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APPOINTMENTS

• Walla Walla winery L’Ecole No 41 has appointed Ryan Pennington as its chief operating officer. Pennington spent the last 10 years at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, where he was most recently vice president of communications and corporate affairs, and he previously worked as communications director for the Washington Wine Commission for five years. Additionally, Pennington has served on multiple boards, including the Washington Wine Commission, Washington Wine Institute, Northwest Wine Coalition, and WineAmerica.

RETIREMENT

• Kennewick City Manager Marie Mosley has announced plans to retire at the end of the year. She’s spent 40 years in municipal government service, working as Kennewick’s city manager for the last 13 years. Mosley started as an accountant for the city of Kennewick before going on to work in Renton and Federal Way. She returned to the Tri-Cities in 2001, working as Kennewick’s finance manager and then support services executive director before being promoted to city manager in 2010. Mosley also has held leadership roles with numerous other Tri-City organizations. In 2019, she was recognized for her leadership and public service as the Kennewick Woman of the Year.

AWARDS & HONORS

• Leadership Tri-Cities has announced its next class. Class 27 is comprised of: Karina Aispuro, Washington State University Tri-Cities; Alice Amaya, Pasco School District; Megan Biever, Kennewick School District; Christopher Bonilla, Solutions In-Home Care; David Chavey-Reynaud, Benton Franklin Workforce Development Council; Dana Dollarhyde, city of Kennewick; Kelly Ebert, U.S. Department of Energy; Mauricio Gomez, Lourdes Health; Holly Harmon, Numerica Credit Union; Jill Harvill, Hanford Mission Integration Solutions; Darrell Herling, Battelle NW Division; Cara Hernandez, Chaplaincy Health Care; Karlee Hodges, Richland School District; Avonte Jackson, Grace Clinic; Jessie Tomren, Mid-Columbia Libraries; David Jordan, Energy Northwest; Wendy Krause, Kadlec Tri-Cities Cancer Center; Jennifer Kuklinski, Energy Northwest; Kevin Lewis, Visit Tri-Cities; Amy Marinoni, Lutheran Community Services Northwest; Christopher Mortensen, Pasco Fire Department; Ryan Nell, INTERA Inc.; Kylie Peel, city of Kennewick; Timmy Song, Columbia Basin College; Madison Evangelista, Mid-Columbia Libraries; Max Schneider, Empowered Health; and Mike Saffell, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
• The Auction of Washington Wines has named Andy Perdue as its Wine Industry Champion Award winner for 2023. Perdue, a preeminent wine journalist, has written for the Tri-City Herald, Seattle Times and numerous other publications, including the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business and Senior Times. He helped launch Wine Press Northwest magazine for the Herald and its owner, McClatchy News, in 1998, and he is cofounder of Great Northwest Wine. The Auction of Washington Wines is one of the top five charitable wine auctions in the U.S. Perdue received the award as part of the TOAST! Honoree Celebration on Aug. 10 at Château Ste. Michelle.
• The Washington Airport Management Association has recognized the Port of Benton’s Richland Airport for project of the year for its electrical replacement project. The Federal Aviation Administration fully funded the $3.2 million project, which required strategically planning phased runway and taxi closures between July and November 2022.
  Additionally, the Port of Benton received a Community Outreach Award from the Washington Public Ports Association for the Van Giesen railroad crossing replacement project. The port communicated with the community throughout the project, which involved a closure of the Highway 224/Van Giesen Street intersection in August 2022.
• Heritage University nursing program director Christina Nyirati, Ph.D., received the 2023 Nurse Educator Award from the Washington State Nurses Association. She was one of 10 individuals recognized at the WSNA convention in May. The awards are given biennially. Nyirati was recognized for her work in bringing nursing education to under-represented populations. She founded the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Heritage in 2014 with the mission to advance health in rural communities and among multicultural families.
• Kiona Vineyards has been recognized as one of USA Today’s Top 10 Winery Tasting Rooms in 2023. A set of wine industry experts nominated tasting rooms across the US and readers voted for their favorites, resulting in this top 10 list. Kiona Vineyards, one of the first vineyards on Red Mountain, is now a three-generation family estate with over 270 planted acres.
• Prosser Memorial Health has received a 5-star overall hospital quality rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The rating is the highest, and PMS is one of 483 hospitals in the country, eight hospitals in Washington and the only Critical Access Hospital in the state to receive it.
• Richland’s Reborn Bike Shop has received the Retailer Excellence Award from the National Bicycle Dealers Association. One hundred bicycle shops are selected for this award, and Reborn Bike Shop has won three years in a row. This year, it is the only winner in Washington. Reborn Bike Shop carries pre-owned bicycles, e-bikes and parts from both national and international brands.
• Skip Novakovich, a Port of Kennewick commissioner, was honored for his military and civilian service at the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo in Joseph, Oregon, on July 29. Novakovich enlisted in 1969 and then rose to the rank staff sergeant. He received a direct appointment to first lieutenant from the president during the Vietnam War and was a lieutenant colonel when he officially retired in 2007. Rodeo announcer Jody Carper recognized Novakovich and his wife Shannon during the rodeo finals.
• Materials scientist Tiffany Kaspar with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland has been named a fellow of AVS. The interdisciplinary society, founded in 1953, focuses on materials, interfaces and processing. AVS recognized Kaspar for her work in synthesizing and characterizing epitaxially grown oxide thin films and for her educational outreach in STEM. Kaspar joined PNNL in 2000 and her work with oxide materials improves understanding of the relationship between structures and properties. She will be honored in November at the AVS 69th International Symposium and Exhibition in Portland, Oregon.
• The 2023 rankings for America’s Best Real Estate Professionals were recently released. The rankings are broken down into several categories: individuals and small, medium, large and mega teams. Together, these rankings feature the top 1.5% of real estate professionals in the United States. Here are those from the Tri-Cities:

