Spokane-based Kiemle Hagood has promoted one employee and hired two more. Johnny Cummings has been promoted to facility services operations manager. Cummings has been with the Kiemle Hagood Facility services since 2022. He brings over 35 years of management experience. Tami Dolson has been hired as senior regional property manager.  Dolson brings over 25 years of multi-family and commercial real estate experience. Terri Lonam has been hired as senior regional property manager. She has 12 years of experience in affordable residential housing.

Community Colleges of Spokane has hired Julie Parks as vice president of workforce development. Parks has over 15 years of experience in higher education. She previously worked for Grand Rapids Community College as dean of the School of Workforce Training.

Spokane Teachers Credit Union has hired Greg Templeton as its vice president director of home lending. Templeton previously worked in the Spokane office of Brentwood, Tennessee-based Churchill Mortgage and 30 years of experience in mortgage lending. 

Gonzaga University has promoted five employees and hired one other. Maria “Mia” Bertagnolli has been appointed interim provost. Bertagnolli previously served as the associate vice provost for faculty engagement and is a biology professor. Heather James has been appointed dean of Foley Library. James previously was associate dean of scholarly resources. Jennifer Shepherd has been appointed interim dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Shepherd is currently a professor of chemistry and biochemistry. She was previously served as department chair of mechanical engineering. Dori Sonntag has been appointed associate vice president and chief operating officer University Advancement. Sonntag previously served as the associate vice president for organizational effectiveness University Advancement. Marianne Poxleitner has been appointed interim associate provost for research and creative activities. Poxleitner is a professor of biology and previously served as president of Gonzaga’s faculty senate. Shanchieh “Jay” Yang has been hired as director of the Institute of Informatics and Applied Technology.

Awards & Designations

Washington State University has landed $4.8 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy for hydrogen fuel research. One of the grants will enable construction of a heavy-duty hydrogen fueling station on the Pullman campus.

Princeton Review has named Gonzaga University among the Best Colleges for 2025 in its newest ranking. Based on surveys of current students, the ranking places Gonzaga among the top 15% of colleges nationwide. 

Washington State Hospital Association was one of 12 organizations across the U.S. selected to receive a Health Equity and Nursing Innovation Fund from AARP, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and the Robert Wood Foundation. WSHA received $25,000 through the grant that will be used to support the Rural Nurse Leadership Program.

Spokane’s Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center has received a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings. The results stem from a quarterly patient satisfaction review called the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems.

Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water and the Environment has received two grants that will support its work helping Inland Northwest communities navigate the effects of climate change through regional partnerships and outreach. The Washington Department of Health’s Climate grant of $95,000 to the Gonzaga Climate Institute and the Carl Maxey Center to establish the center as a community resilience hub serving the East Central neighborhood. The University of Washington’s Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative grant of $29,944 will be used to build community knowledge and resilience to climate change impacts.