NEW HIRES

• Maria Holden is the newest physician associate at Good Shepherd Primary Care in Hermiston. She earned her Master of Physician Assistant Studies from A.T. Still University in Mesa, Arizona, after completing a Bachelor of Health Science from Pacific University in Hillsboro, Oregon. She has been practicing in Hermiston for the past three years.

• Marcus Rafanelli is the newest winemaker at Woodward Canyon in Lowden. He will take over from longtime winemaker Kevin Mott, who joined the winery in 2003. Originally from Seattle, Rafanelli has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Boise State University. He also has a degree in viticulture and enology from Walla Walla Community College. He spent almost six years as winemaker at William Church Winery in Woodinville, starting at the winery in 2008.

• David Bruce is the new senior electrical engineer for Kennewick’s Meier Architecture • Engineering’s electrical group. He brings more than 13 years of experience in electrical engineering. His background includes facility management, electrical systems design and complex project execution across hydroelectric, nuclear and industrial facilities. Bruce holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Northern Arizona University.

• Becca Reinhard is the new certified physician assistant specializing in gastroenterology and hepatology at Prosser Memorial health’s digestive health center. Before joining Prosser Memorial Health, Reinhard provided gastroenterology care in the Tri-Cities region, where she focused on outpatient digestive health, hepatology and more. She has a Master of Physician Assistant studies from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and her Bachelor of Science in health from Texas A&M University.

• Board-certified ophthalmologist Dr. Adam Ahmadi is the new medical director of Good Shepherd Ophthalmology. This is a new clinic at Good Shepherd, offering comprehensive medical and surgical care for routine and complex eye diseases. Ahmadi completed his ophthalmology residency at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and a surgical glaucoma fellowship at Louisiana State University in New Orleans. He earned his Doctor of Medicine at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C.

• First Interstate Bank, which has a Kennewick branch, has added three new leaders to its Washington Leadership team in Spokane:

• Cameron Mosher is the new state president. He has four years of experience with First Interstate, and more than 34 years in the financial service industry. 
• Ben Haag is the new commercial market president. He is based in downtown Spokane and is approaching 20 years with First Interstate.
• Brandon Kerr is the new banking market leader. He is a 31-year First Interstate veteran who leads consumer and small business growth across 13 locations.

PROMOTIONS

• Catholic Charities of Central Washington has appointed Manuel Villafán Jr. as chief executive officer and president, effective March 1. He also will serve as CEO of Catholic Charities Housing Services. Villafán succeeds Darlene Darnell, who has led the organization as president and CEO since 2016. Villafán brings more than a decade of service to Catholic Charities. His involvement began as a member of the Board of Trustees, followed by nine years as chief operating officer and vice president. During that time, he helped guide operational strategy, strengthen cross-sector partnerships and expand services in some of the region’s most underserved communities. During his tenure, the organization expanded programs in early learning, youth and young adult services, behavioral health and affordable housing. Catholic Charities serves more than 65,000 people annually across 22 counties in Central Washington.   

• STCU promoted two long-tenured employees to vice president-director positions.

• Jessica Golladay was promoted to senior vice president of credit administration. She has 27 years of experience in the finance industry, the last 15 of which were spent at STCU. Golladay has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business from Western Governors University.
• Meghan Kidder was promoted to vice president of human resources. She has spent her entire career at STCU, with one year as a teller before joining HR in 2006. She was most recently employee relations and total rewards manager. Kidder has a bachelor’s in human resources from Eastern Washington University.

• Baker Boyer has promoted two people within its Tri-Cities office.

• Elisabeth Holt, who currently serves as Tri-Cities manager, will expand her leadership role to include family advisor responsibilities. Holt will join the D.S. Baker Advisors team, supporting some of the largest and most complex client relationships in the Tri-Cities.
• Stuart Gillin will take on additional responsibilities within the portfolio management team. Over the past eight years, Gillin has helped clients navigate the complexities of their financial lives through his work as both a family advisor and investment advisor.

APPOINTMENT

• Trios Health has appointed two physician leaders to associate program director roles within its graduate medical education programs.

• Dr. Drew Ableman has been appointed associate program director for the family medicine residency program. In his new role, Ableman, who joined Trios in July 2025, will support the program director in key areas of the residency program, including teaching and scholarly activity, resident recruitment and selection, evaluation and promotion, and clinical supervision.
• Dr. Sridivya Kosuri has been appointed associate program director for the internal medicine residency program. In her new role, Kosuri, who joined Trios in 2022, will assist the program director across all aspects of the residency program, with a particular focus on leadership within the inpatient faculty setting.

• United Way of Benton & Franklin Counties has appointed three people to its board of directors.

