AWARDS & HONORS
• Shelley Hawkins, a registered nurse at Trios Health, is the latest recipient of the DAISY Award for extraordinary nurses. She was nominated by a patient who was touched by the care and comfort she provided during a difficult time. Hawkins has been a nurse at Trios since 2010 and works in the Birth Center. The award is an international program to recognize nurses for clinical excellence and compassionate care.
• Delta High School teacher Kate Cameron was selected to join the National Society for Science Advocates Program. Cameron was selected as one of 70 teachers from across the nation to advocate for students who are underrepresented. The goal of the program is to help students learn the true nature of science, create confidence in their scientific abilities and lead them to consider a STEM career.
• Confederated Umatilla Journal (CUJ) and Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) communications department combined to win five 2025 Indigenous Journalists Association awards in the professional division II – print/online category. Announced on June 12, CUJ won third place for general excellence while CUJ Reporter Chris Aadland took second place in the best news story contest with a story about a derailed CTUIR solar energy development. CUJ also won third place for best page layout. For a photo of a spring Chinook smolt in someone’s hand, Communications AV Support Specialist Lee Gavin won second place for best news photo. He also took second place in the best multimedia category with a video story about the Pendleton Round-Up & Happy Canyon.
• Michael Novakovich of Columbia Ability Alliance earned the Leadership Tri-Cities Alumnus of the Year award. Novakovich is president of Columbia Ability Alliance, where his leadership helps create inclusive opportunities and drive change across the Tri-Cities. He was in class 10 of Leadership Tri-Cities.
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers won an award for metal-to-metal riveting. In March 2025, seven researchers at PNNL received the Light Metals Subject Award-Aluminum Alloys, bestowed by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. The award recognizes the individual excellence of a paper that simulates and experimentally validates a promising solid-phase technique that is emerging in the world of joining lightweight materials: friction riveting. This research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office. Authors of the publication include Lei Li, Mayur Pole, Hrishikesh Das, Sridhar Niverty, Md Reza-E-Rabby, Jorge F. Dos Santos and Ayoub Soulami.
• Banner Bank earned the 2025 Great Place to Work certification. Great Place to Work is a global research firm specializing in workplace culture and employee experience. The certification is based on what employees report about their workplace experience, and specifically how consistently they experience a high-trust work environment.
• Zhiqun (Daniel) Deng, a lab fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has been named as a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This honor recognizes outstanding engineering achievements, specifically Deng’s pioneering contributions to sensors, acoustic telemetry, energy harvesting and ecohydraulic systems – technologies that have shaped global efforts in aquatic research, hydropower innovation and river restoration.
• The city of Richland earned the Triple Crown Award for excellence in financial transparency from the Government Finance Officers Association. This recognition highlights Richland’s excellence in financial reporting and budget presentation for fiscal year 2023. Richland is the only city in Eastern Washington to receive the honor and one of five municipalities statewide recognized with the award.
• Schneider Construction, a member of the Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities, won an award at the 2025 Building Industry Association of Washington Excellence in Remodeling Awards. The business won the award in the “Entire House $200,001-$400,000” category for remodeling a 2,500-square-foot 1980s home into an open-concept modern living space honoring the home’s history. Members from 10 local homebuilding associations submitted 88 entries across 27 categories for the awards, which were judged by a panel of experts from across the country.
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) received the 2025 Pro Patria Award of Washington State. This award recognizes PNNL as a top employer for National Guard members and Reservists as determined by the Office of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. PNNL was nominated by Keithan Rogers, a national security specialist and Washington Army National Guard intelligence master sergeant.
• Jesus Delgado Sholtys, a Washington State University Tri-Cities student, received a Community Advocate Award. This award is presented to one undergraduate student in teacher education across all WSU campuses and recognizes a student’s commitment to the university’s land-grant mission and leadership in academic and community settings. Sholtys was nominated by WSU Tri-Cities faculty for his classroom leadership, work as a paraeducator and advocacy for multilingual learners in the Tri-Cities region.
• Kennewick Kiwanis Foundation awarded a total of $56,500 in scholarships at its scholarship award event on June 4. The foundation awarded 25 scholarships to graduating high school students living in Kennewick and Finley and to college students who had previously been awarded a scholarship from the foundation.
DONATIONS
• Benton-Franklin Humane Society’s Wags and Whiskers Night On The Red Carpet event on May 30 raised more than $20,000 to help care for more than 1,000 animals in need every year. All proceeds support animal welfare, save lives and bring hope to pets and people in the community.
NEW HIRES
• Jennifer Pierce is the new development coordinator for Benton-Franklin Humane Society. She has more than 25 years of experience in public communications and marketing. Most recently, she was director of operations and client services for the HAPO Events Center. Prior to that, she worked as the director of marketing growth for Telare Law. She has experience in fundraising, event management, operations and community partnerships. Pierce holds a Bachelor of Science in public communications from the University of Idaho.
• Athena Bunata is the new client service specialist at Petersen Hastings Wealth Advisors in Kennewick. Bunata was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, and moved to Cheney in 2020 to attend Eastern Washington University. She earned her Bachelor of Science in business systems and analytics in June 2024.
• Dr. Joyce Koh, a board-certified gastroenterologist and hepatologist, has joined Good Shepherd Health Care System in Hermiston. She completed her fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine after completing her residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. She earned her doctor of medicine from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine.