Top agents: Amy Leicht, Coldwell Banker Tomlinson; Jared Retter, Retter & Company Sotheby’s International Realty; Scott Kiehn, Coldwell Banker Tomlinson; Geoff Bowlsby, Century 21 Tri-Cities; Carol Fuller, Retter & Company Sotheby’s International Realty; Laura Harris-Hodges, Coldwell Banker Tomlinson; Jemima Crosby, Coldwell Banker Tomlinson; Jordan Barnhill, Century 21 Tri-Cities; Shana Brown, Keller Williams Columbia Basin; Toni Stanford, Keller Williams Columbia Basin; Arielle Hays, ERA Skyview Realty; Kelley Gravenslund, Century 21 Tri-Cities; Lisa Green, Keller Williams Columbia Basin.

Top small team: 3 Cities Real Estate, RE/MAX Northwest Realtors.

Top medium teams: Community Real Estate Group, Keller Williams Columbia Basin; My Home Real Estate, Keller Williams Columbia Basin.

Top large teams: Krista Hopkins Homes, Keller Williams Columbia Basin.

CERTIFICATION

• Dr. Allison Tillack of Inland Imaging, which has a location in the Tri-Cities, has become a Certified B Reader, a certification requiring specialized training through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. B Readers must be proficient in reading diagnostic imaging associated with pneumoconiosis, a lung disease caused by airborne particles, such as dust and fibers. B Readers can provide a diagnosis and follow up with patients exposed to such particles. In the United States, there are only 207 Certified B Readers. Tillack is the first to hold this certification on Inland Imaging’s professional radiology team.

BOARDS

• Washington State University Tri-Cities master’s student Isaac Marroquin joined the Board of Regents as student regent for the year. He has been involved at WSU Tri-Cities since he arrived as an undergraduate student, becoming first a student senator, then vice president of the Associated Students at Washington State University Tri-Cities the following year, finishing his final year as president of the organization. He also spent time as a part of WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor’s Leadership Council. Marroquin plans to be vocal and present early on in his new role, advocating for mental health resources and voicing the concerns of his fellow students. Outside of his education and student leadership, Marroquin works at a Starbucks and is also the president of the campus boxing club that he restarted.
• Michelle Moyer, professor and viticulture extension specialist at Washington State University, is the 2023-24 president of the Washington State University American Society for Enology and Viticulture. Moyer has been an ASEV member since 2009 and has earned several recognitions from the organization. She became a board member in 2018 and also serves as the ASEV Foundation president. Moyer received her bachelor’s degree in genetics and plant pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her Ph.D. in plant pathology from Cornell University before beginning work at Washington State University in 2011. Her work there involves addressing knowledge gaps and needs across the grape industry, connecting pest biology and plant physiology through her research and developing resources for all knowledge levels.
• Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. has appointed Rita Fisher to its board of directors. Fisher has been the chief information officer and executive vice president, supply chain, at Reynolds Consumer Products since 2017. Previously, she worked at Kraft Heinz Co. for 22 years in various roles in the areas of information technology and supply chain, ultimately becoming the vice president and head of global business services.

