NEW HIRES

• Bryan Jones has been selected as the new assistant superintendent of elementary education for the Richland School District. He comes to Richland from the Burlington-Edison School District, where he was the assistant superintendent. He’s held numerous positions in his career, from coach, teacher and principal to executive director of equity and learning. Jones has a bachelor’s degree from Washington State University, a master’s degree from the University of Seattle, and a doctorate in education and a superintendent certificate from the University of Washington.
• Brandin Lopez has joined the Port of Benton as the engineering and development manager. He most recently worked as a senior project manager at Amazon Web Services. Lopez also worked for the city of Richland for 14 years where he earned his license as a professional land surveyor. He will bring his knowledge of planning, organizing, engineering and more to lead his new team.
• New U Women’s Clinic has hired Raina Chandler for the aesthetics team. Chandler is a registered nurse with a background in critical care and emergency medicine. She has bachelor’s degrees in biology and nursing, plus four years of experience “on the front lines of healthcare,” a news release said. She’s now focusing on beauty and medical aesthetics and holds aesthetic certifications from the Allergan Medical Institute and Merz Aesthetics.
• Kennewick has two new deputy city managers. Dan Legard and Cary Roe, both longtime members of the city staff, recently were appointed to the posts. Legard came on board in 2002 as an accounting supervisor and worked his way to finance director and deputy city manager. He briefly left the city last fall but returned earlier this year. Roe joined the city in 2014 as the public works director after working for the city of Federal Way.
• Amy Kohn has been chosen as the new principal of Rowena Chess Elementary School in Pasco. She’s worked as an educator for 18 years, starting her career as a seventh-grade teacher at Stevens Middle School in Pasco. She’s also worked as an instructional coach, assistant principal and assistant director of state and federal programs in Pasco, and she was principal of Wahitis Elementary in Othello.
• Lt. Col. Kathryn Werback is the new commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District. Werback, who replaces Lt. Col. ShaiLin Kingslack, has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of California at Davis and a master’s degree in engineering management from Missouri University of Science and Technology. The Walla Walla District provides hydropower, environmental stewardship, flood risk management and recreation opportunities, and maintains a commercial navigation channel in the Snake and Columbia River basins.
• James Darling has taken on the role of operations director at Energy Northwest. He came on board in 2006 as a system engineer and has held positions including project manager, system engineering supervisor, work control manager, shift support supervisor and control room supervisor. He earned his senior reactor operator license in 2023. Darling holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Idaho and a master’s degree in project management from Colorado Technical University.
• Dr. Phat Pham, a pediatric cardiologist with Providence Medical Group, is now seeing patients full time at the Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital Specialty Clinic in Richland. Pham completed his medical degree at the University of Washington School of Medicine, his pediatric residency training at University of Minnesota and his pediatric cardiology training at Oregon Health and Science University. He completed advanced training in pediatric interventional cardiology at University of California San Francisco.
• Kelly Leonard is the new principal of Robert Frost Elementary School in Pasco. She previously worked as assistant principal at Virgie Robinson Elementary in Pasco, and she’s taught students from kindergarten through seventh grade, coached teachers in English language arts and math, collaborated on curriculum development and directed school musicals during her 16 years in education.
• Eriberto Frias is the new assistant principal at Rowena Chess Elementary School in Pasco. Frias previously was an assistant principal for Pasco High School and Three Rivers Elementary School, both in Pasco. He also has 12 years of experience as a sixth-grade teacher and as a behavior intervention specialist.
• Alfredo Arroyo is the new assistant principal at Stevens Middle School in Pasco. Arroyo has experience teaching grades 3-7, dual language for grades 4 and 6, and leading schoolwide improvements. 
• Elizabeth Capetillo is the new assistant principal at McLoughlin Middle School in Pasco. Capetillo began her career teaching fourth-grade math at Harrah Elementary in White Swan. She most recently was the MTSS Coordinator in the Kennewick School District. 
• Erin Martin is one of the new assistant principals at Pasco High School. Martin brings 23 years of experience as a high school science teacher. She holds a master’s degree in physics education and is currently pursuing a doctorate in math and science education at Washington State University.
• Alejandra Mendoza is one of the new assistant principals at Pasco High School. She’s had a diverse career, serving as a WorkFirst coordinator and in other roles at Yakima Valley Community College and then moving on to an academic and career counselor position at Renton Technical College. She eventually returned to Yakima Valley College to focus on the Open Doors Program and worked with school students at Legacy High School in Kennewick, focusing on long-term English language learners.
• Jessica Sanchez is the new assistant principal at Captain Gray STEM Elementary School in Pasco. With 11 years in education, Sanchez has taught, coached, and served as assistant principal at Chinook Middle School in Kennewick.
• Kylee Sixkiller-Bossert is the new assistant principal at Virgie Robinson Elementary School in Pasco. She brings extensive experience, having taught for five years in the Yakima School District before moving to Pasco High School, where she taught for four years and then served as assistant principal for another four years. 
• Amanda Wilson is the new principal of Columbia River Elementary School in Pasco. Wilson hasa taught seventh- and eighth-grade English language arts and history at Liberty Christian School in Richland, served as a technology teacher at Stevens Middle School in Pasco, and taught sixth grade at both Stevens and Marie Curie STEM Elementary School in Pasco. Most recently, she was the assistant principal at Captain Gray STEM Elementary School in Pasco.
• Dr. Matthew J. Thompson has joined Good Shepherd Health Care System in Hermiston as an orthopedic surgeon. Thompson is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the American Academy of Hip and Knee Surgeons and a member of the Connective Tissue Oncology and Musculoskeletal Tumor societies. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center and a fellowship at the University of Washington, where he served as an assistant professor and fellowship program director.

