Sep 21, 2022

Standard Insurance

Martin

Portland-based Standard Insurance (The Standard) has promoted Shannon Martin to second vice president and assistant controller. In her new role, Martin will lead accounting and finance staff in the management of accounting close activities, financial reporting, investment accounting, financial systems and accounting policy. Martin joined The Standard in 2012, leading several corporate accounting and finance teams with increasing levels of responsibility and management. Prior to The Standard, she was an auditor with Deloitte.

Martin received a Bachelor of Science in accounting and a Master of Science in financial analysis from Portland State University. In business since 1906, The Standard is the marketing name for StanCorp Financial Group, and its subsidiaries: Standard Insurance, The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York, Standard Retirement Services, StanCorp Mortgage Investors, StanCorp Investment Advisers, StanCorp Real Estate, and StanCorp Equities.

Taqtile

Taqtile, maker of Manifest, an augmented reality-enabled work instruction platform for deskless workers, announced completion of a $5 million preferred equity round. The Seattle-based company will utilize proceeds to increase sales and marketing efforts, reinforce engineering and development teams and increase its global footprint through its partnership network. Investors in this round include Mesmerise, a London-based creator of augmented reality and virtual reality immersive technologies for enterprise customers, as well as Downer Group, a publicly traded Australian industrial and defense systems integrator. Bellevue-based 5G Open Innovation Lab, and tech-focused Ascend, a Seattle venture capital fund, have also invested in Taqtile. Downer Group is both a Taqtile investor and strategic partner. Close collaboration between Downer and Taqtile has already begun and will continue to grow across major defense and infrastructure projects in Australia and New Zealand.

City of Tacoma

The city of Tacoma is now accepting Community Arts Projects funding applications from eligible organizations and groups producing publicly accessible arts programming, across all artistic disciplines, within Tacoma city limits in 2023. Applicants can apply for either $3,000 or $6,000 for their project. Applications must be submitted online by 11:59 PM on October 31, 2022. Community Arts Projects funding can be used for a variety of projects including, artistic presentations, activities, events, workshops, experiences, festivals, performances, or other projects that are accessible to the general public – either in-person and/or virtually. Funded projects must be completed between January 1 - December 31, 2023. Eligibility extends to private non-profit corporations with a 501(c) designation, organized groups of people working together towards a specific mission or purpose, for-profit businesses or educational institutions producing projects that are non-profit in nature, and tribes or Native non-profit organizations. Applicants are required to have offices or their place of business within Tacoma or, if they have no offices, a majority of their activities must take place within Tacoma city limits. Funding for Community Arts Projects is determined through a competitive application process. The number of projects funded will be based on the availability of funds and review of each application as measured against the evaluation criteria detailed in the guidelines. More details, including access to the online application form, are available at cityoftacoma.org/artsopps.

Sep 20, 2022

Seattle Seahawks

Alexander

The Seattle Seahawks announced that Shaun Alexander will enter the Seahawks Ring Of Honor. Early in his second season in Seattle, Alexander took over the starting running back job from an injured Ricky Watters, and in his first start, Alexander rushed for 176 yards and two scores to help lead the Seahawks to a win over Jacksonville. Alexander went on to take over the Seahawks record book, becoming the most productive back in franchise history. When the Seahawks host Arizona on October 16, Alexander, who is the only player in team history to earn NFL MVP honors, will become the 15th member of the Seahawks Ring of Honor. The other members of the Ring of Honor are Matt Hasselbeck, Mike Holmgren, Steve Largent, Jim Zorn, Dave Brown, Pete Gross, Curt Warner, Jacob Green, Kenny Easley, Dave Krieg, Chuck Knox, Cortez Kennedy, Walter Jones and Paul Allen.

Cascadia Capital

Seattle-based Cascadia Capital has reached a definitive agreement to secure a strategic growth equity investment from an investment fund affiliated with Atlas Merchant Capital. With the additional resources from the investment and the Atlas team's support, Cascadia will continue its geographic, product, team, multi-industry and sponsor coverage growth nationwide. The firm plans to hire additional experienced bankers and cohesive teams to augment its existing sector expertise, initially focused on growing the healthcare, technology, and industrial technology teams. With clients across the U.S. and around the world, the firm has a presence in strategic markets, including Seattle, Austin, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Nashville. Perkins Coie provided legal counsel, and Houlihan Lokey served as Cascadia's financial advisor in connection with the transaction. Cascadia Capital is an independent investment bank providing middle-market entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses, and private equity firms with merger and acquisition, capital raising, and strategic advisory services. Based in New York and London, Atlas Merchant Capital was founded to participate in market opportunities in the financial services sector.

