Sep 16, 2025

Davis Wright Tremaine

Liu

Davis Wright Tremaine has added Samantha Liu as chief financial officer, located in its Seattle office. Liu, a certified public accountant, joins Davis Wright after serving as the director of finance and accounting at Polsinelli, where she oversaw a team of more than 40 finance professionals. Her responsibilities included managing financial systems, treasury functions, banking relationships, profitability oversight, external auditor relations, expense management, and commercial insurance policies. Liu holds a Master of Science in Business Intelligence and Analytics from Rockhurst University and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Truman State University.

Oslund Udo Little

Bergman Oslund Udo Little (BOUL), a Pacific Northwest law firm with a focus on catastrophic injury cases, announced it will be known as Oslund Udo Little (OUL), reflecting recent transitions within the firm. Founded in 1995, the firm quickly established itself as a leader in asbestos and catastrophic injury litigation across the Pacific Northwest. Over the past three decades, its attorneys have recovered over a billion dollars for clients and their families by holding corporations and governments accountable for negligence and misconduct. The transition to Oslund Udo Little reflects both continuity and renewal while still honoring the firm's history and embracing its next chapter under the leadership of Vanessa Firnhaber Oslund, Chandler Udo, and Brendan Little.

The change comes as founding partner Matthew Bergman departed the then-named Bergman Draper Oslund Udo (BDOU) in 2021 to launch his own practice, the Social Media Victims Law Center. In addition, long-time partner Glenn Draper joined Bergman's new firm, where he continues his work advocating for victims and families. The firm previously changed its name in 2023 to BOUL to reflect the 2022 addition of Brendan Little as a named partner at the firm and in recognition of his contributions to the firm's success.

The firm also unveiled a new logo, as well as updated website and email addresses, to align with this next chapter in its history. Attempts to access the old website will now be automatically redirected to the new site, http://www.oslundlegal.com.

Partners Oslund, Udo, and Little will continue to lead the firm.

Sep 12, 2025

Port of Seattle

Wimsatt

The Port of Seattle has selected Christopher Wimsatt as its new chief financial officer. Wimsatt joins the port after most recently serving as the Assistant Director of Airports for the Sacramento County Airport System. As the new CFO, Wimsatt will oversee the port's financial reporting and management of its annual operating budget and five-year capital plan. He previously held roles as the deputy director and chief financial officer at the Sacramento County Airport System, and as the division manager and chief financial officer of the Department of Aviation for the city of Dayton, Ohio, as well as spending time in the financial and banking sectors. He has received multiple professional awards, including the 2024 Airport Finance Professional of the Year from Airports Council International — North America and the 2023 Public Finance Rising Star Award from The Bond Buyer.

Office of the Secretary of State

The Office of the Secretary of State (OSOS) announced on Tuesday that it will fund Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) membership costs for all 39 county auditors and elections offices. The MS-ISAC is a cybersecurity partner to over 18,000 state, local, tribal, and territorial government organizations who offer low-cost cybersecurity tools. Membership provides counties access to cyber threat intelligence, incident response support, and real-time information sharing to will help protect county elections infrastructure.

“Protecting election security at the local level where our elections are conducted is one of our top priorities as an office. By providing MS-ISAC membership for all of our county partners, we ensure they have continued access to cybersecurity services,” Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said.

In addition, the OSOS secured an agreement to replace existing Albert sensors with upgraded devices in the coming months. These devices will be leased by the OSOS, which ensures timely replacement under a service-level agreement. Albert sensors are used to identify cyber threats that could impact networks from malicious activity, providing real-time notification to the county.

Sep 11, 2025

Seattle Aquarium

Seattle Aquarium is now member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Created in 1948, IUCN has more than 1,400 member organizations and more than 17,000 experts around the world. IUCN spearheads many conservation projects worldwide, working to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve animal wellbeing.

One of these programs is the IUCN's Species Recovery Commission's Otter Specialist Group, leading global otter conservation since 1974. The Seattle Aquarium's Senior Conservation Research Manager Dr. Shawn Larson serves as the Deputy Chair of the group and as the species coordinator for sea otters along with Amy Olsen, research scientist. Larson also founded and continues to lead the biennial Sea Otter Conservation Workshop, the largest international meeting of sea otter biologists in the world. Hosted by the Seattle Aquarium since 1999, the workshop brings together the latest in sea otter research and science, with topics ranging from sea otter population status, biology and ecology to veterinary medicine, advocacy and conservation.

