Jun 27, 2024

Kidder Mathews embraces Idaho

Smart

Schoen

Kidder Mathews announced a new office in Boise this month. It's to be led by experienced retail brokers Sherry Schoen and Kasey Smart, who both make the move from Newmark. The 20-year veteran Schoen said in a statement, “I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to help expand Kidder Mathews' presence in the west. I did not take this decision lightly. Kidder Mathews is the perfect fit, and embodies the very best in the industry today.” The firm's CEO, Bill Frame, added, “This strategic expansion highlights our ongoing growth and commitment to new markets.”

NAIOP tours Bellevue towers

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Mark Thursday, July 11 in your calendars as a good day to visit downtown Bellevue with NAIOP, which is leading an afternoon tour of some brand-new office towers. The final itinerary may expand, but you can expect to visit the Four106 project from Patrinely Group and Dune Real Estate Partners; that's nearing completion, and should open next year. Already half-full with Amazon workers is 555 Tower, from Vulcan Real Estate, which the tenant has also dubbed Sonic. That's the city's tallest structure. Also newly complete is The Eight, from Skanska, where Pokemon is the lead tenant. You can also expect to visit the recently opened Downtown Bellevue Station. Before the walk, which ends in a happy hour, there will be a panel chat from Mo Malakoutian from the city of Bellevue, architect Steve Erickson of SABA+BA and Mary Fialko from Skanska. Details and registration: naiopwa.org.

Stanley-Jones joins Midwest Trust

Stanley-Jones

Trusts often figure in real estate deals, and Midwest Trust has been in the field for three decades. It's based in Kansas, and has an office in Bellevue that Susan “Susie” Stanley-Jones recently joined. She has three decades of experience as a financial and investment management analyst. David Yost leads Midwest Trust, and said of its new hire, “We are thrilled to have Susie lead our Washington team. Her experience, expertise and business acumen make her an invaluable addition to our leadership and a significant asset for our clients.” Stanley-Jones makes the move from Washington Trust Bank. She added, “I was drawn to Midwest Trust by its client-first-focused culture. The organization offers the flexibility to effectively work with a diverse range of clients who each have their own individual needs.”

Thrive partners with Bilt

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Thrive Communities you know a multifamily property manager, with its headquarters in Seattle. It's related to Rise Properties Trust, but also manages buildings outside the Rise portfolio. (One example, the new Madrone, is pictured.) Bilt Rewards may be less familiar. Based in New York, it's a real estate payments and rewards platform — analogous to credit card rewards programs or frequent flier points. Thus, Bilt and Thrive announced a new alliance earlier this month, which will allow residents in Thrive-managed buildings to “earn rewards and get access to exclusive benefits on their rent and spend in the neighborhood on dining, rideshare and more. The Bilt Points they earn can be redeemed for travel across hundreds of airlines and hotels, fitness classes, shopping, and even future rent payments.” (Interestingly, Bilt also announced a partnership with Alaska Airlines in recent months, which will benefit Thrive tenants.) Thrive's William Jarrell said in a statement, “Our partnership with Bilt aligns well with our initiative to transition to digital payments. With Bilt, Thrive is on track to reach 100% online payments by incentivizing residents with additional rewards, following a model used by major airline and hotel loyalty programs.”

Frye Art Museum

Brower

Following a national search, the Frye Art Museum has named Faith Brower its first director & curator of collections. Most recently, Brower served as the Haub curator of Western American Art at Tacoma Art Museum where she developed the [re]Frame project to expand the narratives regarding the art of the American West through a guest curator program. She has curated more than 25 exhibitions, and has worked with a range of contemporary artists on exhibitions and commissions. Brower's priority in the newly created position will be to research, grow, and better integrate the Frye's collections into its overall artistic program. She will lead the Collections & Registration Division, overseeing all aspects of planning, care, and stewardship for the collection, joining current division members Teresa Redden and Suzann Vaughn. She will also be a collaborating member of the Curatorial department, drawing on her background in modern and contemporary art and specializing in curating exhibitions that aim to make museum collections meaningful for contemporary audiences. Additionally, Georgia Erger has been promoted from associate to full curator. Erger has held the role of associate curator at the Frye Art Museum since 2021. Previously, she held the position of assistant curator at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University. Recently appointed senior staff member Tamar Benzikry's role has been expanded to director & curator of learning and engagement. As a collaborating member of the Curatorial department, Benzikry will draw on her experience working with artists to develop exhibitions, public art, and site-specific projects that explore the intersections of art, technology, and community. Founded in 1952, the Frye is located in the First Hill area of Seattle.

