Jun 25, 2025

City of Lynnwood

Lynnwood City Council Member Robert Leutwyler recently earned a Certificate of Municipal Leadership from the Association of Washington Cities (AWC). AWC's Certificate of Municipal Leadership program recognizes city and town elected officials for accomplishing training in five core areas:

roles, responsibilities, and legal requirements; public sector resource management; community planning and development; effective local leadership; and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. “Being a city leader in Washington is a complex job,” said AWC CEO Deanna Dawson. “Through our CML program we are providing our elected officials with the knowledge they need to effectively operate within the law, plan for the future, secure and manage funds, foster strong relationships, and work to build more equitable communities.” Leutwyler completed more than 30 hours of training to earn this distinction. Appointed to the City Council in March 2025, Leutwyler currently serves as council liaison to the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission as well as the Parks and Recreation Board. AWC serves its members through advocacy, education, and services. Founded in 1933, AWC is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation that represents Washington's 281 cities and towns before the state Legislature, the state executive branch, and with regulatory agencies.

Perkins Coie

Sarah Bowman has joined Perkins Coie's Private Client Services practice as a partner in the Seattle office. Bowman focuses on sophisticated estate planning, estate and trust administration, and family office structuring for high-net-worth families. Her practice spans family wealth transfer planning, tax planning, business and entity succession planning, asset strategy protection, privacy planning, and charitable giving. Bowman also frequently guides high-earning clients and families in the development and management of family office structures. In addition to advising clients on complex probate estate and trust administration proceedings, Bowman is also adept at assisting clients with navigating trust and estate disputes and litigation. Bowman serves as a fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a national committee of estate planning lawyers. She also serves on the Washington State Bar Association's Real Property Probate and Trust Executive Committee and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events. Bowman joins Perkins Coie from K&L Gates. She holds a B.S. from Northwestern University and a J.D., summa cum laude, from Seattle University School of Law.

Jun 24, 2025

State of Washington

Moran

Gov. Bob Ferguson appointed Ryan Moran director of the Washington State Health Care Authority, effective Aug. 18. Moran currently serves as deputy secretary for Health Care Financing and Medicaid director for the Maryland Department of Health. Moran has overseen Maryland's Medicaid program since April 2023, serving more than 1.5 million Marylanders receiving critical acute, outpatient, and behavioral health services and 125,000 providers that serve Medicaid participants. In early 2025, Moran served as acting secretary of health at the Maryland Department of Health. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, which seeks to elevate and support 56 state and territory Medicaid programs in providing coverage to those they serve. Previously, Moran served as chief executive officer for Whitman-Walker Health System, a community-centered enterprise committed to advancing social justice and equality through health. As assistant vice president, care transformation for MedStar Health's four hospitals in the Baltimore region, Moran oversaw nearly $130 million in community benefit reporting.

Moran earned bachelor's degrees in public policy and business administration from the University of Charleston, and a master's in health services administration from Xavier University. He holds a doctor of public health degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and was named a John Hume Scholar at Johns Hopkins for his potential in future significant contributions to the field of public health

TOTE Group

Transportation and logistics company TOTE Group has expanded its leadership team. Alex Hofeling, currently president of TOTE Maritime Alaska, headquartered in Tacoma, is being promoted to the new role of chief commercial officer. With this transition, Bill Crawford, who served as vice president of commercial, is being promoted to president of TOTE Maritime Alaska. Hofeling joined TOTE in 2013. Relocating to TOTE Group's headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida, to serve as CCO, he will oversee the organization's corporate and commercial strategy as well as marketing efforts across all business units. His focus will be on customer engagement, market expansion, and integrated business development to support long-term, sustainable growth. In his previous role as president of the Alaska group, he partnered with customers, communities, public officials, labor interests and more to foster operational excellence and fulfill TOTE's commitment to serving those in the 49th state. Taking over the helm as president of TOTE Maritime Alaska, Crawford will oversee all operations for the company based out of the Tacoma office. He began his career at TOTE in 2003 and brings over 26 years of experience in the shipping and LTL industries. TOTE Group is made up of independently operated companies across four key business lines: maritime, terminals, services, and logistics. TOTE Maritime Alaska has served as a shipping link to Alaska for over 50 years with twice-weekly sailings between Tacoma and Anchorage.

