Apr 26, 2023

Environmental Science Associates

Thomas

Kopitov

Killgore

ESA has expanded its Biological Resources and Land Management Team in the Northwest with three new hires; Aaron Killgore, Anna Kopitov, and Jennifer Thomas. Killgore, Kopitov, and Thomas bring deep expertise in environmental planning, wildlife surveys, and mitigation policy.

As senior principal biologist, Killgore will use his more than 15 years of experience as a wildlife biologist specializing in environmental planning and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) project management. With an emphasis on aviation, military, and public lands projects, Killgore is well-versed in biological and cultural compliance, public outreach, and federal business development. He also has experience in conducting wildlife surveys and preparing natural resource management plans. Killgore most recently served as senior environmental planner at Mead & Hunt.

Kopitov steps into the role of senior ecologist possessing more than 20 years of professional experience as a wildlife biologist, wetlands specialist, conservation biologist, and regulatory compliance specialist. Her expertise includes technical research and studies, terrestrial and fresh water and marine aquatic field studies, habitat and plant community mapping, and wetlands assessments. She has vast experience preparing regulatory compliance and permit applications in support of NEPA and other federal and statewide laws. Kopitov joins ESA most recently from PND Engineers, where she was senior ecologist and regulatory specialist.

As a principal restoration biologist at ESA, Thomas is a mitigation policy expert with more than 30 years of experience. A pioneer of the discipline, she has worked on more wetland mitigation bank proposals than any other individual in Washington state. Her experience includes leading an inter-agency team of ecologists to work with state and federal agencies and Tribal representatives to write King County's Wetland Mitigation Banking rules, the first in the state. Thomas has also developed monitoring and management protocols for bank sites on behalf of King County and for private sector clients. Thomas comes to ESA from Jacobs Engineering, where she served as senior scientist and project manager.

Barghausen Consulting Engineers Inc.

Schartman

Lesmeister

Heath

Miller

Kopczynski

Daley

Matheny

Eldridge

Barghausen Consulting Engineers has welcomed eight new employees to the company as of March 2023. The Kent office welcomes four project planners, two design engineers, and one project engineer.

David Kopczynski started at Barghausen in February as a project planner. He recently moved to Washington from Wisconsin, where he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2017. Kopczynski is a certified UDC building inspector. He previously worked as a deputy clerk for Lake County, Illinois, and then served as the planning and zoning administrator for the Village of Salem Lakes, Wisconsin, for the last three years.

Jacob Miller joined Barghausen as a project planner on Feb. 27. Miller earned a B.S. in GIS/Planning from Montana State University in 2014 and has worked within the development industry. He began his career as a field surveyor in Portland, where he moved into an office position as a CAD tech/planner/surveyor. He then spent a few years working for a telecom engineering firm as a permit coordinator/design engineer before moving into municipal planning where he spent the last few years before moving to Barghausen.

Chase Heath joined Barghausen as a design engineer on Feb. 28. Heath graduated from Boise State University with a B.S. in civil engineering in 2022. He has previously interned at Kimley-Horn in their commercial/industrial/multifamily land development department. Heath earned his EIT Certificate in November 2021.

Michael Lesmeister, P.E., joined Barghausen as a project engineer in March. He graduated from Washington State University with his B.S. in civil engineering in 2017. Shortly after graduating, he worked at a small engineering firm in Chehalis, then transitioned to AHBL, where he spent five years. He has experience working in various markets but has focused on residential and commercial site development.

Nicholas Schartman started on Mar. 6. as a design engineer. He graduated from Arizona State University in 2022, and he just recently took the FE and got his EIT certificate. He previously interned at Wood Patel & Associates in Arizona where he specialized in transportation engineering and site development.

Shelby Eldridge joined Barghausen as a project planner also on Mar. 6. She moved to Washington from Florida, where she got her B.S. from the University of Central Florida. She has her AICP certification and a variety of planning background. Eldridge has five years of planning experience working in government settings, and she was also a land development planning consultant for England-Thims & Miller, Inc.

Austin Matheny started at Barghausen on Mar. 13. as a design engineer. He graduated from Washington State University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 2021. Matheny worked as a design engineer after graduating, focusing on stormwater design. From there, he worked as a PE/PMA for a general contractor where he managed 15+ subcontractors, before coming back to engineering and starting a new journey with Barghausen.

