Jul 11, 2024

Port of Everett

Liard

The Port of Everett has hired Monique Liard as its new chief administrative & financial officer. This role manages the port's $83 million operating and capital budget, while also overseeing all financial, risk management, purchasing, and information technology functions of the port. Liard will also advance port priorities across all business lines and direct staff implementation of services, policies, procedures and programs. She will also serve as the Port Commission-appointed auditor and treasurer. Liard brings 18 years of experience as a chief financial officer. Prior to joining the port, she served as the CFO for the Spokane Transit Authority. She also held the CFO role for NxEdge, Shape Technologies Group, Caterpillar's Energy Solutions Group, as well as a consulting CFO for CFO Selections. Throughout her tenure, Liard has overseen local and global teams. Liard earned her bachelor's degree in business administration with concentrations in finance and accounting from the University of Wisconsin. She is a certified public accountant in Washington state. Liard replaces the port's former CFO Eric Russell, who retired in March. Other recent Port leadership hires tied to retirements and transitions include Cassidy Follins, the port's new grants compliance manager and Barb Hackmann, the port's new human resources manager. Follins ensures the port's compliance with grant and loan requirements and reviews construction-in-progress for various projects. Before joining the port, Follins worked for the Seattle-based National Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian ad Litem Association for Children, and the Pacific Science Center. Hackmann develops and administers the port's human resources and employee benefits programs to recruit, hire and retain employees. She previously worked at the Seattle Mariners and the Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett.

Night of the Stars reminder

Photo by Cleary O’Farrell [enlarge]

Washington Park

NAIOP would like to remind you that July 19 is the nomination deadline for its annual Night of the Stars awards gala. That means submitting your best work (or workers), entirely or substantially completed during this calendar year. Categories include industrial brokers, high-rise residential towers, office interiors, developer of the year, apartment buildings of all sizes and historic renovation. For the latter, one likely contestant should be Washington Park (pictured), the waterfront office renovation/addition project from Unico Properties, Pinnacle Partners, Lake Union Partners, architect BuildingWork and W.G. Clark Construction. The event itself will take place on Friday, Nov. 1, at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue. For submission guidelines and other info: naiop-wa.

CBRE

Louie

Just before the recent holiday weekend, CBRE announced its hiring of veteran multifamily broker Jordan Louie, who joins the firm as senior VP. He makes the move from JLL. CBRE's John R. Miller said in a statement, “Jordan's expertise and relationships in the mid-market sector will complement our team of multifamily experts in the Pacific Northwest, and enable clients to leverage CBRE's unparalleled global platform.”

CBRE

Huynh

CBRE announced this week that Vicki Huynh has joined its debt and structured finance group. She has two decades worth of experience in commercial mortgage banking, most recently with EverBank. She said in a statement, “CBRE is highly regarded in the commercial real estate industry, and I'm excited to join such a respected firm that offers unparalleled expertise. The incredible resources at CBRE will equip me to give my clients an edge in the market, provide deeper market insights and collaborate with a global network of amazing people.”

Colliers

Ober

Chaney

Two brokers recently moved from Kidder Matthews to Colliers, the latter firm announced this week. With a deep history in the office, Jeff Chaney and Seamus Ober will join the Bellevue office, as executive VP and senior associate, respectively. Chaney said in a statement, “We're very excited and grateful for the opportunity to join the Colliers team. We look forward to leveraging their global platform to grow our business, and to continue providing best-in-class service offerings to property occupiers, owners and investors.” Colliers' Scott Blankenship said of the new duo, “We are thrilled to welcome Jeff and Seamus to our growing team.”

Avatar announces two SoCal hires

Avatar Financial Group is based here in Seattle, and has offices in cities including Los Angeles. There, Alex Cruz and George War will join the firm, as it recently announced. Both the two industry veterans will continue their work in loan origination. Avatar president T.R. Hazelrigg IV said in a statement, “Both have leveraged their business development skills to become top producers in the commercial mortgage lending industry. With reputations for being deal closers, I'm looking forward to seeing Alex and George put their skills and resources to work.” Avatar specializes in private bridge loans, generally in the $1 million to $35 million range. Over the past two decades, it has provided or sourced over $1 billion in bridge loan funding.

Qumulo

Seattle-based data storage company Qumulo appointed Douglas Gourlay as president and chief executive officer. Gourlay will also join Qumulo's Board of Directors. A 25-year industry veteran, Gourlay previously served as vice president and general manager of software at Arista Networks. Joining Arista in 2009, Gourlay held various executive leadership roles across product, systems engineering, marketing, and sales. Prior to Arista, he held executive leadership positions at Cisco Systems, where he developed several multi-billion-dollar product lines. Earlier in his career, Gourlay served as an infantry officer in the United States Army. Gourlay has filed or holds over 70 patents in systems and networking technologies. Gourlay replaces retiring CEO Bill Richter, who will transition to the role of board and executive advisor.

Jul 10, 2024

Barghausen Consulting Engineers

Guardado

Sem

Casillas

Hazlett

Oehler

Padilla

Sroka

Perry

Barghausen Consulting Engineers has hired 26 employees across its five offices between January and May 2024.

The firm has three offices in Washington, in Kent, Puyallup and Richland, and two California offices in Long Beach and Roseville.

In Washington, Aidan Oehler has joined the Puyallup office and Daniela Zavala and Joshua Hazlett have joined Barghausen in Richland. The DJC ran the new Kent employees on June 19.

