Panel discussion focuses on food and apparel products

An interactive session with panelists discussing insights and lessons learned in getting food and apparel products to market will be the focus of the upcoming Business Growth MAP Alliance forum.

The event, organized by WSU Vancouver, will be held Wednesday, Feb. 15, from 8:30 to 10 a.m., at the Pacific Continental Bank Community Room, 101 E. Sixth St., Vancouver.

Joe Cote, professor emeritus at WSU Vancouver, will mediate a panel featuring Summer Kramer, owner of SUMMERSKIN, and Cosmo Salibello, owner of Gaeta Foods, Inc.

Kramer is a melanoma survivor who turned her passion for ultraviolet protection factor clothing into a business.

Salibello sold his optometry practice in 2011 to pursue sharing his mom’s recipes for Italian pasta sauces with consumers. The sauces are now featured on the shelves of 60 retail markets in Oregon and Washington.

The cost to attend the forum is $10 per person in advance, or $15 per person at the door. There is no cost for students with a valid WSU student ID.

The event is open to the public. Register online at business.vancouver.wsu.edu/bgmap and click on “Upcoming events.”

The Business Growth MAP Alliance brings together small businesses and entrepreneurs to learn from each other, industry experts and WSU Vancouver faculty.