Aug 03, 2022

GGN

Lively

Bowen

O'Rourke

Jacobs

Schille

Geter

Liss

GGN announced the promotions of Katherine Liss to senior associate, Rikerrious Geter to community partnerships lead, Blaire Schille to associate, Kim Jacobs to associate, Malaika O'Rourke to controller, Jayme Bowen to operations coordinator, and Paige Lively to communications specialist.

Liss is currently project lead for the India Basin Shoreline Park project in San Francisco. Geter is also involved with this project and recently participated in engaging the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood to help them visualize the future of India Basin Shoreline Park. In addition to practice, Geter serves on the board of the Black Landscape Architect's Network to assist in increasing the visibility and impact of black practitioners in landscape architecture.

From a background in marketing and architectural technology, Schille completed her Master of Architecture degree at the University of British Columbia. Jacobs brings to GGN experience overseeing a wide array of landscape architectural projects across the United States. She is currently working on several DC area projects. O'Rourke keeps GGN's fiscal responsibilities running smoothly. Lively has a background in education, non-profit work, and qualitative research. Bowen is administrator at GGN. She has led research and organizational efforts to streamline the firm's operations and studio space.

HKP Architects

Valentin

HKP Architects welcomed Kelly Valentin as a project manager. Valentin received her Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies from Washington State University in 2017 and Master of Architecture in 2018. After graduating, she joined Underwood & Associates, LLC in Anacortes. Over the last four years, she has developed and executed a wide range of project types including residential, medical, and retail throughout Skagit and Island County. She is currently pursuing licensure.

KBA Inc.

Thomson

Sokolow

KBA, Inc. welcomed two new external directors, Loren Sokolow and Jim Thomson, to its Board of Directors. Sokolow has more than 40 years of experience as a financial and operations executive, with special

expertise in professional services financial strategies, sustainability, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance. Prior to his retirement in 2019, he served as CFO and Treasurer of California-based engineering firm Psomas. Thomson had a 34-year career with HNTB. He retired from HNTB in 2021 as their Northwest Division President. KBA is a purpose-built construction management firm.

Rolluda Architects

Dimalanta

Abellar

Broussard

Bumatay

Punjani

Rolluda Architects rehired Sabina Punjani after being on leave for a few months. Punjani is an interior and architecture designer with over 18 years of experience in designing both residential and commercial projects. She took Interior Design at L.S. Raheja of Architecture and has a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce from the University of Mumbai. Punjani has a LEED Green Associate certification. She is currently working on Port of Seattle projects and Snohomish County Paine Field's Airport Offices. She was involved in the interior design of the Filipino Community Village Housing and Innovative Learning Center which opened this year.

Joseph Bumatay joined Rolluda Architects early this year with 24 years of architecture design experience. He finished his Bachelor of Science in Architecture at the University of Sto. Tomas in the Philippines and became licensed in his home country. In 2003, he moved to the U.S. where he got involved in a variety of projects from K-12 schools, historic buildings, hospitals, churches, retail, commercial, mixed-use, residential, and community projects. He has previously worked as CAD manager and mentor/trainer at other firms. Bumatay's projects at Rolluda include Sacred Medicine House, Seattle Central College's Student Activities Center & Bookstore, City of Bellevue Enatai Park, NP and Eastern Hotel, Snohomish County Sheriff Bomarc projects. He will be involved in the Pierce Transit Bus Electrification project.

Cameron Broussard joins Rolluda Architects remotely from Louisiana. She is a licensed architect and a LEED Green Associate with more than 10 years of work experience as an architect. Broussard received her Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Architecture from the University of Louisiana where she had the opportunity to study in Italy as part of the curriculum. She has worked on high-end residential projects, high-rise commercial, collegiate, churches, high-rise condominiums, and residence halls in San Francisco and Houston. She worked on collaborative projects for a medical office building, hospital, and commercial office building renovations in firms based in Louisiana. Since hired, she has been working on the permanent supportive housing development, Sacred Medicine House. She also did work for the Filipino Community Village and Seattle Central College's Student Activities Center & Bookstore.

Rachelle Abellar has joined Rolluda's marketing team. Abellar has a BS in Visual Communications from Westwood College California and has worked in numerous magazines and newspapers like Leschi News, The Stranger, and Tacoma Weekly.

Alvin Dimalanta joined Rolluda Architects as a designer whilst working towards finishing his graduate studies in urban planning. He received his bachelor's degree in Architecture at the University of the Philippines. Dimalanta worked for 15 years in his home country as a licensed architect and master plumber. He moved to the U.S. in 2021 after being offered a scholarship to take his master's at Portland State University. He will be involved in King County Solid Waste projects while doing his summer internship at Rolluda Architects.

Paseo

Paseo will open a new location at 6160 E. Lake Sammamish Parkway S.E., Issaquah, in the Lake Sammamish Shopping Center. Paseo owner Ryan Santwire is leasing the 1,500-square-foot space which previously housed a Papa John's. Designed to be a tropical getaway in the typically rainy Pacific Northwest, Paseo Issaquah interiors boast a color scape of bright teals, yellows, and pinks paired with the greenery of live tropical plants and neon lights. The remodel was overseen by Kristie Kucur of Plum Project Services and Rob Henken of Premier General Contracting. The grand opening celebration will be on Aug. 13 at 10 a.m. Paseo Issaquah is the fourth Paseo in the Puget Sound region. Other locations include Seattle's Fremont and SoDo neighborhoods and the Microsoft Redmond Campus. Paseo employs more than 50 local residents and is currently hiring. Featuring Caribbean-infused food, and its trademark sandwiches, Paseo has been operating in the Seattle community for more than 25 years.

