Jun 25, 2010

Virginia Mason Medical Center

Virginia Mason Medical Center hired five new medical leaders. They are Catherine Potts as chief of primary care; Julia Pollock as chief of anesthesiology; Seth Schwartz as medical director of the Listen for Life Center at Virginia Mason; Michael Myint as section head of the Section of Infectious Disease; and Molly Linhardt as section head of VM Winslow.

Holland America Line

Holland America Line hired Bill Morani as vice president, safety and environmental management systems. The move creates a new department that merges Environmental Management Systems with Safety/Training and Regulatory Compliance. Morani was vice president, environmental management systems, for five years.

Advanced Technologies and Laboratories Intl.

Advanced Technologies and Laboratories International in Richland hired Tom Harper as assistant vice president, energy and nuclear sector. Harper has 35 years of project management experience at Hanford and other Department of Energy sites.

Jun 24, 2010

Wells Fargo Foundation

Mark Dederer has been named vice president and community affairs manager for the Wells Fargo Foundation in Washington. Dederer oversees charitable contributions in Washington through the Wells Fargo Foundation and manages involvement in community sponsorship and volunteer activities. He returns to Wells Fargo after serving three years at the Safeco Insurance Foundation.

Oregon Zoo Foundation

The Oregon Zoo Foundation hired Barbara Peschiera as its new development director. Peschiera was development director at Oregon Food Bank, where she increased annual giving by $6 million. The foundation fosters community pride and involvement in the Oregon Zoo while securing financial support for its programs.

Symetra Financial

Bellevue's Symetra Financial Corp. hired Thomas Marra as president and chief executive officer. Marra also will serve on Symetra's board of directors. He succeeds Randall Talbot, who has led the company for the past 12 years and is leaving to pursue other opportunities. Marra has 30 years of insurance experience, and was recently president and chief operating officer of The Hartford Financial Services Group.

Enterprise Community Partners

Maryland-based Enterprise Community Partners and the Washington State Housing Finance Commission created the Washington Green Communities Retrofit Loan Fund, a $2 million financing pool for affordable housing. The average multifamily affordable housing property incurs more than $700 per unit in annual utility costs. Program officials say retrofitting can save up to 20 percent in utility costs. The program is now in the pilot stage. The fund targets urban and rural properties financed through the federal low-income housing tax credit program.

GVA Kidder Mathews

The Sustainability Practice of the GVA Kidder Mathews' commercial real estate brokerage said EDAW/ENSR's new downtown Seattle office has won LEED gold certification. The office occupies 19,000 square feet in the Dexter Horton Building. Low-flow plumbing fixtures reduce water usage by 40 percent and 75 percent of the space is illuminated by natural light. Reused/refurbished products are located throughout the office. EDAW/ENSR is a subsidiary of Aecom.

Multi-family housing awards

Three multi-family projects in the Seattle area are finalists in the National Association of Home Builders' Pillars of Industry Awards: Essex Property Trust's Eastlake 2851, Seattle, in the four-stories-or-less garden apartment category; Legacy Partners Residential's Legacy at Riverpark, Redmond, non-garden, five stories or less; and Seco Development's 77 Central, Mercer Island, mid-rise category.

NabeWise

NabeWise, a website designed to let people learn about neighborhoods, has launched a Seattle page. The free site compiles private and public data, and ranks neighborhoods. The URL is nabewise.com.

NAIOP Developing Leaders

Today, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., the NAIOP Developing Leaders group will meet with NAIOP lobbyists and government affairs leaders on the roof deck of the Collins Buildings, 524 Second Ave., in Seattle. Lobbyist Greg Hanon and NAIOP leaders Don Marcy and Glenn Amster will discuss laws introduced during the last state legislative session. It's free for students and $20 to $30 for others. Ninety percent of the fee will go to the NAIOP Political Action Committee.

CREW topic: Gates' new campus

Martha Choe, who heads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will talk about the foundation's new Seattle campus at CREW Seattle & Sound's July 8 lunch at noon. Norma Miller, director of the new campus, will also speak. The lunch will be at the Washington Athletic Club, 1325 Sixth Ave., Seattle. It's $37 for members and $52 for others. Register at crewseattle.org.