PROMOTIONS

• The Port of Kennewick has added a second deputy chief executive officer to its ranks. Nick Kooiker has been promoted to the position, which he’ll hold alongside current Deputy CEO Tana Bader Inglima. Kooiker is the port’s chief financial officer, and he’ll continue with those duties and take on additional responsibilities, including expanded work with the port’s Board of Commissioners. The promotion is part of the port succession planning. “I’ve been working to ensure that we have people identified and in place well in advance of, and to help mitigate for, any transitions in employment,” Port CEO Tim Arntzen said in a statement, noting that Bader Inglima has said she’ll retire in a few years. Kooiker joined the port as an assistant auditor/accountant in 2013 and became the CFO in 2016. He holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in accounting and finance from Eastern Washington University. He’s also a licensed real estate broker.
• Mark Clarke is the new nuclear facilities manager at the Hanford vitrification plant. He has nearly 40 years of experience in nuclear operations with experience in radiological operations and facility startups and has worked at the vit plant in several roles. He joined the vit plant in 2016 as deputy operations manager, working on the plant’s startup and construction. Since then, he has taken on roles with increasing responsibility, including shift operations manager, operations manager and deputy nuclear facilities manager. Previously, Clarke had worked as a nuclear plant operator and instructor with the U.S. Navy. He also spent 12 years in the decommissioning field at the Naval Reactors Facility and then returned to nuclear operations in his work at the Idaho Waste Treatment Unit as the operations manager.
• Walt Taylor is the new mission assurance manager for the Waste Treatment Completion Company at the Hanford vitrification plant. Most recently, he served as Bechtel’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste area project manager, safety and health technical representative, and interim manager of quality for the vit plant. His 30 years of experience also include spending three years as a risk and task manager for Bechtel Power. He also served 20 years as a naval officer, including as a technical advisor for naval nuclear propulsion for 11 aircraft carriers; an assistant reactor officer on USS Nimitz; and executive officer of a guided missile cruiser. Taylor graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a bachelor’s in political science and from Old Dominion University with a master’s in engineering management.

Replacing Taylor as the safety and health technical representative is Tony Campbell, who joined the project in March as deputy safety and health technical representative. Campbell has worked in safety and health in the food and chemical manufacturing industries for 25 years. His roles prior to Bechtel included director of health and safety at Lamb Weston and safety manager for ConAgra Foods and FMC. He received his bachelor’s in chemistry and master’s in environmental waste management from Idaho State University.

• Martin Valadez has been promoted to vice president for strategic initiatives at Heritage University and will oversee regional university operations and lead the development of strategic initiatives. He previously served as director of Heritage’s regional site in the Tri-Cities. Before joining Heritage, Valadez was vice president for diversity and outreach at Columbia Basin College in Pasco. He holds numerous leadership roles in the community, including serving as president of the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and chair of the Mid-Columbia Libraries Board of Trustees. He also serves on the Tri-City Economic Development Council and the state Board of Community and Technical Colleges.
• Inland Imaging has promoted John Crowley to director of operations at its Tri-Cities imaging center in Kennewick. He has worked in medical imaging since 1985 when Inland Imaging opened its first outpatient facility. He became a registered technologist specializing in ultrasound in 1989 and received a certification in vascular ultrasound in 1993. After working a year for Advanced Technology Laboratories in 1995, Crowley returned to Inland, where he became the team leader in the ultrasound department and later the director of ultrasound services. He received a master’s degree in health care management from Southern New Hampshire University. He replaces LuWanda Leskinen, who is taking an extended leave to spend time with family.

