving me that push.

But it was more than just a career move.

I think what I really was really interested in – my history had been in the not-for-profit world. I was interested in the whole for-profit thing, and the interplay between the two. Philanthropy was my background. I asked, “Why do companies do this?” “Is there a way this can benefit the company and the community?” I wanted to find out what the best practices are in doing that. A company can say it’s going to support the community with X amount of money. What is the best way to integrate that and your corporate strategy and values? It starts with the values. I knew there had to be a better way to integrate that with the corporate strategy.

Have you found that better way?

It’s one of the questions we’re asking now at the center. “What should it be?” Two professors are doing a study that looks at the community. How does a company decide?

Any thoughts on where this area is, in terms of giving?

I had the easiest fundraising job in Tacoma. I worked for Mary Bridge. I would say this community is very generous – whether they’re strategic or not. I think we’re more generous than other communities.

Have you had time to refine your goal as executive director?

Social responsibility is bigger than business students. It’s social work, urban studies, environmental sciences. My conception is that it resides in the School of Business, but the concepts of social responsibility and leadership are broader. We hope to engage everybody – in school and in the community.

We will integrate the concepts of social responsibility into the school. We will do research into the field of social responsibility, creating knowledge. We’ll be a resource for regional businesses.

I know it’s early, but what else are you planning?

I wish Gary and Carol (Milgard, patrons of the school) were still alive so I could ask them. They funded this.

I think they really wanted this to impact two populations: students, and downstream, the community. If we can provide students an ethical background and let them have a sense of their work making this a better world, then I think we have fulfilled the Milgards’ vision.

One of the first things we’re doing is developing an honor code with students. We’ll have our second leadership forum in the spring. We’ll have a case competition geared to social responsibility. We’re developing a resource library. Looking out, I’d like to develop a partnership with a comparable university somewhere in Asia.

It sounds like you enjoy your new job.

I am excited about being here. I don’t think it’s too often that you get to start something from ground zero. I get up every day and say, “Look what I get to do.”

C.R. Roberts: 253-597-8535

c.r.roberts@thenewstribune.com

Joe Lawless

Position: Executive director, Milgard School of Business Center for Corporate Leadership and Social Responsibility

Age: 42

Education: Seattle University; University of Washington Tacoma, master’s in business administration

Family: Wife, Jamie; three children, 15, 12 and 5

Home: Tacoma

Hobbies: Golf, fly-fishing, cycling

Early accomplishment: Helped inaugurate the Courage Classic cycling tour.

What you probably don’t know about him: While managing hockey events for the 1990 Goodwill Games, he calmed a confrontation between various hockey groups, the KGB and a local official, helping to avoid a serious international incident after a Russian player defected.