Jul 15, 2025

State of Washington

Kay

Gov. Bob Ferguson has appointed Cindy Kay as Washington's new executive director of the Board of Accountancy. Kay, a Certified Public Accountant, will lead the board following more than 15 years of work in state government and more than 20 years in the private sector. Most recently, Kay served for one year as a Board of Accountancy board member, contributing to regulatory oversight and policy advancement. She is also the co-chair of the Washington State Financial Management Advisory Council and has served as president of the Washington State Association of Government Accountants. Kay began her accounting career in Tucson, Arizona. with a Big Five accounting firm, followed by six years at a smaller CPA firm in Washington, where she honed her expertise in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles compliance and fraud accounting. She later transitioned into the private sector, serving within high-level financial reporting, budgeting and internal controls roles at various publicly traded companies. Kay then transitioned to public service, joining the Washington State Department of Transportation with her most recent role as the director of the Accounting and Financial Services Division. She earned a bachelor's degree in business management with an emphasis in accounting at Saint Martin's University in Lacey.

Amperity

Amperity, an AI-powered customer data cloud, appointed Grigori Melnik as chief product officer. With more than 25 years of experience leading platform innovation across high-growth startups and global enterprises, Melnik will lead Amperity's product strategy and execution during a period of rapid growth and industry transformation. Melnik has held leadership roles at Microsoft, Splunk, MongoDB, Tricentis, and most recently Cribl, where he expanded the company's multi-product strategy and drove significant market growth. Melnik holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Calgary. He also serves as a board director and strategy advisor to startups and private equity firms including Insight Partners and Warburg Pincus. Founded in 2016, Amperity operates globally with offices in Seattle, New York City, London and Melbourne.

Jul 11, 2025

Equal Opportunity Schools

Gutierrez

Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS) has appointed Antonio “AJ” Gutierrez as its new chief executive officer. Gutierrez has over a decade of experience leading education reform and scaling mission-driven organizations. As co-founder and chief policy and public affairs officer of Saga Education, Gutierrez helped grow the organization from a startup into a national leader in high-impact tutoring. Under his leadership, Saga served students in 17 U.S. states, and internationally in the Netherlands and Ukraine, while securing over $140 million in funding from philanthropic partners, federal grants and school districts. Raised in Boston and a graduate of Match Education, Gutierrez has advised federal agencies, philanthropic coalitions and school system leaders on deploying evidence-based strategies to accelerate learning at scale. EOS is a national nonprofit that works with districts nationwide to ensure that all students — especially those from underserved backgrounds — have access to rigorous coursework that helps prepare them for post-secondary success. EOS provides professional development for educators and builds school communities centered on student belonging.

State of Washington

Gov. Bob Ferguson has appointed Candie M. Dibble to the Spokane County Superior Court. Dibble's appointment fills the position being vacated by Judge Raymond F. Clary, who resigned from the bench on June 30. Dibble has nearly 25 years of experience as a prosecutor, administrative law judge, compliance coordinator and assistant attorney general. She has served as senior counsel for the Corrections Division of the Attorney General's Office in Spokane since 2010, co-leading a team of attorneys for the Corrections Civil Rights Unit. Dibble represented the Washington Department of Corrections, serving as lead counsel advising on state and federal constitutional conditions of confinement and other issues of statewide importance. Earlier in her career, Dibble served as an administrative law judge in Delaware, spent two years in private practice at a law firm in Mississippi, and served as an assistant solicitor in South Carolina. Dibble earned her bachelor's degree at Purdue University and her law degree from Indiana University School of Law.

Jul 10, 2025

Wellstar

Patel

The Wellstar Board of Trustees has selected Ketul J. Patel to become Wellstar Health System's next president and chief executive officer. Patel currently serves as CEO of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and president of the Pacific Northwest Region of CommonSpirit Health. He is expected to join Wellstar in late October. Patel will succeed Candice L. Saunders, Wellstar's current president and CEO, who announced her retirement in January.

