Nov 08, 2023

King County Fire Marshal

Ricketts

Chris Ricketts retired last month after serving as the King County Building Official for 25 years and as the King County Fire Marshal for the past decade. Ricketts wore several management hats for the King County Permitting Division's Building Department, from reviewer to supervisor to manager. He worked on many unique and challenging projects, including ski lodges in the Cascades, large circus tents for the Cirque du Soleil show, amphitheaters, treehouses, straw-bale structures, and more than 50 public school structures. Ricketts has been the department representative for county emergency operations. He responded and investigated damages across unincorporated King County from fire, seismic activity, slides and snow. He has also represented King County and served on several boards and professional organizations concerning building and fire codes, sustainable construction and disaster response.

BECU

BECU, the country's fourth-largest credit union, appointed Jason Rudman as executive vice president and chief member and digital experience officer. In his role, Rudman will oversee BECU's member journey across all channels, including its Neighborhood Financial Centers, Contact Centers, ATMs and digital, working to deliver a cohesive experience across all member touchpoints. He will also lead marketing and communications. Rudman joins BECU with more than 20 years of financial services experience, including senior roles at USAA, KeyBank and American Express. Most recently, he served as chief customer officer at Finance of America, where he led the strategy and teams focused on digital experience, marketing, brand, product development, and strategic transformation. He earned his bachelor of arts degree from Middlesex University of London and an MBA from Baylor University.

State of Washington Tourism

State of Washington Tourism (SWT) announced the winners of its tourism awards at the recent State of Washington Tourism Conference. The awards recognize excellence in tourism work from around the state. Awards were presented for Outstanding Marketing Campaign, Rising Star in Tourism, Destination Stewardship and Tourism Hall of Leadership. The award for Outstanding Marketing Campaign was presented to Visit Walla Walla for its video series, "As Artists." The campaign, created in partnership with a local filmmaker, showcased the variety of artists living throughout the community and sharing why they chose to make Walla Walla their home.

The award for Rising Star in Tourism was presented to Shara Howard, communications manager at Visit Vancouver WA. The award is presented to a new industry professional or volunteer who has made outstanding contributions to the tourism efforts of a business, nonprofit organization, community, or tourism business segment. Nominees must have tenures in tourism of 5 years or less. The Destination Stewardship Award was presented to Embrace Whidbey and Camano Islands for Regenerative Places, a Community-Based Tourism Model. State of Washington Tourism also inducted two industry veterans into the Tourism Hall of Leadership. Mary Kay Nelson was recognized for her work with the Lewis County Visitors Bureau, Visit Rainier and the White Pass Scenic Byway. Marcus Yearout, retired owner of the ScenicWA guides, was recognized for his work to promote Washington state through guides at both the state and local level. State of Washington Tourism (the recently rebranded Washington Tourism Alliance) is an organization established by industry stakeholders with the mission of developing and sustaining Washington state destination tourism marketing. SWT procures and administers funds for state destination tourism marketing activities and creates and implements the strategic statewide destination marketing plan.

Nov 07, 2023

DAT Freight & Analytics

Portland-based DAT Freight & Analytics appointed Brian Gill as its chief technology officer. Gill joins DAT from Nordstrom, where he served as senior vice president of technology and chief product officer. He drove technology product development at the company, including website and native apps, omni technology, services for search, order management, payments and credit, product catalog, inventory management and supply chain. Before Nordstrom, Gill was CTO and chief scientist at Hotwire and vice president of technology at Expedia. Founded in 1978, DAT operates a truckload freight marketplace, providing shippers, transportation brokers, carriers, news organizations and industry analysts information on market trends and data insights based on more than 400 million freight matches and a database of $150 billion in annual market transactions. DAT is a business unit of Roper Technologies.

BECU

BECU named Raquel Karls as executive vice president and chief people officer. In her new role, Karls is responsible for leading teams focused on talent, human resources and equity and inclusion. Karls will also develop and implement people and diversity, equity and inclusion strategies. Karls joins BECU with nearly 30 years of global HR experience, including senior roles at Outerwall, Expedia, Pepsi Bottling Company, and Starbucks. Most recently, she served as chief people officer for REI, where she was responsible for all facets of people and culture across the organization, including talent acquisition, compensation, employee events and people operations. BECU is the largest not-for-profit credit union in Washington and one of the top four financial cooperatives in the country.

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross Northwest Region appointed Will Willis, Chief Master Sergeant, U.S. Air Force (Retired) as its new director of service to the Armed Forces/International Services, which serves Washington and the five northern counties in Idaho. Willis will lead the region's Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces and International Services departments in providing Red Cross assistance to service members, veterans, and their families as well as families seeking reunification assistance and more through Red Cross International Services. Each year, the Red Cross Northwest Region provides thousands of services to the military community. From their first day of enlistment, service members are eligible for Red Cross assistance, including 24/7 emergency communications and access to financial support during emergencies, information and referral services, confidential reconnection, mind-body and resiliency workshops, military hospital and clinic programs, and veteran services.

