May 07, 2021

State of Washington

Galuska

The Governor's Salmon Recovery Office has named Olympia resident and long-time environmental advocate Tara Galuska to coordinate the state's orca recovery efforts. As orca recovery coordinator, Galuska will be working with partners to help implement recommendations of Gov. Jay Inslee's Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force and tracking accomplishments. Southern resident killer whales, or orcas, have decreased in numbers from 98 in 1995 to 75 as of February, causing them to be protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. In 2018, Inslee created the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force to look for ways to improve the plight of orcas. The task force met for nearly two years and recommended 49 actions, many of which are being implemented now individually by state agencies and others. Galuska manages the Salmon Recovery Section of the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. Before that, she was an environmental specialist and planner for two other state natural resource agencies, working on water quality studies.

Tanium

Kirkland-based Tanium, a provider of endpoint management and security built for IT environments, announced the appointment of Marc Levine as chief financial officer. At Tanium, he'll oversee the global finance team and finance-related operational functions. Most recently, Levine was CFO of RSA Security, where he led the company's transition from a Dell subsidiary to a standalone operation. Prior to RSA, he held leadership roles at software company C3.ai, Athenahealth and JDA Software, now Blue Yonder. Levine started his career at Hewlett Packard, spending 25 years with the business in a number of financial and operational leadership positions.

Axia Home Loans

Axia Home Loans, headquartered in Bellevue, extended its market reach with a Hawaii expansion, which will be led by industry veteran and Hawaii native Byron Yap. Axia Home Loans' Hawaii Branch will focus on originations in Maui but has plans for a continued expansion into other neighboring Hawaiian Islands. Founded in 2007, Axia Home Loans is a 100 percent employee-owned company. “Mortgage Executive” magazine named Axia one of America's top 100 mortgage companies, three years in a row.

KING TV

Media company TEGNA announced that KING 5, its NBC affiliate in Seattle, has been nominated for a Peabody Award, which honors the most compelling and empowering stories released in broadcasting and streaming media during 2020. In the Public Service category, KING 5 was nominated for “Facing Race,” a multi-part series that explores issues of racial injustice and inequality in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. The “Facing Race” team includes executive producer Christin Ayers, anchor/host Joyce Taylor, reporter Taylor Mirfendereski, producer Keely Walker, senior digital producer Allison Sundell, video editor Kevin Glantz, content editor Susannah Frame, and photojournalists Ryan Beard and Michael Botsford. Dozens of KING 5 reporters, photojournalists, technical staff, and marketing team members also contributed to the series. The Peabody Awards are based at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.

May 06, 2021

Carvana

Carvana, an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars, has debuted in Washington, and is now offering as-soon-as-next-day touchless home delivery to Longview area residents. Customers can shop more than 30,000 used cars for sale, secure financing or use the car loan calculator, purchase, trade in, and schedule as-soon-as-next-day vehicle delivery in as little as five minutes. Customers can also sell their current vehicle to Carvana and receive a real offer just as quickly, even without purchasing a vehicle. Founded in 2012 and based in Phoenix, Carvana offers vehicle delivery to customers in 281 cities across the U.S.

Seattle Public Schools

Brent Jones, Ph.D., was sworn in as superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, marking the start of a 14-month term he will serve while leading the state of Washington's largest school district. Jones replaces Denise Juneau, who served as superintendent from July 2018 to April 2021. The board search for a permanent superintendent will begin this fall and board directors will make a final selection in spring 2022. Serving as superintendent is a return to SPS for Jones. Up until early 2019, he served as the district's chief of equity, partnerships and engagement and helped lead the creation and adoption of the SPS strategic plan, Seattle Excellence. Prior to that role, Jones served as the district's chief of human resources. He has also served in executive roles with King County Metro, Kent School District, Seattle Colleges, and Green River College.

UBS Wealth Management

UBS Private Wealth Management announced that Michael Matthews, a financial advisor and senior portfolio manager in the firm's Bellevue office, has been ranked the No. 1 advisor in Washington on the Forbes/SHOOK Research Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list for 2021. This is the fourth year that Matthews has been named to the list, and the second that he's been ranked No. 1 for the state of Washington. With over 30 years of experience, Matthews provides comprehensive advice for individuals, business owners, entrepreneurs, multi-generational families, and retirees. This year's Forbes/SHOOK Research Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list is comprised of over 5,000 advisors across the country. Each advisor is chosen based on measures including phone and in-person interviews, compliance records, and revenue generated for their firms.

Standard Insurance

Standard Insurance Company has promoted Lara Robertson to second vice president of talent management. In her expanded role, Robertson will assume responsibility for the company's Change Management Office. Robertson joined The Standard in 2010 as a human resources business partner. In 2014, she was selected as director of talent management and was promoted to senior director in 2015. Prior to joining The Standard, Robertson held roles in human resources and business operations at Jacobs (formerly CH2M Hill), a global engineering and consulting firm. Additionally, Standard Insurance has promoted Melissa Oliver-Janiak to second vice president of total rewards. Oliver-Janiak will lead the company's total rewards strategy along with leading the benefits, compensation and human resources direct teams. Oliver-Janiak joined The Standard in 2014, initially serving as in-house employment counsel, and 2017 she joined the human resources department to lead the benefits team.