Mar 25, 2021

Impinj

Seattle-based Impinj, announced that Steve Sanghi has joined its board of directors. Sanghi was named executive chairman of Microchip Technology in March 2021 after serving as Microchip's CEO from 1990 in one of the longest CEO tenures in the semiconductor industry. He was its chairman since 1993. Before Microchip, Sanghi held management positions at Waferscale and Intel. He holds a bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications from Punjab University and a master of science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts.

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates has announced several appointments to its winemaking team, under the direction of chief winemaker Juan Munoz-Oca. Katie Nelson, who previously oversaw winemaking for Columbia Crest and elicit Wine Project, has been appointed to oversee winemaking for Chateau Ste. Michelle, the company's flagship brand. Nelson first joined Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in 1999, going on to serve as an enologist at Northstar Winery, assistant winemaker for Snoqualmie Vineyards, and red winemaker for Chateau Ste. Michelle. Will Wiles has been appointed to replace Nelson overseeing winemaking for Columbia Crest and elicit Wine Project. Wiles began his career at Columbia Crest in 2010. In Oregon, Leah Adint, previously the red winemaker for Chateau Ste. Michelle, has been appointed to work alongside longtime winemaker Gary Horner at Erath Winery, one of Oregon's pioneering wineries and producer of the region's best-selling pinot noir. Ste. Michelle Wine Estates is the largest winery in the Pacific Northwest and the third-largest premium winery in the United States.

Tacoma Housing Authority

The Tacoma Housing Authority received a $100,000 grant from Umpqua Bank. The grant will help boost services at the newly opened Arlington Apartments for young adults 18 to 24 who are — or are at risk of being — homeless or transitioning from foster care. The grant will help provide residents with childcare, job searches, distance learning, and other support they need on the way to a successful adulthood. Umpqua Bank announced its grants in December 2020, recognizing nonprofits who adapted and expanded services to underrepresented communities related to the pandemic and wildfires. The other two grant recipients were Roseburg-based NeighborWorks Umpqua and Sacramento-based Alchemist Community Development. Established in 1940, Tacoma Housing Authority provides stable and sustainable housing and supportive services to people in need.

Washington State Fair

The Washington State Fair at the Puyallup Fairgrounds will be held April 7-11 and 14-18, 2021. The fair will be held in a hybrid manner this year: drive-thru, and experience the fair from your vehicle; step-out, and you will have the chance to get out of your vehicle for select entertainment experiences; walk-in, and enjoy the rides and games; and drive-in, and experience a movie from your car. Tickets sales are online only and must be purchased in advance at http://www.thefair.com.

Mar 24, 2021

Tacoma Poet Laureate

The Tacoma Arts Commission has selected Lydia Valentine as Tacoma's 2021-2023 Poet Laureate. Over the next two years, Valentine will participate in and host public poetry readings, workshops and other community events to advance the literary arts in Tacoma. As a wrap-up to National Poetry Month, 2019-2021 Tacoma Poet Laureate Abby Murray and the Tacoma Arts Commission will host Pass the Torch, a virtual poetry event at which Valentine will officially be awarded the title. The free, public event will be held Thursday, April 22, from 6:00-7:15 pm on TV Tacoma, livestreamed on the city's Facebook page, and on Zoom. Valentine is a playwright and poet, director and dramaturg, editor and educator. Her first poetry collection, Brief Black Candles, was published in November 2020. Valentine is a faculty member of Northwest Indian College and Seattle Girls' School.

F5

Seattle-based F5 announced the appointment of two senior executives. Yvette Smith joins the company as senior vice president of customer success and business transformation, where she will lead a newly formed group combining both functions and multiple other teams into a single organization. Gail Coury, who joined F5 in 2018, has been promoted to senior vice president and chief information security officer. Coury will oversee the expansion of F5's cybersecurity organization with responsibility for F5's enterprise security, the security of the company's product and service offerings, and showcasing to customers and the industry the use of F5 security technologies. Smith comes to F5 from Microsoft where she most recently led the customer success programs for their commercial cloud business. Coury previously served as vice president and general manager of F5 Silverline, where she led product management, marketing, architecture, engineering, and customer success for F5's cloud-based Silverline managed service offerings. In their roles, both Smith and Coury report to Tom Fountain.

Clearwater Analytics

Clearwater Analytics, a SaaS solution for automated investment data aggregation, reconciliation, accounting, and reporting, announced that it has added financial services executive Kathleen Corbet to its board of directors. Corbet currently serves on the boards of MassMutual Financial Group, Waveny LifeCare Network, and BlackRock TCP Capital. She is the founder and principal of Cross Ridge Capital, a venture capital and management consulting firm for early-stage venture firms, government agencies, municipalities, and non-profit enterprises. Her career in financial services also includes serving as president of Standard & Poor's, CEO of the Alliance Fixed Income Division of AllianceBernstein, and executive vice president of Equitable Capital Management. Clearwater Analytics is headquartered in Boise.

Mar 23, 2021

Amazon Air

Amazon Air began operations at its new air gateway at Fairbanks International Airport. This is Amazon Air's second location in Alaska and its most northern gateway in the world. The location will include an onsite area to sort packages bound for their next destination and will be managed by an Amazon logistics partner, Naniq Global Logistics. The site will create more than 50 new jobs in the area.

Jensen Investment Management

Jensen Investment Management, a 100% employee-owned investment management firm founded in 1988, recently promoted Tyra Pratt and Jorge Rivas as portfolio managers to the Jensen Quality Value Investment Team. With this appointment, Pratt and Rivas will join portfolio managers Adam Calamar, Kurt Havnaer and Eric Schoenstein in overseeing the portfolio's $100+M in assets. Pratt joined Jensen in 2017 and is Jensen's first female portfolio manager. Rivas also joined Jensen in 2017. Jensen is headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Seattle Schools

The transition to a new interim superintendent for Seattle Public Schools will occur on May 1, 2021 when Brent Jones replaces Superintendent Denise Juneau. The transition will be made a couple months earlier than expected to help students, teachers, staff

and families as they resume more in-person learning and develop plans for the 2021-2022 school year. The search for a permanent superintendent will continue with extensive community engagement planned for fall 2021. The search is expected to conclude in the spring of 2022 with a final decision by the school board in April/May 2022.

Spaceflight

Seattle-based Spaceflight, a global launch services provider, announced it has been awarded a launch service contract for the integration and launch of NASA's LLITED mission. As a U.S. government direct procurement, Spaceflight is the prime contractor to NASA for the mission and the launch service is led by NASA's Kennedy Space Center Launch Services Program. The LLITED team includes scientists and engineers from The Aerospace Corporation, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and University of New Hampshire. In January, Spaceflight successfully deployed 15 spacecraft from its first next-gen OTV (Sherpa-FX) on the record-breaking SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-1 launch. Spaceflight is preparing several Sherpas for launch with both electric and chemical propulsion for missions later this year along with many traditional rideshare and dedicated missions, for a total of approximately 10 launches in 2021.