A nonprofit built by volunteers, for a region.

Leadership Achievement is a Washington-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization built to support entrepreneurs, women leaders, and the Pacific Northwest innovation economy.

The organization was founded to create a fundraiser — the Aurora Gala — to benefit the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business.

The event is led entirely by volunteers, and the funds raised go directly to the Buerk Center or to the production of the event itself. There is no third path.

Beyond the Gala, Leadership Achievement is exploring additional ways to strengthen the community — through a fundraising platform (Benebid) whose profits are directed back to the University of Washington, and through LKSY, a community-led AI standards organization for the practitioners shaping what comes next.