Jan 30, 2025

Perkins Coie

Shannon

Anthony Shannon has joined Perkins Coie as its new chief people officer. Shannon will oversee all of Perkins Coie's human resources operations, including benefits, lateral partner recruiting, lawyer recruiting and retention, staff employment, learning and engagement and employee relations. He joins Perkins Coie from Kobre & Kim, where he had served as the global people officer since 2021 with responsibility for all the firm's talent, training and resource programs. Prior to that role, he served as the director of employee relations and human resources business partners at his prior firm, the interim chief talent officer and assistant chief talent officer and director of labor relations of a Connecticut municipality, and as an employment lawyer at Shipman & Goodwin. Shannon has extensive experience managing legal recruitment and programs in national and international markets. He is a Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional and received his J.D. from the University of Connecticut and his B.S. from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. Headquartered in Seattle, Perkins Coie is a global law firm. Shannon will be based in its Washington, D.C., office.

$42M secured for 179 Puyallup units, plus retail

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George Smith Partners has its two main offices in New York and Los Angeles. It also has a base in Bellevue. The firm, aka GSP, recently announced that it landed a $42.5 million construction loan for a 179-unit garden apartment project in Puyallup, which also has three planned retail buildings. Matthew Fisher, in Bellevue, and Grant Pugatch, in L.A., arranged the construction-to-permanent loan, from an unnamed source. The borrower-developer wasn't named, nor were other details supplied. The project looks to be East Town Crossing, at 2902 E. Pioneer, which broke ground last year. Kidder Mathews represents the remaining 5,000 square feet, with a third retail pad already claimed.

Gantry lands $53M in refinancing

Gantry has been busy refinancing apartment projects around the region. First, down in Vancouver, the 556-unit Mission Hills complex benefited from a $23 million refinancing package arranged by Blake Hering and Abi Hunter, in the firm's Portland office. A life insurance company supplied the 10-year, fixed-rate loan. Hering said in a statement, “Multifamily remains one of the most sought-after asset classes for lenders.” Second, working out of San Francisco, Andy Mekjavich, Ben Johnson and Abigail Hunter secured $30 million for a trio of properties in our state and Oregon. Those were said to be stabilized retail, industrial and multifamily assets, with no other details offered. Again, an unnamed life insurance company was the lender.

Milliman

Linton

Seattle-based Milliman, a global consulting and actuarial firm, elected Bret Linton as its next chair of the board. Linton joined Milliman in 2009 and has most recently served as global practice director, employee benefits. Linton will succeed Ken Mungan, who is completing a 10-year, term-limited tenure as chair. Linton is a retirement actuary with expertise leading global teams and serving both the employee benefit and management consulting industries. He is a principal with Milliman's Boise office, specializing in retirement plan consulting to private and public employers. He has helped lead Milliman's global benefit affiliate, MBWL International, which provides benefit solutions to multinational companies. Mungan's tenure as chair was noteworthy for its growth and commitment to mission-driven work. The firm grew 96%, added offices in 11 new countries, and acquired 11 new companies — many of which are data and analytics companies. Founded in 1947, Milliman is an independent firm with offices in major cities around the globe.

Kodiak Island Advanced Broadband Network

Alaskans in four tribal communities on Kodiak Island will receive broadband service, thanks to a Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program Round 2 grant funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The collaboration, named Project Nunapet, between Old Harbor Native Corporation and Alaska Communications will install a middle mile subsea fiber optic cable from Homer to Kodiak Island. It will also deploy a last-mile fiber network offering Gigabit speeds to the tribal communities of Old Harbor, Chiniak, Akhiok and Womens Bay, serving 570 homes. Nunapet is an Alutiiq word meaning “our lands.” In addition to eliminating the digital divide for residents in these communities, Project Nunapet paves the way for broadband service improvements throughout the Kodiak Archipelago region. Connecting with Alaska Communications' fiber landing station in Homer, the subsea route will consist of 155 miles of subsea middle mile fiber, making landfall in Ouzinkie. From Ouzinkie, the subsea cable will travel around the eastern coast of Kodiak Island, landing in Narrow Cape, Old Harbor and Akhiok. Incorporated in 1973, Old Harbor Native Corporation serves more than 500 shareholders residing primarily in Anchorage, Kodiak and Old Harbor. Alaska Communications, an affiliate of ATN International, is a leading provider of communications infrastructure in Alaska.

