Apr 16, 2024

Delta Dental of Washington

Slaughter

Delta Dental of Washington named Nicolette Slaughter as its new workforce development program manager. Slaughter will lead Delta Dental's efforts in expanding diversity at all levels within the dental profession, and progressing oral health equity with the goal of improving dental health outcomes within historically underrepresented communities statewide and nationwide. As part of this effort, she will lead Delta Dental's program — Dental Careers Discovery: A Hands-On Journey — which introduces middle- and high-school students to dental career opportunities. Previously, Slaughter helped to create more equitable and accessible care for vulnerable populations in roles at MultiCare Health System and DSHS. She currently serves on the board of Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children and is past chair of the Pierce County Local Impact Network, which addresses oral health disparities countywide.

Upwards

National childcare network Upwards will receive funding from the city of Bellevue to bolster local childcare providers. The Boost program offers childcare providers free access to Upwards' management platform. The app automates administrative duties, and uses family matching technology and marketing assistance to help fill available childcare spots with local families. Additionally, providers enrolled in the program gain access to financial management tools such as attendance tracking, tuition processing and subsidy reimbursement. They can also use a library of professionally curated activities to simplify lesson planning. Alongside the technical features, Boost provides childcare owners with business coaching and assistance, including hiring new staff, expanding licenses, and acting as the liaison between providers and families. Since the launch of the Upwards' Boost program in 2022, the program has grown to support over 13 communities across four states. Upwards is a technology-driven care solutions company matching families with caregivers, and connecting families with the resources they need to afford care, whether through government subsidies or workplace benefits.

Whatcom Community College

Dr. Kathi Hiyane-Brown announced her plans to retire as president of Whatcom Community College. The college, located in Bellingham, experienced significant growth during her 17-year tenure, according to a news release. Under Hiyane-Brown's leadership, WCC expanded and developed certificates, associates and applied baccalaureate programs in such areas as engineering, health professions, business management, cybersecurity and social work; was named the National Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity Education and Training, and the state Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity; and significantly grew its physical campus. Additionally, Hiyane-Brown serves as a founding and executive committee member of the National Asian Pacific Islander Council, an affiliate council of the American Association of Community Colleges, a member of the Higher Education Research and Development Institute West Advisory Board, and a member of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning Advisory Board. Hiyane-Brown will continue in her role through March 1, 2025. Whatcom Community College's board of trustees will establish a timeline and process for recruitment of the next president.

Apr 12, 2024

Frye Art Museum

Vaughan

Supp

Graybeal

Gallo

Barnett

Williams

Potter

Goralski

Washington

The Frye Art Museum board of trustees has six new members: Lele Barnett, Vittorio Gallo, Lynne Graybeal, Daria Supp, Brandon Vaughan and Mark Washington. They join current members Gail Goralski, Jennifer Potter and Stuart Williams, expanding the number of trustees from six in the previous class to nine. Barnett is an art advisor, curator and producer based in Seattle with over 20 years of experience in the art world. She works with Meta Reality Labs and other corporate and private clients. Barnett has spearheaded creative initiatives for the Starbucks Art Collection, Microsoft Art Collection, and the Washington State Arts Commission. Gallo is the senior vice president and chief scientific officer at the Seattle Children's Research Institute, also serving on the institution's executive leadership team. With an extensive background in biochemistry and neurobiology, he has played a pivotal role in various institutions, including the National Institutes of Health and Children's National Hospital. Graybeal is a partner in Perkins Coie's Intellectual Property group and chair of the firm's Arts & Entertainment practice. Her legal practice focuses on art-related transactions and collection management issues, entertainment-related transactions, and protection and enforcement of trademarks and copyrights. Supp is the founder of Zoetrope Architecture Studio, a design and architecture firm in Seattle. Over her more than 20 years of experience, she has led a variety of projects spanning from residential to commercial. Vaughan is the global director of public relations at Slalom Consulting. He has experience in communications, brand management and marketing from top tech and consumer brands, including Microsoft, T-Mobile and OfferUp. Washington, an executive vice president at CBRE, brings over 15 years of experience in commercial real estate. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Washington. Founded in 1952, the Frye is located in an Olson Sundberg Kundig-designed building on First Hill.

