May 03, 2023

Stoel Rives

Griffith

Stoel Rives announced that Kiran Griffith has returned to its Seattle office as a partner. Griffith, an employee benefits lawyer who joins the firm from Perkins Coie, was an associate at Stoel Rives from 2013 to 2016. She brings to the firm 10 years of experience in employee benefit matters relating to health and welfare plans.

Griffith has significant experience advising public and private sector employers, associations, and boards of trustees, as well as service providers in the health and welfare space. She advises on plan design and drafting, strategy and innovation, and regulatory compliance, with a focus on the Affordable Care Act, health care transparency, mental health parity, COBRA, and other federal and state laws that affect health and welfare plans. Griffith also regularly advises on HIPAA privacy and security matters for health plan benefits. Griffith earned her J.D., summa cum laude, from Seattle University School of Law, and attended the University of Texas at Austin for her undergraduate education. Prior to attending law school, Griffith served as a senior compliance manager at Gerson Lehrman Group, a financial services company. Griffith currently serves on the board of Seattle Arts & Lectures, as well as the board of Campaign for Equal Justice. Stoel Rives has offices in seven states and Washington, D.C.

Appen

Johnson

Appen Limited appointed Helen Johnson as chief financial officer. Appen's current CFO, Kevin Levine, will remain with the business in an advisory role until 1 September 2023 to ensure a smooth transition. Johnson has more than 25 years leading finance organizations across a variety of industries, including privately held IT Managed Service providers, medium sized public healthcare and financial services companies, and Fortune 500 ranked publicly traded corporations in the IT industry. Most recently, she was CFO of North America for Insight Enterprises. Prior to her 14 years at Insight, Johnson served as senior vice president, treasurer for eFunds Corporation, a publicly traded, multi-national enterprise that delivers electronic payments and risk management solutions. Johnson will be based out of Appen's offices in North America. Appen is a global market platform for the AI Lifecycle. Founded in 1996, Appen has customers and offices globally, with its United States headquarters located in Kirkland.

Alaska Airlines

On the heels of its inaugural trans-Pacific flight to Los Angeles, Taiwan-based luxury carrier Starlux Airlines announced a strategic partnership with Seattle-based Alaska Airlines. The agreement will give both Starlux and Alaska loyalty program members more opportunities for rewards by earning points on flights operated by each carrier. Once fully implemented, the partnership will allow customers of both airlines to book connecting flights on a single ticket. The partnership will greatly expand Starlux's reach into the U.S., with customers accessing Alaska Airlines' domestic and international network, connecting at Alaska's Los Angeles gateway. It will also increase travel choices for Alaska customers looking to travel to Asia, with access to 16 destinations, with a transfer in Taipei. The new Taipei-Los Angeles flights will be flown on Starlux's Airbus A350 aircraft and feature four seats in First, 26 in Business, 36 in Premium Economy and 240 in Economy. Starlux was launched in 2020.

Confluence Environmental Co.

McArthur

Huynh

Dietsch

Burton

Berger

Vieira

Soncarty

McDonald

Confluence Environmental Co. has hired two administrative staff members: Laurie Epstein as human resources strategist and Christine Kelly as accounting specialist.

Epstein has 15 years of experience in administration, operations and human resources. At Confluence, Epstein leads human resources, manages day-to-day office operations, and is an integral contributor to the firm's strategic planning efforts. Epstein has returned to confluence after an 18-month break to pursue other interests.

Kelly has a diverse background spanning public-sector environmental and legal positions as well as international private-sector work. Her experience includes invoicing, budget analysis, financial regulatory compliance, and record retention, as well as reviewing content of Freedom of Information Act requests and Water Quality Certification permits. Kelly has worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Attorney General's Office, and, most recently, in Germany for a U.S.-based affiliate company.

The company also announced the following promotions:

Chris Berger has been promoted to principal ecologist. Berger has taken on increased responsibilities as a project manager and technical lead on key ecological and biological regulatory projects. In addition to managing large and complex projects, he is an effective leader and mentor for Confluence staff.

Nora Burton was promoted to director of finance and operations. Burton is an industry expert in contract and rate management, serving as a resource for both Confluence and teaming partners.

Natalie Dietsch was promoted to project ecologist II, reflecting her growth in technical skills and field expertise.

Alexis Huynh was promoted to project biologist. Huynh has grown her technical knowledge and fieldwork skills since joining Confluence last spring. She excels at GIS and data management, including work with specialized modeling software and aerial drone imagery.

Kerrie McArthur was promoted to managing senior biologist. A certified wetlands, fisheries and restoration professional, McArthur applies her wide-ranging expertise on a diverse portfolio of project types, from private developments to major transit and infrastructure projects.

Kelly McDonald was promoted to project ecologist III. McDonald seeks innovative ways for Confluence to work smarter and more efficiently for clients. She is an expert in GIS, drone imagery, data management, marine permitting work and more.

Chris Soncarty was promoted to principal biologist/regulatory specialist. Soncarty is highly regarded by clients, teaming partners, and colleagues for his regulatory expertise, clear communication and project management.

Suzanne Vieira was promoted to project ecologist III. Vieira's skills continue to flourish at Confluence, as does her leadership among the project teams with whom she works. She repeatedly proves her responsiveness and technical acumen.