AWARDS & HONORS

• Kriston Brooks, a Project Management Office director at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, has won the 2023 Department of Energy Office of Classification Outstanding DC Award. The award is given to people who’ve made significant contributions to the classification community. Brooks joined PNNL in 1992.
• Several wastewater treatment facilities in Benton and Franklin counties have earned 2023 Outstanding Wastewater Treatment Plant awards from the state Department of Ecology. The local award winners include Benton City, Kennewick, Prosser, West Richland, Pasco and the Basin City Mobile Home Park wastewater treatment facilities.
• Julia Kahl, a teacher at Mark Twain Elementary School in Pasco, has been selected as a WSECU Teacher of the Week. Kahl was nominated by Jennifer Yaniz, parent of one of her students. Kahl will receive a $500 classroom grant and two suite tickets to a Seattle Mariners game, where she will be presented the check. An additional $500 will be awarded to Mark Twain Elementary.
• Michelle Clary, founder and CEO of Piton Wealth in Kennewick, has been ranked 24th on AdvisorHub magazine’s nationwide list of 100 Women Advisors. Criteria included scope of practice, growth of practice and professionalism. It’s the third straight year Clary has been ranked nationally by the magazine. She was ranked among the fastest-growing advisors in 2023 and among advisors at firms under $1 billion in 2022.
• Calvin Chunn, principal of Marcus Whitman Elementary School in Richland, received the Public School Employees 2024 Honorary Member of the Year Award at the PSE convention on Aug. 3 in Spokane. Chunn was nominated by a staff member, who praised his efforts to build a positive school environment. Chunn recently was appointed principal of Marcus Whitman Elementary after serving as the assistant principal since 2021.
• Laura Jones, Pasco School District’s director of career and technical education, has been named Outstanding Administrator of the Year by Washington Family and Consumer Sciences Educators. She’s made significant contributions to Pasco schools, including helping plan and prepare for the two new high schools opening in 2025, the district said. 

PROMOTIONS

• Hanford Mission Integration Solutions has announced several organizational leadership changes:
  • Amy Basche as president and Todd Synoground as chief operations officer.
  • Rick Boarder has been named the vice president for the Infrastructure & Site Services organization. Joy McCrea has been promoted to the deputy vice president role.
  • Daniel Sauceda is now the vice president for Interface & Integration Services, while Jennifer Ollero has been named the deputy vice president.
  • Diane Cato will become the vice president for Mission Assurance with Darci Teel’s retirement. 
  • Grant Ryan has been promoted to vice president of the Engineering & Projects team. Drew Thomas will be acting as chief engineer. 
  • Casey de Groof has been named the new deputy vice president of Safeguards, Security & Emergency Response. Lorie Blehm will remain with the organization as she transitions toward retirement.
  • Arun S. Agarwal has been promoted to chief technology officer of OCOchem, a venture-backed clean tech company pioneering the electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide to value-added chemicals, fuels and materials. He previously served as the vice president of engineering for OCOchem. Agarwal has a doctorate in chemical engineering from Case Western University.
  • Carlo D’Alessandro has been promoted to public works director for the city of Richland after serving in the role on an interim basis since April. D’Alessandro joined the city in 2021 as transportation and development manager. He brings a wealth of knowledge and a proven track record to his new role, city officials said. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.

APPOINTMENTS

• Tri-Cities Airport Director Buck Taft has been appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee to the state’s newly formed Commercial Aviation Work Group. Taft went to Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in aviation management. The Commercial Aviation Work Group brings together industry leaders to assess the travel needs of the region, address key challenges and come up with workable solutions.
• The city of Pasco has appointed Craig Raymond as the new deputy director of community and economic development. Raymond comes to Pasco with a background in community development, building, permitting, code enforcement and planning. He will be involved in the operations and functions of all community and economic development divisions including inspection services, development services, planning, and the community development block grant program.

DONATIONS

• Dozens of young people from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties are receiving free haircuts this summer thanks to a partnership among the Kennewick Police Department Foundation, Legacy Barbershop and Highstreet Insurance Partners. Four free haircut events are planned throughout the summer, including one on July 24 in which 50 kids from the club’s Kennewick Clubhouse visited the two Legacy Barbershop locations in Kennewick.
• The annual Providence St. Mary Foundation Golf Tournament held on July 19 raised $100,000 to support programs, services and equipment at Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla. Foundation board member Bob Schumacher served as emcee for a tournament reception and awards presentation.
• Boys & Girls Club of Benton and Frankin Counties middle schoolers went back-to-school shopping with the help of Kohl’s. On Aug. 6, middle schoolers from Pasco and Kennewick visited the Richland department store to shop for new clothes, shoes, backpacks and accessories. Kohl’s provided the youth $1,000 to cover all purchases.

SCHOLARSHIPS

• Riley Thames, a recent graduate of Adrienne C. Nelson High School in Happy Valley, Oregon, received a $2,500 STAR Scholarship from the P.E.O. International Sisterhood. She is the granddaughter of Diane Wicks, a member of Chapter AQ in Kennewick, the sponsoring chapter, which has been a part of the Tri Cities for more than 100 years. Thames will attend the University of Oregon in the fall where she will major in theater arts and business.
• Numerica Credit Union, which has branches throughout the Tri-Cities, has awarded $20,000 in scholarships to 16 students. The $tarting Off Right Scholarship helps graduating high school seniors pursue higher education. The Spokane Valley-headquartered Numerica has provided more than $235,000 in scholarships since 2016.