Brooke Daley started at Barghausen on Mar. 28. as a project planner. She graduated from California Poly Pomona in 2015. Daley comes to Barghausen from Whittier, California where she previously worked for the City of Whittier for over 10 years with roles as an assistant planner and as a planning technician.

Swenson Say Fagét Structural Engineers

DeBoer

Renouard

SSF announced the promotion of Francesca Renouard, PE/SE, and Lori DeBoer, PE/SE, to associate principals and members of the SSF shareholder team.

Renouard received her bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Washington, and a master's in civil engineering from the University of California Berkeley. Architecture runs deep in her family (her mom, dad, and sister are architects), but her love of math prevailed. She has a lifelong passion for historic renovation and rose through the ranks from being a summer intern in 2012 to one of the retrofit team's lead engineers. Historic renovation projects include six Carnegie libraries in Seattle, the Metropole Building in Pioneer Square, the Roslyn Old City Hall and Library, the Alaska State Capitol Building, and countless others. Renouard was recently appointed to the King County Landmarks Commission, sits on the Technical Standard Task Group for the City of Seattle URM Task Force, is a Real Estate Committee Member for Historic Seattle, is a Board Member for the Friends of Ravenna Cowen Historic District, and is a member of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and The Civita Institute. She is also mentoring two new retrofit engineers.

DeBoer moved to Seattle after graduating with a bachelor's degree in architectural studies and a master's in architecture with a structures option from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After working at two other firms for ten years, she joined SSF in 2016 and enjoys working on a variety of projects with a focus on public, civic, and institutional work. Notable projects include UW's Haring Center Design-Build Renovation, Bellevue Christian School, Field Arts and Events Center in Port Angeles, the renovation of the historic 419 Occidental (former FX McRory's) building, and numerous public park improvement projects. DeBoer's strong work ethic and extensive structural prowess are unparalleled. Internally, she's a technical leader in steel structures, mentors young engineers, and assists with staff scheduling.

Everett Community College

Everett Community College's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to offer the college presidency to Chemene Crawford, and Crawford has accepted, pending completion of contract negotiations. The decision was made at a special board meeting April 21 after a national search, a campus visit last week with students, faculty, staff and community forums, and an in-depth interview with the board. Crawford is president and CEO of North Seattle College. She has served over 30 years in higher education, including roles from full time faculty member to associate vice chancellor, previously serving at Dallas College and other colleges and universities. Crawford earned a doctorate of education in organizational leadership for Nova Southeastern University, a master's in human resources and organization development and a bachelor's of science in organizational behavior, both from the University of San Francisco. Everett Community College worked with the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Searches to conduct a national search. ACCT will continue to assist EvCC during the contracting process. EvCC's next president will lead an institution that educates more than 15,000 students per year and employs more than 800 faculty and staff at several locations throughout Snohomish County, with most students at the main campus in Everett.

Pacific Crest Savings Bank

Ryan Douglas has joined Pacific Crest Savings Bank as senior vice president and risk officer. Douglas brings more than 16 years of experience in finance, risk management and public service, most recently serving as a senior bank examiner with the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions. He will oversee all areas of risk management to help ensure the bank continues to operate in a safe and sound manner, as well as head the bank's programs to ensure compliance with consumer protection laws and regulations. Prior to joining Pacific Crest, Douglas worked extensively in roles within the state government, spending the last six years as a bank examiner with the state Division of Banks. He began his career as a revenue agent with the Washington State Department of Revenue, overseeing state and local tax compliance while working with small business owners. Pacific Crest Savings Bank also hired Angela Monsef as senior loan Processor. Monsef brings more than 15 years of consumer and residential lending and mortgage experience to the role, previously serving in various lending positions around the greater Puget Sound region. Monsef will support the lending team and work closely with clients to determine their individual needs, guiding them through processing and closing their loan.

Prior to joining Pacific Crest, Monsef worked extensively in residential lending, most recently serving as senior loan processor at Capstone Home Loans for more than six years. She began her career as a loan processor at Bay Equity in Everett. Founded in 1984, Pacific Crest Savings Bank is a local and independently owned community bank headquartered in Lynnwood.

