Bellevue College (BC) recently premiered its new television show, “Influential Women of Washington State” (IWOW). The television show, spearheaded by adjunct marketing professor Kela Hall, focuses on issues facing women in the workplace, on boards of directors, as well as gender equity and popular topics like gun violence, bullying and men as allies.

The series was produced by host KD Hall in partnership with BC’s Digital Media Arts and Digital Media Services, and the project was funded through a BC Foundation Mini-Grant.

Hall said she was inspired to launch the new show because of the current social climate in Washington and the U.S. as a whole.

“With everything that’s going on in the news and our society as a whole, I think it’s really important to highlight the women who have power and who are making a difference,” she said.

Hall and her husband, David, are co-founders of the K.D. Hall Foundation, launched in 2014. The foundation strives to advance the future workforce for young adults with an emphasis on women and young girls. To achieve its goals, the foundation is providing college students experiential internships that develop student leadership and communication skills. Hall said IWOW is a spin off from her foundation’s signature conference, Women on the Rise.

“Part of what made this production so streamlined was that I already had a lot of connections to the women featured in the show, and they were more than happy to be a part of this project,” Hall said.

Guest appearances include Carmen Best, chief of police Seattle Police Deptartment; Lisa Chin, president of Boys and Girls Club of King County; and Justice Mary Yu of the Washington State Supreme Court.

For Hall, being able to present the influential women in this kind of way has been rewarding.

“We were able to interview everybody in like four or five days, which is amazing, and it was structured in a way that the guest could almost talk about whatever they wanted,” Hall said. “They mostly talked about where they’re at currently, their history, what they’re doing now, how they got here and struggles they faced to get to where they are.”

However, Hall said it was equally rewarding to be able to partner with students on the project.

“Part of our foundation is helping college students get interested in experimental internships that will prepare them for future careers, so it was really great to work with students on this project and see them grow and develop,” she said. “Students helped produce, film, direct and create the content,and it turned out far better than I could have ever imagined.”

Bellevue College held a screening Oct. 11 as part of its Homecoming 2018 activities, and the participants had a chance to discuss topics such as preventing self-sabotage, male allyship, and women holding a seat at the decision-making table. There were 40 participants who added to the dialogue.

The series airs on the Seattle Channel and channel 28 in King County and Snohomish County. It airs on channel 28 Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 5:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The show airs on the Seattle channel 10:30 p.m. on Mondays. The show can also be viewed on KD Hall Foundation’s Youtube channel.