Alice Shobe

Shobe, a long-time nonprofit leader with expertise in low-income housing, was hired in 2017 to launch Amazon in the Community, which marked a significant step philanthropically for the company. The program specifically addresses needs in education, housing, food security, disaster relief and employee volunteering. Some initiatives have a focus on the Seattle area and the company’s other employment hubs, while others are national and international in scope. In 2021 and 2022, Amazon beat out long-time charitable heavyweights Microsoft and Boeing as the top regional donor, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. Last year, Amazon gave $78 million to more than 200 organizations in the area. The figure, which only represents Amazon’s Seattle-area giving, is still a small sliver of the $134.4 billion in sales Amazon reported in the second quarter of this year alone.