Whitworth Professor Vange Ocasio Hochheimer and Terrain Co-Founder Ginger Ewing ’01 named Inland Northwest Women of the Year by “The Spokesman-Review”
Whitworth is pleased to announce Associate Professor of Economics Vange Ocasio Hochheimer and Terrain co-founder Ginger Ewing ’01 have been named Inland Northwest Women of the Year by The Spokesman-Review.
Ocasio Hochheimer has been teaching economics at Whitworth since 2011 and has made many significant contributions to both the Whitworth and Spokane communities.
She was appointed to the Washington State Department of Commerce Community Economic Revitalization Board in September 2019. The board is the state’s decision-making authority for investing state funds into public infrastructure with the goal of bolstering private business development.
Two months later, Ocasio Hochheimer made history in Spokane, becoming the first female panelist to speak at Greater Spokane Incorporated’s Economic Forecast.
Earlier this year, Ocasio Hochheimer opened her own independent firm, Grand Fir Analytics, and completed a report for the Spokane Association of Realtors. The report focused on how policies such as rent control or just-cause evictions could actually end up hurting, not helping, the most vulnerable populations in Spokane.
“Dr. Ocasio Hochheimer has been a great advocate for the economics discipline at Whitworth University, helping our students understand the importance of markets as a means of reducing global poverty and improving the overall quality of life for most people,” says Tim Wilkinson, dean of the Whitworth School of Business. “Her solutions-oriented engagement with the Spokane business community is a great example for all of us.”
Read more about Ocasio Hochheimer’s work in The Spokesman-Review.
Ewing graduated from Whitworth in 2001 and majored in history. She originally intended to work in the forensic anthropology field, but instead turned her passion for art into her business.
She is the executive director and co-founder of Terrain, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a vibrant arts community in Spokane. Last year, Terrain’s annual fundraiser raised more than $500,000 in support of artists.
Ewing’s work with the city as well as the state has put into focus the importance of art. She serves as a commissioner for Spokane Arts and the Washington State Arts Commission and last year was named one of the YWCA’s 2019 Women of Achievement.
Ewing recently helped bring together a group of 16 artists of color to create a Black Lives Matter mural in downtown Spokane.
Ewing is currently focused on supporting artists amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its related impacts, by advocating for affordable housing and studio space for artists in Spokane. Read her story in The Spokesman-Review.
About Whitworth University:
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of more than 3,000 students, offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Contacts:
Trisha Coder, media relations manager, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or tcoder@whitworth.edu
