Sep 21, 2021

Torq

Torq has appointed Jason Chan to the company's CISO advisory board. Chan will work closely with Torq's leadership and product teams, as well as with customers seeking to modernize their security automation practices. After spending most of his 20-plus year career in cybersecurity, Chan recently retired from his role leading information security at Netflix. Prior to Netflix, he led the security team at VMWare and spent most of his earlier career in security consulting. This announcement follows Torq's recent public launch, and announcement of a $20M Series A round led by GGV Capital, as well as a previously undisclosed $8M seed from Bessemer Venture Partners. Torq is a no-code automation platform for security and operations teams. Founded in 2020, the company has offices in Portland, Tel Aviv and New York.

Sonoma Biotherapeutics

Sonoma Biotherapeutics, an immune tolerance company focused on the development of regulatory T cell therapies, appointed Doug Sheehy as chief legal officer and secretary. Sheehy is a senior biotechnology executive who has managed global legal and compliance operations for multiple companies. Prior to joining Sonoma, he served as general counsel and secretary for Aimmune Therapeutics. Sheehy previously served as executive vice president, chief administrative officer, general counsel and secretary of Codexis, and prior to that he served as executive director, legal at CV Therapeutics. Sonoma Biotherapeutics is based in South San Francisco and Seattle.

T-Mobile

Bellevue-based T-Mobile US announced that Mark Nelson will join the company as executive vice president and general counsel in October. Current general counsel Dave Miller announced his retirement after 26 years with T-Mobile. Nelson will report directly to CEO Mike Sievert. The company also announced that its board of directors has elected Broady Hodder, senior vice president of corporate governance and strategic transactions, as its corporate secretary, reporting to Nelson. Having practiced law for over 25 years at Cleary Gottlieb, Nelson joins T-Mobile with a broad range of experience in merger work and antitrust counseling, civil and criminal litigation, and regulatory proceedings before federal and state government agencies. He has been counsel to T-Mobile US for the past two decades and has advised the company on a variety of matters, including T-Mobile US's acquisition of MetroPCS and its merger with Sprint. Hodder will oversee the company's corporate governance activities. He joined T-Mobile's legal team in early 2018.

Parcion Private Wealth

Parcion Private Wealth, a Seattle-area wealth management firm focused on helping business owners and entrepreneurs optimize wealth events, hired Sarah Kaler as chief people and culture officer. Kaler has more than 20 years of experience developing business executives and their teams at high growth startups, exclusive firms, global brands and Fortune 500 companies, including lululemon, athletica, Google, Whole Foods, Amazon, Facebook, Hulu, Disney, PepsiCo, Intel, Accenture, Cisco, Hilton Hotels, Levi's, SoFi, and Microsoft. Prior to joining Parcion Kaler spent 10 years in senior executive roles at lululemon.

Sep 17, 2021

DreamBox Learning

Education technology provider DreamBox Learning announced new expansions and partnerships with school district customers, including Prince George's County Public Schools in Maryland and East Baton Rouge Parish School System. The districts join DreamBox during a year of expansion into the K-12 English Language Arts market with the acquisitions of Reading Plus and Squiggle Park. DreamBox now delivers personalized and adaptive math and reading learning experiences to nearly 6 million students. DreamBox adapts and differentiates in real time based not only on students' answers, but also on how they solve problems. Along with actionable reporting and tools that empower differentiation for all learners, DreamBox gives teachers content-specific professional development and provides administrators with insights about how all students are progressing. The company's platform has won more than 40 top education and technology industry awards. DreamBox Learning was founded in 2006 in Bellevue

Alaska DIRECTV

Streaming services through DIRECTV STREAM, formerly known as AT&T TV, are now available to all Alaskans through Alaska Communications. As an authorized reseller of DIRECTV STREAM, Alaskans in and out of Alaska Communications' service footprint can watch local, national and premium channels anytime, anywhere on their phone, tablet or television. Alaska Communications, an affiliate of ATN International, is a provider of advanced broadband and managed IT services for businesses and consumers in Alaska. The company operates an advanced statewide data network connecting Alaska to the contiguous U.S.