Jan 29, 2025

AHBL

Pflueger

Sauter

Duncan

Dodos

Stickney

AHBL announced the promotions of key individuals on the team. The following team members have been promoted to associate principal: Nicole Stickney, a senior planning project manager in the Tri-Cities office, Christopher Dodos, a survey project manager in the Tacoma office, and Tyler Duncan, a survey project manager in the Tri-Cities office.

Two senior structural engineers have been promoted to senior associates: Andrea Sauter, a senior structural project manager in the Seattle office and Andy Pflueger, a senior structural project manager in the Tacoma office.

Stickney has been promoted to associate principal within the Planning Department. With 16 years of experience in land use planning, Stickney is a skilled and versatile planner, adept in all aspects of the field. She has contributed to a wide variety of planning and economic development projects for both public and private-sector clients across Washington state. Stickney brings specialized expertise in policy development, municipal code writing, environmental analysis, and development review.

Dodos has been promoted to associate principal within the Survey Department. Dodos began his career as a high school teacher after graduating from the US Military Academy at West Point with a B.S. in Russian and concentration in Environmental Engineering. He has over 11 years experience as a land surveyor and is licensed in Washington and Oregon as a Professional Land Surveyor. His expertise includes preparing topographic, boundary and post-construction as-built surveys and construction staking. Dodos is responsible for project scheduling in the field and office, managing the development of topographic and A.L.T.A. surveys, boundary line adjustments, records of survey, short and long plats, right-of-way surveys, and various formats of boundary surveys.

Duncan has been promoted to associate principal within the Survey Department. Duncan's career began 18 years ago at AHBL after graduating from WSU with his bachelor's degree. His experience has been as a surveyor in various capacities, rising through the ranks. Duncan is currently serving as AHBL's Tri-Cities survey project manager, where he coordinates and calculates survey projects, and supervises office production of staff and field crews. He is responsible for in-house production of survey maps and exhibits, topographic surveys, performing boundary calculations, writing legal descriptions, and leading on-call survey projects.

Sauter has been promoted to senior associate within the Structural Engineering Department. Sauter has 22 years' experience as a structural engineer working on a wide variety of project types, including K-12 schools, higher education facilities, medical office buildings, tribal and veterans administration facilities. This work has included new construction, tenant improvements, and seismic evaluation and retrofit. Sauter is a skilled communicator and is well versed in BIM and computer analysis methods. She is a DBIA certified professional and has considerable experience with pull planning, target value design, and other Lean Design principles. Her role as a senior associate will include providing client-focused structural solutions, utilizing her DBIA certification to evolve our Progressive D/B and D/B portfolios of work, as well as mentoring the structural engineering staff in our Puget Sound offices.

Pflueger has been promoted within the Structural Engineering Department. He has 27 years' experience working on a broad range of project types including military facilities, commercial office and industrial buildings, mixed-use developments, educational facilities, and public buildings. In addition to new construction, Pflueger has developed seismic upgrades for numerous facilities and has extensive experience with steel and post-tensioned concrete construction. He also brings extensive experience with the process and standards of federal government projects. Pflueger is AHBL's expert on structural analysis software and leads AHBL's BIM team and the development of structural CAD/BIM standards. His role as senior associate will include continued support of his clients in the mixed-use, commercial, and industrial markets and our Federal IDIQ and MATOC projects throughout Washington state.

Dark Light Design

Klingfus

Littleton

Dark Light Design announced the promotion of two team members. Oliver Littleton has been promoted to senior lighting designer, and Kerri Klingfus has been promoted to director of operations and marketing, and associate.

Littleton has been promoted in recognition of his consistent delivery of high-quality design solutions, contributions to creative project development, and efforts to improve firm-wide processes.

