Aug 16, 2023

Ahtna

Robbins

Brian Robbins has joined Ahtna as the new vice president of information technology. He will be responsible for overseeing the IT needs for the entire Ahtna family of companies. Robbins began his career in IT as a member of the Armed Forces, and has a diverse background in multiple technology and leadership roles. He holds a double major bachelor of applied science in business administration and cyber security. Ahtna is an Alaska Native Regional Corporation formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, and is based out of Glennallen, Alaska. The company currently has over 2,200 shareholders, the majority of whom are of Ahtna Athabascan descent, and employs more than 1,100 people worldwide.

Curator

Geller

Curator, a Seattle-based public relations agency specializing in lifestyle and consumer brands, announced the expansion of its team with the hiring of a new strategic communication specialist. Madeline Geller has joined the agency as a Seattle-based assistant account executive after completing an internship with Curator in Fall of 2022.

In her new role, Geller will be responsible for the ideation and implementation of communication strategies for clients including Chef Ann Foundation, Washington's Lottery, Skanska and more. Geller is a recent graduate from Central Washington University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Sports Business. Previously, she interned at 88.1 The Burg, Central Washington University's college radio station as the social media & promotions coordinator. Curator was founded in 2009.

Barghausen Consulting Engineers

Lazaga

Rutikanga

McEwen

Nazarchuk

Piburn

Barghausen Consulting Engineers, Inc. has recently expanded its team by welcoming five new employees as of July 2023, and promoting one employee. The firm has welcomed one architectural project manager, two design engineers, an assistant planner and a senior project manager to its Kent team. One member of the firm's Long Beach, CA team was recently promoted.

Logan Piburn started with Barghausen on July 5 as an architectural project manager. He previously worked as a project manager for Dyron Murphy Architects, P.C., for 16 years in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Before that, he spent three years as a CAD Technician for Arch Pac Aquatics.

Nazariy Nazarchuk joined Barghausen on July 10 as a design engineer. He recently obtained his EIT (Engineer in Training) certification after graduating from Seattle University with a B.S. in civil engineering in June 2023. He previously interned with Coughlin Porter Lundeen last summer and fall.

Leilani McEwen started on July 17 as a senior project manager. McEwen worked as a project manager for Dry Utility Consultants for the last six years, where she focused on multifamily residential and building commercial projects. Before that, she was a special project manager with a Mergers and Acquisition firm, specializing in presenting mid-market business to European buyers.

Irene Rutikanga joined Barghausen on July 17 as an assistant planner. He graduated in 2022 from Eastern Washington University with a B.A. in urban and regional planning. During school he did an internship with Nexus Planning Services. After graduation he worked at the city of Auburn as a planning assistant.

Lucas Lazaga returned to Barghausen on July 26 as a design engineer. Lazaga interned with Barghausen in the summer of 2022, while he was attending Seattle University where he recently graduated in June 2023 with his B.S. in civil engineering. Shortly after graduation, Lazaga passed the FE exam.

Sherise Parker was recently promoted to senior project manager, after being an essential member of Long Beach's fueling team since May 2012. Parker serves as a liaison between customers and the fueling department. She coordinates tasks such as kick-offs, plan releases, permitting, and project tracking. Sherise is also a point of contact for new and existing customers and helps with tracking and summarizing project changes and project billing for fueling customers.

Dark Light Design

Salzmanhas

Lighting designer Ben Salzmanhas has joined Dark Light Design as project manager in the firm's Seattle office. Salzmanhas brings six years of experience with Revit and lighting design for corporate, technology, commercial, and hospitality projects to the Dark Light team.

As a project manager, he will provide in-depth design, delivery for project milestones, and interdisciplinary coordination from concept through construction. Salzmanhas is an associate professional member of the International Association of Lighting Designers and received his Bachelor of Science in Materials Engineering from the University of Minnesota.

Travis Fitzmaurice Wartelle Balangue Engineers

Balangue

Travis Fitzmaurice Wartelle Balangue Engineers (TFWB) has promoted Aprille Balangue, L.C., LEED AP BD+C, to the position of president, ushering in a new era of leadership for the small engineering firm.