Frazier Healthcare

Frazier Healthcare Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm focused exclusively on the health care industry, announced that Amy DuRoss has joined the firm's growth buyout team as a senior advisor. In this role, DuRoss will help the firm build and execute investment strategies to serve the growing pharmaceutical and life sciences markets. This work will be complementary to DuRoss' new role as president, cell and gene therapies for CSafe Global, a Frazier portfolio company. She brings over 25 years of entrepreneurial, corporate development, and patient advocacy experience in precision and personalized medicine. Prior to joining Frazier and CSafe Global, DuRoss was the co-founder and CEO of Vineti, an enterprise software platform digitizing the chain of identity and chain of custody requirements for CGT products.Vineti was incubated at GE Ventures, where DuRoss served as a managing director focused on equity investing and new business creation prior to co-founding Vineti. Before GE Ventures, DuRoss served as the chief business officer at Navigenics, a personalized genomics company. Prior to Navigenics, she was the co-founder, co-author, and executive director of California's stem cell research ballot initiative, which led to the launch of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Founded in 1991, Frazier has offices in Seattle, and Menlo Park, California, and invests across the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Aug 02, 2022

Alaska Power & Telephone

Alaska Power & Telephone ‘s subsidiary APT Wireless has been selected by the US Department of Agriculture to receive a $29,344,717 grant award from USDA Rural Utility Service's ReConnect grant program. The grant will be used to expand fiber optic connectivity in communities on Prince of Wales Island. AP&T will invest $9,781,573 in matching private funds. The project, called “SEALink South,” will involve developing fiber optic networks in the remote, rural communities of Craig, Klawock, and Hollis, helping to enhance telecommunication resiliency for residents throughout the Tongass National Forest region. AP&T estimates a marine route survey, permitting, and environmental review activities will occur in 2023. Construction would occur between 2024 and 2027, depending on timing of environmental and permit approvals. A diverse group of indigenous and environmental stakeholders rallied around AP&T's application with letters of support, including the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, Sealaska, the Sustainable Southeast Partnership, Sitka Conservation Society, Klawock Cooperative, Craig Tribal Association, and Shaan-Seet. Alaska Power & Telephone Company is an employee- and investor-owned utility providing utility services in over 40 communities in rural Alaska.

DigniFi

Bellevue-based DigniFi, a fintech platform for the automotive industry, announced a new partnership with asset manager Brigade Capital Management. Among other investments across the fixed income spectrum, Brigade provides tailored capital solutions to specialty finance companies, as well as capital markets expertise and access to a broad network of institutional investors. This initial recapitalization enables DigniFi to execute its three-year growth strategy centered on operational stability, product development and commercialization, and expansion into transportation-adjacent markets and ecosystems. A representative from Brigade will join DigniFi's Board of Directors as an advisor and observer.

Schnitzer Steel

Schnitzer Steel Industries' Board of Directors appointed Richard Peach, the company's executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief strategy officer, to serve as the company's executive vice president and chief strategy officer, with expansion of scope and responsibility. Peach has served as Schnitzer's CFO since 2007. Prior to joining Schnitzer in 2007, Peach was CFO at PacifiCorp, an energy utility in the Western United States. The board also appointed Stefano Gaggini, the company's vice president, deputy chief financial officer, and chief accounting officer, to serve as the company's senior vice president and chief financial officer. Gaggini has served in his current position since September 2018, and has been the company's principal accounting officer since December 2013. Gaggini is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Oregon and prior to joining the company in 2011 worked for KPMG, a public accounting firm, in Portland and Zurich, Switzerland. Additionally, the board appointed Mark Schuessler, the company's vice president, accounting and reporting, to serve as the company's vice president and chief accounting officer. Schuessler has served in his current position since April 2021 after holding various roles in the company's SEC Reporting and Technical Accounting department. Prior to joining the company in November 2011, Schuessler was an audit manager at Perkins & Co. He is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Oregon. The new appointments are effective September 1, 2022. Schnitzer Steel is a manufacturer and exporter of recycled metal products, with operating facilities located in 25 states, Puerto Rico, and Western Canada. The Portland-based company began operations in 1906.

Compass Construction

Kirkland-based Compass Construction hired Randy Gross as a project manager, Oleg Chebotarev as a field engineer and Joe Bennett as an assistant superintendent. Gross has over 19 years of construction experience, including a past role as a senior project engineer at Compass. In his return to the company, he is working on a project in Northgate. He completed the construction management certificate program in 2016 at the University of Washington. Chebotarev is working on the Redmond Grand project. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the UW. Bennett is on the Liza project in Seattle. He has over 30 years of construction experience, having completed trade school for carpentry and worked his way up the ranks from a journeyman carpenter to a superintendent.

WASWD

The Washington Association of Sewer & Water Districts presented its annual Outstanding Legislator Award to Senator Marko Liias, in recognition of the efforts he made to protect a critical state funding source for water, sewer and other local government infrastructure projects. Liias, as chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, was a leader in the negotiations of the state $17 billion transportation package that was passed this year. During these discussions, amidst pressure from the oil industry and several large business associations, he consistently objected to siphoning money from the state's Public Works Assistance Account to fund the transportation package, according to WASWD. While Liias's efforts did not overcome the momentum to use funds from the PWAA for the transportation package, they helped to temper the amount of money that was diverted, the association said.