• Scott Booth has been appointed board chair. He is the operations director at Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure. Booth joined the United Way Board in 2018 and has served as chair of the administration committee and board treasurer.
• Corey Osborn has been appointed treasurer. He is the vice president for human resources and legal affairs at Columbia Basin College. Before his current role at CBC, Osborn worked for the city of Kennewick for nearly a decade as the human resource director and city attorney.
• Laura Eder has been appointed immediate past board chair. She is the vice president of production for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and has been with the company for almost 20 years. Eder has been an active volunteer with the United Way in several capacities since 2018, including as a founding member of United Way’s Young Professionals Society and Festival of Trees committee.

CERTIFICATIONS

• Five Richland School District educators have recently earned their National Board Certification, one of the most prestigious recognitions in the education profession:

• Angela Forrester, Early Learning Center teacher, certified in generalist/early childhood.
• Jessica Kinney, science teacher at River’s Edge High School, certified in science/adolescence and young adulthood.
• Pamela Lucas, first grade teacher at Jason Lee Elementary, certified in literacy: reading-language arts/early and middle childhood.
• Sarah Sarver, math teacher at Chief Joseph Middle School, certified in mathematics/early adolescence.
• Andrea Tamez, first grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary, certified in generalist/early childhood.

AWARDS & HONORS

• Ricardo (Rick) Garza and Daniel Tlatenchi received the Port of Kennewick’s Friends of the Port award for their devotion and personal stewardship of port’s Columbia Gardens Artisan Village, Clover Island and Vista Field properties. They also were recognized for managing the Columbia Gardens vineyard to great success. Garza and Tlatenchi also were the first to notice the Clover Island Yacht Club boathouse fire, and their timely response helped minimize damage within the marina. The men are contracted to the port through a temporary agency. The annual Friends of the Port award recognizes outstanding service to the port and the community.

• Six researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory won early career research awards recently, a record number for PNNL. The winners include chemist Richard Cox, chemical engineer Josh Elmore, computational scientist Hadi Dinpajooh, materials scientist Le Wang, and Earth scientists Avni Malhotra and Nick Ward. Each awardee receives $2.75 million in research funding over five years. The awards are given to scientists at DOE national laboratories, Office of Science user facilities and U.S. academic institutions.

• U.S. Navy Damage Controlman 1st Class Anna Dickin, a Kennewick native, received the 2025 Mid-Grade Enlisted Military Instructor of the Year award on Feb. 19 for her work as a Navy instructor assigned to Surface Warfare Schools Command Engineering Learning Site in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She was selected by Naval Education and Training Command as a top instructor among nearly 7,500 others serving across the domain, from Navy Boot Camp through the Navy’s advanced training centers and schoolhouses.

• Lauren Edmondson, a music teacher at Ray Reynolds Middle School in Pasco, was named by the Columbia Basin Music Educators Association as an outstanding music educator. She received the honor over Presidents Day weekend at the Washington Music Educators Association conference.

• Forrest McKinnis, a career and technical education teacher at River’s Edge High School in Richland, has been named the Innovative Educator of the Year by the Northwest Council for Computer Education. McKinnis brings emerging technologies and fresh instructional strategies back to his classroom and school community. He played a key role in transforming instruction through intentional, student-centered technology integration. He helped lead the school’s transition to a project-based learning model, where students apply academic content to real-world experiences. In his business and marketing courses, students earn multiple credits while developing digital products for real clients, building confidence, independence, and career-ready skills in the process.

• Two eighth-graders from Enterprise Middle School in West Richland recently served as legislative pages at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia. Selected by Sen. Perry Dozier, Phoenix Miller and Rosalie Ross spent a week immersed in the legislative process, gaining firsthand experience in how state government operates. During their time at the Capitol, they each authored separate mock bills that were debated and voted on by fellow pages. 

• Shelley Kennedy of Edward Jones in Richland recently was named to the 2026 Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-in-State by Forbes SHOOK. The list was determined through industry experience, best practices, compliance records and assets under management. Kennedy was ranked number 35 in Washington state.

• Ben Franklin Transit’s marketing and communications team received a first-place American Public Transportation Association AdWheel award for producing the transit’s first ever staff yearbook. The book was distributed to staff members in December 2025, and it encapsulates one year of events and highlights of the year. 

DONATION

• Hanford Vitrification Plant employees raised more than $25,000 in support of Special Olympics Washington at the Tri-Cities Polar Plunge. A total of 30 vit plant workers took the plunge into the Columbia on Feb. 7 at Columbia Point Marina Park. Funds raised during the annual Polar Plunge directly support year-round sports training, competitions, leadership development and health programs for Special Olympics athletes across Washington state.

GRANTS

• The Wildhorse Foundation awarded a total of $353,606 in quarterly grant funding to 25 organizations, some of which directly support the Tri-Cities. Each year the foundation makes grants to eligible nonprofit, government and Tribal organizations within the homeland area of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla people. Local groups receiving grants were:

• Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo received $12,500 for a youth arena upgrade.
• Eastern Washington Wind Symphony in Kennewick received $5,000 for the Eastern Washington Community Concert and Education Series.
• Washington DECA received $5,000 to support the Richland and Kennewick DECA program.