Balangue's contributions to the firm's success include distinguished projects such as Seattle Public Schools' Wing Luke Elementary School, Orenda at Othello Square, and Mount Vernon Library Commons. Balangue leads a multitude of projects in the education, multi-use, civic, and commercial sectors. With over 15 years of experience in electrical design, she brings her expertise to diverse areas of a project, including power distribution, communications systems, audio-visual systems, fire alarm systems, security and access control systems, and architectural lighting design. She thrives on close collaboration with clients and design teams, striving to deliver holistic and sustainable solutions that integrate seamlessly.

As president, her focus is on nurturing relationships and driving continuous improvement for the 77-year-old firm.

Aug 15, 2023

Trico Companies

Ashra

Burlington-based Trico Companies hired Hiloni Ashra as senior project engineer. Ashra has over seven years of experience working on residential, hospitality and mixed-use projects with a heavy focus in design, preconstruction and project management. She will be working with the Food and Manufacturing Division. The company says Ashra has an architectural background, with her master's in project management from Northeastern University, making her an ideal candidate for design-build projects.

APA

In Tacoma, APA — The Engineered Wood Association announced winners of its 2022 Safety and Health Awards. Among the many winners were Structurlam Mass Timber Corp. of Canada and Boise Cascade Wood Products of White City, Oregon. Structurlam, which won the Safest Company Award for companies with three or fewer mills, was recently bought out of bankruptcy by Mercer Mass Timber. Boise Cascade won the Division I (plywood) safety improvement award, with an 82.8% improvement in its safety record. The awards program's goal is to promote and recognize operational excellence and reduce injury and illness rates.

Bird

Global electric vehicle company Bird recently launched an initial fleet of 200 e-bikes in the Seattle metro area, and plans to increase the number of bike's available in the coming months. Bird's expansion into the e-bike market in Seattle is expected to further enhance the mobility options available to residents and visitors, allowing them to navigate the city while reducing their carbon footprint. Bird's e-bikes are equipped with electric assist technology that adapts to the rider's natural pedaling style. The bikes, like Bird's e-scooters, feature integrated GPS capabilities and can be locked and unlocked using the Bird mobile app. Bird was founded in 2017 by Travis VanderZanden, and its mobility solutions are available in more than 350 cities, primarily across the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia.

Radisys

Radisys Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jio Platforms Limited and a global provider of open telecom solutions, announced that it has completed the acquisition of Mimosa Networks from Airspan Networks Holdings. Mimosa brings a portfolio of point-to-point and point-to-multi-point connectivity products leveraging unlicensed spectrum bands. These products enable the rapid rollout of multi-gigabit-per-second Fixed Wireless Access networks and wireless backhaul connectivity for telecommunications systems. The Mimosa product suite complements Radisys Open Access (Connect Open RAN and Connect Open Broadband) portfolio. Mimosa has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Radisys. Radisys is headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Olis Robotics

Olis Robotics, specialists in remote monitoring, control, and error recovery technology for industrial robots, announced that it has raised $4.1 million funding in a round led by PSL Ventures. Additional investors include Tectonic Ventures, Ubiquity Ventures, as well as several strategic angel investors, including Daniel Theobald, the president and co-founder of MassRobotics and founder and chairman of Vecna Robotics. The Olis Connect system allows a user to monitor, diagnose, and remotely control robots from anywhere. Olis Connect is controlled directly in a web browser and delivered on an edge-hosted PC that can be connected to both brand new and legacy industrial robot arms and robotic cells. The system works across robot brands, with Olis Robotics currently providing full support for robots from Universal Robots and FANUC, addressing approximately 20% of the operational stock of more than 3.5 million industrial robots deployed worldwide. With its new funding, Olis is adding support for additional robot brands representing more than half of all industrial robots. The funding will also help expand partnerships with robot system integrators in North America and develop new software products. Olis Robotics is a spinoff from the University of Washington and is located in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. PSL Ventures is a venture capital fund located in Seattle. The fund is affiliated with Seattle-based startup studio Pioneer Square Labs, and invests in pre-seed and seed stage companies. The organization partners with founders at the earliest stages to help build and invest in market-defining technology companies, primarily in the Pacific Northwest.