Klingfus has played a key role in managing the firm's operations and marketing efforts, ensuring efficiency and professionalism. Her contributions have supported the firm's growth and development. In her new role, she will continue managing operations, leading marketing initiatives, and contributing to strategic planning.

Makers architecture and urban design

Roussel

Fenstermacher

Miller

Makers architecture and urban design has three new partners: Rachel Miller, Andy Fenstermacher, and Cecilia Roussel.

Miller is a leader in equitable planning work with over 15 years of experience in urban design and community planning. She uses multidisciplinary urban design thinking and community co-creation to solve multiple challenges simultaneously and develop actionable and community-owned plans. She has organized and presented numerous APA and Walkable Washington conference sessions, mostly centered on urban design and equitable transit-oriented development. She is influenced by her prior work and studies in several West African, Asian, and European countries.

Fenstermacher has been a Seattle-based planner since 2005 and focused exclusively on federal clients for the past decade while at Makers. Since joining the firm in 2012, he has worked closely with the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard to develop specialized facility studies and installation plans throughout the country. As partner, he will help co-manage a team of 20 planners, architects, and designers dedicated to the firm's federal sector.

Roussel has 13 years' experience helping clients envision how their spaces can best support their work. She is a leader of Makers' facility planning studio and is recognized for her ability to synthesize complex functional, operations, and financial considerations into compelling and defensible facilities investment recommendations. She joined Makers in 2015.

The new partners join existing partners Julie Bassuk, Stefani Wildhaber, Bob Bengford, and Brent Huizingh as firm leaders.

TAPCO Credit Union

TAPCO Credit Union has been recognized as one of America's Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions 2025 by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group. TAPCO received a 5-star rating, the highest rating in the recognition. TAPCO Credit Union has been serving Tacoma and Pierce County since 1934. “Being named to Newsweek's list of America's Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions 2025 is a testament to our commitment to serving our members with integrity, innovation, and a deep connection to our community,” said Justin Martin, CEO at TAPCO Credit Union. The recognition by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group is the result of a comprehensive analysis of over 9,000 financial institutions across the United States, including more than 70,000 customer surveys and millions of social media reviews. With a mission to provide inclusive financial solutions, TAPCO offers a range of products and services tailored to meet the evolving needs of its members.

T-Mobile US

Belleuve-based T-Mobile US named Srinivasan Gopalan as its new chief operating officer. Gopalan will join T-Mobile US in his new role on March 1, 2025, reporting directly to CEO Mike Sievert, and will lead the company's technology initiatives and go-to-market operations across both Consumer and Business groups. Gopalan has served as a member of T-Mobile's Board of Directors for nearly four years, with his most recent term beginning in 2022. Gopalan has extensive global leadership experience in technology, telecommunications, and business operations. He has held senior leadership positions at organizations like Bharti Airtel in India, CapitalOne in the UK, Vodafone, T-Mobile UK where he contributed to the joint venture with Orange, and various roles at Deutsche Telekom, including having served as the managing director of Telekom Deutschland GmbH. The existing Senior Leadership Team will continue in their roles, and will all report directly to Gopalan upon his arrival.

MangoBoost

MangoBoost, a provider of system solutions designed to maximize AI data center efficiency, named Chanik Park as its chief commercial officer. Chanik brings over two decades of experience driving semiconductor research innovation and commercialization. He holds bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees in computer engineering from Seoul National University. He began his career at Samsung Electronics in 2002. During his tenure, he held key leadership roles, including head of NAND Product Planning, Memory Business Planning team lead, and vice president of the Device Solutions Division's Americas Operations.“As MangoBoost continues to build its core product lineup, our focus has shifted to delivering the best solutions to existing clients while strategically identifying and engaging with new customers,” said CEO Jangwoo Kim. “Chanik has an impressive track record of spearheading innovative memory and storage product strategies and successfully serving major global clients. His extensive experience and leadership will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in driving MangoBoost's market expansion and long-term growth.”MangoBoost is headquartered in Bellevue.