Aug 10, 2011

HDJ Design Group

Gifford

Kowatsch

HDJ Design Group hired Peter H. Kowatsch as the new Pasco branch manager and land surveyor, and re-hired Larry Gifford to provide traffic engineering assistance in the Vancouver office. Kowatsch has more than 30 years of surveying experience, including 13 as branch manager for a Wenatchee firm and nine as survey manager of a Tri-Cities firm. He has taken private development plans from conception to final plat and worked with public agencies on filing final plats. Gifford has more than 34 years experience at WSDOT in the Southwest region. He left HDJ in 2007 but worked part-time on interchange projects for WSDOT. While at HDJ, he did illumination design, traffic impact analysis, signal design and corridor operation studies. HDJ provides engineering, planning, landscape architecture and surveying.

ColumbiaGrid

ColumbiaGrid hired Allen Burns as president and CEO beginning Sept. 5. He takes over from the firm's first CEO, E. Jon Kaake, who is retiring. Burns is an electrical engineer with more than 30 years in the electric power industry and a background in high-voltage transmission operations and management, power marketing and trading, industry restructuring and utility management. He is a former executive with the Bonneville Power Administration and consultant on electric power matters in the Pacific Northwest.

Enginuity Systems

Tupper

Enginuity Systems hired Karissa Tupper as a mechanical engineering CAD/design technician. Tupper is a graduate of Clover Park Technical College building architecture/engineering design technology program. She is working on the seismic upgrade and interior renovation of Building 2 for the Department of Veterans Affairs at American Lake. Enginuity is a Tacoma-based mechanical engineering firm.

Sorrento Hotel

Lincoff

The Sorrento Hotel made two changes to the management team. Ross Lincoff is food and beverage director, and Greg Mirick has been promoted to maintenance manager. Lincoff spent the last seven years as managing partner and general manager at Il Fornaio. Mirick joined the Sorrento team early this year as a member of the maintenance team.

Lane Powell

Peterson

Marquez-Garrett

Lane Powell hired Laura Marquez-Garrett as an attorney in the Litigation Practice Group and Michelle Peterson to the White Collar Criminal Defense, Regulatory Compliance and Special Investigations Practice Group. Marquez-Garrett was an associate at Foster Pepper, where her practice focused on financial institutions. Peterson was a judicial law clerk for the Honorable James L. Robart of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Clark Nuber

Clark Nuber, a Bellevue-based CPA and consulting firm, made several promotions. Luke Fisher is now a manager. Kelly Favors, Arlene Ho, Jessica Little and Bryce Rassilyer are now seniors.

Aug 09, 2011

WSDOT

The Washington State Department of Transportation won an America's Transportation Award at the annual meeting of the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. WSDOT won the regional award in the Innovative Management category for its Operation I-5 Partnership to Relieve Congestion project. Regional winners will compete for the national Grand Prize and People's Choice Award, which will be presented Oct. 16 at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' annual meeting in Detroit.

Douglas County Sewer District No. 1

The Washington Association of Sewer and Water Districts recognized Douglas County Sewer District No. 1 for receiving the state Department of Ecology's Outstanding Wastewater Treatment Plant award for the fifth consecutive year. The award is given to wastewater treatment plants that comply with effluent limits, monitoring and reporting requirements, spill prevention planning, pretreatment and other regulatory activities. A recognition ceremony will be held Sept. 29 at the association's annual conference in Wenatchee.

Stokes Lawrence

Schaures

Hemphill

Gonzalez

Stokes Lawrence hired Olivia Gonzalez and Joan Hemphill as associates in the Litigation Group and Lisa Schaures as an associate in the Business Group. Gonzalez spent time in Spain on a Fulbright grant where she established a Model United Nations curriculum for secondary schools. Hemphill was a judicial law clerk for the Honorable J. Robin Hunt, Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II, in Tacoma. Schaures was recently with the Seattle office of Perkins Coie.

Foster Pepper

Foster Pepper hired Ken Lederman in its Seattle office as a member in the Environmental and Litigation practice groups. He was at Riddell Williams.

Wenatchee Valley Visitors Bureau

The Wenatchee Valley Visitors Bureau has opened a new wine tasting space at its visitor center in downtown Wenatchee. The tasting center is at 5 S. Wenatchee Ave. It was created in partnership with Wenatchee Wine Country.