In January 2021, Patel led the merger of two of the Pacific Northwest's leading health care organizations to form Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (VMFH), which today is one of Washington state's largest premier health care providers. Patel launched the VMFH Care Network in 2024 to provide expertise to independent hospitals and health systems throughout Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Montana. He oversees the Benaroya Research Institute and the Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the U.S. designed specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS.

Patel chairs the Washington State Hospital Association board and is past chair of the Greater Seattle Partners executive council. He also serves on the boards of Washington Roundtable, Challenge Seattle, and CEOs Against Cancer, and is a past member of the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board.

Patel holds master's degrees in health administration and business administration from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University.

Jul 09, 2025

Farallon Consulting

Buer

Eric Buer is the new chief executive officer at West Coast environmental consulting company Farrallon Consulting. Before taking the role in May, Buer served as Farallon's interim CEO since October 2024.

During his tenure as interim CEO, Buer oversaw key initiatives such as strategic operational efficiencies, increased revenue, and the recent appointment of a highly qualified and experienced CFO.

He has over 18 years of experience in the environmental consulting industry and has been an integral member of Farallon's leadership team for the past five years.

Makers

Finewood

Ukil

Batchelder

Saunders

Makers architecture and urban design recently promoted Katy Saunders, Beth Batchelder, Rish Ukil and Alec Finewood.

Saunders has been promoted to senior associate. She has been with Makers since 2015 and is an invaluable member of the Urban Design and Community Planning team. As a landscape architect, she leads Makers climate adaptation, sustainability, and resiliency work in community planning.

Batchelder has been promoted to senior associate. Since joining Makers in 2017, Batchelder has been an indispensable member of the facilities planning team. In this role she has demonstrated effective project management, compelling engagement, and patient staff mentorship and is appreciated for her contributions to the firm's office culture.

Ukil has also been promoted to senior associate. He has been with Makers since 2017 and quickly established himself as a designer and analyst. His professional interests lie at the intersection of strategic facilities planning, public policy, and sustainable investments in critical government assets; he was key to the establishment of the firm's fleet electrification planning practice area. Ukil serves as co-chair to the APA WA Chapter's Climate and Sustainability Initiative Committee.

Finewood has been promoted to associate 1. He joined Makers in 2023 after completing a Master of Architecture degree at the University of Washington. His recent work includes two projects in California: a resiliency study for Naval Base Coronado (San Diego) and scenario planning for Naval Air Station Lemoore.

Middle of Six

Byers

Middle of Six, a marketing consultancy specializing in architecture, engineering and construction, has hired Katy Byers as a senior marketing specialist.

Byers has over a decade of marketing experience, with seven years dedicated to the A/E/C industry. Throughout her career, she has had the opportunity to work closely with engineers, owner representatives, and architects, giving her a well-rounded perspective on marketing within the built environment.

Byers actively contributes to her community through SMPS Oregon, where she currently serves as president-elect. This fall, she will transition into the role of chapter president.

Foster Garvey

Foster Garvey added Brian Honaker-Coe as an associate in its Public Finance & Municipal Government group, based in Seattle. Honaker-Coe joins the firm from Fenwick & West LLP, where he advised emerging companies on venture capital financings, formation, and corporate governance and supported public companies with SEC reporting and capital markets transactions. During law school, he served as a law clerk for the University of Washington Division of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General and held legal internships at Adaptive Biotechnologies and Rover.com. He was also an online editor with Washington Law Review and earned the Dean's Medal. Before law school, he worked as a legal practice assistant at Foster Garvey, supporting the firm's Public Finance & Municipal Government group. Honaker-Coe graduated from the University of Washington School of Law with high honors and holds a bachelor's degree in Law, Societies & Justice and Political Science from UW.

BECU

BECU, Washington's largest credit union, recently acquired the GenAI capabilities and 13 team members from EarnUp, a ​f​intech company designed to help provide people with financial tools to easily manage money and improve their financial well-being. ​BECU will bring GenAI to its employees and members, including the future launch of an AI Advisor. ​​