Mar 28, 2024

Emerald Communities

Lucero

The nonprofit Emerald Communities recently announced the hiring of Chris Lucero as its new executive director at Heron's Key, in Gig Harbor. He brings over 17 years in the senior living sector. Emerald's Michelle Wood said in a statement, “Chris embodies everything we are looking for in an executive director – strong leadership skills, a passion for residents and a wide range of knowledge in senior living. We are proud to welcome Chris.”

The Standard

Canfield

Manafi

Portland-based Standard Insurance Co. (The Standard) announced that Lauren Canfield, assistant vice president and actuary in Actuarial Transformation, will become vice president, corporate actuary and chief risk officer effective April 1. Canfield will also become a member of the company's management committee. Canfield will succeed Sally Manafi, vice president, corporate actuary and chief risk officer, who previously announced her decision to retire. Manafi, who retires March 31, joined The Standard in 1992. She led the development of the company's Asset Liability Management function and Enterprise Risk Management practice and served as the architect for The Standard's ongoing Actuarial Transformation. Manafi is also a member of the board of directors of Trillium Family Services. As vice president, corporate actuary and chief risk officer for StanCorp Financial Group, Standard Insurance Co. and The Standard Life Insurance Co. of New York, Canfield will be responsible for enterprise risk management, asset liability management and economic capital management. She will also hold responsibility for the integrity of the actuarial aspects of company financial statements and product pricing. Canfield joined The Standard in 2006, holding various actuarial roles at both Standard Insurance Co. and StanCorp Mortgage Investors. She subsequently held leadership roles of increasing responsibility in Employee Benefits and Corporate Actuarial, where, since 2020, as assistant vice president and actuary in Actuarial Transformation, she has been focused on the strategic process and technology decisions that will transform the actuarial function across The Standard. Canfield serves on the board of directors for Portland Piano International. Canfield graduated from the University of Portland with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and music and a minor in French. She is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. The Standard is the marketing name for StanCorp Financial Group and its subsidiaries.

K&L Gates

Global law firm K&L Gates added Christine Jochim as a partner in its Environment, Land, and Natural Resources practice. An associate with K&L Gates from 2011-2015, Jochim rejoins the firm in its Seattle office from Suncor Energy (U.S.A.), where she served as senior legal counsel. With two decades of legal and public policy experience, Jochim focuses her practice primarily on the defense of complex enforcement actions involving alleged violations of state and federal environmental, health, and safety regulations. While serving in both in-house and private practice roles, Jochim has resolved environmental and other enforcement actions taken by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Interior, and the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration, among other regulatory agencies at both the state and federal levels. Throughout her career, she has represented clients in a range of legal forums, including state and federal courts, administrative tribunals, regulatory hearings, and alternative dispute resolution proceedings. Jochim also advises clients in environmental compliance, public policy, transactional due diligence, and permitting actions involving the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, as well as other federal and state environmental statutes and regulations.

NAIOP goes east!

Rendering by Patrinely Group [enlarge]

No tenants have been announced at Four106, now under construction.

The Eastside will be the focus of NAIOP's next monthly breakfast presentation. That's to take place at 8 a.m. April 17, but not in Bellevue. Instead the venue will be the Hyatt Regency Seattle. Speakers will include Tim Owens from CBRE, Kevin Wallace of Wallace Properties, Charlie Foushee from Skanska and Jeff Johnson of Patrinely Group. The latter two developers have significant office projects underway in Bellevue (The Eight, said to be fully leased to Pokemon, and Four106, respectively), so that challenging sector will undoubtedly be discussed. Wallace meanwhile has two apartment projects planned in downtown Bellevue; both await a start date. And everyone's awaiting a light-rail connection to Seattle. Details and registration: naiopwa.org.

CBRE bolsters its retail ranks

CBRE announced its recent hiring of Yohar Renaud and Kyle Herting, who join the broker's retail team. They were both previously at Mattis Partners. CBRE's John R. Miller said in a statement, “Yohar and Kyle's work with national and regional tenants across the Pacific Northwest will be integral to the growth of our market. Their expertise adds to our capabilities in the region, and advances the solutions we can offer our clients.”

Mar 27, 2024

MKA

Bonotto

Bader

Aragaw

Wiley

Pfrommer

McCartney

Langdon

Seaman

Sand

Magnusson Klemencic Associates has promoted nine employees to senior associate, associate, and associate senior building information modeler (BIM) positions.

