NEW HIRES

• Charito C. White, a registered nurse practitioner, recently joined the Market Cardiology team at Trios Care Center at Southridge. She provides patient-centered cardiology care with an emphasis on prevention, education and long-term heart health. White earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing from Washington State University College of Nursing in Richland. She later completed her Master of Science in nursing – family nurse practitioner degree from Purdue University Global in Lafayette, Indiana.

• Stephanie Hallman is the new director of Senior Life Solutions at Lourdes Health in Pasco. She has more than 30 years of nursing and healthcare leadership experience, including work in geriatric care, occupational health and workforce development. As program director, Hallman will help expand access to specialized behavioral health services for seniors throughout the community.

• Dr. Kent Blakely is the new board-certified rheumatologist at Good Shepherd Health Care System in Hermiston. He brings more than 30 years of experience in rheumatology, providing care for those with inflammatory arthritis, autoimmune disease and osteoporosis. He completed his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita, Kansas, and went on to complete his internal medicine residency and rheumatology training at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania.

• Tyler Christensen is a new gastroenterology specialist at Lourdes and Trios. He provides care for a wide range of gastrointestinal conditions, including gastroesophageal reflux disease, abdominal pain, chronic heartburn and more. He earned his associate degree in nursing from Walla Walla Community College and his Bachelor of Science in nursing from Chamberlain College of Nursing. He went on to complete his Master of Science in nursing from Maryville University.

• Lauren Mleczko is the newest wealth advisor at Cornerstone Wealth Strategies in Kennewick. Mleczko is a Tri-Cities native and brings more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, serving the eastern Oregon region.

AWARDS & HONORS

• Three local early learning programs operated by Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties recently received the highest quality rating from Washington state, placing them among the top 2% of preschool and nursery programs in the Tri-Cities and among the top 5% of programs in Washington state. The nonprofit’s preschool and nursery programs received the highest quality rating from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families. Discovery Preschool in Kennewick, Discovery Preschool & Nursery at Columbia Basin College and Discovery Nursery at Legacy High School received a level 5 Early Achievers Quality Rating. The top rating is reserved for early learning programs that excel in continuous quality improvement for the children they serve. Out of hundreds of programs in the Tri-Cities, only six (three being from Boys & Girls Clubs) have achieved this rating. All three Boys & Girls Clubs programs will receive $9,000 a year for the next three years to make improvements to their programs.

• The Kennewick School District’s communications team earned eight national awards in the 2026 National School Public Relations Association awards program. The district earned four golden achievement awards for its 2026 levy communications campaign, school safety marketing and communications campaign, bus driver recruitment campaign and school engagement dashboards; two awards of excellence for its Connect, Explore, Discover: Family-Friendly website and “Get Off My Lawn – It’s the 100th Day of School!” photo; an award of merit for the infographic, “A Year of Impact: District Achievements 2025;” and one honorable mention for social media, “Safety Officers vs. Gen Z Slang: What’s 67?”

• Echolands Winery, a winery in Walla Walla, received a platinum award for the second year in a row from Decanter Magazine’s world wine awards. Echolands’ Cabernet Franc Blue Mountain Vineyard 2023 received 97 points from Decanter. The wine was crafted by winemaker Brian Rudin.

• The Lodge at Columbia Point in Richland recently received Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Award. Each year, Tripadvisor celebrates hotels that consistently deliver exceptional experiences based on guest reviews and ratings.

• Penny McKenzie and Quin Miller, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory both received the inaugural U.S. Department of Energy Distinguished Mentor Award for Workplace Development. The award recognizes the role scientific and technical mentors play in preparing the next generation of researchers. Beyond mentoring, both scientists lead research efforts with national impact at the national lab in Richland. McKenzie leads innovative Internet of Things (IoT) and cyber-physical security initiatives, including the Lab’s IoT Common Operating Environment and cybersecurity workforce development programs in partnership with the U.S. Space Force. Miller specializes in applying geochemistry for critical mineral and energy applications, using the Earth as a Reactor approach for unlocking domestic resources at scale by using the chemical and thermal energy of the subsurface.

• Scott Whalen of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory was named as the U.S. Department of Energy National Innovator of the Year. Whalen, a prolific inventor with 23 granted and 13 pending U.S. patents, is a mechanical engineer by training and an inventor by sheer force of will. His signature patented achievement, Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion, or ShAPE, uses extreme deformation to transform solid metal feedstocks directly into useful machined parts without melting them. The award is his third such national accolade. He was named a Distinguished Inventor by Battelle, which operates PNNL for DOE, in 2025. Before that, he was PNNL’s Inventor of the Year in 2023. His teams have received two R&D 100 Awards, which annually recognize the most significant technology innovations of the year. 

DONATIONS

• Numerica Credit Union donated $532,000 to 23 nonprofits across the region through its annual Numerica Charitable Fund. Tri-Cities recipients include Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties, $25,000; Columbia Basin College Foundation, $25,000; Communities in Schools of Benton-Franklin $25,000; Lutheran Community Services Northwest, $25,000; and Safe Harbor Support Center, $20,000.

• Heritage University raised a record $1.9 million for student scholarships through its signature fundraising event, Bounty of the Valley Scholarship Dinner and Paddle Raise, taking place both in Seattle and Toppenish.  

CERTIFICATIONS

• CI Information Management (CIIM) recently completed ISO 27001 certification through Amtivo. This certification is the internationally recognized standard for information security management systems. Achieving certification confirms that every process in the Kennewick-based company’s operation, from scheduling and chain of custody to final destruction and certificate of destruction issuance, is conducted under verified, repeatable systems built to protect sensitive information at every step. CIIM offers on-site mobile document shredding, scheduled recurring programs, hard drive and media destruction and more across much of eastern and central Washington and northeastern Oregon.

• Danya Taylor, business development and event services manager at Visit Tri-Cities, has earned the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute. The PMP is a widely recognized certification which validates a candidate’s ability to successfully lead projects, teams and business initiatives across a variety of industries and organizational environments. To earn the credential, applicants must demonstrate significant project leadership experience and pass a rigorous examination designed to measure competency across three key domains: people, process and business environment. The exam evaluates a candidate’s ability to apply project management principles and make effective decisions in real-world scenarios.