Sustainable WA

The Washington wine industry announced a partnership between Sustainable WA, the state's sustainability certification for wine grapes, and Salmon-Safe, a U.S. regional eco-label focused on watershed protection. Following an 18-month development process, Sustainable WA is joining with Salmon-Safe in a certification partnership to enhance water quality protection, wildlife habitat conservation and climate resiliency. As part of the updated Sustainable WA standard, vineyards in the program now have the option of obtaining dual certification for both Sustainable WA and Salmon-Safe. Sustainable WA was launched in 2022 as Washington's first statewide certified sustainability program for wine grapes. It is a partnership between the Washington Winegrowers Association, the Washington State Wine Commission, the Washington Wine Industry Foundation, and the Washington Wine Institute, with oversight by an industry-led governance council and technical committee. Salmon-Safe works to keep urban and agricultural watersheds healthy for native salmon. More than 95,000 acres of farm and urban lands in the Pacific Northwest have transitioned to Salmon-Safe certification. For viticulture, the focus of Salmon-Safe is reducing vineyard runoff, water quality protection and enhancement of native biodiversity on vineyard sites. To achieve dual certification, growers must commit to sustainable viticultural practices and pass a third-party audit. Nearly a third of Washington's vineyard acreage is in the Sustainable WA program.

Apr 11, 2024

Wesley Homes

Dartt

Davis

Wesley Homes is expanding its leadership team with the addition of Heidi Davis, campus administrator of Wesley at Tehaleh in Bonney Lake, and Heather Dartt, health care administrator at Wesley Des Moines. Davis has a background in leadership and team building. In 2011, Davis transitioned from retail management to senior living. In her role as campus administrator at Wesley, Davis oversees independent living, Wesley's Catered Living program and memory care. Dartt brings six years of senior living administrator experience and over 20 years of hospitality management experience to her leadership role. Dartt is responsible for ensuring the standards of resident care, regulatory compliance and overall operational efficiency of the new 72-bed Wesley Des Moines Care Center. Wesley is a faith-based nonprofit with four Puget Sound senior communities: Wesley Des Moines, Wesley Lea Hill, Wesley Bradley Park and Wesley at Tehaleh.

ProbablyMonsters

ProbablyMonsters, an independent video game company, added a new development team, multiplayer game, and chief product officer. Adam Rymer was named chief product officer. Additionally, the company revealed Hidden Grove, a new development team led by Chris Opdahl. The Hidden Grove team is working on an original multiplayer adventure game using Unreal Engine 5. Leading all the ProbablyMonsters development teams is Rymer, a media and entertainment executive with expertise leading multi-functional teams across business segments including film, gaming, TV, digital, sports and music. At Legendary Digital Networks, he guided Nerdist and Geek & Sundry as innovators in new media through the Nerdist podcast network and the development of Critical Role. Previously, he was a senior executive at Universal Pictures, where his team partnered on strategic initiatives for the studio. Most recently, he was CEO of OpTic Gaming, an esports organization. Opdahl has over 20 years of experience as a game developer. He managed teams of 50 designers on Destiny 2, helped create and direct a multidisciplinary team of over 150 at Bungie, and contributed to multiple Halo titles as a designer and design lead. Opdahl founded Hidden Grove with two design directors, Raylene Deck and Grant Mackay, who worked closely together for years on Destiny. They're supported by a team of engineering and production veterans, including executive producer Lori Ada Kilty, art director Jedd Chevrier, senior engineering director Dean Johnson and narrative director Kate Welch. Founded in 2016, ProbablyMonsters is headquartered in Bellevue.

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

International law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) added Erin Ehlert to its Litigation & Investigation department. With more than 25 years of litigation experience, Ehlert's practice focuses on cases making their way to trial. She is a veteran civil and criminal litigator with success in defending clients in cases spanning product liability, torts, medical malpractice, wrongful death, personal injury and other areas. Ehlert spent two decades with the King County Prosecutor's Office and served as the Seattle assistant chief of the Criminal Division, later supervising the Homicide Unit. She helped lead criminal investigations involving more than 20 different law enforcement agencies and applied cutting-edge DNA technology to cold case files. Ehlert joins BCLP from Seattle law firm Corr Cronin, where she was of counsel. Earlier this month, BCLP announced the addition of a 12-lawyer litigation group, all joining from the firm Harrigan Leyh Farmer & Thomsen in Seattle.