Larson will represent the aquarium at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in October.

Ogletree Deakins

Ogletree Deakins, a labor and employment law firm representing management, has added Ashley Paynter to the firm's Seattle office as a shareholder. Paynter joins the firm from Riley, Safer, Holmes & Cancila LLP. As an experienced and accomplished litigator and trial attorney, Paynter's practice focuses largely on complex litigation, including representative actions under federal and state law. Paynter also performs workplace investigations and provides advice and counsel in all areas of employment law. Paynter received her J.D., summa cum laude, from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, and a B.A., with distinction, from Indiana University. She is also a member of the Washington State Bar Association and the California Lawyers Association.

Sep 10, 2025

Farallon

Snyder

Farallon Consulting appointed Sarah Snyder as interim executive director of delivery operations. Snyder oversees Farallon's project delivery processes across all offices, focusing on client service, technical quality, and operational efficiency. As a senior geologist at Farallon, Snyder managed complex site investigations and cleanup efforts involving petroleum, chlorinated solvents, metals, and PFAS-impacted sites. Snyder is a licensed geologist with an MBA and has been instrumental in shaping Farallon's delivery systems and mentoring staff to advance their technical and project management capabilities.

Makers

Letson

Steve Letson joined Makers' Seattle office as a senior planner, and brings over 17 years of experience in military installation planning and direct in-depth knowledge of U.S. Navy planning and operations. Letson supported planning for the Navy in a multitude of capacities throughout the Pacific Northwest. Most recently he spent five years as the infrastructure planning manager for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Field Office of the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program.

Mithun

Kelly

Jones

Runge

Mithun has promoted Christian Runge, Dustann Jones and Séamus Kelly to principal.

Runge is a landscape architect with a focus on designing at the intersection of nature, culture and human health in the public realm. He has contributed to parks, education and ecological design projects across the country, from the national ASLA and AIA award-winning Louisiana Children's Museum, to the University of Washington Haring Center for Inclusive Education and the first universal design playground and sensory garden for Shoreline.

Jones is an architect and designer with extensive experience creating cultural, civic and educational facilities. Projects like Wanapum Heritage Center, National Nordic Museum and Sustainability Treehouse demonstrate Jones' commitment to craft and interdisciplinary collaboration by weaving natural and built environments with interpretive elements to reveal stories of culture and ecology, connected intimately to place.

Kelly is an architect who crafts inclusive and high-performing educational environments from early childhood learning through higher education. He specializes in integrated project delivery, including progressive design-build and GC/CM models. Projects like Washington School for the Deaf and UW Bothell / Cascadia College Innovation Hall demonstrate how Kelly unites design, construction and owner teams.

City of Kenmore

The Kenmore City Council has appointed Teri Killgore as its next city manager. Killgore brings three decades of public service experience, most recently as the economic development director for the city of Scottsdale, Arizona. Over the years, she has held leadership roles including downtown redevelopment manager for the city of Chandler, Arizona; assistant to the city manager for the city of San Jose, California; and assistant city manager for the cities of Vallejo and Walnut Creek, California. She holds a Master of Public Administration and a bachelor's degree in sociology. Stephanie Lucash has served as Kenmore's interim city manager since March 2025, following the departure of previous Kenmore City Manager Rob Karlinsey. Lucash will return to her previous role as deputy city manager.

PAWS

PAWS, a nonprofit dedicated to helping cats, dogs and wild animals, has appointed R. Harrison Edell as its new chief executive officer. A Seattle-area resident with two senior rescue dogs, Edell brings more than two decades of experience in animal welfare, conservation and nonprofit leadership. Having most recently served as chief mission officer and executive vice president of Animal Care & Conservation at the Dallas Zoo, he oversaw departments teams specializing in animal care, conservation, education, operations and community engagement. Prior to his tenure at the Dallas Zoo, Edell held leadership and education roles at the Sacramento Zoo, San Francisco Zoo and San Diego Zoo Global. His extensive career spans hands-on wildlife rehabilitation, animal care management, strategic planning, project management and innovative education programming for audiences of all ages. Since 1967, PAWS has been helping cats, dogs and wildlife thrive through rehabilitating orphaned and injured wild animals, sheltering homeless pets and inspiring compassionate action through education and advocacy. PAWS operates a Companion Animal Shelter in Lynnwood and the PAWS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Snohomish.