Mar 06, 2024

Dorsey & Whitney

Watkins

Elijah Watkins has joined Dorsey & Whitney as a partner in the Commercial Litigation group in Boise. Watkins concentrates his practice on complex business litigation in both state and federal courts. He represents companies in consumer and unlawful trade practices actions, intellectual property disputes, products liability matters, commercial contract disputes, and real property issues. Watkins was previously a partner at Stoel Rives. He received his J.D. from the University of Illinois School of Law and his B.S. from Brigham Young University-Idaho. His arrival continues the growth of Dorsey's Boise office since it opened in 2023, bringing the attorney count in this office up to nine. This includes the growth of its Intellectual Property group with partners Dana Herberholz and Jordan Stott. Dorsey has locations across the United States and in Canada, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Ogden Murphy Wallace

Ogden Murphy Wallace's Seattle offices are set to move to the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle on March 25, 2024. The firm's new address will be 701 Fifth Ave., Suite 5600, Seattle, WA 98104-7045. The firm's contact information, including phone numbers and email addresses, will remain unchanged. The new space is designed to support hybrid work models, blending the advantages of face-to-face interaction with the flexibility of remote work. Ogden Murphy will occupy the 56th floor and a portion of the 58th floor of the Columbia Center, accommodating approximately 90 attorneys and staff. Contributors to the new offices include: contractor, JE Cumming; design by Burgess Design; furniture by Catalyst Workplace Activation; and The Urban Renaissance Group. Ogden Murphy has been providing services for over 100 years and is a multi-specialty firm providing legal services to businesses, municipal entities, and individuals in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The firm also has offices in Bellevue and Wenatchee.

Syncro

Syncro, a B2B SaaS company serving the managed services provider software market, appointed Dee Zepf as chief product officer. In this position, Zepf will spearhead Syncro's product strategy and development initiatives. With over 20 years as a technology executive, Zepf has experience in product management, specifically within the MSP market. Prior to joining Syncro, Zepf served as vice president of product and partner success at Continuum, vice president of product at Sense, and senior vice president of product at Hydrow. Earlier in her career, Zepf served as senior director of product management at Care.com, IBM, and Bowstreet where she led product management for high growth product lines. Michael George was recently announced as Syncro's CEO. Syncro is headquartered in Seattle.

Mar 05, 2024

CDHY

Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Shauna Bilyeu as executive director of the Washington State Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth (CDHY). The position was previously held by Rick Hauan, who departed last year. A news release says Bilyeu has extensive experience in deaf education and is committed to ensuring all deaf and hard-of-hearing youth reach their full potential. She joined CDHY (then called the Washington School for the Deaf) in 2005 as a high school English teacher. She worked in a variety of administrative roles beginning in 2009 and was named superintendent in 2016. She has served as interim executive director since April 2023. Prior to joining the CDHY, Bilyeu spent a decade teaching at the Columbia Regional Program for the Deaf.

Agility Robotics

Corvallis, Oregon-based Agility Robotics appointed veteran technology leader Peggy Johnson as CEO. Johnson most recently was CEO of spatial computing company Magic Leap, where she led the pivot from consumer to enterprise, reset and recapitalized the company, and launched Magic Leap 2, a leading AR headset for business. Previously, she spent six years as executive vice president of business development at Microsoft, where she was responsible for driving strategic partnerships and transactions to accelerate growth for the company and its customers. Agility Robotics makes a bipedal mobile manipulation robot called Digit. It says it's the only humanoid robot company with a factory on a path to mass production.

Mar 01, 2024

Washington State Ferries

Nevey

Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar on Thursday announced that Steve Nevey will serve as assistant secretary for Washington State Ferries, a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation. A career mariner, Nevey progressed directly from high school to a maritime academy in the United Kingdom. For the past two years he has served as director of marine operations for WSF and has been instrumental in the development of programs that address ongoing staff shortages in the industry, according to a WSF news release. Nevey will succeed Patty Rubstello, who is stepping down as head of WSF to spend more time with family after more than 33 years with WSDOT. Rubstello will remain assistant secretary to ensure a smooth transition until Nevey begins his new role on March 16.

King County Superior Court

Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday announced the appointment of Monica Kaup Cary to King County Superior Court. She will replace Judge Matthew Segal, who retired from the bench effective Jan. 17. Since 2022, Cary has served as a family court commissioner at the King County Superior Court. In this role, she has presided over numerous family law matters. From 2013 to 2018, she also served as a King County family law commissioner pro tem. Prior to her current role as a judicial officer, Cary worked for over 18 years at the DuBois Cary Law Group, becoming an owner and partner in 2010.

Feb 29, 2024

Infobip

Infobip, a global cloud omnichannel communications platform, appointed Ethan Gustav as its new group president of North America. Based in Seattle, Gustav is a senior executive with over 20 years of experience. The company said he has a track record of contributing to, building and leading high-performance teams that drive revenue in high-growth technology companies. Prior to joining Infobip in 2021, Gustav was chief revenue officer at OpenMarket, a U.S.-based messaging provider, where under his leadership, the company more than doubled its revenue and approached market share of nearly 50%.

Inland Forest Management

F&W Forestry Services, a Georgia-based forest resource management and sustainability company, revealed a “major expansion” of its U.S. operations that includes the acquisition of Sandpoint, Idaho-based Inland Forest Management. F&W said it has several external growth operations planned, as well as development of new business lines. Its first expansion is the Inland Forest Management deal. Inland Forest Management was founded in 1984 and has expertise in forest management services, wildfire suppression and fire mitigation. F&W provides timber sales, property management, field support services, forest inventory and mapping, forestland accounting, technical and analytical services, real estate and natural capital.