Building a sense of belonging Building a sense of belonging Building a sense of belonging

When Skyler Brown, Foster MBA ’19, completed nine years of Army service, more than four of them as a Green Beret, he went looking for an education in behavioral finance and a community where his family could put down roots. He found both at the University of Washington. “I chose the UW because it has world-class professors, and I was encouraged to explore the full university course catalog,” he says. “Supplementing business school with classes at the law school and language courses at the College of Arts & Sciences was a gift.”

With his wife’s roots in Washington, the Puget Sound region was the natural place to land. As a graduate student at the Foster School of Business, Brown saw the UW Alumni Association in action for the first time. “The events drew me in,” he recalls. “Our speakers were always insightful and memorable, but our alumni community always added unique twists during Q&A.”

After five years on the UWAA Board of Trustees, Brown now serves as the president of the 60,000-member association. His focus is simple: Make sure everyone connected to the UW feels they belong in our Welcome Center era. The Ana Mari Cauce Welcome Center, scheduled to open in 2028, will give the UW family a new front door and gathering space. Brown sees the years between now and then as a chance to strengthen the connections our Welcome Center will celebrate, and a chance to continue growing the type of community that can help our University advance far into the future.

“Sometimes, graduates don’t know where to turn after they finish school,” he says. “Being present in our larger community isn’t necessarily a priority for our students while they focus on graduating. For students and alumni of the University, it’s important to build the type of environment that creates a sense of belonging.” That sense of belonging, he adds, should also be felt by friends of the University.

Brown is honest about the challenges the UW faces, and quick to see the opportunity in them. His experiences in the military and as a wealth adviser at Goldman Sachs have illustrated how uncertainty can lead to surprisingly positive outcomes. “It’s a very exciting time of change at the UW,” he says.

“We can choose to see what’s possible.” He credits current University and community leaders’ measured optimism with keeping the UWAA motivated to pursue new opportunities across campus, the Big Ten and globally. Together, he says, UWAA staff and board members feel “uniquely prepared to excel strategically in our current environment.”

He takes the long view, too. The University has grown and adapted for more than 160 years, and Skyler wants the association’s work to help it thrive through the next 160. “The UW gave our family a home,” he says. “I’m grateful for that, and I want to make sure our larger community can feel our same sense of belonging, Cougars and Ducks included.”

Skyler proudly describes himself as a “library kid” who devoured books about adventure, investors and the military. He continues to believe that his experiences are a testament to the power of mentorship, community connections and education. Ask him about any of it, and the conversation returns to the same place: service. Leading the UWAA, for Skyler, is simply the next way to serve, by helping every member of the UW family build their own sense of belonging.

Meet the new UWAA president

Name: Skyler Brown
UW Degree: MBA, 2019
Did you know: He earned his bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Military Academy and served more than nine years in the Army
Profession: Investment adviser, Seattle office of Goldman Sachs
Born and Raised: San Jose, Calif.
Highlight: While serving in the Army, he became a Special Forces Green Beret with a Persian Farsi language specialty and deployed to Afghanistan and several other countries