May 04, 2023

Say hello to Jack

[enlarge]

Everyone on the waterfront is excited about The Jack, from Urban Visions. The eight-story, 145,500-square-foot project is downtown's only significant ground-up office building to have soldiered through the pandemic. Demolition came in 2020, followed by a long pause. The project finally broke ground under JTM in the summer of 2021, topped out last December, and you can tour the Olson Kundig-designed building next month. (It's set to open in a few more months; one floor appears to have been leased.) But there's a catch: The June 14 preview is being conducted by ULI Northwest's young leaders group. So if there was ever a good time to join, it's now. Details and registration: northwest.uli.org.

EQ Office

Marks

Veteran broker David Marks has jumped from Newmark to EQ Office, the latter firm recently announced. He becomes director of leasing, and will oversee day-to-day leasing in the company's Seattle office portfolio. (It has about 3 million square feet here, including 999 Third and U.S. Bank Centre.) Blackstone owns EQ Office, whose Britton Derkac said in a statement, “David is an established leader in Seattle's commercial real estate market. We are confident that David will enhance our regional operating capabilities.” Said Marks, “I am thrilled to join an organization focused on creating effective, inspiring workplaces and maximizing tenant success.”

MainStreet Property Group

Faust

Hizzey

MainStreet Property Group has announced two recent promotions. Jackie Hizzey and Kim Faust are now co-presidents for the prolific apartment developer. They both previously served as senior VPs, and have been with MainStreet since its founding in 2011. Kelly Price co-founded the company, and is now stepping down as president to become CEO. Eric Campbell had been serving in that role; he now becomes chairman of the firm. Price said in a statement, “It's an exciting time for MainStreet, Jackie and Kim. It is exciting to see these two strong and experienced women emerge as the day-to-day leaders of our company.” Faust added, “This is a journey without end, and we are as motivated as ever to continue this success.” MainStreet recently completed 106 units in downtown Redmond, and recently broke ground on 207 Woodinville units.

Recreation and Conservation Board

Craig

Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Kathleen “Kitty” Craig, a national program director for The Wilderness Society, to the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Funding Board. The board awards about $200 million in grants every other year to tribes, nonprofits and government agencies to create parks, trails and other outdoor recreation opportunities. The board also awards grants to conserve the state's natural resource heritage by protecting working farms and forests and wildlife habitat, including places inhabited by plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. As director for the Urban to Wild program, Craig helps lead The Wilderness Society's efforts to advance equitable access to nature in urban communities across the country by eliminating barriers and fostering connections to the outdoors and public lands. The Wilderness Society is a national nonprofit land conservation organization founded in 1935 that works to protect America's wild places. Craig joined The Wilderness Society in 2010. She became advocacy director for urban communities in 2021, and a year later took the job as Urban to Wild director. Before joining The Wilderness Society, Craig led The Trust for Public Land's Conservation Vision program in Washington state, where she worked with communities to develop collaborative action plans that balanced community recreation, conservation and development needs. Craig has a bachelor of arts degree from Whitman College and master of arts degree in community and regional planning from the University of Oregon. She is on the boards of directors for the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and the Stewardship Partners, and serves on various advisory committees for public agency grant programs. Craig's term runs through 2025.

Kenmore Air

Kenmore Air announced a new partnership with Alaska Airlines. Travel for the San Juan Islands is now available with a single transaction and one-stop service between the destinations served by Alaska Airlines from Paine Field. Kenmore Air wheeled plane flights between Paine Field and Friday Harbor or Eastsound are now bookable on AlaskaAir.com, linking to Alaska Airlines' destinations from Paine Field. Kenmore Air is the largest floatplane operator in the United States, serving over 80,000 customers a year.

Jensen Investment

Jensen Investment Management, a 100% employee-owned active equity investment management firm, appointed Crista DesRochers as its new client services director. She joins from ACA Group where she was a partner, providing Global Investment Performance Standards consulting and verification services to investment managers across the globe. DesRochers has more than 20 years of investment and management experience. She will work with Jensen's senior leadership and investment teams. As director, DesRochers will be responsible for managing client services as the firm continues to grow its institutional client base both domestically and overseas. Currently, DesRochers is a member of the GIPS Standards Technical Committee and the ESG Verification Sub-Committee, and a former member of the United States Investment Performance Committee. She is also a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society New York. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in business administration from Washington State University. Jensen Investment Management is based in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

May 03, 2023

Stoel Rives

Griffith

Stoel Rives announced that Kiran Griffith has returned to its Seattle office as a partner. Griffith, an employee benefits lawyer who joins the firm from Perkins Coie, was an associate at Stoel Rives from 2013 to 2016. She brings to the firm 10 years of experience in employee benefit matters relating to health and welfare plans.

Griffith has significant experience advising public and private sector employers, associations, and boards of trustees, as well as service providers in the health and welfare space. She advises on plan design and drafting, strategy and innovation, and regulatory compliance, with a focus on the Affordable Care Act, health care transparency, mental health parity, COBRA, and other federal and state laws that affect health and welfare plans. Griffith also regularly advises on HIPAA privacy and security matters for health plan benefits. Griffith earned her J.D., summa cum laude, from Seattle University School of Law, and attended the University of Texas at Austin for her undergraduate education. Prior to attending law school, Griffith served as a senior compliance manager at Gerson Lehrman Group, a financial services company. Griffith currently serves on the board of Seattle Arts & Lectures, as well as the board of Campaign for Equal Justice. Stoel Rives has offices in seven states and Washington, D.C.