Alliant Insurance Services

Veteran benefits consultant David Knoop has joined Alliant Insurance Services in Idaho as vice president within its Employee Benefits Group. Knoop will provide a full range of employee benefits solutions to clients across the Northwest. Prior to joining Alliant, Knoop was a senior vice president with a global insurance and employee benefits consulting firm. Knoop attended the University of Colorado, Boulder. Alliant Insurance Services is a national distributor of diversified insurance products and services.

Tacoma Arts Commission

The Tacoma Arts Commission has announced this year's AMOCAT Arts Award winners: Grit City Magazine (Arts Patron), Real Art Tacoma (Community Outreach by an Organization), and Tamiko Nimura (Community Outreach by an Individual). The AMOCAT Arts Awards honor the people and organizations that positively impact the community with their passion, innovation, and commitment to the arts. The Arts Patron award recognized Grit City Magazine for its devotion to sharing Tacomans' life stories in an artistic way and raising up those in the creative community, providing opportunities for local creatives to be published. The Community Outreach by an Organization award recognized Real Art Tacoma for being an all-ages arts and music space that promotes artistic creation in the community. Real Art Tacoma helps emerging artists, bands, vendors, and community members feel included and supported on the local music scene in Tacoma. The Community Outreach by an Individual award recognized Tamiko Nimura for her commitment to changing the local landscape of literary arts in Tacoma to better represent the complex identities of our community members. Nimura is a creative nonfiction writer and public historian. The 2022 awardees will be honored at Kaleidoscope, the annual Tacoma Arts Month opening party, on Wednesday, October 5, from 6:30 - 9 PM, at STAR Center. This all-ages, free public event is presented by the Tacoma Arts Commission in partnership with Metro Parks Tacoma.

Sep 16, 2022

Expedia Group

Whalen

Expedia Group announced that Julie Whalen will be Expedia Group's executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective September 26, 2022. She succeeds Eric Hart, who will remain with the company through October 1, 2022. Whalen will lead the company's global finance organization and financial activities including accounting, corporate development, financial reporting and analysis, internal audit, investor relations, real estate, tax, and treasury. Whalen comes to Expedia Group with more than two decades of finance experience. Most recently, she served as EVP and CFO of Williams-Sonoma, having progressed through positions of increasing responsibility in Williams-Sonoma's finance organization since joining in 2001, including 10 years as CFO. Whalen has served as a member of the Expedia's Board of Directors and Audit Committee since June 2019. While she has resigned as chair of the audit committee, she will continue as a member of the board of directors following her appointment. Expedia Group is headquartered in Seattle.

MultiCare

Powell

Lisa Powell has joined MultiCare Health System as senior vice president and chief human potential officer, where she will support more than 20,000 employees and more than 1,800 staff providers. Powell brings more than 20 years of health care human resources experience. The past 13 years she worked at Providence Health and Services in Portland, where she served as the vice president and chief human resources officer for the Oregon region. For the past two years, Powell served as the interim chief human resources officer for Providence's Alaska region. Joining MultiCare brings Powell back to Tacoma, where she started her career as the human resources director for Community Health Care. Powell earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, and a Master of Business Administration from City University of Seattle. She is also a member of the Society for Human Resource Management. MultiCare is a not-for-profit health care organization, and today is the largest community-based, locally governed health system in the state of Washington.

Gonzaga University

Gonzaga University is launching the Center for Lifelong Learning to offer continuing education, professional development, and personal enrichment programs to the public. Programs and certificates available through the new Center are designed to meet the needs of those who are currently working and seeking to advance into leadership roles, those who want to start a career, and those who desire to grow and learn, no matter what stage in life. The Center for Lifelong Learning partners with departments across campus to offer a wide-range of non-degree programs, including webinars, workshops, professional certificates and consulting services. Current programs include design thinking, servant leadership and women's leadership. Gonzaga also offers a Certificate in Foundational Leadership and a Certificate in the Business and Legal Aspects of Wine; additionally, the university will be launching a Certificate in Healthcare Leadership in January 2023. The Center plans to add more programs in the near future, including in the areas of engineering, business, education and climate studies. Further information is available at Gonzaga.edu/keepgrowing.