Nov 29, 2023

Bellevue College

Richard Fukutaki, chair of the Bellevue College Board of Trustees, was recently elected chair-elect of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Board of Directors. ACCT is a national nonprofit organization for community, technical, and junior college trustees, which brings together college leaders to address real-world challenges and help students succeed through advocacy and education. Prior to this new role, Fukutaki was ACCT's secretary-treasurer and vice chair, first elected in 2021. As chair-elect, Fukutaki is expected to lead ACCT's Board of Directors as chair in the fall of 2024. He will be the first Asian man, the first Japanese American, and the first descendant of a Japanese internment camp family to lead ACCT. The organization's 2024 ACCT Leadership Congress will be held in Seattle in October 2024. Fukutaki has served as a trustee at Bellevue College for eight years. Gov. Jay Inslee first appointed Fukutaki to a partial term in August 2015, and he is currently serving his first full term, which will continue through September 2024. Fukutaki is active with the Washington State Association of College Trustees, serving as the co-chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee, chair of the Awards Committee, and is a member of the Finance, Audit, and Education Committees. Outside of higher education, Fukutaki is the managing director of Sun Break Group, a consulting practice focusing on business plans and strategies for start-ups and early-stage companies. He is also the managing partner for Encomedia, a public display entertainment company developing TV programs, apps, live events, online portals, and social media strategies. Previously, Fukutaki served as vice president/general manager at Wizards of the Coast, where he founded the Pokemon trading card game.

City of Tacoma

The Tacoma City Council is looking to fill eight volunteer positions on the Tacoma Community Redevelopment Authority Board (TCRA); two representatives with experience in the legal profession as an attorney; two certified public accountant representatives; two representatives with experience in banking or financing; and two representatives with at least three years of experience as a licensed real estate broker or agent. The following positions are currently held by individuals whose terms are expiring, and who have the opportunity to reapply: one representative for an attorney position, one representative for a certified public accountant position, two banking representatives, and one representative for a realtor position. The TCRA administers grants and loans to support low-income households and families in buying or repairing their homes, multi-family housing developers or owners who provide housing to low-income families, businesses which create jobs or rehabilitate blighted buildings, and nonprofit organizations that provide housing and economic development services to the Tacoma community. TCRA meetings occur at 7:30 a.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month from January to October. In November and December, meetings change to the first and third Thursdays. Meetings are currently held in hybrid format to allow either in-person or virtual on-line participation. Applications must be submitted to the City Clerk's Office by Dec. 3. Application details are available at cityoftacoma.org/cbcapplication

Nov 28, 2023

nLIGHT

nLIGHT, a provider of high-power semiconductor and fiber lasers, has received a $34.5 million contract award that will be executed over approximately 18 months to provide a High Energy Laser in support of the U.S. Army's Rapid Capabilities Critical Technologies Office Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD) prototyping effort. nLIGHT is serving as a subcontractor to KORD Technologies, prime contractor in support of this effort. DE M-SHORAD is a component of the U.S. Army's broader modernization strategy for air and missile defense and focuses on integrating a 50kW-class laser weapon system onto a Stryker combat vehicle to provide defensive capabilities against unmanned aircraft systems; rockets, artillery, and mortar; and rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft. Compared to conventional heavy kinetic weapons, directed energy laser weapons can offer deeper magazines with lower cost-per-shot in a smaller footprint. Jeff Barchers is the president of nLIGHT DEFENSE Systems. nLIGHT is headquartered in Camas, Washington, and has defense operations in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.

Gold Reserve

Spokane-based Gold Reserve Inc. announced that Rockne J. Timm, chief executive officer and a director of the company, will retire after more than 35 years of leadership. Timm's retirement will be effective as of Feb. 13, 2024, at which time he will also resign from any officer positions held by him in the company's subsidiaries, He will continue to serve as a director of the company and its subsidiaries. Gold Reserve is currently working to identify a successor to replace Timm.

Onelife Senior Living

The former Springs of Vernon Hills Alzheimer's Special Care Center, located in Chicago, has become The Laurel at Vernon Hills after being acquired by Onelife Senior Living. Onelife retained all 59 staff members. Founded in 2009 by Zack Falk, Oregon-based Onelife Senior Living is a family-owned developer and operator of assisted living and memory care communities. Falk is the company's CEO.

Nov 24, 2023

Point B

Seattle-based consulting firm Point B announced the appointment of several key executives to leadership roles to accelerate growth, streamline operations, and deepen the company's technology expertise. New executives include Patrice Graves as chief people officer; David Parker as chief financial officer; and Jay Harrison as chief growth officer. Harrison's background includes 30 years of experience in COO and CRO roles in the professional services and software domains. In addition, Point B leader Michael Valitchka has been appointed to the newly created role of chief delivery officer, where he will oversee an enhanced delivery organization. Additionally, Chris Magill, chief legal officer and executive vice president corporate, was named to the Executive Committee. Point B has over 850 associates in the US and 3000 consultants around the world.

Emerald Heights

Emerald Heights, a Life Plan Community in Redmond, has named Jamilyn Bloodworth as its new health services administrator. In this role, Bloodworth will serve as a key member to the leadership team and provide daily oversight of skilled nursing, assisted living, and memory care. Her role will also include ensuring all local regulations for skilled nursing are consistently followed, coordinating a continuous quality improvement program, acting as liaison for the medical director and inspectors, maintaining contracts with healthcare providers and monitoring financial performance. Bloodworth comes to Emerald Heights with more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare and senior living industry. She earned her bachelor's degree in healthcare administration from Capella University.

Nov 22, 2023

Alaska Communications

McConnell

The Alaska Communications Board of Directors has named Matthew McConnell president and chief executive officer. McConnell is an accomplished CEO, COO, entrepreneur, community leader, board chairman, independent director and Fortune 50 executive with more than three decades of experience driving profitable growth in technology companies, and brings a combination of entrepreneurial and corporate experience to Alaska Communications. McConnell's leadership roles include serving as CEO of MediaKind, a best-in-class media technology company; COO and advisor to the board and CEO at Cantaloupe, a global technology provider of self-service commerce; senior vice president and general manager at Comcast NBCUniversal; president and CEO of Troppus Software, a SaaS start-up providing customer care software services; and senior vice president at Level 3 Communications, a multinational telecommunications provider. McConnell also currently serves as a board director for Junior Achievement – Rocky Mountain, and as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver where he teaches graduate-level courses in leadership, ethics and strategy. He will join Alaska Communications December 4, 2023. Alaska Communications, a subsidiary of ATN International, provides advanced broadband and managed IT services for businesses and consumers in Alaska. The company operates a statewide data network connecting Alaska to the contiguous U.S.

Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits

Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits has promoted Ryan Lumaco to the position of executive vice president and general manager of the Alaska, Idaho, and Washington markets. In this role, Lumaco will report to Patrick Daul, Southern Glazer's president, Western Region. His promotion will be effective at the end of 2023 following the retirement of current executive vice president, general manager, Pacific Northwest – John Klein. Lumaco's 25-year career began in 1998, when he joined E. & J. Gallo Winery as a field marketing manager. After 11 years with Gallo, Lumaco embarked on a new chapter in 2009, when he joined Southern Glazer's as the vice president, general manager of Oregon. From there he went on to assume his most recent role of vice president, general manager of Washington in 2014, where he has continued to lead for the past nine years. Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits is a multi-generational, family-owned company operating in 44 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Canada, as well as brokerage operations through its WEBB Banks division in the Caribbean, Central and South America.