[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 145 (Monday, September 26, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1362]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING BILL AND PAULA CLAPP, RECIPIENTS OF THE GLOBAL LEADERS 
                                 AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ADAM SMITH

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 26, 2016

  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Bill and 
Paula Clapp as they are honored with the Inspiring Global Leaders Award 
from the Washington Office of Latin America (WOLA). This award is given 
in recognition of their years of indispensable leadership on global 
development and philanthropy for the past quarter century.
  Bill Clapp, an accomplished Seattle businessperson with more than 
thirty years of experience running a variety of companies in the 
Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and Hawaii, decided in the 1990s that he 
wanted to do more to make an impact globally. This decision resulted in 
the foundation of a series of impactful organizations that Bill and 
Paula Clapp had a hand in creating. Bill has served as President and 
Co-Founder of the Seattle International Foundation, a preeminent non-
government organization (NGO) focused on poverty reduction and women's 
empowerment in Central America.
  Bill and Paula Clapp co-founded another NGO, Global Partnerships, in 
1994 after witnessing the need for targeted and sustainable investments 
in Central America. Since 2001, Global Partnerships has impacted 3.3 
million lives in thirteen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean 
through its unique social enterprise model. In 2015 alone, the 
organization invested $35.7 million to deliver economic opportunities 
to over 600,000 individuals. Global Partnerships continues to be the 
largest microfinancing organization for Latin America in Seattle.
  Bill and Paula also helped to create Global Washington in 2008, a 
consortium of NGOs that promotes and supports its members who are 
working to reduce poverty and disease, increase access to health care 
and education, protect the environment, and strengthen economies. 
Global Washington is the only organization in Washington state that 
builds networks between private companies and nonprofits working in 
global development, leading to partnerships that result in innovative, 
impactful projects around the world.
  Following Bill Clapp's retirement from Matthew G. Norton Co. in 2002, 
he co-founded the Initiative for Global Development. In addition to 
serving on the boards of Weyerhaeuser and Alaska Airlines, he has also 
served on several community and nonprofit boards, and has been actively 
involved as an early investor in micro-finance development. Bill has 
also served on many industry panels and advisory committees, speaking 
widely on development issues around the world and in Congress.
  Paula Clapp has been an active leader throughout the years, as well. 
She played a central role in the creation of an acclaimed documentary 
film ``SOLD'' which raised awareness about sex trafficking. She and a 
group of Seattle women co-founded Stolen-Youth, a non-profit 
organization that raises awareness and funds to help rescue and recover 
local youth who are forced into prostitution. Paula was also a founding 
member of the Washington Women's Foundation and has served on the 
boards of the Make A Wish Foundation, One World Now, and the Bill & 
Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2014, Paula received the Unsung Heroes of 
Compassion award from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
  Throughout the past twenty-four years, Bill and Paula Clapp have 
remained steadfast in their belief that international development 
serves our national interests and improves all aspects of our society. 
Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I recognize and 
congratulate Bill and Paula Clapp for their contributions and 
leadership in the global development sector, and the impact they have 
made in the lives of countless individuals and families around the 
world for over twenty-four years.

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