The following employees are now senior associates:

Jon Pfrommer — Pfrommer brings a rich understanding of state-of-the-art approaches to Performance-Based Seismic Design, especially in seismically active Southern California. His decade of large-scale design experience includes feature projects such as 611 Island Avenue in San Diego, and The Gayley at Wilshire and Beaudry towers in Los Angeles.

Alex Wiley — Focusing on high-rise residential and hospitality projects, Wiley is a rising project manager leading projects across the country. His design experience also reflects his expertise in concrete design advancements. His feature projects include the Salt Lake City Convention Center Hotel, The Ivey on Boren in Seattle, and 1000M in Chicago.

These employees are now associates:

Leikune Aragaw — A member of MKA's Sports and Cultural Specialist Groups, Aragaw's recent design experience includes Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles.

Will Bader — A member of the firm's Convention Specialist Group, Bader has designed convention centers from coast to coast, with recent highlights including the BMO Convention Centre Expansion in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Hannah Bonotto — Bonotto is a member of MKA's Cultural Specialist Group. Her most recent project work includes being the structural project manager for the soon-to-be-completed Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion

David Sand — A member of MKA's civil team, Sand's design work reflects a variety of office, mixed-use, and large-scale government embassies internationally. One of his most recent efforts was the new United States Embassy in Juba, South Sudan.

Krista Seaman — Seaman is a member of the firm's Sports Specialist Group. Her portfolio reflects professional and collegiate facilities, and she has recently held structural project manager roles for designs such as the University of San Diego Recreation, Wellness, and Aquatic Center.

The following employees are now senior BIM associates:

Erica Langdon — Bringing extensive experience in BIM design for a wide variety of project types, Langdon excels at documenting complex geometry and recently collaborated on 200 Park Avenue Office Tower in San Jose, California—the second high-rise to feature SpeedCore.

Conor McCartney — McCartney's BIM experience includes complex projects located worldwide with designs as large as 5.5 million square feet, most recently contributing his drafting skills to the 2.5-million-square-foot Indiana University Adult Academic Health Center Hospital Building in Indianapolis, Indiana.

FSi Engineers

McClure

Pecora Bletson

FSi Engineers has hired Sheneé Pecora Bletson as a staff accountant. Pecora Bletson is a U.S. Air Force veteran and a graduate of Colorado Technical University who brings 12 years of experience to the position.

The firm has also hired Shane McClure, a graduate of Western Washington University with 11 years of experience designing electrical systems. McClure joins the team as an electrical technician.

Strong Tower Consulting

Strong Tower Consulting, a Washington state-based management-consulting firm, announced that partner John Croswell has been named to the Staffing Industry Analysts 2024 Staffing 100 North America list of influential staffing leaders. Strong Tower is a certified Disability-Owned Business Enterprise, and women comprise 75% of its workforce. It is also a 100% carbon-neutral company. Since 2021, Strong Tower has expanded its operations across the U.S. and Canada, securing partnerships with technology and Fortune 50 companies. Strong Tower has created programs to support women such as the Women's Leadership and Development Group and Returning Caregivers program, which provide formal and informal mentorship.

Icertis

Bellevue-based Icertis, the global provider of AI-powered contract intelligence, was named a winner in the 2024 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards program led by the Business Intelligence Group. Icertis was the only contract lifecycle management vendor selected for its commitment to AI innovation with the delivery of Icertis Copilots, featuring enterprise-grade generative AI applications that automate high-volume contract reviews, protect businesses from risk, and deliver data-driven insights to create value in commercial relationships. The Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards celebrate organizations, products, and people who bring AI to life and apply it to solve real problems. Icertis Copilots are now the fastest-growing products in the company's history, recently propelling Icertis above $250 million in annual recurring revenue. This recognition marks the second consecutive year that Icertis has been named an Artificial Intelligence Excellence Award winner.

Smartsheet

Smartsheet appointed Katie Rooney to its board of directors. Coinciding with Rooney's appointment, Brent Frei and Elena Gomez will be retiring from the Smartsheet board of directors effective June 18, 2024. As co-founder of Smartsheet, Frei played a core role in the inception and pre-IPO growth of the company. Gomez joined the Smartsheet board in advance of its IPO, and served over six years on the board's audit committee, five years as committee chair. Rooney is an experienced CFO, with global experience in finance, operations, business strategy, and investment banking. She is the chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Alight, a cloud-based human capital technology and services provider. Rooney holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance from the University of Michigan. Smartsheet is an enterprise work management platform headquartered in Bellevue.