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Leadership changes

• Kennewick School District has announced three new assistant directors and an assistant superintendent. They will begin work in their new positions in July. 
  • Amy Martinez will be the new assistant director of human resources. She has worked at Kennewick School District for the past six years and is currently the human resources coordinator. Martinez has a bachelor’s degree in human resources management from Western Governors University and is currently earning a master’s in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University.
  • Chelsea Venegas has been named the assistant director of special services. Venegas currently works as an assistant principal in the Houston Independent School District. She has also worked as a special education department chair/autism behavior and as a self-contained special education teacher. Venegas holds a bachelor’s degree from California State University – San Marcos and will complete here master’s degree in educational leadership at University of Texas – Arlington in June.
  • Brittany Mercer will be the new assistant director of learning support and programs. She has served as the principal at Eastgate Elementary School for the past eight years. The school is in its third year of transitioning to a dual language program. Mercer received her associate degree in Spanish, bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and master’s degree in educational leadership from Brigham Young University.
  • Thomas Brillhart will be the new assistant superintendent of operations. He currently serves as the assistant superintendent of operations for New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated Schools in Louisville, Indiana. Brillhart has 19 years of experience working in public education in a variety of roles in districts from small to large. He has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Indiana State University and a Doctorate in Education from Oakland City University. In his new role, Brillhart will lead and oversee human resources, business services, nutrition services, transportation, facilities and capital projects.
• STCU has added two vice president-directors as a part of a recent organizational realignment.
  • Nate Wehunt has joined the credit union as the first vice president-director of digital and consumer products. He previously led digital banking and e-commerce teams for City National Bank and Harris Bank in California and Illinois, respectively. Wehunt is a small business owner and has experience in digital banking and product development. He grew up in the northwest and attended Spokane Falls Community College, Eastern Washington University and the University of Washington. 
  • Josh Hurley has been promoted to assistant vice president-director of continuous improvement. He has been with STCU since 2018 as the continuous improvement manager. Hurley’s new role will build on the credit union’s process improvements and help it achieve strategic objectives, with special attention to cohesive planning across the organization.

Grants

• Heartlinks has been awarded $60,000 by the Board of Yakima County commissioners through the Yakima County American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The grant will be used to provide more no-cost grief support services to the community, including additional grief support groups, development of a new Blooming Hearts children’s grief program, community education workshops, advanced care planning seminars and a free monthly grief-support e-newsletter.
• STCU has awarded $20,000 in classroom grants to 100 randomly selected educators. Grants can be spent on anything that will enhance the students’ classroom experience, whether it is a basic need or something special. 2024 marks the 11th year that STCU has offered the grants. Local grant winners include:
  • Kahlotus School District: Corri Ellis.
  • Kennewick School District: Anna Smith, Canyon View Elementary School; CJ Gose, Cottonwood Elementary School; Tia Monzingo, Highland Middle School.
  • Kiona-Benton City School District: Alicia Biddle, Benton City Middle School; Bret Cox, Benton City High School.
  • Pasco School District: Jamie Chavez, Captain Gray STEM Elementary School; Lorena Hernandez, Chiawana High School; Alejandra Segura, Ochoa Middle School; Veronica Gilmore, Ruth Livingston Elementary School.
  • Prosser School District: Beth Buchholz, Keen Riverview Elementary School; Stacy Bort, Prosser Heights Elementary School.
  • Richland School District: Leta Lathim, Carmichael Middle School; Katey Bryan, Desert Sky Elementary School; Brittney Duffy, Jefferson Elementary School; Katie Garrett, Leona Libby Middle School; Rebecca Hollis, Sacajawea Elementary School; Carolyn Sturges, Three Rivers HomeLink.

Promotions

• Brett Zimmerman is ALLWEST’s new chief operations officer. Zimmerman joined ALLWEST in 2009 as a field technician and has served in various positions from special inspector to department manager. In 2022 he was promoted to director of environmental services. Zimmerman also served as the interim Hayden area manager during an unexpected leadership transition in 2023. ALLWEST has offices in the Tri-Cities.
• Chris Mortensen is the new deputy chief of the Pasco Fire Department. He has 18 years of experience in emergency services. Mortensen attended the paramedic school at Columbia Basin College in Pasco and spent time serving in Grant County and Moses Lake before returning to Pasco in 2016. He is a member of Leadership Tri-Cities Class 27 and serves on the Support, Advocacy & Resource Center board.

