Feb 04, 2020

Department of Commerce

Stewart

Kendrick Stewart is the new deputy director of the state Department of Commerce. Stewart has been in public service for 20 years and has experience at four cabinet-level agencies. He previously was human resources and safety director and equity inclusion manager for the state Department of Enterprise Services. He starts Feb. 16 and succeeds Connie Robins, who retired in November. Martin McMurry, Commerce's CFO, has been interim deputy director.

Port of Port Townsend

Berg

The Port of Port Townsend Commission picked Eron Berg as the port's new executive director. Berg is city supervisor and city attorney for the city of Sedro-Woolley. He also is a commissioner of the Skagit Public Utility District. Berg is expected to start in April and work alongside existing executive director Jim Pivarnik until Pivarnik retires in early summer. Pivarnik has been interim executive director since late 2018, after the departure of Sam Gibboney.

IFM

In Federal Way, Michael R. Bond joined the board of the Institute for Functional Medicine. Bond has over 40 years of experience in health care administration and is president and CEO of PrimeCare. He has held senior leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Institutes of Health. IFM promotes functional medicine, which determines how and why illness occurs and restores health by addressing the root causes of disease for each individual.

Sortis Holdings

In Portland, alternative investment fund manager Sortis Holdings launched Sortis Growth Venture Fund. The $10 million hybrid venture capital and consumer-focused private equity fund's goal is to boost companies with rising consumer brands. Sortis says the target rate of return on invested capital is 20%. The fund is open to accredited investors and accepts up to $1 million per investment, with a $25,000 minimum investment.

Jan 31, 2020

Holocaust Center for Humanity

Egan

Citterman

Bogaard

New board members of the Holocaust Center for Humanity in Seattle are Alex Bogaard, Teri Citterman and Cara Egan. Bogaard is president of Brown & Brown Insurance of Washington, where he oversees the Seattle, Bellingham, Lynden and Newport offices. Citterman is CEO of Talonn, as well as an executive performance coach and author of the book “From the CEO's Perspective.” Egan is senior communications officer of community and civic engagement at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Holocaust Center for Humanity operates a Holocaust museum in Belltown.

Housing Finance Commission

Tripp

Albert Tripp is a new member of the state Housing Finance Commission. Tripp has been city manager of Airway Heights since 2008. He was on the Spokane Regional Homeless Governance Council and the board of the Washington City/County Management Association. He is serving a four-year term on the commission.

Perkins Coie

In Seattle, Perkins Coie promoted 29 counsel and senior counsel attorneys to partner. They are: Michael Avent, Joe Bailey, Elizabeth Manno Banzhoff, Adam Brenner, Jim Brenner, Caitlin Carey, Michael Carr, Garrett Colli, Nick Davis, Andrew Dufresne, David Fentin, Amir Gamliel, Amelia Gerlicher, Martin Gilmore, John Gray, Emily Greb, Tyler Hagenbuch, Heather Heindel, Samuel Jo, Kira Loehr, Louise Lu, Tony McCormick, Nicola Menaldo, Uzoma Nkwonta, Laurie Rasmussen, Elena Romerdahl, Thomas Ryerson, Gilbert Villaflor and Yingli Wang.

StormSensor

Minnesota angel investment group Sofia Fund invested an undisclosed amount into Seattle-based startup StormSensor. Sofia Fund focuses on woman-led companies. StormSensor designs smart urban watersheds by mapping how water moves through cities with sensors placed within the infrastructure. Engineer Erin Rothman is the founder.

Boeing

Boeing is donating 250,000 medical-grade respiratory masks to address medical supply shortages in China. The masks are going to health officials battling the spread of coronavirus in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, and Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province.