Sep 20, 2000

Regence BlueShield

Regence BlueShield, a Seattle-based health coverage provider, has appointed Mary McWilliams the company's new president and CEO. McWilliams has been serving as interim president since July. She came to Regence BlueShield in September 1997 as senior vice president of health care services and the division that serves Boeing.

KPLU

Eric Thom has joined KPLU, a Seattle-based radio station, as director of communications. Thom brings 15 years of marketing, promotions and communications experience to KPLU. He began his broadcasting career in college at the State University College at Fredonia, N.Y. He has worked for radio stations and agencies in New York City, southern Connecticut, Long Island and Syracuse, N.Y. In 1990 he came to Seattle after being recruited to join King Broadcasting.

ArtsPatron.com

ArtsPatron.com, a Seattle-based start-up, is unveiling its online arts portal and print lifestyle magazine, Arts Patron on Sept. 27. The magazine will circulate free to partnering arts organizations' core supporters, donors and subscribers, creating an instant base of 40,000 readers. By providing its database and Web site functionality free to performing groups, museums, galleries and other venues, Arts Patron intends to aggregate local arts-attending households into an online community. Arts Patron was created by CEO and founder Jonathan Nicholas, a nine-year veteran of magazine publishing.

Everett Community College

Everett Community College President Charlie Earl has appointed Francis Hagen as interim vice president for information technology. Hagen comes to the college with an extensive background in information technology management. He has been consulting in information technology applications, networks and development projects for the past six years, after having served as chief information officer for the Snohomish County Public Utilities Department.

Alliance for Education

Gayle Johnson Blake has been named community relations director for the Alliance for Education, a community organization working with Seattle Public Schools to support initiatives that target increased academic achievement by all students. Blake will work with the organization's partners and the public to raise awareness of issues related to education reform.

Kennedy/Jenks Consultants

Said Amali has joined the Portland office of Kennedy/Jenks, an environmental consulting firm. He recently relocated from the firm's Federal Way office where he has worked for the past four years.

Amali is a soil scientist and civil engineer with a background in contaminated site characterization.

KPFF Consulting Engineers

Ron Leimkuhler has been named principal at KPFF Consulting Engineers. A civil engineer, he specializes in the planning and design of transportation and site development projects.

Leimkuhler is working on several Sound Transit projects, including the light rail segment in the Rainier Valley; commuter rail stations in Kent, Tukwila, Edmonds and Mukilteo; and the Federal Way Transit Center. His other projects include redevelopment of the Satsop Nuclear Power Plant Site, reconstruction of Southeast Eighth Street in Bellevue, the Quinault Resort in Ocean Shores, and planning for Briggs Village, a master planned urban village in Olympia.

He will begin his term as president of the Seattle chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers in October.

KPFF is a structural and civil consulting engineering firm headquartered in Seattle.

Moffat & Nichol Engineers

Moffatt & Nichol Engineers has added several new employees to its Seattle office.

William Henry, who recently relocated from the firm's northern California office, is water resources practice leader for the western United States and a principal engineer. He brings more than 35 years planning, analysis, design and project management experience in the water resources field.

James Reed has recently relocated to Seattle from the firm's Baltimore, Md., office. He has 18 years of experience as a civil engineer and project manager. His expertise includes geotechnical investigations, pavement design, and rail transportation projects involving heavy rail and light rail systems. His current assignments include preparation of tender documents for several design-build projects for the U.S. Navy and leading the study to evaluate widening of a Puget Sound navigation channel.

Michael Hemphill has recently joined the Seattle office from the firm's Long Beach, Calif., office. He joined the firm in 1989 and has served as civil engineer and project manager on a wide range of projects involving site civil work, coastal processes, shore protection and marina design. His current assignments include the design of fisheries enhancement projects in central Washington and managing the design for the rehabilitation of marine facilities on the Seattle waterfront.

Jason Klecker has recently joined the firm as a structural engineer. He is working on berth deepening studies for several West Coast harbors.

Based in Long Beach, Calif., Moffatt & Nichol Engineers is a multidisciplinary engineering and planning firm.

Mulvanny G2

Mulvanny G2 Architects of Bellevue has promoted architect Ming Zhang to its board of directors. Zhang will continue to serve as a vice president of the firm.

As one of five members of Mulvanny G2's board of directors, Zhang will help in the decision-making process for the overall direction of the company. He also will be the only designer on the board.

With 17 years of both domestic and international architectural experience, Zhang specializes in the planning and designing of large and complex mixed-use, office and retail projects. He is the principal designer for the 40-story headquarters of Jiangsu Provincial Power and Electrical Co. in Nanjing, China, the 42-story China Construction Bank Regional Headquarters in Xiamen, China, and the new Tacoma Convention Center in Tacoma.

The Berger Partnership

Two new principals have been named to The Berger Partnership, a landscape architecture and site-planning firm in Seattle.

Misty Philbin rejoined the firm in 1992 and became a senior associate in 1998. She is the prinicipal-in-charge for the Epiphany parish master plan and implementation, Pacific Medical building renovations for Amazon.com and numerous residential projects.

Brumbaugh and Associates

Kristen Lundquist has been promoted to principal of Brumbaugh and Associates, a landscape architecture firm in Kirkland. She has worked for the firm for eight years.

Freheit & Ho Architects

Craig Smith Jr. has joined Freiheit & Ho Architects as a design draftsman for commercial and residential projects. He is working on various Extended Stay America Hotel projects.

Yuko Kunugi and Joie Hall have also joined the firm as architectural draftsmen, and Krystal Gibbs has been hired as a marketing assistant.

Interface Engineering

Issa Qandeel has passed the state professional licensing exam for mechanical engineering. Qandeel, who has been with Interface for about four years, has experience in retail, municipal, educational projects and also private homes and sustainable design.

Interface Engineering is a mechanical and electrical engineering firm with offices in Kirkland, Portland and Salem, Ore., and Sacramento, Calif.