Oct 12, 2022

Alaska Communications

More than 2,300 rural Alaskans in seven communities along the Kuskokwim River will receive high-speed internet for the first time thanks to a tribal broadband grant funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The collaboration between Calista Corporation and Alaska Communications will connect one of the most underserved regions in the United States with a fiber-optic cable that will be the foundation for expanding broadband to communities in the region. The communities served include Lower Kalskag, Upper Kalskag, Tuluksak, Akiak, Akiachak, Kwethluk and Napakiak. Alaska Communications will deploy a fiber-to-the-home network in each community, offering up to Gigabit speed service. The project is part of the Alaska FiberOptic Project, a larger collaboration between Calista Corporation, Doyon, Limited, Gana-A ‘Yoo Limited, Tanana Chiefs Conference and Alaska Communications to connect up to 20 communities along the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers with fiber-optic cable. This segment is the second of three segments to get funding. Alaska Communications will begin the permit and construction process as quickly as possible. It will also offer a $75/month discount for households on qualifying Tribal lands through the Affordable Connectivity Program. Calista Corporation has over 35,000 Shareholders and is the parent company of more than 30 subsidiaries. Alaska Communications, a subsidiary of ATN International, is a provider of advanced broadband and managed IT services for businesses and consumers in Alaska.

Point B

Seattle-based Point B, a global consulting firm, announced its acquisition of Sustainable Business Consulting (SBC), a firm dedicated to providing ESG-focused solutions. This acquisition expands Point B's ESG offerings, particularly in the areas of climate action, supply chain risk, ESG reporting, regulatory compliance and integrated strategy. According to Point B's executive director of ESG Gwen Migita, the demand for thoughtful, integrated climate action and social impact and justice consulting is increasing across industries, philanthropies and institutions. Established in Seattle in 2004, SBC's staff brings more than 240 clients across 11 industries to Point B's roster, including names such as Delta Airlines, New York Life, Expedia, REI and Estee Lauder Companies. Point B's industry, capability and technology experts can be found across the United States, with international reach via its partnership with Nextcontinent.

Raisbeck Engineering

Raisbeck Engineering has been awarded a General Service Administration Multiple Award Schedule contract. The contract, which took effect September 30, 2022, is valid for five years with three five-year option periods. The GSA Schedule makes the company's products accessible through a simplified buying process to state and federal government agencies, expanding the company's footprint in the federal government marketplace. To qualify for GSA approval, the company went through an 18-month application process. Contractors selling through the GSA contract are vetted beforehand and must have a proven track record within its industry. The GSA Multiple Award Schedule also provides a competitive advantage in the government sector since terms and conditions including pricing and warranties are previously agreed upon. Founded in 1949, GSA manages more than one-fourth of the government's total procurement dollars and continuously accounts for approximately $44 billion of government spending. GSA provides a centralized delivery system of products with predetermined terms and conditions such as pricing, delivery times, and warranties and serves to leverage its buying power to obtain the best value for taxpayers. Headquartered in Seattle, Raisbeck Engineering, an Acorn Growth Aerospace and Defense company, is a provider of aircraft modifications for business and commercial aircraft.

Oct 11, 2022

Gordon & Rees

Drew

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani hired Kelly Drew as a partner in the firm's Spokane and Boise offices. She joins the Commercial Litigation, Professional Liability Defense, and Employment Law practice groups. She is a litigator who practices in the areas of employment law, education law, professional liability, premises liability, catastrophic personal injuries and other general litigation matters. She defends against single-plaintiff lawsuits, class actions and administrative charges. Drew regularly advises and presents trainings for employers and educational institutions on compliance with employment and education laws. She is also an ATIXA-certified hearing officer for Title IX matters. Drew is also vice president of the board of advisors for Gonzaga University School of Law and a member of the board of directors for the non-profit charity Family Promise. Drew is admitted to practice in Washington, California and Idaho. She earned her law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Gonzaga University. Founded in 1974, Gordon & Rees has offices and attorneys in all 50 states.

Shiftboard

Seattle-based Shiftboard, a provider of enterprise workforce scheduling software, hired Jennifer Kline Shernoff as vice president, customer experience and product marketing. In this role, she will spend time with customers to gain an understanding of the perceptions, expectations, and needs of Shiftboard users. Shernoff will also work closely with the customer success team. Shernoff joins the company's executive leadership team, reporting to Shiftboard's president and CEO, Sterling Wilson. Shernoff comes to Shiftboard with more than 20 years of customer experience and marketing experience at B2B and B2C technology companies. Most recently, she was senior vice president of product and design at Ada, a company that develops customer support automation software. Before Ada, Shernoff led teams responsible for go-to-market strategy and helped develop products that expanded customers' self-service options at LivePerson. She was also vice president of marketing and experience at Avvo.

Amazon

Amazon announced that it is hiring 150,000 employees throughout the United States in full-time, seasonal, and part-time roles across its operations network. Jobs in Amazon's operations network include stowing, picking, packing, sorting and shipping customer orders, and are available in hundreds of cities and towns across America. Sign-on bonuses ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 are available in select locations. While there are jobs available across the country, the states with the greatest number of available positions include Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Employees can earn, on average, more than $19 per hour based on position and location in the U.S. Interested candidates can see all the regions with open positions at http://www.amazon.com/apply.

Oct 07, 2022

Summit Bank

Summit Bank hired Zak Sundsten as senior vice president, business client advisor for the Central Oregon office. Sundsten brings over 25 years of commercial banking experience to Summit. His previous position was at Idaho First Bank as a commercial relationship manager. In addition, he has a wide array of lending knowledge ranging from commercial real estate, residential, commercial and industrial, and construction and consumer loans. Sundsten is a past board member of the Habitat for Humanity and current board member for the Economic Development of Central Oregon. Summit Bank has offices in Eugene, Central Oregon, and downtown Portland.

iGrafx

iGrafx, a worldwide provider of intelligent process management, has been named a Leader in Business Process Management software by tech marketplace, G2. This is the eighth quarter in a row that iGrafx has received the Leader quadrant distinction as showcased in G2's Business Process Management Grid Report. Through G2 customers reviews, iGrafx ranked higher in the market presence category than in previous reports. The G2 market presence score is a combination of more than 15 data points from G2's user reviews, publicly available information, and third-party sources. Through the acquisition of process mining specialist Logpickr and a strategic partner program including the recent addition of Zeitworks, iGrafx combines process mining and business process management with automated desktop data collection, AI, and real-time analytics. iGrafx is headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon.

Amazon

Amazon announced Amazon Catalytic Capital, a new initiative to invest $150 million in venture capital funds, accelerators, incubators, and venture studios that provide funding to entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds, primarily at the pre-seed/seed stage of venture capital funding. The company will invest in funds that focus on Black, Latino, Indigenous, women, and LGBTQIA+ founders. Amazon expects to support more than 10 funds and over 200 companies through the next year. In addition to capital, the companies in the funds' portfolios will receive mentorship from Amazon executives and gain access to resources to support their business and technical strategy. Amazon teams will also work with the startups to identify partnership and product collaboration opportunities that could accelerate their growth. Through this initiative, Amazon has invested in the following funds: Collide Capital; Elevate Future Fund; Share Ventures; and Techstars Rising Stars Fund. In turn, investors from the venture capital funds supported by Amazon have supported hundreds of underrepresented startup founders.