Community Banks of Oregon

White

Amber White, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Oregon Pacific Bank, has been elected as the newest member of the Community Banks of Oregon board of directors. White has 18 years of experience in banking and public accounting. She serves as secretary-treasurer of the Oregon Bankers Association's (OBA) subsidiary board, Synergy by Association, and has been an active member and former chair of OBA's Finance and Accounting Committee. White was recently named the recipient of the OBA Education Foundation's 2024 Rise Above the Rest Scholarship to attend the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.

Banner Bank

Garcia

The Banner Bank executive leadership team announced that Jim Garcia, executive vice president and chief audit executive, will retire July 15, 2024. Scott Newman has been hired as the bank's next executive vice president and chief audit executive. Newman has 30 years of audit experience, more than 20 of those in leadership positions. His experience includes banking, trust, investment management, securities and insurance. Most recently, Newman was the director of risk management and internal audit for a large regional insurance company, which included leading their enterprise risk and internal audit. He previously held similar audit executive roles at a large regional bank as well as a global investment management firm. Banner Bank, headquartered in Walla Walla, is a Washington-chartered commercial bank that conducts business in Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho.

Jun 26, 2024

Barghausen Consulting Engineers

Valcin

Johnson

McGonagall

Kreger

Mancilla-Martinez

Reese

Husic

Berry

Yanez

Sullivan

Rusovic

Moralez

Garcia

Hopper

Barghausen Consulting Engineers has hired 26 employees across its five offices between January and May 2024.

The firm has three offices in Washington, in Kent, Puyallup and Richland, and two California offices in Long Beach and Roseville.

The DJC will be running the new employee announcements over the next two weeks.

New employees in the Kent office are Bronson Miller, Brenda Mancilla-Martinez, Casey Kreger, Devin Richards, Mason McGonagall, Riley Johnson, Samuel Valcin, Sean Sullivan, Zachary Yanez, Mitchell Berry, Dzanela Husic, Ivey Reese, Joe Hopper, Hilda Pacheco Garcia, Gabriel Morales and Aleks Rusovick.

Miller joined Barghausen as a survey chainperson in April of 2024. He received his A.A. degree at Tacoma Community College in 2013.

Mancilla-Martinez started as Barghausen's talent acquisition coordinator in February. She received a B.A. in Sociology and two Minors in Law, Societies and Justice, and Labor Studies from the University of Washington. Mancilla-Martinez previously worked as a recruiter for retail support at Starbucks.

Kreger joined Barghausen in January as a survey chainperson. He studied Information Technology at the University of Phoenix, and EMT – Fire Technology at the College of Sequoias.

Richards, a survey chainperson, started at Barghausen in April. He received an A.A.S. in DTA from Bellevue College and is working towards an A.A.S. in CET and plans to continue his education with a B.S. in Surveying and Geomatics Engineering Technology through Idaho State University.

McGonagall joined Barghausen as a senior planner in March. He obtained a B.A. in History from the University of Montana. From Oregon State University, he received a Master's degree in Anthropology, a Doctorate in Architecture, and a Minor in Environmental and Earth Science. Previously, he worked as a senior planner for the city of Redmond.

Johnson is an assistant planner. He started in April. Johnson graduated from Oregon State University with a B.S. in Geography and Geospatial Science in 2017. Previously, he worked as a land planner with McInnis Engineering. He has three years of experience in planning and urban development for local government and small business owners.

Valcin, IT support technician II, started in Barghausen's Kent office in January. He graduated with an A.S. degree in Science from Nassau Community College. Valcin previously worked in several help desk and system administrator positions for Microsoft and the U.S. Army.

