A Private Lunch
with Brett Sibert
In dialogue with Jaime Mendez
Brett Sibert is responsible for eight thousand people. Two hundred and twenty restaurants across six states, the largest Yum! Brands franchise in Washington, and a payroll that has to clear every other week without fail. A great many of those eight thousand were hired with no resume, no degree, and nobody to vouch for them.
On November 12 he sits down with Jaime Mendez. Afterward the conversation opens up, with equity consultant Alison Mariella Désir, author and Cascade PBS host, alongside past board chair Andres Mendez. Every dollar raised goes to the Amistad Fund, unrestricted, to be used wherever the school needs it most.
Lunch included. Seating is limited at World Trade Center Seattle, Pier 66. Presented by Katrina Eileen Real Estate, reSpace and The Savvy Digital Co. Benefiting the Amistad Fund.
- When
- Thursday, November 12, 2026
11:30 AM to 2:00 PM - Where
- World Trade Center Seattle
2200 Alaskan Way, Suite 410, Pier 66 - Seats
- $55, lunch included
Room limited to about 100 - Benefiting
- The Amistad Fund
Unrestricted, where it is needed most
"If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
Conversations that matter, not panels and not pitches
Every edition honors one person whose work built the region, in one conversation, with no panel and no pitch.
Brett Sibert is responsible for eight thousand people
Brett Sibert leads a Yum! Brands franchise of 220 restaurants, 170 Taco Bell and 50 KFC, across Washington, Utah, Oregon, Idaho, North Carolina and South Carolina. It is the largest Yum! franchise in Washington, and it employs more than eight thousand people.
He joined in 2000 to lead multi-brand development and was named president in 2007. In 2008 he and his brother Adam acquired the company from their parents and kept it a family business at a scale where almost nobody manages to. Before that he was an associate at the Seattle investment bank Alexander Hutton.
Scale is one credential. Being elected by your peers is another. Brett has served as president of the Northwest AKFCF and president of four regional advertising co-ops, in Portland, Western Washington, Spokane and East North Carolina, and has sat on the AKFCF board nationally. He led two committees for the Restaurant Supply Chain Solutions margin improvement initiative and currently serves on the Taco Bell Franchisee Northwest Operations Group board. He chaired the Pacific Northwest chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization, and served on the board and executive committee of Junior Achievement of Washington.
He is a University of Washington Foster School of Business graduate. He could be honored anywhere. This edition benefits a school on Capitol Hill, where his sons went and where his wife teaches.
One honor, then the room opens
Brett gets the stage to himself. That is the point of the series, and nothing should dilute it. The conversation opens afterward, for a shorter second movement.
Brett Sibert, in dialogue with Jaime Mendez
Two chairs. Nobody else on that stage. No slides, no lectern, no third voice.
The conversation opens
Two more voices join. Brett stays seated. Shorter by design, because this widens the frame rather than sharing the billing.
Who you will hear from
Brett Sibert
President of Northwest Restaurants, responsible for more than eight thousand people across 220 restaurants in six states.
Jaime Mendez
Emmy Award winning journalist and CEO of Se Habla Media. A pioneer of Spanish-language media in Washington, he anchored the daily KUNS Univision Seattle newscast from its launch in 2007 and has spent nearly thirty years in broadcast. Born in Colombia, he studied at The Evergreen State College.
Se Habla Media
Spanish-language coverage and community reach for November 12.
Joining the conversation
Alison Mariella Désir
Author, Cascade PBS host, athlete and equity consultant. She has worked with Seattle Amistad School for several years.
Andres Mendez
Seven-plus years on the Seattle Amistad School Board of Directors, including Board Chair and Treasurer. His son attended Amistad for all of elementary school. Senior Engineering Manager at Slalom, where he leads the FinTech Engineering group.
What the afternoon looks like
Lunch, one conversation, a second that opens it up, and time to actually talk to the people at your table.
- to
Arrive and connect
Doors open, find your table, and lunch is served. The room is small enough that this part is worth arriving for.
- to
Welcome, and the school
A short introduction to the series, then the Seattle Amistad School: one classroom, one child, and what a place there means.
- to
Act One: the conversation
Brett Sibert and Jaime Mendez, two chairs, twenty five minutes.
- to
Act Two: the conversation opens
Two more voices join, and the frame widens to the school itself.
- to
Supporting the school
The room is invited to give, followed by a short live auction. Every dollar goes to the Amistad Fund.
- to
Time to connect
Closing thanks, then the room stays open until 2:00. This is the part people tell us they remember.
Times are approximate.
Why the Seattle Amistad School
Brett's sons went to Amistad and his wife teaches there. This edition benefits the Amistad Fund.
The Fund is what the school builds its future on, and it is unrestricted on purpose. Amistad decides where it goes, which is how a school this size stays ahead of what its children need. In a given year that has meant things like financial aid, so a family's income does not decide whether their child learns in two languages, professional development for the teachers who do that work, and support for students who need more than tuition covers.
One hundred percent of event sponsorship goes directly to the school. A child's place in a dual-language classroom should never depend on what their family can afford.
Put your name next to the Giant
A sponsor's logo sits on the flyer, the screen in the room, this page and the series site, and every post we run through November 12, next to Katrina Eileen Real Estate, reSpace, The Savvy Digital Co. and Mike Flynn. Every dollar goes to the Amistad Fund, paid directly to the school on its own Givebutter page.
- $10,000Presenting · onePresenting Sponsor
"Presented by" naming on every surface, print, digital and signage. Premium table for 10. Three minutes at the podium. Private meet and greet with Brett Sibert.
- $5,000Gold · threeGold Partnership
Table for 8. Microphone thanks from the MC. Your own branded invitation page with a tracked link, so you can fill the table and see who came.
- $2,500SilverSilver Partnership
Four reserved seats. Logo on event marketing and the series site. A dedicated social media feature.
- $1,000CommunityCommunity Partner
Two reserved seats. Name in the event program and on the series site. Social media recognition.
- $125Swag bag · twelveSwag Bag Sponsor
Put 80 of something in the bag every guest takes home: a product, a gift card, an offer. Your business on the screen, in the program, on this page and in every email before November 12. Claim a swag spot by email; this tier is paid to reSpace, not through Givebutter.
Every tier from Community Partner up includes everything in the tiers below it. Checkout asks for the name to recognize.
Thursday, November 12, 2026 at World Trade Center Seattle
11:30 AM to 2:00 PM at Pier 66. $55 per seat with lunch included. The room is limited to about 100 guests.
Sponsorship is bought on the school's own Givebutter page, so every dollar lands in Seattle Amistad School's account. Questions: [email protected]. See the full Shoulders of Giants series.