Willis will also lead the region's International Services efforts. Will enlisted in 1986. He held numerous positions at the 715th Air Mobility Operations Group in Hawaii, and Headquarters Air Mobility Passenger Policy and Air Mobility Command's Inspector General's Office at Scott Air Force Base. Lastly, he served as the noncommissioned Officer in Charge of Operations for the J4 Directorate and as senior Air Force enlisted leader with the Special Operations Unit in Qatar. In 2016, Will joined the office of U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell as her Military/Veterans Constituency Services Representative. He also advises Senator Cantwell on legislative issues as it pertains to military and veteran issues. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and donations from the American public to deliver its mission.

Nov 03, 2023

Northwest Kidney Centers

Thomasson

Eslava

Rivara

Northwest Kidney Centers has named Matthew Rivara chief medical officer, Jennifer Eslava chief financial officer, and Heather Thomasson, chief nursing officer. Rivara has served as medical director of Northwest Kidney Centers' Broadway clinic in Seattle since 2020. He is an assistant professor of nephrology at the University of Washington and an investigator at the Kidney Research Institute. A 2009 graduate of Harvard Medical School, Rivara has authored dozens of papers on renal health and has participated in numerous studies at the Kidney Research Institute. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology and member of the International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis. In his role at Northwest Kidney Centers, Rivara provides medical oversight of in-center, home and acute dialysis programs. Eslava comes to Northwest Kidney Centers with 17 years of experience working in finance in the healthcare industry. Prior to joining Northwest Kidney Centers, she worked as regional controller, Washington, at Kaiser Permanente. She also worked for Proliance Surgeons, MultiCare Health Systems, and served the healthcare community while working for Moss Adams and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Eslava, who graduated from the University of Washington, Tacoma, with a bachelor's degree in business administration, and earned her master's degree in business administration from Seattle University, is on the board of Washington Global Health Alliance and the Institute of Internal Auditors, Puget Sound Chapter. In her role at Northwest Kidney Centers, she is responsible for managing the financial health and wellbeing of the Seattle-based non-profit. Thomasson most recently worked as South King County director of nursing services for MultiCare Health System, overseeing its Auburn and Covington medical centers. She previously worked in nursing management at Tacoma General Hospital. Thomasson earned her Bachelor of Nursing Science from Pacific Lutheran University, her Master of Science Nursing from Western Governors University, and is completing her Doctor Nursing Practice from Capella University. As chief nursing officer, Thomasson will oversee patient care supporting Northwest Kidneys Centers frontline caregivers including nurses, dialysis technicians, social workers and dietitians. Northwest Kidney Centers was founded in Seattle in 1962.

Washington Trust Bank

Latourelle

Washington Trust Bank added Jim Latourelle to its Small Business Banking team in Bellevue to serve as vice president and relationship manager. Latourelle has over 20 years of experience in banking and client service, and will serve as a financial partner for commercial clients throughout the Puget Sound region. Latourelle joins Washington Trust Bank from Chase Bank, where he served as business relationship manager, overseeing more than 100 small business portfolios. He has experience n business banking, commercial lending and operations management. Latourelle is a graduate of the International College of Broadcasting, where he earned an associate degree. He also studied communications at Cedarville College. Headquartered in Spokane, Washington Trust Bank currently has over 40 branches and offices in Washington, Idaho and Oregon.

Space Needle & Chihuly Garden

Blundell

The Space Needle & Chihuly Garden and Glass named Ernest “Ernie” Blundell as chief people officer for the two Seattle venues. In his new role, Blundell will lead the human resources department and focus on developing people and processes to support strategic goals. This is his second stint with the organization, having served as vice president and general manager from 2011 to 2015, including the development and opening of Chihuly Garden and Glass in 2012. Previously, Blundell was a general manager at Standard Amusements where he organized staff and implemented operating policies during a $200 million parkwide renovation. Before that, he was the executive vice president of operations at the Empire State Realty Trust, and the deputy director for operations at the National September 11th Memorial and Museum. Built as the centerpiece and inspiration for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, the Space Needle recently underwent a $100 million renovation that added more than 176 tons of glass to the structure. Chihuly Garden and Glass brings together all elements of artist Dale Chihuly's work, including drawings, signature glass series, large architectural installations, and personal collections. This long-term exhibition features indoor galleries, the centerpiece Glasshouse, and an ever-changing Garden.