• Karisa Saywers has returned to Visit Tri-Cities as its chief marketing officer. She will oversee marketing, advertising, communications and creative services for Visit Tri-Cities while providing organizational strategy and support to the leadership team. Saywers has a bachelor’s in communications from Washington State University and extensive industry experience. She led marketing efforts at Visit Tri-Cities from 2014-22 before leaving to work at senior level communication roles with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Hanford contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company.
• Dr. Peter Hahn, a board-certified pulmonologist, critical care intensivist and sleep specialist, has joined Good Shepherd Health Care System in Hermiston. Hahn earned his doctor of medicine from Michigan State University and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Tennessee. His medical training includes a residency in internal medicine, as well as fellowships in pulmonary and critical care medicine and sleep medicine at the Mayo Clinic.
• Drew White is the new full-time, in-house general counsel for Kennewick School District. White most recently worked as an associate attorney with Shaklee & Oliver PS in Kennewick. He earned both his juris doctor and bachelor’s degree in political science from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He is a member of the Washington State Bar and is fluent in Spanish.
• Shelly Romine has been named market president for bankcda’s new Tri-Cities expansion. Romine has more than 30 years experience in financial services and over 25 years in community banking. Her diverse background includes leadership roles such as chief credit officer, loan officer and portfolio manager. She has experience in credit, commercial lending and community engagement, and will lead bankcda’s efforts in the Tri-Cities market.
• Dr. Ashlea McManus has joined the Prosser Memorial Health General Surgery Center. She has experience in general, breast, colorectal, endocrine and soft tissue surgery, as well as advanced training in robotic and minimally invasive procedures. Originally from British Columbia, McManus earned her Bachelor of Science in biology from Simon Fraser University, followed by a doctor of medicine degree from Ross University School of Medicine. She completed her general surgery residency at The Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Mike Rizzitiello is the new development services director for the city of Richland. Rizzitiello brings over 17 years of experience in both council-of-government and municipal leadership roles, with a background in planning, economic development, capital project oversight and regional collaboration. Originally from the south suburbs of Chicago, Rizzitiello holds a bachelor’s degree in urban planning from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Illinois Chicago, with concentrations in local government administration, financial management and information management.
• Ben Harp is the new federal group manager for Meier Architecture | Engineering in Kennewick. He comes to Meier with over 37 years of experience in the fields of engineering and project management and will provide leadership and support to Meier and its clients. His experience includes managing projects at the Hanford site for over a decade. Harp holds a Master of Science degree from Washington State University.
• Patrick “Pete” Rawlings is the new director of people services at Trios Health. He is responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction for all areas of people services, including employee relations, talent acquisition and assessment, compensation management, performance management, training and leadership development, policy and procedures, as well as managing the Trios team of people services professionals. Rawlings has more than 24 years of HR experience.
BOARDS
• Maria Laura di Vacri, a chemist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, has been selected to serve for two years on the executive board of the Coordinating Panel for Advanced Detectors (CPAD). At PNNL, di Vacri specializes in low-background radiation detection. Her work earned her an Early Career Research Program award from the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Physics program in 2023. CPAD brings together scientists to promote, coordinate and assist in developing the next generation of instrumentation and detectors for high energy physics experiments.
PROMOTIONS
• The Washington State Tree Fruit Association has promoted Jacqui Gordón Núñez to vice president. She has served as director of training, education and member services since 2016 where she has been responsible for developing and leading WSTFA’s bilingual training for its members and their employees. Gordón Núñez will maintain her leadership of WSTFA’s education and training program while taking on additional responsibilities supporting association operations, strategic planning and industry representation.
• Franklin Public Utility District’s new general manager/CEO is Victor Fuentes, who had been serving as the interim general manager/CEO since Scott Rhees retired at the end of January. He joined the PUD in 2021. Before serving as the interim general manager/CEO, Fuentes worked as engineering director and was promoted to engineering and operations senior director.
Fuentes is the first person of Hispanic heritage to take on the role of general manager/CEO. He has more than a decade of experience in the power industry, including overseeing engineering, metering, transformer, information technology and dispatch departments, and working on line extension and substation projects.
Fuentes has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Washington State University.
• A Richland High School graduate is the latest commander of one of four U.S. Navy attack submarines stationed in San Diego. Cmdr. Don Coomes assumed command of the USS Alexandria (SSN 757) in early June, shortly after the vessel completed a seven-month deployment at sea, according to a release. The Richland native comes to his new post after completing a joint tour at the NATO Joint Warfare Centre in Stavanger, Norway, followed by a Deputy Commodore tour at Submarine Squadron TWO ONE in Manama, Bahrain.
He played soccer at Richland High, which he graduated from in 2002. He also earned an associate degree from Columbia Basin College in Pasco that same year, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Coomes went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Oregon State University before being commissioned as a naval officer. He has two master’s degrees.
• ALSC Architects of Spokane, which has been involved in numerous projects around the Tri-Cities, has announced several promotions: Andrew Leeper was promoted to the role of associate principal. He joined ALSC Architects in 2017, heading the sports and recreation studio. Todd Keller was promoted to the role of associate. He joined ALSC Architects in 2018, working as both project architect and project manager, often managing both roles on projects concurrently. Ryan Palmquist was promoted to the role of associate. He joined ALSC Architects in 2022 and has worked as senior lead designer, graphic illustrator and conceptual visionary.