Oehler joined in March 2024 as a design engineer. He studied Civil Engineering at Washington State University and graduated with a B.S. in May of 2023. He recently interned for GeoResources, LLC. in Fife.

Zavala started as a civil CAD technician in May. Zavala graduated with an A.A. degree in Arts and Sciences in June of 2021, and an A.S. degree in Engineering and Technology in 2024 from Columbia Basin College. Zavala's skills include AutoCAD, OS X, and Civil 3D.

Hazlett, a design engineer, started in May of 2024. He graduated from Washington State University with a B.S. degree in Psychology and a Minor in Criminal Justice in 2012. Hazlett then graduated with a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Washington State University in May of 2021. He previously worked as a traffic engineering Tech II for the city of Kennewick, Public Works Department. Hazlett is skilled in AutoCAD, AutoTURN, GIS, SAP2000 and Civil3D.

New employees at the Long Beach office are Gary Casillas, Jenny Sem and Rene Guardado.

Casillas, project designer for energy, joined Barghausen's in February 2024. Casillas graduated from Cerritos College with an A.A. degree in Engineering Design and Production Technology, and a Certification in Mechanical Design in 2016. He previously worked as a lead mechanical designer for spec services where he designed piping systems in oil, water, and gas industries using Plant 3D, Aveva, and AutoCAD.

Sem started as an electrical designer for energy in March. She graduated from the University of Pacific with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a Minor in Mathematics in December of 2016. She recently worked as an electrical designer at Breen Design Group. She showcases a deep understanding of tools such as AutoCAD, AGi32, C, C++, Python, MATLAB, and AutoCAD LISP.

Guardado, a project designer – energy, started in May. Guardado previously worked for Barghausen from 2011-2018. He graduated from ITT Technical Institute with a B.S. degree in Digital Entertainment and Game Design and an A.S. degree in Computer Aided Drafting and Design in 2008. He has experience modeling and drafting in several positions.

New employees in Roseville are Alberto Esquivel, Ekaterina Perry, Michelle Sroka and Raul Padilla.

Esquivel, a senior planner, joined Barghausen in April. He received a Master of Business Administration at Northwestern University and a B.S. in Business Administration at Sacramento State University. Esquivel recently worked as the executive vice president for SKK Developments in Sacramento, CA. He has proven his skills in project management, implementing land use approval strategies, and providing professional, written, and verbal communication.

Perry joined in April. She graduated from Sierra College in May of 2024 with an A.A. degree in Architecture. Perry previously worked for Monarch Engineers as an architectural designer and has shown skills in Revit, AutoCAD, and Building Systems like MEP and Structural.

Sroka started at Barghausen in January. She graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 2002. She previously worked for CBG, Inc. as a senior project manager. Sroka is a civil engineer with over 20 years of office/field engineering experience specializing in residential and commercial site design, roadway design, transit facility design, construction management and inspection services, and local agency plan reviews.

Padilla started as a design engineer in April. He graduated from the University of California, Davis with a B.A. in Civil Engineering in June of 2024. His skills include AutoCAD Civil 3D, Bluebeam, MaStan2, MATLAB, and RStudio. Padilla previously worked as a civil engineering intern at Cartwright NorCal.

Graphite Design Group

Hovingh

Thoman

Seattle-based architecture firm Graphite Design Group recently promoted two associates. Jay Thoman has been promoted to associate principal and Savannah Hovingh to senior associate.

Thoman is a seasoned project architect whose experience spans projects of diverse scale and use. Thoman's portfolio of work includes high-profile projects for Amazon, Clise Properties, and Mary's Place. Recently he was one of the senior project architects on Vulcan's three-tower West Main project in Bellevue.

Hovingh is a designer with an educational background in both architecture and industrial design. Her ongoing work includes supporting the Starbucks team as they continue to grow and deliver new projects in the Pacific Northwest and nationwide.

The Standard

Wacker

Standard Insurance Company (The Standard) promoted Smita Wacker to second vice president and actuary, Individual Disability Insurance. Wacker has worked at The Standard since 2018, most recently as a senior director and actuary in Retirement Plans. In her new role, she will lead all actuarial functions for the individual disability insurance business including governance and risk management, financial reporting and product pricing. Wacker earned Bachelor of Science degrees in mathematics and economics from the University of Wisconsin ­– Madison. She is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. In business since 1906, The Standard provides financial protection products and services for employers and individuals. The Standard is the marketing name for StanCorp Financial Group, and its subsidiaries.

Heron's Key

In the last seven years, residents at Heron's Key, a continuing care retirement community in Gig Harbor, have raised $97,500 in scholarships for Gig Harbor graduating high school seniors. The Heron's Key Scholarship Group started in 2018 to support the next generation of higher education students by providing funds to help them complete a four-year program, 2-year program, or attend trade school. Every year since the group's inception, they have been able to award a greater number of scholarships at a higher value. In the first year, a small group of residents provided eight scholarships at $375. This year, 69 resident households awarded 14 scholarships at $2,000 each. They are also providing one student with her fourth scholarship through the Heron's Key Scholarship Group as she nears the completion of her program. Heron's Key residents work with Gig Harbor High School, Peninsula High School and Henderson Bay High School to select students most deserving of the scholarships. In order to be considered, students must submit a portfolio that includes their academic record, extracurricular activities, work experience, community service, and financial need. For the second year, residents in the Scholarship Group have also awarded scholarships to high school students who are employed by Heron's Key. Heron's Key, sponsored by Emerald Communities, is a Washington state-based, not-for-profit senior housing and service organization.