Michael Soto is having a busy February. The new president and CEO of the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) started his role on Feb. 7 and is already deep in preparations for the spring and summer with his team.

"It's been so delightful to actually be in meetings with everyone, getting to know the team, [and] getting to know more about the work," Soto told the SGN. "I'm so thrilled to be a part of it," he added.

Soto joins the GSBA, Washington state's LGBTQ+ and allied chamber of commerce, after Louise Chernin stepped down from the role in Dec. 2020.

Born and raised in Arizona, Soto was first introduced to community advocacy from a young age through his own family's civic engagement.

"That [engagement] perhaps looked different when I was little and growing up in an LDS family in the very conservative city of Mesa, but that passion for contributing to something beyond my life has always been a part of what has driven me," Soto said.

Eventually Soto went into advocacy and policy work in various sectors, including arts advocacy and social services. After coming out at 19 years old, he began to form strong ties to LGBTQ advocacy, and this eventually led to him serving as the executive director of Equality Arizona from 2018 until taking his current gig.

"The LGBTQ community, that's where my heart has always been in terms of advocacy work, and in terms of community work — wanting to build a foundation so that we could truly thrive," Soto said.

So what prompted the decision to relocate to the Evergreen State? Serendipity. During the GSBA's nationwide candidate search, Soto was contacted for an interview.

"At first I was, like, oh, that sounds really interesting... it's an absolutely gorgeous place, wonderful community, all the things that I would be looking for in a community if I were going to move," Soto said.

He was inevitably won over by conversations with the GSBA staff and board. "I just felt this wonderful welcoming, this invitation to be a part of something so exciting. The work that GSBA does for the LGBTQ community and the business community in the state of Washington is just incredible work, and so important coming out of the pandemic. That's what really drove me."

Soto's vision for the GSBA
As Soto acclimates to his role, the two major goals on his agenda are to embed himself with both his team and Seattle's LGBTQ and business community, and continue to build off the GSBA's decades-long legacy.

The timing couldn't be better, as the GSBA is now looking to help businesses emerge from surviving the pandemic to thriving.

Between 2020 and 2021, the GSBA provided $370,000 in emergency grants to BIPOC-, women-, and LGBTQ-owned businesses through the Ready for Business Fund (co-launched with Comcast Washington). The fund highlights Soto's vision of how the GSBA best supports Seattle's business community.

"That's the best of what this organization should be — whether in crisis or in times of prosperity: that we are there to support this community, to build this community up," Soto said. "We want to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to be a part of thriving in Washington and owning a business, accomplishing those dreams, going after whatever it is that they want to do with their lives or career path."

The last two years have presented businesses with the opportunities to be leaders in social change. The pandemic, social unrest, and "the Great Resignation" have prompted businesses to rethink practices, from policies on remote work to company culture, as well as publicly support political movements, including Black Lives Matter.

Soto sees this change as an opportunity to create a path for economic and social flourishing.

"The business community is one of the most important levers for social change in this country. The choices that business leaders make around how they shape their companies, the priorities of those companies, how they go about doing that business, and then how they engage politically... [have] a massive impact on our country as a whole," Soto said. "I'm excited to be a part of that dialogue in the Pacific Northwest and do what I can to create a foundation of equity and fairness and justice for all."

Looking forward
As spring approaches, Soto also looks forward to supporting the GSBA's Scholarship and Education Fund, which has awarded over $4.5 million to LGBTQ+ and allied students who demonstrate leadership capabilities. Recipients can receive funding for up to four years of their undergraduate education, and have the chance to join Seattle's LGBTQ business community at a young age.

"Having not just monetary but also community support — the scholars that went before you who are now alumni, the GSBA membership — having that support just makes sure that the scholars who are benefiting from the... fund also have other doors open to them," Soto said. "That support makes all the difference in the world for whether someone can be successful, taking education or training and then implementing it into a career."

Spring will also mark big personal changes for Soto, as he plans to make the official move from Arizona to Washington in April.

"I'm very much looking forward to not spending the summer in Arizona again, I'm excited to experience the Pacific Northwest summer," Soto said.