Business beat
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Architecture
• The Spokane office of NAC Architecture promoted Randall Wilson from project manager to principal and Tami Barnes from accountant to associate.
Communication
• Jerry Jensen has been hired by Mapleton Communications as vice president/market manager for Radio Spokane. He has 39 years of radio experience and previously worked for Clear Channel in Spokane.
Education
• Washington State University has hired Huey-Ming Tzeng as associate dean of academic programs for the College of Nursing. Tzeng previously served as a full-time professor and associate director of nursing and undergraduate programs at the University of Michigan, where she also earned a master’s degree in nursing administration and a doctorate in nursing.
• Greg Bever has been appointed by Gov. Christine Gregoire to serve on Community Colleges of Spokane’s board of trustees for a second five-year term. Bever previously served as publisher of the Spokane Journal of Business for 15 years, retiring this past January.
Energy
• Avista Corp. has named Collins Sprague director of government relations. Sprague has served as manager of Washington state government relations for Avista for the past 22 years.
Engineering
• Ryan Mathis has been hired as an engineer in training for HDR Inc.’s Spokane office. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Gonzaga University.
Finance
• Jessica Wade has been hired by Ten Capital Investment Advisors LLC to work for the company’s client services department. Wade previously worked for Larsen Financial of Spokane as an administrative assistant for four years.
• The following individuals have been elected as 2012-13 officers for the Spokane Estate Planning Council: president, Greer Gibson Bacon of Asset Planning and Management Inc.; vice president, Kevin Sell of Heiskell MacGillivray and Associates; secretary/treasurer, Brent Stanyer of Douglas, Eden, Phillips, DeRuyter and Stanyer, P.S.; membership chair, David Green of David Green CPA PLLC; and program chair, Stephanie Taylor of Randall Danskin, P.S.
• Ken Roberts Investment Management Inc. in Spokane received “Top Guns” recognition from PSN investment manager database for its Diversified Income Strategy, for the quarter ending June 2012.
• Numerica Credit Union hired Kenneth Plank as chief lending officer. He has more than 25 years of commercial lending experience and previously worked as a small-business banking manager for Washington Trust Bank. He is a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School and holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Lewis-Clark State College.
Health care
• Timothy Ritchey has been hired as a Certified Orthotist for Kootenai Prosthetics and Orthotics of North Idaho. Ritchey previously worked for Hanger Orthopedic Group in Portland and specializes in pediatric care.
Insurance
• Lisa Schaff has opened a MetLife Auto and Home location at The Liberty Lake Internet Portal building, located at 23403 E. Mission Ave., Suite 106A. Schaff has worked for MetLife for nearly 12 years and previously lived in the Seattle-Tacoma area.
Law
• Winston and Cashatt hired Colin Willenbrock as an associate attorney focused on commercial and construction-related litigation. Willenbrock previously worked for the Washington State Court Appeals, serving as a senior judicial law clerk for Judge Dennis Sweeney. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Redlands and a law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law. He is licensed to practice in Washington’s and Idaho’s state courts and in the Eastern District of Washington’s and Idaho’s U.S. District Courts.
• Kevin Curtis has been elected president of the Washington Defender Association (WDA). Curtis, a principal at Winston and Cashatt, has served on WDA’s board of directors for the past eight years and has been a member of the association since 1986.
Miscellaneous
• Jeanne Erickson has opened Tune Tales Music locations in the Spokane, Spokane Valley and Coeur d’Alene area. The company, which has been located in the greater Seattle area for the past 22 years, specializes in music classes for children and their parents/caregivers. Information: www.tunetalesmusic.com.
Nonprofit
• Sisters of Providence International has named Sister Karin Dufault general superior for a five-year term. Sr. Dufault serves as provincial superior of Sisters of Providence, Mother Joseph Province.
• Junior Achievement of the Inland Northwest received more than $8,000 from Bank of America/Merrill Lynch’s statewide fundraiser conducted on behalf of the organization.