Jan 29, 2021

City of Tacoma

Selected along with five other participating municipalities across the country, the city of Tacoma has partnered with the National League of Cities (NLC) to facilitate job creation and economic opportunities for Tacoma residents. The city of Tacoma's participation in NLC's Cities of Opportunity initiative, led by Mayor Victoria Woodards, will focus on the Tacoma Anchor Institution Network, a collaborative of the largest place-based employers in Tacoma such as hospital systems, universities, colleges, and governmental and non-profit partners. The Tacoma Anchor Institution Network is among the strategies listed in the city's Tacoma 2025 strategic plan, and focuses on building a stronger, more resilient economy and workforce in Tacoma.

Traction Guest

Traction Guest, a provider of enterprise visitor management systems and employee safety tools, announced Maris Berzins has been appointed vice president of engineering. Berzins is a veteran software engineering and product management executive. At Traction Guest, Berzins will drive the ongoing development of the company's workforce security platform. Prior to joining Traction Guest, Berzins led engineering for Starbucks' loyalty and mobile ordering commerce platform. At global enterprise software company Agilysys Berzins served as the VP of product engineering. Previous roles include a decade-long tenure at Microsoft, where Berzins oversaw the delivery of multiple software products and web services to millions of Microsoft customers around the globe. Most recently, he was the vice president of engineering for Nav.

Jan 28, 2021

Northwest Kidney Centers

Brockenbrough

Stepp

Bylund

Northwest Kidney Centers added a new member to its board of trustees and a new member to its foundation board. In addition, community volunteer Catherine Bylund announced her retirement from the foundation board after five years of service. The foundation board raises funds and helps build connections in the community. Russ Stepp, current chair of Northwest Kidney Centers Foundation Board, has also joined the board of trustees. Stepp, retired CEO of R.W. Beck, was elected to the foundation board in 2015 and began a two-year term as its chair in July 2020. He will serve concurrently on both boards. The foundation board's newest member, Dr. Andy Brockenbrough, is a clinical nephrologist at UW Medicine's Valley Nephrology Clinic, and medical director of Northwest Kidney Centers' Kent dialysis clinic. Northwest Kidney Centers is a regional, not-for-profit, community-based provider of kidney dialysis, public health education and research into the causes and treatments of chronic kidney disease.

Sendle

Sendle, a national shipper designed for small business, announced a partnership with Kidizen, a kids' fashion marketplace, that will help Kidizen sellers simplify and streamline their shipping operations. Kidizen gives parents and resellers a way to buy and sell gently worn kids clothing, and to help reduce the environmental impact of fashion waste. This announcement builds on Sendle's existing eCommerce marketplace integrations with Etsy, WooCommerce, Shopify and eBay. Sendle is a 100% carbon neutral shipping carrier. The company was founded in Australia in 2014 by James Chin Moody, and is headquartered in Seattle and Sydney, Australia.

Department of Health

The Washington State Department of Health has appointed Dan Laster as director of the COVID-19 Vaccine Action Command and Coordination System Center to create public-private partnerships. In this role, Laster will tap into the capabilities and resources of the private sector to support vaccination efforts across the state. For the past 10 years, Laster has been chief operating officer and chief legal officer for PATH, a global health non-profit organization. On Jan. 18, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that Microsoft, Starbucks, Kaiser Permanente, SeaMar and SEIU 1199 will partner with the state to support the vaccine distribution efforts. Visit http://www.covidvaccine.wa.org for the latest information.

Jan 27, 2021

F5 Networks

F5 Networks announced that it has completed its acquisition of Volterra. With the addition of Volterra's technology, F5 is creating an edge platform built for enterprises and service providers that will be security-first and app-driven. F5 is a multi-cloud application security and delivery company.

Albertsons

Albertsons Companies have joined the Beyond the Bag Initiative, its latest step to contribute to efforts to reduce plastic waste. The Beyond the Bag Initiative, launched by the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag, is a multi-year collaboration across retail sectors that aims to identify, test, and implement new design solutions that serve the function of today's single-use plastic retail bag. The Consortium includes the three founding partners CVS Health, Target, and Walmart, as well as Kroger, DICK's Sporting Goods, Hy-Vee, Meijer and Walgreens.

Itron

Itron signed a contract with Floresti Communal Services in Moldova in Eastern Europe to deploy its Water Operations Management solution, wide-area low-power network, and residential and commercial & industrial water meters to improve operational efficiency and help conserve water in Moldova. Itron, headquartered in Liberty Lake, WA, enables utilities and cities to deliver infrastructure solutions to communities in more than 100 countries.

Dept. of Corrections

Sinclair

Washington State Department of Corrections Secretary, Stephen Sinclair announced his retirement effective May 1, following more than three decades of service. Sinclair was appointed Corrections Secretary by Governor Jay Inslee in April 2017. After serving in the U.S. Army, Sinclair began his 30 plus year career at the Washington State Department of Corrections as a correctional officer and later as an investigator, sergeant, associate superintendent, superintendent, and assistant secretary. The Governor's Office will begin the process to determine next steps to appoint a new Secretary.