Parametrix

Dang

Michael Dang, PE, has joined Parametrix as a senior engineer. He has over a decade of experience working on water, utilities, site development and transportation projects in the Puget Sound region.

Dang comes to Parametrix from HDR, where he served as a utilities/civil engineer. He specializes in planning, utility design, coordination and report writing. He has a civil and environmental degree with an emphasis on water and hydrology. He has worked with agencies such Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Public Utilities, Sound Transit, city of Kirkland, King County Parks, and King County Solid Waste Division.

At Parametrix, Dang joins the greater Washington water division, which provides electrical and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), flood control, stormwater, wastewater, and drinking water services to cities, counties, water districts and others throughout the state.

SCJ Alliance

Mitchell

Johnson

North

SCJ Alliance has added three new employees to its Lacey office: Matt North, Alex Johnson and Kate Mitchell.

Senior construction manager North has 19 years of civil contracting and construction management experience. In addition to his private sector work, he has been a general contractor for such organizations as Sound Transit, city of Redmond and the federal government. He holds a bachelor's degree in environmental studies from the University of Washington.

Designer Johnson works with SCJ's Transportation Design team. Johnson spent 13 years in the engineering department with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. He has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, as well as an associate's degree with an emphasis in computer-aided drafting.

Mitchell is SCJ's newest project accountant. She has a bachelor's degree from Ball State University in general studies with an emphasis in communication, interpersonal relationships and sociology. She has been working in the construction industry for eight years.

May 02, 2023

Aiberry

Bellevue-based Aiberry, a mental health screening platform, was awarded the Best Mental Health Technology Solution of 2023 by Health Digital Tech Awards. The awards program recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in health technology. Aiberry's platform enables mental health screenings in a wide range of settings, from doctors offices to schools, workplaces, or even homes. It offers outcomes that can be tracked over time for trend analysis. The AI-powered virtual therapeutic assistant asks questions to gather mental health information. At the end of each screening, users and clinicians are provided with a risk level assessment for mental health disorders including suicidal ideation. Led by co-founders and co-CEOs Linda Chung and Johan Bjorklund, Aiberry received $8M in seed funding in March of this year.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks announced a multi-year extension with Bonneville Seattle Media Group to continue with Seattle Sports 710 AM and KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM as the official flagship radio broadcast partners of the Seahawks. The announcement was made by Seahawks Executive Vice President/General Manager John Schneider. Per the agreement, Seattle Sports and KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM will continue to broadcast all Seahawks games, including pregame, play-by-play and postgame coverage. Radio coverage will also remain available for fans in the Seattle market on the Seattle Sports, KIRO Newsradio and Seahawks mobile apps. In addition, the partnership includes special programming, joint community service projects and exclusive web content. Bonneville International is an integrated media and marketing solutions company. Founded in 1964, Bonneville is headquartered in Salt Lake City.

Clark Construction

Turnbull

Rachele Turnbull will retire in June from Clark Construction, which she founded in 2006. Clark Construction is an employee-owned general contracting firm, with a team made up of nearly 50% women, minority and under-represented groups. It has offices in Sequim and on Bainbridge Island, and a projected annual volume of over $50 million that includes commercial and multifamily projects in addition to custom waterfront homes. Turnbull earned a bachelor's degree in construction engineering management from Oregon State University in 1996, then spent eight years as a project manager at Baugh Construction Oregon (now a part of Skanska) before starting her company.

“When I decided to start Clark, it was for a very different reason than to build a business and grow to where we are today,” she said in a news release. “Yes, I always knew that if I was to continue my career in construction that I wanted to do it as an owner, not just an employee, but I started Clark because my dad was beginning to suffer from early onset dementia and Alzheimer's at a very young age and his doctors did not want him working alone anymore. Dad (Fred Clark) worked the last five years of his career with me at Clark. This is where I found purpose and not just a job. As Clark began to grow, more and more people chose to join because it was different, we were different. An entire company of leaders in the industry working together, as owners, stakeholders, and as mentors building careers for themselves and others.”

Turnbull is leaving the company in the hands of the board of directors and 40 company shareholders, with Casey French as CEO, Kellen Bond as president and Chris Dykeman as vice president of construction at the helm. Turnbull will remain on the board as a consultant.

Hermanson Co.

Stewart

Kent-based mechanical contractor Hermanson Co. promoted Wyley Stewart to project executive in the Special Projects Division. Stewart now oversees project scheduling, subcontractor coordination, quality control, mechanical system design, budgets, final estimates, construction engineering and commissioning. Stewart joined Hermanson in 2018 after graduating with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Central Washington University. He previously was a project manager in the Special Projects Division. He also is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Hermanson has offices in Seattle, Redmond and Oregon.

Harts Services

Tacoma-based plumbing and electrical company Harts Services will recognize a veteran or active service member at eight 2023 Tacoma Rainiers home games this baseball season through the Hometown Heroes program. Each Hometown Hero and three guests will watch the game from the Commencement Bank Summit Club, and will be introduced to fans from the Cheney Stadium field between innings. The first game they will be honored at is on May 14. One of the eight Hometown Heroes will win a free water heater from Harts at the end of the season. Harts is also donating $100 for every Rainiers home win in 2023 to the Wounded Warrior Project. The Rainiers are the AAA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.