Donations

• Gesa Credit Union has donated $1,000 each to five local youth baseball teams. The donation is in honor of Gesa’s new fundraising initiative with its long-standing partner, the Tri-City Dust Devils, to support youth baseball leagues in the Tri-Cities. The credit union has created a Tri-City Dust Devils co-branded Affinity Card, which helps raise funds for the local youth teams when used.
• Numerica Credit Union has covered the cost of swimming at Memorial Aquatic Park on select Fridays this summer. Numerica’s partnership with the city of Pasco to host Free Swim Friday ties into the credit union’s recent commitment to invest in local youth and families through Numerica CARES for Kids. Free Swim Fridays are available for all ages from 4-5:45 p.m., July 5, July 19, July 26, Aug. 9 and Aug. 16.

Promotions

• Local Bounti has promoted Kathleen Valiasek to president and chief financial officer, or CFO. She’s served as CFO of the indoor agriculture company, which has a location in Pasco, since April 2021. In her new role, she’ll take on expanded oversight of the company’s operations, innovation, commercial and marketing activities, while continuing to oversee its finances. Before joining Local Bounti, she held leadership roles at Amyris and Lenox Group, Inc. Valiasek has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
• Amy Basche has been tapped as the new president of Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, or HMIS. She replaces Bob Wilkinson, who’s leaving to lead Central Plateau Cleanup Company, or CPCCo. Basche has been serving as chief operations officer, or COO. Todd Synoground, vice president of infrastructure and site services, has been named acting COO.
• Kyle Harrington has been promoted from vice president/accounting manager at Yakima Federal Savings and Loan Association to senior vice president/chief financial officer. Harrington began working for the bank in 2018. He served as accounting manager for five years before being promoted to vice president in January 2023.
• Heather Staudinger has been promoted to assistant secretary and branch manager of Yakima Federal Savings and Loan Association’s Kennewick Clearwater office. She joined the bank in 2020 as a management trainee and was promoted to assistant branch manager of the Clearwater office in July 2023.

Awards & Honors 

• The Hanford Site  has received a Fiscal Year 2024 Green Fleet Award from the U.S. Department of Energy. Hanford was one of four sites within the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management to be honored for their significant contributions toward achieving a 100% zero-emissions vehicle fleet by 2035. Hanford ordered 84% light-duty zero-emissions vehicles in FY 2024, and it will receive a portion of $1.05 million in grants from the DOE Office of Management to order additional zero-emissions vehicles and install electric vehicle charging infrastructure. 
• Leslie Streeter is Leadership Tri-Cities’ Alumnus of the Year for 2023-24. She was a member of Class 18 (from 2012-13), then became the session director for four years, from 2014-18. Streeter joined the executive board as the secretary in 2018 and served until 2023. She is currently the director of marketing and communications at WSU Tri-Cities, and previously worked as the marketing director for Tri-Cities Chaplaincy.
• Dana Dollarhyde, lead communications specialist and executive assistant for the city of Kennewick, won Leadership Tri-Cities’ inaugural Christopher Turner Award. Dollarhyde was chosen by her Class 27 peers for the award, given in honor of the prominent Tri-Citian, who died in 2017. Dollarhyde serves on the Benton Franklin Humane Society’s board and volunteers for the Administrative Professional Network and Pasco-Kennewick Rotary.  
• Ji-Guang (Jason) Zhang, a scientist and laboratory fellow at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has been awarded the inaugural Department of Energy Lab Inventor of the Year Award. The award recognizes his contributions to research and efforts to bring the benefit of new technologies to society as quickly as possible. Zhang holds 40 patents and works to produce an EV battery that can pack more energy and last longer. Along with technology commercialization manager Allan Tuan, Zhang has developed a program to make it easier for companies to access new technology developed at PNNL.
• Forbes has named Banner Bank one of the 100 Best Banks in America for the eighth consecutive year. It is part of Banner Corporation, a $15.7 billion bank holding company based in Walla Walla. Forbes measured growth, credit quality and profitability for the 2023 calendar year using 10 equally weighted metrics to make the list, along with stock performance in the 12 months through March 18, 2024.
• Mid-Columbia Endoscopy Center has been ranked among the top Ambulatory Surgery Centers, or ASC, in the nation by U.S. News. There are 716 ASCs nationwide, including 10 in Washington, that were recognized for their high performance in colonoscopy and endoscopy, orthopedics and spine, ophthalmology, and urology. More than 4,800 ASCs were evaluated using three years of Medicare data, including the frequency of complications, ER visits, unplanned hospitalization and other undesirable outcomes.

Appointment

• Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick, has been named to state Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s newly formed Artificial Intelligence Task Force. The group “will convene technology experts, industry representatives, labor organizations, civil liberty groups and other stakeholders to discuss AI benefits and challenges” and issue findings, outline guiding principles and make policy recommendations, Ferguson’s office said.

