Sep 29, 2023

Compass Housing Alliance

Bailey

The Compass Housing Alliance Board of Directors appointed Michael Bailey as Compass's new president, replacing Mary Steele, who retires in October. Bailey will join Compass on October 16, 2023. He most recently served as deputy director of operations and homelessness at the City of Seattle's Human Services Department. In that role, he provided oversight and support to the data, performance, and evaluation team, managed the department's emergency preparedness function, and contributed to contracting policy and quality assurance functions. He played a pivotal role in supporting the standup of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, the creation of additional housing installations, and ongoing initiatives to connect unsheltered individuals with housing and essential support services. Previously, Bailey held several positions in social services, including serving as the inaugural director of the Washington State Working Families Tax Credit Program, state commissioner for the Washington Commission on African American Affairs, and deputy director of Legislative and Outreach for the Georgia Department of Human Services.

Voxus PR

Smith

Voxus PR, a B2B tech marketing agency, announced that Tara Smith, current chief communications officer at Intel Corporation, will join the agency as a managing partner and equity stake holder in November. Smith has more than 25 years of experience in marketing and communications for technology companies. She is currently chief communications officer, corporate vice president and general manager of global communications at Intel Corporation, where she is responsible for promoting and protecting the company's reputation across all internal and external audiences. Prior to joining Intel in 2016, Smith was a senior vice president at WE Communications, where she served as an executive lead on the agency's Microsoft business, heading up the Windows and OEM teams. Smith has also held senior-level communications roles at Marqui, a software start-up, and Sterling Communications. She serves on the advisory board of the AI Governance Group, which provides practical AI governance policies and training support for ethical use of AI in the workplace. The addition of Smith follows a year of growth and service expansion for Voxus PR. Smith joins managing partners Justin Hall and Kevin Pedraja, and partner emeritus Paul Forecki, in sharing responsibilities for new business, service delivery, client satisfaction and team development. Voxus PR, headquartered in Seattle, offers a full range of integrated public relations, social media, and content services for companies across North America.

Helion

Everett-based Helion and Nucor Corporation announced an agreement to develop a 500 MWe fusion power plant at a Nucor steel manufacturing facility in the United States. This collaboration is aimed at accelerating the future of clean energy in the industrial manufacturing sector. The agreement between the two companies includes an investment by Nucor in Helion. Helion has already completed the construction of six working fusion prototypes, and is currently building its seventh prototype, Polaris. Helion is a fusion energy company focused on generating zero-carbon electricity from fusion. Its mission is to build the world's first fusion power plant. David Kirtley is Helion's CEO.

Sep 28, 2023

BECU

BECU promoted Shawna Thompson to executive vice president and head of operations after more than 30 years of service. Thompson will lead the team in bringing a dedicated focus to operational efficiency and effectiveness across BECU's lending and credit operations, deposits and payments operations, fraud and default management as well as real estate and facilities. Since joining BECU, Thompson has held product and operational leadership roles across the organization's lending, finance, audit, product management and operations functions. In her prior role as BECU's vice president of servicing operations, she oversaw business strategies for servicing of deposits, debit cards, credit cards and ATM Operations, and processing of all deposits and payments, including ACH and wire transfers, and checks. Thompson currently sits on the board of the Hearing, Speech and Deaf Center and chairs BECU's Achieving Disability Awareness Employee Resource Group. She holds a bachelor's degree in business and marketing from Western Oregon University. BECU is Washington-based not-for-profit credit union, currently operating 60 financial centers.

Audere

Seattle-based Audere, a global digital health nonprofit, announced the formation of Audere Africa, a nonprofit subsidiary headquartered and led out of Johannesburg, South Africa. Audere Africa was formed to advance digital health development, bringing together artificial intelligence and machine learning research with expertise in the health challenges and needs of Africa. Audere Africa's board of directors has representation from Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Audere's HealthPulse solutions are currently leveraged in eight countries in Africa to support a growing set of conditions, including malaria, HIV, and COVID-19. Audere Africa will expand that footprint and will aid in the development and implementation of HealthPulse across the African continent. Development of Audere's projects is funded by grants and support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, and other global health partners.

Sep 27, 2023

MultiCare Tacoma General and Allenmore

Bratko

Eddie Bratko has been named president of MultiCare Tacoma General and Allenmore hospitals. Bratko joins MultiCare Health System from Catholic Health System (CHS) in Buffalo, New York.

Bratko will be responsible for the overall performance of both Tacoma General and Allenmore. He will build physician relationships and cultivate community partnerships for MultiCare throughout west Pierce County.

Bratko joined Catholic Health System in 2010 as their director of financial services. He then moved to Mercy Hospital in Buffalo as the chief operating officer, later becoming president in 2019. He most recently served as the system vice president for strategic deployment at CHS. Before moving into health care, he spent 12 years at United Parcel Service (UPS).

Bratko earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in economics from the University of Buffalo.

Lattice Semiconductor

Sherri Luther, Lattice Semiconductor's chief financial officer, received a Women CFOs of the Year Award from the Financial Executives International Silicon Valley (FEISV) association. The first-ever FEISV Women CFOs of the Year Awards recognize women's contributions and leadership in the accounting and finance fields. Lattice Semiconductor serves customers in the communications, computing, industrial, automotive, and consumer markets. The company is based in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Sep 26, 2023

Tacoma Arts Commission

The Tacoma Arts Commission has announced this year's AMOCAT Arts Award winners: Foster's Creative (Arts Patron), Southeast Asian Comedy Collective (Community Outreach by an Organization), and Kristina Batiste and Reid Ozaki (Community Outreach by an Individual). The AMOCAT Arts Awards honor the people and organizations that positively impact the community with their innovation and commitment to the arts. The Arts Patron award recognized Foster's Creative for its devotion to strengthening the local arts scene, highlighting Tacoma's neighborhoods, and crafting enduring art for the community. The Community Outreach by an Organization award recognized the Southeast Asian Comedy Collective for its work in creating an environment in which Southeast Asian comedians can thrive, challenging stereotypes and nurturing an atmosphere for diverse voices and experiences. The Community Outreach by an Individual award recognized Kristina Batiste and Reid Ozaki, founders of the Tacoma Pottery Salon, for building a community, providing educational opportunities, and preserving the history of pottery in the Northwest. The 2023 awardees will be honored at Kaleidoscope, the annual Tacoma Arts Month opening party, on Oct. 5, from 6:30-9 p.m., at STAR Center.

Valent BioSciences

To meet the increasing demands and projected growth for its arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) products, Valent BioSciences plans to construct a manufacturing facility in White City, Oregon. This new plant will complement the existing headquarters and manufacturing operations for its subsidiary company, Mycorrhizal Applications, in Grants Pass, Oregon. As a supplier of mycorrhizal soil inoculants, Mycorrhizal Applications researches and markets mycorrhizal fungi. These specialized fungi colonize plant roots to create a symbiotic root-and-mycelial network within the surrounding soils, increasing efficiency in nutrient and water absorption to optimize plant hardiness and vigor. The White City facility will produce AMF used in the agriculture, horticulture, and turf and ornamental markets. Headquartered in Libertyville, Illinois, Valent BioSciences is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sumitomo Chemical Co.