NEW HIRES

• Bryan Larson has joined United Family Center as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. He has provided comprehensive psychiatric services for the last four years and began working Aug. 1 at the United Family Center in Kennewick, where he will help those struggling with mental health and provide medication management, a new service for the center. He received his bachelor’s in nursing from Walla Walla University and worked in emergency medicine for more than a decade before pursuing a Doctorate of Nurse Practice at Washington State University.
• Nurse Practitioner Liz Vossenkemper has been hired as a provider at United Family Center in Kennewick. She received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Chamberlain University and her master’s in pediatric nursing from Marysville; she is also certified as an advanced registered nurse practitioner, a nurse practitioner in primary care, and a pediatric primary care mental health specialist. She has spent more than a decade of her career specializing in neurodevelopmental and behavioral pediatrics, and has focused on primary care, developmental and mental health needs since moving to the Tri-Cities in 2017.
• Rachel Visick has joined the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business as a news assistant and researcher. Visick, originally from Illinois, received her bachelor’s degree in English and French (comparative literature) this spring from the University of Puget Sound.
• Dr. Joel Wassermann is the new chief medical officer for Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla. Wassermann began work with Providence in 1995 upon completion of his family medicine residency at the former Providence Seattle Medical Center. He continued to work at Providence facilities throughout much of his career, including his most recent position as the CMO for Providence Swedish hospital in Edmonds, where he was also on the Swedish Board of Trustees. In his new role, he joins Chief Nursing Officer Louise Dyjur as the local executive level clinical leadership for Providence St. Mary.
• Visit Tri-Cities has hired four new staffers.
  Julie Woodward is the new director of marketing, helping to brand, encourage visits to, and increase economic impact in the Tri-Cities through her guidance of marketing, advertising and communications. Woodward most recently served as director of marketing at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and she has 30 years of experience in marketing focused on the Pacific Northwest. Her work includes involvement with brands such as Boeing, REI, Gates Foundation and Boys & Girls Clubs.
  Michele York has joined Visit Tri-Cities as the business development manager. York started her career in sales, marketing and media in Portland, Maine, where she gained recognition from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for Best Promotion.
  Lillian Martin has been hired as the media relations manager, where she will oversee social media and digital communications, promoting the Tri-Cities as a destination not only for leisure travel, but also for sporting events and conferences. Martin received her bachelor’s in marketing and economics from Western Washington University.
  Mariah Brush has joined Visit Tri-Cities as the convention development manager. In this role, she will help develop targeted outreach strategies and build relationships to ultimately showcase the Tri-Cities. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University Tri-Cities and she has a strong background in sales within the tourism industry. Brush also brings the diverse experience of working on cruise ships.
• The Tri-City Americans has hired Taylor Curry as athletic therapist for the team. Curry received her bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Washington State University and her master’s in sports medicine and injury studies from California State University, Long Beach. She most recently served as a volunteer assistant athletic therapist for the Seattle Thunderbirds during the 2022-23 season, making her well qualified to help improve athlete health in her new role with the Americans.
• Jonathon Blanchard has joined Prosser Memorial Health as a family nurse practitioner. He graduated from Washington State University summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, then worked as a registered nurse while he obtained his Doctorate of Nursing Practice from the same university. He’s worked as a charge nurse for the emergency department at Lourdes Medical Center. Blanchard is certified in basic life support, advanced cardiovascular life support, pediatric advanced life support and family practice. Blanchard’s studies have focused on rural care and community engagement. His grandmother and mother were nurses and his father was a combat medic.
• Dr. Josh Macke has joined the Prosser Memorial Hospital Emergency Department. He received his bachelor’s degree from Central Washington University, his master’s from Heritage University, and his doctorate from Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences. He has researched in the areas of public wellness and the impact of Covid-19, and he holds certifications for emergency neurologic life support, advanced trauma life support and pediatric advance life support. Prior to Prosser Memorial, Macke worked in a medical center at Midwestern University in Arizona, where he had been awarded Save of the Month and placed first in an EKG diagnostic competition.
• The Rude Mechanicals has hired two new directors. Liz Fenstermaker has joined as the new interim executive director. She has over 20 years of experience in nonprofit theater and school settings, and she earned her bachelor’s degree in theater from Smith College and a self-designed master’s degree in arts leadership and education from Lesley University. Fenstermaker has won awards as an arts educator, theatre artist and administrator, and she also holds a Washington state teaching license.
  Cyndi Kimmel is the new artistic director. Experienced in a mix of performance, dramaturgy and directing along with scholarly research, Kimmel has a bachelor’s degree in theater performance and Spanish from George Fox University and a Master of Letters and a Master of Fine Arts in Shakespeare and performance from Mary Baldwin University. She has taught and performed in the Tri-Cities since 2014.
• General surgeon Dr. Garrett M. Pool has joined Lourdes Surgical Specialists. He has more than 20 years of experience and is a board-certified general surgeon. He received his medical degree from Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine and completed his residency in general surgery at Bassett Healthcare Network in Cooperstown, New York. His training includes general, trauma, colorectal, bariatric, breast and endocrine surgical procedures, as well as minimally invasive robotic surgery.
• Petersen Hastings has hired Andrew Perez as an associate wealth advisor for the Kennewick firm. Perez graduated from Central Washington University in 2023 with a bachelor’s in business administration, specializing in personal financial planning. In his new role, he will help to support the development and management of client relationships.
• Dr. Paul Monié, Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, has joined Empowered Health Institute in Richland, with office hours beginning in October. Monié has practiced medicine in the Tri-Cities for more than a decade. He completed a residency in family medicine at the University of Wyoming and a residency in sports medicine at Riverstone Health in Billings, Montana. Monié holds a master’s degree in public health, is board-certified in Family medicine and sports medicine, and is a member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Medical Association.
• Fulcrum Environmental Consulting of Yakima has hired two new environmental technicians, Mary Jo Barker and Tarell Manjarrez. Barker graduated from UC Merced with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering, and Manjarrez received his bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences from Western Washington University.

SCHOLARSHIPS

• The Kennewick Kiwanis Foundation awarded 22 scholarships totaling $44,000 to seniors graduating from Kennewick and Finley high schools, including the renewal of scholarships previously awarded to graduates continuing their academic careers. The scholarships ranged between $1,000 and $2,500 per student. Ten readers were recruited to review and score anonymous student applications, which were weighted by student and family need (45%), service (15%), scholastic record (10%), essay (10%), leadership (10%), and personal references (10%).