New Hires

• Nathan Finke of Pasco has joined the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business as a news assistant/researcher. He earned a bachelor degree in digital technology from Washington State University Tri-Cities and an associate degree from Columbia Basin College. He worked for seven years at Yoke’s Fresh Market and as an intern for Northwest Public Broadcasting. 
• Bob Wilkinson has been chosen as the new president of Central Plateau Cleanup Company, or CPCCo, a Hanford contractor. He’s taking over for John Eschenberg, who announced he’s departing in late July. Wilkinson has 32 years of experience at Hanford, including his current role as president of Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, or HMIS.  
• Krista McElroy has joined the Columbia Ability Alliance as an employment specialist. Previously, McElroy was a preschool teacher at West Side Preschool, where she mentored students involved in the Richland School District’s Work-Based Learning program. In her new role, she will support clients with disabilities and barriers in their job searches, prepare them for interviews and provide ongoing support to ensure job retention.
• Dr. Ralph G. Laraiso has joined Prosser Memorial Health’s Prosser clinic. He has experience in physical medicine and rehabilitation, specializing in the management and treatment of acute and chronic pain. Laraiso attended Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh. He has held leadership and clinical positions at Kadlec Neuroscience Center, Alaska Regional Medical Center, TriHealth Rehabilitation Hospital and more.
• Benton REA has hired Josh Lozano as the director of Energy Policy and Contract Management. Lozano gained policy experience as Congressman  Dan Newhouse’s deputy district director. After seven years in the legislative branch, he spent three years in government affairs with Energy Northwest. Lozano holds a master’s in strategic communication from Washington State University, a bachelor’s degree in psychology from WSU Tri-Cities and an associate degree from Columbia Basin College. He is the president of the Public Relations Society of America Mid-Columbia chapter and has volunteered with several local nonprofits. He also recently was named a 2024 Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business Young Professional.
• Kurt Johnson is Gesa Credit Union’s new chief financial officer. Johnson has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He began his career in the financial service industry more than 27 years ago and has served as both the chief financial officer and chief risk officer at Educators Credit Union in Wisconsin. In his new role, Johnson will coordinate and supervise Gesa’s accounting, finance, analytics and incentive programs, as well as oversee strategic planning, operational activities and project management. 
• Gesa Credit Union has hired Steve Tagnolli as its vice president of home loans. Tagnolli graduated from Sonoma State University and has worked in a variety of sectors during his 20-year career, including mortgage, retail and commercial banking operations. He was most recently the senior vice president regional manager at Columbia Bank. Tagnolli will oversee Gesa’s Home Loan Department and staff, including overseeing its mortgage-lending portfolio and leading his team. 
• Andrew Bielat is the new executive director for the VERTical Innovation Cluster. Bielat replaces Diahann Howard, who has been the interim director since October 2023. He has more than 35 years of experience in high-stakes environments and has expertise in managing root cause analyses in sensitive situations, including commercial nuclear power, chemical weapons demilitarization, petrochemical facilities and heavy manufacturing. Bielat is based in Vancouver and holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
• Townsquare Media has hired Faith Martin as the morning host and content creator for 98.3 The Key. She was on 98.3 The Key in the 1990s and 2000s and is an award-winning on-air personality. Martin was most recently the third runner-up on the first-ever “Golden Bachelor” on ABC-TV. 
• Dr. Michael Adling has joined Prosser Memorial Health’s Benton City Clinic. He has a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine and a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from California State University Long Beach. Adling completed his residency at the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic and has provided care at Lourdes West Pasco Family Clinic. He is certified by the American Board of Osteopathic Family Medicine and is a member of both the American College of Osteopathic Family Practice and the American Osteopathic Association. 
• STCU has hired Rudy Mendoza as a commercial banking officer. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Gonzaga University and a Master of Business Administration from Seattle University. Mendoza has experience in manufacturing, sales, municipal administration and utilities, construction, military contracting and banking. He most recently worked with Umpqua Bank.
• Charlie Drader is STCU’s new vice president-director of commercial business development, based at STCU’s Tri-Cities Commercial Center. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Washington State University and most recently worked with Umpqua Bank. Drader is an experienced commercial banker who has led teams in business lending, portfolio management and credit analysis at the executive level. 
• Kim Jackson is the deputy general manager of the Waste Treatment Completion Company, an LLC comprised of Bechtel National Inc. and Amentum. Jackson most recently served as the chief operating officer for Washington River Protection Solutions. Prior to that, she was the vice president of Operations at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant and has worked at the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot as a systems engineering manager and operations manager. Jackson has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Oklahoma. 
• Wendy Williams is the new mortgage operations manager for Community First Bank and HFG Trust. She has 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry and spent the last 12 years managing a team responsible for processing, closing and funding home loans. Williams has experience in purchase, refinance, construction and home equity loans.