Clark County Business Briefing

People in Business

Molly Haynes was named deputy director at Southwest Washington Accountable Community of Health, better known as SWACH. She joins the organization after a 17-year career at Kaiser Permanente Northwest, where she most recently was director of community health. Prior to Kaiser Permanente, Haynes served in the U.S. Army for four years as a registered dietitian. Haynes has a degree in exercise science from University of Puget Sound and a master’s degree in public health from Portland State University. SWACH is the state-designated ACH for Clark, Klickitat and Skamania counties. Learn more at southwestach.org.

The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust recently hired Kimberly Thornbury as the charity’s new senior program director for enrichment following the resignation of Terry Stokesbary. Thornbury has 25 years of experience in higher education, specifically at Christian colleges, most recently serving as the vice president for strategic planning at The King’s College in New York City.

Cliff Myers was hired by Visit Vancouver USA as its new president and chief executive officer. He most recently worked at the Virginia Beach, Va., Convention and Visitors Bureau, where he was employed for 14 years, lastly in a director of administration role. At Visit Vancouver USA, he will oversee the tourism office and the sports commission — including budget development, community and government relations, board governance and staff supervision. For more information call 360-750-1553, or visit www.VisitVancouverUSA.com.

Fred Larimore was appointed to the position of vice president of process development at AbSci, a biomanufacturing technology company. Formerly a member of the company’s scientific advisory board, Larimore brings more than 30 years of experience in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and process development at companies such as Cook Pharmica and Eli Lilly. The company also plans to add an additional 14 positions by the end of the year and will expand its corporate headquarters, which is located at 101 E. Sixth St., Suite 300. Find out more at www.absci.com.

Xuechen Zhang, an assistant professor of computer science at Washington State University Vancouver, was named a Tier 2 Gold winner of the U.S. Department of Energy’s first Electricity Industry Technology and Practices Innovation Challenge. Zhang and his research team were awarded $25,000 for “QoS-Aware Data-Driven Analytics for Next Generation Synchrophasor Workflows.” According to a news release, the challenge was “designed to tap into American ingenuity for ideas about how to make the nation’s electric grid stronger and more resilient.” Ideas were solicited from academia, industry and other innovators for concepts. The U.S. Department of Energy awarded more than $300,000 to seven winning submissions in two tiers.

The Columbian welcomes submissions about Clark County residents or businesses, as well as regional business events. Information must be received by noon of the Tuesday preceding the intended Monday publication date. Send to lyndsey.hewitt@columbian.com or fax 360-735-4540. Sales awards are not published.