Interaction Associates Named Finalist in 6th Annual STEVIE Awards For Women in Business

CAMBRIDGE, MA October 15, 2009 Interaction Associates (IA), the 40-year global leader in performance improvement, has been named a Finalist in the 6th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business in the category, "Community Involvement Program of the Year."

Interaction Associates earned its finalist position in part because of its focus on bringing its expertise in collaboration and leadership development to socially-committed communities outside the business world. Interaction Associates founded the nonprofit Interaction Institute for Social Change in 1993 to bring the firms innovative collaboration methods to nonprofit and public sector organizations to help them achieve greater social impact. IA donates ten percent of its annual pre-tax profits to the IISC. IA employees each commit ten days a year to community work, including five days pro bono for the Institute. IA also provides a license in perpetuity for all of its intellectual property to the IISC.

IA's finalist choice was also partially based on the company's mission and strategy, which stresses developing the employees of socially-responsible companies to collaborate better, think more strategically, and become more self-aware. In this way, IA improves the capacity of forward-thinking companies to produce positive social and environmental change as well as strong financial results.

"We are pleased and honored to have earned finalist status at the Stevie Awards, said Interaction Associates President and CEO Linda Dunkel. We share this honor with the Interaction Institute for Social Change and our clients, who believe in human dignity and are doing their part to bring positive change to the world."

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor women executives, entrepreneurs, and the companies they run worldwide. The Stevie Awards have been hailed as the worlds premier business awards.

Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word crowned, winners will be announced during a gala event at the Marriott Marquis hotel in New York on Friday, November 13. Nominated women executives and entrepreneurs from the U.S.A and several other countries are expected to attend. The presentations will be broadcast live on radio in the U.S.A. by the Business TalkRadio Network.

More than 1,100 entries were submitted this year for consideration in 54 categories, including Best Executive, Best Entrepreneur, and Best Community Involvement Program.

Finalists were chosen by business professionals worldwide during preliminary judging. Members of the Awards' Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and their staffs will select Stevie Award winners from among the Finalists during final judging.

"Being named a Finalist in The Stevie Awards for Women in Business is an important achievement," said Michael Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards. "It means that independent business executives have agreed that the nominee is worthy of recognition. We congratulate all of the Finalists on their achievement and wish them well in the competition."

Details about The Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the list of Finalists in all categories are available at www.stevieawards.com/women [1].

About Interaction Associates
Interaction Associates (IA) has nearly 40 years' experience in helping companies find breakthrough solutions to business challenges. IA's integrated management consulting and learning and development services have been used by Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and nonprofit organizations throughout
the world. Interaction Associates helps these enterprises set strategic direction, inspire commitment, and build leadership capabilities, leveraging the power of collaborative action for long-term, sustainable results. More at www.interactionassociates.com [2]

About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, The Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com [3].

Sponsors of the 6th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business (as of October 9) include the Business TalkRadio Network, Covario, Inc., and KeyBank. Localization partner of the 2009 Stevie Awards is Lionbridge.