Dec 01, 2016

Skagit Bank

Butler

Skagit Bank hired a new residential real estate loan officer, Dean Butler, who will work in the Lynden office. He has lived in Whatcom County for over 30 years, and has 20 years of experience in banking and mortgage industries. Skagit Bank has offices in Skagit, Snohomish, Whatcom and King counties.

K&L Gates

The law firm K&L Gates LLP has established a firmwide cross-disciplinary artificial intelligence initiative. It will be headed by Seattle partner David McDonald, who is in the intellectual property practice, and Pittsburgh partner David Lehman. The focus will be on automation, robotics, machine learning, predictive analytics, computer vision and the “Internet of Things” such as autonomous vehicles, robots, unmanned aircraft and intelligent learning systems.

Nov 30, 2016

Cairncross & Hempelmann

Yim

Cairncross & Hempelmann has added Eli Yim as a practicing attorney. He was the firm's 2015 Diversity Fellow and Summer Associate, and is currently working with the Business Group. Yim also worked as a program officer and consultant at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and in education and journalism.

Gallina

Sacramento-based Gallina will join the national professional services firm CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, effective Jan. 1. Gallina will assume the CLA name and said its staff of 300 plus will continue to serve clients with offices in California, Nevada, Utah and Washington. The local office is in Bellevue. The two firms will double their expertise in construction and real estate. CLA has more than 4,500 people in about 100 U.S. locations.

Microscan

Microscan, a Renton-based tech firm that focuses on barcodes, machine vision, verification and lighting solutions, named Christoph Wimmer director of customer experience and electronics vertical. He'll be responsible for global sales including customer service, technical support, contracts and order management.

Nov 29, 2016

Skagit County Superior Court

Svaren

Judge David Svaren will be sworn in Friday as Skagit County Superior Court judge. He has served as District Court judge for 17 years as well as presiding over municipal courts in Anacortes, Burlington and Mount Vernon. Svaren also was in private practice as a partner with Twede and Svaren in Burlington.

Washington State University

Four Washington State University faculty have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Wei Hong (Katie) Zhong in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at WSU Pullman, Markus Flury in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at WSU Puyallup, Susmita Bose in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at WSU Pullman and Kelly A. Brayton in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology and the Allen School for Global Animal Health at WSU Pullman.

Nov 25, 2016

Lane Powell

Seidenstein

Lane Powell said Counsel to the Firm Julie H. Seidenstein was named the King County Washington Women Lawyers Chapter 2016 Volunteer of the Year. Seidenstein is an active volunteer at Mary's Place, which supports homeless women and families.

Seattle Public Theater

Seattle Public Theater is making some leadership changes. After 16 years as artistic and education director, Shana Bestock is leaving. Associate Artistic Director Kelly Kitchens will be interim artistic director and Charlotte Tiencken is the new interim executive director.