New Hires

• Mathew Legard has become an associate wealth advisor for Petersen Hastings Wealth Advisors in Kennewick. Legard received his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from Gonzaga University in 2023. He worked as a lending intern in the commercial and personal loans division at a local community bank, where he gained experience in client relations.
• Mariana Neeway has joined Prosser Memorial Health. She is a certified advanced registered nurse practitioner specializing in psychiatric care. Neeway has more than 10 years of experience serving the Tri-Cities community, including time as a nurse in the Pasco School District. She received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Washington State University, followed by a bachelor’s in nursing from WSU Spokane. Neeway received a Doctor of Nursing Practice in psychiatric and mental health at Washington State University Tri-Cities, where she has served as a clinical assistant professor since 2019.
• Columbia Ability Alliance in Kennewick has hired David Haldeman as divisional programs manager. He had previously worked with Columbia Ability Alliance as an employment specialist. In his new role, Haldeman will oversee the Employment Services and Empowerment Place resources center and foster relationships with employers. He also will focus on increasing the number of job placements.
• Chris Waite is Richland’s new parks and public facilities director. In his 19-year career, Waite was the parks and recreation director for the city of Umatilla, Oregon. In Montana, he worked as the cemetery/parks supervisor and as a volunteer coordinator for Billings Parks and Recreation. He has a Master of Public Administration from the University of Montana and a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University-Idaho. Waite is a certified parks and recreation executive, a certified playground safety inspector and is affiliated with the National Recreation and Park Association.  

Awards & Honors

• Matthew Riesenweber has been recognized in this year’s list of the Forbes/SHOOK Best-in-State Wealth Advisors for his success in the financial services industry. Riesenweber, the CEO and wealth advisor of Cornerstone Wealth Strategies, was recognized as the No. 6 advisor in Washington. Advisors are selected based on both quantitative and qualitative data, and are assessed on criteria including interviews, years of experience, compliance records and assets under management. 
• Judge Norma Rodriguez is the grand marshal for 2024’s Cinco de Mayo parade. Rodriguez is a graduate of Gonzaga University and was the first Hispanic woman to serve as a judge in the Superior Court of Benton and Franklin Counties. She spent 25 years with the legal firm Rodriguez Interiano Hanson & Rodgers PLLC and has tackled significant cases over the years. Rodriguez was also honored as the Latina of the Year by La Voz Hispanic Newspaper in 2022. 
• Ashwin Joshi has been selected as one of 161 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholars. Scholars are selected annually based on academic success, excellence in the arts and demonstrated commitment to community service and leadership. Two students from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and U.S. families living abroad were selected, as well as 15 chosen at-large, 20 Scholars in the arts and 20 Scholars in career and technical education. Joshi attends Southridge High School in Kennewick and chose to recognize Jannette Salisbury of the same school as his most influential teacher. 
• Michelle Clary and Nicholas Mercer, both wealth advisors with Piton Wealth of the Thrivent Advisor Network, have received the 2023 Voices in Philanthropy award from Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing. They were selected based on the total outright and deferred charitable gifts made by their clients through Thrivent Charitable in 2023. Only 81 financial advisors have been recognized with this award nationwide. They each achieved this recognition individually. Additionally, Clary is a member of the Thrivent Charitable VIP Hall of Honor, which honors her clients’ cumulative charitable gifts meeting or exceeding $5 million.
• STCU has won five Diamond Awards from the Marketing and Business Development Council of America’s Credit Unions. STCU received the following awards: Greatest Impact, for wildfire relief; Complete Campaign, for STCU Business; Video Commercial, Single or Series, for STCU Business’ “Frank” campaign; Category’s Best for Rebrand/New Corporate Identity, for STCU Business; and Content Marketing, for STCU Money Blog. Most notable was the Carat Award for Greatest Impact, which recognized STCU’s response to the 2023 Gray and Oregon Road wildfires. 
• Rachel Fidino has been named one of the Top 50 Women Leaders in Washington State by Women We Admire. Fidino is the CEO and owner of New U Women’s Clinic and Aesthetics in Kennewick. Fidino is an advanced practice registered nurse with over 12 years of clinical experience. She ranked 13 on the list of top women leaders, which recognized her for launching an organic skincare line, La Canneberge, made from cranberries organically certified and grown in Washington. Fidino has also founded a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit called the Healing Hands Project that improves menstrual health and access to feminine hygiene products for low-income or homeless women. 

Certifications

• Tara Wiswall, a financial advisor at Edward Jones in Richland, has received her certified financial planner certification. Wiswall has worked at Edward Jones since 2018 and is responsible for retirement strategies and investment services. The CFP certification requires successful completion of financial planning coursework and passing a six-hour comprehensive exam.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a new certification program, Energy Star NextGen Certified Homes and Apartments. The program recognizes new homes and apartments with increased energy efficiency, reduced on-site emissions through heat pumps, heat pump water heaters and electric cooking appliances, and residential electric vehicle charging. New Tradition Homes is one of the companies around the country which has already begun to build to these specifications.