Are You Ready to Export? Featuring WUSATA

Wednesday Webinar with SBA Seattle District is an ongoing series of free, virtual, webinars covering a variety of topics to benefit small business owners. On the fourth Wednesday of each month is Are You Ready to Export? featuring conversations with different members of the Washington Export Outreach Team (WEOT). For 2025, the focus will be Partners in Exporting: how WEOT agencies collaboratively work together along with other organizations to support Washington businesses to sell their goods and services internationally

This event will highlight Western United States Agricultural Trade Association’s (WUSATA) partnership with Washington State Department of Agriculture’s – International Marketing Program and how they work together to create obtainable trade opportunities to small agribusinesses in Washington State through In-Bound Foreign Buyers Missions and Outbound Trade Shows/Missions for U.S. AG Exporters and Domestic Trade Shows which attract Foreign Buyers. WUSATA receives their primary funding from the USDA's Market Access Program which allows them to provide their participants access to promotional activities, market intelligence, and 50% reimbursement for international marketing expenses.

Kelsey Anderson | Engagement Executive, WUSATA

Kelsey started at the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association as a Marketing and Communications Coordinator in August 2022. She transitioned to the role of Engagement Executive, responsible for overseeing Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington in January 2024. Coming from a small town in Iowa, Kelsey already harbors a deep admiration for small farmers and agribusinesses. She finds immense satisfaction in her work at WUSATA, facilitating export guidance, forging connections with foreign buyers, and enhancing international marketing budgets.

Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA)

WUSATA is an independent non-profit that utilizes close ties with our Member States (13 Western State Departments of Agriculture, as well as the territorial departments in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide a broad bandwidth of resources. Their Mission is to Increase International Growth of Western Agribusinesses by providing Financial Support, Export Readiness, and Business Development Services. WUSATA programs which support food and agricultural exports are designed to help businesses to Learn, Connect, and Compete.

Julie Johnson | Export Development and Outreach Trade Specialist, WSDA

Julie Johnson is an export development and outreach trade specialist for the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s International Marketing Program. In this capacity Julie covers the state in working with new-to-export and new-to-market Ag companies to become export-ready. She helps to identify and provide resources to Washington companies and does the program’s company recruitment and outreach, resource referral, and market identification. Julie has been in the program since 2012 and studied at Western Washington University.

Washington State Department of Agriculture’s – International Marketing Program

WSDA's International Marketing Program supports the health and viability of Washington's food and agricultural businesses. WSDA facilitates buyer-seller connections, deliver resources and continually advocate for global market access. They are uniquely positioned to promote communication and collaboration so WSDA consistently serves industry needs through their services: Events and Activities, Matching Buyers with Sellers, Searchable Database of Food and Agriculture Suppliers, Export Finance Resources, Marketing Resources.

Washington Export Outreach Team (WEOT)
Washington Export Outreach Team (WEOT) is a collaborative team of local, state, regional, and federal export assistance agencies who provide you with the tools and resources needed to sell goods and services internationally. WEOT was formed in 2013 in response to a national mandate for Federal Government Agencies to work with local resources to provide a higher level of support for companies conducting business international trade.

About the Host
John Brislin is SBA's International Trade & Finance Specialist (Export Finance Manager) for Washington State, Northern Idaho and Alaska. He has over 23 years of private-sector international banking and trade finance experience working at Bank of Boston (Bank of America) and Bank of California (U.S. Bank). John has over 12 years of public-sector export trade finance and risk mitigation experience working at Export Finance Assistance Center of Washington (EFACW), Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) and SBA Office of International Trade (SBA OIT). He looks forward to working with Small Businesses so they can turn their export opportunities into actual sales and to achieve the ultimate goal of getting paid—especially on time—for those sales.

Host or Publisher SBA Seattle District Office