Apr 23, 2026

Foster Garvey

Ostdiek

Foster Garvey announced that Alice Ostdiek has rejoined the firm as principal in the Public Finance and Municipal Government practice, based in Seattle.

Ostdiek has practiced public finance and municipal law in the Pacific Northwest for more than 25 years. Her practice covers issues ranging from developing new governmental revenue sources to securing capital investments in critical urban and rural infrastructure through the issuance of tax-exempt and taxable bonds and other financing sources, often involving public-private partnerships.

Ostdiek spent the first 15 years of her legal career at Foster Pepper as a summer associate and law clerk, rising through the ranks to become principal. In 2015, she joined the Seattle office of business and finance firm Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth LLP.

Ostdiek holds a law degree from the University of Washington, a master's degree in public administration from the UW and a bachelor's degree from Grinnell College. She is licensed to practice law in Washington and Alaska.

Lee & Associates

Soreano

Lee & Associates said this week that Cole Soreano has newly joined the brokerage as an associate VP. He makes the move from Ayers Commercial Group. His focus at Lee will on industrial and office leasing and sales. Lee's Jim Bowles said in the announcement, “Cole's hands-on experience and team-oriented mindset will be a great addition to our brokerage group.” Soreano added, “I'm excited to join a team that values collaboration and performance.”

BECU

Kullman

BECU, the country's fifth-largest credit union, announced it has welcomed Ron Kullman as executive vice president and chief risk officer. In this role, Kullman will lead the credit union's legal, risk, compliance and cybersecurity division.

Before joining BECU, Kullman most recently served as chief risk officer for Toyota Bank, where he helped modernize governance, strengthen board and executive risk reporting and implement an enterprise risk framework to support significant growth. Prior to Toyota Bank, as chief risk officer at Employers Holdings, he built the company's first enterprise risk management program, expanding risk, audit, compliance and information security capabilities. In addition, he held senior risk, security and credit leadership roles at State Farm Bank and credit policy and analytics roles at Chase Bank and Capital One.

Kullman holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Rochester Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from State University of New York, College at Fredonia.

Apr 22, 2026

Benton & Franklin Counties Superior Court

Howell

Gov. Bob Ferguson has appointed Commissioner Andrew Howell to the position of Benton & Franklin Counties Superior Court Judge. Howell's appointment, effective June 1, fills the position Judge Diana Ruff's resignation will vacate.

Howell is a career public servant who has served in his current role as a Benton & Franklin Counties Superior Court Commissioner in Pasco since 2022, where he presides over a wide range of civil and juvenile criminal dockets. He serves on several judicial committees, including Law Day and family, juvenile and criminal law.

Prior to becoming a court commissioner, Howell spent over a decade at the Benton County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, including six years as its Juvenile Division's Chief Deputy. He also spent five years prosecuting a wide range of felonies, specializing in complex cases, among other roles within the office.

Howell earned his bachelor's degree from Creighton University and his law degree from the University of Montana School of Law.

Reid Middleton

Moehrle

Patdu

Huang

Reid Middleton has hired Astrid Huang as marketing coordinator. Huang has been in the AE industry for one year. Paulyn Patdu was hired as a project administrator and brings 10 years of experience. Matthew Moehrle was hired as a designer I for the structural engineering group.

Ethos Civil

Chin

Spiller

Babb

Dowd

Crum

Ethos Civil brought on Zachary Crum, Brent Dowd and John Babb as shareholders in March, and hired David Spiller and Caleb Chin to their Tacoma office.

Crum has 15 years of experience and has been with the firm since 2023. He manages the firm's Spokane office. One of his current projects is the Neah Bay New School Campus in Cape Flattery, in Clallam County. Dowd has been with the firm since 2023 and has 10 years of experience. The Clover Park Technical College Aviation Shelters is among his current projects. Babb has six years of experience, having been with the firm since 2023. One of his current projects is Tacoma Fire Station 7.

Chin is a professional engineer with four years of experience. His most recent role was at Mott MacDonald which involved construction engineering services for the Federal Way Link light rail extension project. Chin is serving as a civil designer for the Enumclaw New Elementary School #6 progressive design-build project.

Spiller is a professional engineer with over 25 years of site civil experience, having spent the majority of his engineering career at Hatton Godat Pantier, where he contributed to a variety of K-12 and residential plat projects. Spiller is experienced with construction administration services and is serving as a project manager for the Tacoma Power Administration Complex Parking & Storage Improvement progressive design-build project.

Middle of Six

Carrillo-Rush

Kaneko

Middle of Six, a marketing consultancy specializing in construction, architecture, and engineering, has hired Hana Kaneko and Vanita Carrillo-Rush as marketing strategists.

Kaneko brings over six years of AEC marketing experience with a strong background in strategic communication, proposal management and storytelling. She has worked with multidisciplinary AEC firms offering architecture, interior design and engineering services. Kaneko is an active member of the SMPS Seattle chapter, where she serves on multiple committees and is a co-facilitator of the Multiply Mentorship Program for 2026.

Carrillo-Rush has 14 years of marketing experience and came to Middle of Six from the Portland-based architecture firm Scott Edwards Architecture, where she managed the firm's marketing communications efforts. Carillo-Rush's experience includes collaborating with technical staff to write pursuit and website content, developing thought leadership initiatives, creating digital marketing campaigns, and leading narrative-driven project photography. Carrillo-Rush has been an active member of SMPS Oregon since 2018 and currently serves as the Communications Committee chair.

Apr 21, 2026

King County Superior Court

Scheinman

Gov. Bob Ferguson has appointed attorney Tenaya Scheinman to the King County Superior Court. Scheinman's appointment, effective May 1, fills the position that Judge Jim Rogers' retirement will vacate.

Scheinman is a career litigator with more than 20 years of experience. Since 2024, she has been an attorney at the King County Inquest Program in Seattle, where she presents evidence to juries investigating the facts and circumstances of deaths involving law enforcement. She also serves as a judge pro tempore in King County District Court, Snohomish County District Court and Edmonds Municipal Court.

Before joining the King County Inquest Program, Scheinman served for 16 years as a public defender in King County, where she was named a Senior Attorney in 2017. As a public defender, she represented hundreds of clients in a variety of criminal proceedings, trying over 35 cases to juries and dozens of bench trials. She started her career litigating complex securities fraud cases at the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Seattle.

Scheinman earned her bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College and her law degree from the University of Virginia.

Soutwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines named Seattle as one of a select group of West Coast cities launching its first-ever Sip and Ship program — a perk designed to make bringing wine home as easy as checking a bag. Starting April 24, customers can check one case of wine (up to 12 bottles) at no cost from Seattle. To participate, wine must be packed in a standard wine shipping box or wine suitcase that meets checked bag requirements.