Appen

Johnson

Appen Limited appointed Helen Johnson as chief financial officer. Appen's current CFO, Kevin Levine, will remain with the business in an advisory role until 1 September 2023 to ensure a smooth transition. Johnson has more than 25 years leading finance organizations across a variety of industries, including privately held IT Managed Service providers, medium sized public healthcare and financial services companies, and Fortune 500 ranked publicly traded corporations in the IT industry. Most recently, she was CFO of North America for Insight Enterprises. Prior to her 14 years at Insight, Johnson served as senior vice president, treasurer for eFunds Corporation, a publicly traded, multi-national enterprise that delivers electronic payments and risk management solutions. Johnson will be based out of Appen's offices in North America. Appen is a global market platform for the AI Lifecycle. Founded in 1996, Appen has customers and offices globally, with its United States headquarters located in Kirkland.

Alaska Airlines

On the heels of its inaugural trans-Pacific flight to Los Angeles, Taiwan-based luxury carrier Starlux Airlines announced a strategic partnership with Seattle-based Alaska Airlines. The agreement will give both Starlux and Alaska loyalty program members more opportunities for rewards by earning points on flights operated by each carrier. Once fully implemented, the partnership will allow customers of both airlines to book connecting flights on a single ticket. The partnership will greatly expand Starlux's reach into the U.S., with customers accessing Alaska Airlines' domestic and international network, connecting at Alaska's Los Angeles gateway. It will also increase travel choices for Alaska customers looking to travel to Asia, with access to 16 destinations, with a transfer in Taipei. The new Taipei-Los Angeles flights will be flown on Starlux's Airbus A350 aircraft and feature four seats in First, 26 in Business, 36 in Premium Economy and 240 in Economy. Starlux was launched in 2020.

Confluence Environmental Co.

McArthur

Huynh

Dietsch

Burton

Berger

Vieira

Soncarty

McDonald

Confluence Environmental Co. has hired two administrative staff members: Laurie Epstein as human resources strategist and Christine Kelly as accounting specialist.

Epstein has 15 years of experience in administration, operations and human resources. At Confluence, Epstein leads human resources, manages day-to-day office operations, and is an integral contributor to the firm's strategic planning efforts. Epstein has returned to confluence after an 18-month break to pursue other interests.

Kelly has a diverse background spanning public-sector environmental and legal positions as well as international private-sector work. Her experience includes invoicing, budget analysis, financial regulatory compliance, and record retention, as well as reviewing content of Freedom of Information Act requests and Water Quality Certification permits. Kelly has worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Attorney General's Office, and, most recently, in Germany for a U.S.-based affiliate company.

The company also announced the following promotions:

Chris Berger has been promoted to principal ecologist. Berger has taken on increased responsibilities as a project manager and technical lead on key ecological and biological regulatory projects. In addition to managing large and complex projects, he is an effective leader and mentor for Confluence staff.

Nora Burton was promoted to director of finance and operations. Burton is an industry expert in contract and rate management, serving as a resource for both Confluence and teaming partners.

Natalie Dietsch was promoted to project ecologist II, reflecting her growth in technical skills and field expertise.

Alexis Huynh was promoted to project biologist. Huynh has grown her technical knowledge and fieldwork skills since joining Confluence last spring. She excels at GIS and data management, including work with specialized modeling software and aerial drone imagery.

Kerrie McArthur was promoted to managing senior biologist. A certified wetlands, fisheries and restoration professional, McArthur applies her wide-ranging expertise on a diverse portfolio of project types, from private developments to major transit and infrastructure projects.

Kelly McDonald was promoted to project ecologist III. McDonald seeks innovative ways for Confluence to work smarter and more efficiently for clients. She is an expert in GIS, drone imagery, data management, marine permitting work and more.

Chris Soncarty was promoted to principal biologist/regulatory specialist. Soncarty is highly regarded by clients, teaming partners, and colleagues for his regulatory expertise, clear communication and project management.

Suzanne Vieira was promoted to project ecologist III. Vieira's skills continue to flourish at Confluence, as does her leadership among the project teams with whom she works. She repeatedly proves her responsiveness and technical acumen.

Parametrix

Dang

Michael Dang, PE, has joined Parametrix as a senior engineer. He has over a decade of experience working on water, utilities, site development and transportation projects in the Puget Sound region.

Dang comes to Parametrix from HDR, where he served as a utilities/civil engineer. He specializes in planning, utility design, coordination and report writing. He has a civil and environmental degree with an emphasis on water and hydrology. He has worked with agencies such Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Public Utilities, Sound Transit, city of Kirkland, King County Parks, and King County Solid Waste Division.

At Parametrix, Dang joins the greater Washington water division, which provides electrical and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), flood control, stormwater, wastewater, and drinking water services to cities, counties, water districts and others throughout the state.

SCJ Alliance

Mitchell

Johnson

North

SCJ Alliance has added three new employees to its Lacey office: Matt North, Alex Johnson and Kate Mitchell.

Senior construction manager North has 19 years of civil contracting and construction management experience. In addition to his private sector work, he has been a general contractor for such organizations as Sound Transit, city of Redmond and the federal government. He holds a bachelor's degree in environmental studies from the University of Washington.

Designer Johnson works with SCJ's Transportation Design team. Johnson spent 13 years in the engineering department with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. He has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, as well as an associate's degree with an emphasis in computer-aided drafting.

Mitchell is SCJ's newest project accountant. She has a bachelor's degree from Ball State University in general studies with an emphasis in communication, interpersonal relationships and sociology. She has been working in the construction industry for eight years.