Jun 20, 2025

Cushman & Wakefield

Scott

Hunter

Reed

Cushman & Wakefield recently announced that three experienced brokers have joined their shop: Jim Reed, Adrienne Hunter and Carson Scott. They make the move from Lee & Associates. Welcoming the very productive trio, C&W's Alison Beddard said in a statement, “We're proud to welcome Jim, Adrienne, and Carson to our Bellevue office, who instantly strengthen and enhance our position in the growing Eastside submarkets.” Reed added, “We look forward to expanding our reach while continuing to lead complex transactions in the markets we know best.”

Avatar loans over $11M in Lone Star State

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Local lender Avatar Financial Group places loans all around the county. One recently announced example came in Corpus Christi, Texas. There, Avatar sourced an over $11.2 million bridge loan to the owners of the Latitude Apartments, a large 21-unit complex. The two-year loan has a nearly 11% interest rate. Avatar's said T.R. Hazelrigg IV said in a statement, “Our loan enabled the borrower to finish what they started — transforming an aging multifamily asset into a vibrant, income-producing community. We're proud to support the final leg of that journey.” Renovations are nearly complete, says Avatar.

JLL finds $19M to support Bothell units

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Back in April, JLL announced its finding $19 million in Fannie Mae refinancing for The 104, in Bothell. That roughly 12-year-old project from MainStreet Property Group has 115 units. JLL's Bill Maloney and Seth Heikkila led the effort; the latter said in a statement, “The 104 exemplifies the high-quality multifamily product that continues to attract strong interest. We expect sustained rental demand in Bothell, driven by its strategic location and access to the region's expanding tech job centers.” The three-story 104 was part of an early wave of development in downtown Bothell, with Dahlin as the architect and W.G. Clark Construction as the builder. Since then, several larger midrise apartment projects have followed.

The SEER Group

The SEER Group, a collection of residential and commercial HVAC, electrical and plumbing companies, has continued its expansion in the Pacific Northwest through the acquisition of Oregon's Associated Heating & Air Conditioning. Led by Kevin Brooks and Trisha Peterson, Associated Heating & Air Conditioning has been a cornerstone of the greater Eugene area for nearly five decades. “We've spent 47 years earning the trust of our customers and building a culture our team is proud of. This is the next chapter,” said Brooks. Peterson added, “SEER recognized who we are. They understood the value of our name, our people, and the way we do business.” Associated's customers will continue to be served by the same team, now backed by SEER's expanded resources, operational support, and network of partner brands. This is another step in SEER's strategy to grow alongside founder-led brands that deliver top-tier service and stay true to their local roots.

AuthenticID

Seattle-based AuthenticID, a global provider of identity proofing and fraud prevention solutions, has been named one of the AIFinTech 100. The AIFinTech100 is an annual list of 100 of the world's most innovative AI solution providers for financial services chosen by research platform FinTech Global. “We are honored to be recognized in the AIFinTech100 List,” said Reed Taussig, AuthenticID CEO. “I'm proud of our team's work to drive identity verification technology forward and set new standards for security and customer experience.” AuthenticID offers a solution that relies 100% on automated machine learning and computer vision technology. AuthenticID recently announced the release of its holistic identity verification platform, AuthenticID360, which delivers a 360-degree view of identities, with verification and fraud risk signals delivered in just two seconds, as well as its Velocity Checks tool, which leverages biometric and document analysis to detect multiple identities used for fraudulent activities in real-time. Founded in 2001, AuthenticID's patented platform is used by the leading financial services firms, wireless carriers and identity verification platforms.