Spaceflight

Spaceflight, a leader in global launch services, announced a new mission: “GEO Pathfinder.” As a secondary payload on board Intuitive Machines' IM-2 South Pole Mission, Spaceflight will execute rideshare deployments in trans-lunar orbit, low-lunar orbit and beyond to geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO). Spaceflight will utilize a lunar flyby with its new propulsive transfer vehicle, Sherpa EScape (Sherpa-ES), to deliver a payload from GeoJump, a new company dedicated to providing smallsat rideshare opportunities to GEO, that will also contain an Orbit Fab in-space fueling payload. The mission is slated to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 no earlier than Q4 2022. Spaceflight's rideshare missions allow customers to quickly access lunar orbits affordably, and allow customers to reach farther destinations in the solar system. Spaceflight has flown three Sherpa OTVs on two different missions in 2021, successfully deploying all 50 customer spacecraft. Based in Seattle, Spaceflight has successfully launched hundreds of satellites and is a part of the Mitsui & Co. portfolio, operating as an independent, U.S.-based company.

Sep 16, 2021

Seattle Mariners

Seattle Mariners Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications Kevin Martinez announced that the Mariners and Bonneville Seattle Media Group have agreed upon a multi-year extension to keep 710 ESPN Seattle as the flagship radio station for Mariners baseball. The 2022 season will be the 32nd year that 710 AM has been the Mariners radio home. The Mariners have been broadcasting on 710 ESPN Seattle since the station's transition to an all-sports format in 2009, and KIRO-AM was the team's home from 1985-2002. In addition to broadcasting all 162 games during the regular season, the Mariners year-round presence on 710 ESPN Seattle includes programming featuring Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto, manager Scott Servais as well as new weekly shows showcasing Mariners coaches, players, broadcasters and staff. Coverage also includes podcasts, pre- and post-game radio shows, the weekly Mariners Magazine on Sunday's during the season, the Hot Stove League Show in the winter, the Cactus League Report during spring training and spring training game broadcasts.

YouthCare

YouthCare, a Seattle-based nonprofit focused on ending youth homelessness, hired Colleen Echohawk as interim chief executive officer. In the interim CEO role, Echohawk will work in close partnership with the board of directors, lead the staff, and further facilitate YouthCare's strategic direction and programming in support of youth experiencing homelessness. YouthCare offers more than 19 programs focused on housing, education and employment, wellness, and community. Prior to this role, Echohawk served as executive director of Chief Seattle Club. She is the founder of the Coalition to End Urban Indigenous Homelessness, a board trustee for the Seattle Foundation, a co-founder of Headwater People Consulting and a board member for KUOW Public Radio. Echohawk is an enrolled member of Kithehaki Band of the Pawnee Nation and a member of the Upper Athabascan people of Mentasta Lake. YouthCare will continue its search for a permanent CEO and more details about the executive search process will appear on the organization's website as new information becomes available.

Amazon

Amazon announced that it is providing an additional 4,500 local employment opportunities throughout Washington on top of the 40,000 corporate and technology jobs recently announced. The roles in fulfillment and transportation offer an average starting wage of more than $18 per hour, and up to $22.50 per hour in some locations. Jobs are available in several cities across Washington and hiring for the new roles is already underway. Interested candidates can apply at http://www.amazon.com/apply. Amazon is also hiring for positions at Amazon Fresh store locations in Washington state. Interested candidates can apply for those positions online at http://www.amazonstores.jobs. Amazon has 80 fulfillment centers, sortation centers, regional air hubs, and delivery stations in Washington and will open four more buildings this month. Amazon was recently named by LinkedIn as the No. 1 company where Americans want to work and develop their careers.

Vouched

Seattle-based Vouched, a developer of proprietary, AI-powered, real-time identity verification, announced that Steve McQuade has joined the company as chief technology officer. McQuade will accelerate development of the company's patent-pending identity verification AI, and scale both the engineering team and international capability for the company's global expansion. McQuade previously headed technology at TUNE as the vice president of engineering and operations. Prior to TUNE, he served as vice president of engineering at Yapta and AudienceScience, and held senior technology management roles at the Walt Disney Internet Group.