Sullivan started as a project architect in January. He graduated from Philadelphia University with a B.A. degree in Architecture and a Master's degree in Sustainable Design. Sullivan has 12 years of experience in architecture.

Yanez, senior project accountant, joined Barghausen in January. He graduated from West Governors University with a B.S. in Accounting in May 2022. Yanez previously worked as a project accountant for Dowbuilt in Seattle. He has a strong background in construction accounting and financial management.

Berry started in February as an architectural CAD technician. He graduated with an A.S. in Architectural Engineering Design from Clover Park Technical College in 2014. Berry has over nine years of experience creating a variety of construction drawings using Revit and AutoCAD.

Husic, assistant planner, started as a remote employee in January. She graduated from Boise State University with a B.A. in Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies. Previously, she worked as a care coordinator with House Rx.

Reese started as an assistant planner in May. She graduated with an A.A. degree from Edmonds Community College in December of 2016. Reese then graduated with a B.A. degree in Urban Planning from Arizona State University in April 2023. She previously worked as an assistant estimator at Wilcox Construction.

Hopper started as a senior civil project manager in May. Hopper previously worked for Barghausen from 1996-2004 and has over 30 years of professional experience throughout the states of Washington and Michigan. He graduated from Oakland Community College with a degree in Applied Science, Engineering, and Science/Math in 1992. He specializes in the planning, design, and construction management of public and private sector engineering projects.

Pacheco Garcia started as a design engineer in May. She graduated from Everett Community College with an A.S. Pre-Engineering degree. She then attended University of Washington, where she graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. She previously worked as a staff engineer at BHC Consultants.

Morales, architectural CAD technician, started in May. He received a Certificate in Engineering Design and Drafting from Renton Technical College in April of 2018. Morales previously worked as a BIM Technician for The Conco Companies. He has extensive experience creating Revit models, managing and incorporating construction changes, RFI's, submittals, and other revisions.

Rusovick started as a senior CAD technician in May. She previously worked for Barghausen from 2016-2023 and has over seven years of architecture drafting experience. Rusovick graduated from the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, North Macedonia in 2014 with a B.S. degree in Architecture.

Geberit North America

Jefferson

Geberit North America appointed Ronn Jefferson as the West Region sales and builder manager. Jefferson brings 19 years of experience with Geberit, starting as a senior design engineer in new product development and serving as the Geberit product manager since 2007. In his new role, Jefferson will oversee the sales of plumbing fixtures and fittings, manage customer relationships, lead independent sales representative teams, guide Geberit territory sales managers, and support modular construction initiatives. Jefferson is well-known within industry associations, holding memberships in the USGBC, NKBA, ASPE, and the Modular Building Institute. Geberit North America is part of the Geberit Group, a European provider of sanitary technology. Located in Des Plaines, Illinois, Geberit North America markets concealed systems for wall-hung toilets, vanities and fixtures, and flush actuator plates.

State of Washington

Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Brig. Gen. Gent Welsh adjutant general of Washington. Welsh will command all Washington Army and Air National Guard forces and serve as the director of the Washington Military Department, which along with the Washington National Guard, includes the state's Emergency Management Division and the Washington Youth Challenge Academy. The position also serves as homeland security advisor to the governor and as administrator for all Homeland Security grants awarded to Washington's state, local, Tribal and non-profit entities. Welsh has 36 years of military experience. He has spent the last decade working in various capacities with the Washington Military Department. For the last four years he served as the department's deputy director and commander of the Washington Air National Guard, leading 2,000 airmen who respond to natural disasters and work on some of the nation's most sensitive intelligence, cyberspace and special warfare missions. He was chief of staff for the state Military Department from 2014 to 2017, and the 194th Wing Commander from 2017 to 2019. Additionally, Welsh has been the National Guard advisor to the assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force for personnel and reserve affairs since 2023. Welsh replaces Maj. Gen. Bret Daugherty, who is retiring at the end of June after more than 40 years of service, including the last 12 as adjutant general and director of the Washington Military Department.