Chamber Staff

Alison Shaffer
President & CEO
exec@puyallupsumnerchamber.com

Alison Shaffer, born and raised in Puyallup, brings a deep understanding of the unique business environment and strong sense of community that defines the South Sound region. With a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Washington State University, Alison began her career at a boutique advertising agency in Seattle, where she spent a decade on and off as a national broadcast media buyer, managing campaigns in over 20 major U.S. markets. A lifelong love of interior design, Alison founded The Modern Cottage Company in 2010, a design and antique retail business in Tacoma, Washington. In 2012, Alison was among the first selected for the Spaceworks, a program of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber and City of Tacoma. Alison later served on the Spaceworks steering committee. Over eight years, Alison opened and operated multiple retail shops across the South Sound, including a pop-up in downtown Seattle and several co-op stores with local artists and business owners. Since January 2019, Alison has served in leadership and as Vice President of Strategic Engagement and Programming at the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce. In this role, Alison has been instrumental in advancing programs that support local businesses, expanding membership, and strengthening community partnerships. Passionate about supporting local businesses, Alison is committed to fostering economic development and engagement throughout the region.

Our Organizational Values:

• Impactful – We are passionately people-focused and dedicated to empowering them to become high-performance leaders of their organizations.

• Influential – Driven to achieve extraordinary outcomes to advance commerce and community.

• Innovative – Relentlessly resourceful, we strive to understand our community's unique issues and apply creative solutions to problem-solve and grow with our partners.

• Inspiring – We aspire for excellence as we lead with our head and heart.

• Individuals united as one team – Exceptional teams are made of exceptional teammates. We recognize our unique individual contributions to the team and aspire to create a supportive environment where all of us can thrive.

• IN – We are bold, transparent, and ALL IN!