Apr 25, 2023

SeaTac Police Chief

Smithmeyer

City Manager Carl Cole named Troy Smithmeyer as the new police chief for the city of SeaTac. Chief Smithmeyer is replacing retiring Chief Jon Mattsen. He will oversee the 50 person SeaTac Police Department. Since 2020, Smithmeyer has acted as a captain for the King County Sheriff's Office overseeing both SeaTac and Burien. The city of SeaTac and city of Burien have an Interlocal Agreement with King County to contract with the King County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement services. Smithmeyer secured funding for and successfully managed more than a dozen community related initiatives in SeaTac ranging from traffic safety to the community engagement officer program. Operationally, Smithmeyer oversaw the department's $14 million budget plan and grant administration for the 2023-2024 Biennium budget. Smithmeyer began his career at the King County Sheriff's Office as deputy in 2000. During his first five years with the agency, he served in four King County cities, and worked as a field training officer, an advanced training unit officer, a bicycle deputy, a patrol officer, and a master police officer. In 2015, Smithmeyer was promoted to sergeant. During the next five years, he supervised the Advance Training Unit and the Joint Transit Anti-Terrorism Team.. He also was successful in funding solutions to better support communities including securing a $200,000 Special Event, Direct Overtime grant to provide security support for popular community events such as SeaFair and Seattle's annual Pride Parade. Prior to joining the King County Sheriff's Office, Smithmeyer was a corporal in the United Stated Marine Corps.

Explore Seattle Southside

McGuire

Explore Seattle Southside (Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority) announced Meagan McGuire, its vice president of business development, was included as a winner in the 2023 Smart Women in Meetings Awards. In its 8th year running, the award, presented by Smart Meetings, an industry publisher and resource for event professionals, honors women for their commitment and contributions to the meetings industry. The winners are nominated by their industry peers and colleagues, and evaluated against hundreds of candidates. This past year, the women honored helped the global meetings industry regain its health and vitality after a long recovery post-Covid. Through this awards program, Smart Meetings recognizes these women at all levels of their careers for their aptitude, leadership skills, and dedication to their work. Smart Meetings publishes meetings content in print and digital magazines 12 times per year, hosts networking events, produces CEU-accredited Smart Chat Live! webinars and offers digital resources. Explore Seattle Southside is the official destination marketing organization for Seattle Southside, including the cities of SeaTac, Tukwila and Des Moines. The organization is responsible for competitively marketing the area as a travel destination for leisure and business travelers, and as a place for meeting and event planners to hold their events. The Seattle Southside RTA is funded by a self-assessed hotel fund.

Pivotal Drive

Bellevue-based Pivotal Drive, a portfolio company of Century Park Capital Partners, announced the successful completion of its strategic merger with Nova CPM, a OneStream Platinum Partner. The merger strengthens Pivotal Drive's momentum within the OneStream ecosystem, positioning it for further growth. With the merger, the combined company's size will double, boasting employees in every time zone in the continental United States, as well as Mexico and Canada. The Nova CPM transaction continues to build on Century Park's experience in the technology services sector and marks the first acquisition for Pivotal Drive. Pivotal Drive employs consultants with expertise in designing and delivering unified Corporate Performance Management solutions. This enables customers to modernize their finance organization and streamline their consolidation, reporting and planning processes. Nova is a dedicated OneStream implementation Platinum Partner. Century Park Capital Partners is a Los Angeles-based private equity group established in 2000 that invests in family businesses, owner-operated firms and corporate divestitures with the purpose of accelerating growth and transforming these companies into leading industry players.

ABC of Western Washington

Ostlund Electric of Auburn is the newest member of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Washington. The company provides commercial, industrial and residential electrical services in the south Puget Sound area. Cody Ostlund is president.

PCL Construction

The Associated General Contractors of America recently presented PCL Construction with a third-place AGC Innovation Award for PCL's Job Site Access tool. Job Site Access is a cloud-based platform that allows PCL to track, manage and control access on jobsites. The award was presented to PCL's Glendale, California, office at last month's AGC annual convention in Las Vegas. Locally, PCL has an office in Bellevue. AGC created the Innovation Awards program to inspire members of the construction industry to craft innovative solutions to pressing industry challenges.