New Hires & Promotions

Canopy Credit Union has promoted Oscar Cervantes to the role of member advocate II. Cervantes previously worked as a teller at the Spokane-based credit union.

Chelsey Torgerson has joined Coeur d'Alene-based law firm Malek + Malek PLLC as an attorney. Torgerson previously served as a deputy prosecuting attorney for Kootenai County. 

BECU has promoted two employees in Spokane. Natalie Hobbs has been promoted to external communications manager. Hobbs previously worked as senior external communications specialist. Cortni Shauger has been promoted to internal communications manager from her previous role as senior internal communications specialist.

Greenville, South Carolina-based real estate brokerage National Land Realty has hired Rob Hudkins as a Washington land professional serving Eastern Washington. Previously, Hudkins worked as a real estate agent at Real Broker LLC.

Ginno Construction Co., of Coeur d'Alene, has promoted Chris English to senior project manager from his previous role as project manager.

Sellen Construction Co. Inc. has promoted Chris Martindale to president of the Inland Northwest division at the company's new Spokane office. Previously, Martindale served as chief operating officer at the Seattle-based construction company.

Hungry Horse Engineering Inc., which does business as H2E, has hired three employees. Kelly Deckard has joined the Liberty Lake-based electrical engineering consulting company as PMO manager. Deckard previously worked as an operations manager in the heavy equipment and industrial fields. Alex Morrison and Jayan Patel both have been hired as power engineers. Morrison previously worked as an engineer in the semiconductor and mining industries. Patel is working toward becoming a licensed professional engineer.

Awards & Designations

Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest has been awarded a federal Department of Labor grant for the Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program, covering Spokane County, which helps veterans find competitive employment, increasing both their resiliency and independence while strengthening the regional economy.

Cybersecurity news platform CISO Whisperer has named five Spokane-area leaders to its Cybersecurity Leaders to Watch list, including: Colin Turnbull, director, information security and CISO at Eastern Washington University; Dan Wordell, CISO at city of Spokane; Tony Trunkhill, vice president of information technology at Numerica Credit Union; Robin Peterson, director of information security and compliance at Engage; and Kevin Swatzell, information security officer at Pacific Coast Bankers' Bank.

Gesa Credit Union has awarded 49 grants valued over $600,000 to recipients of its 2026 Local Heroes Grant program, including: $1,133 to Elevate Academy North, in Post Falls; $8,968 to Spokane HOPE; $600 to Cheney School District; $13,000 to Salish School of Spokane; $10,796 to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office; and $10,000 to Eastern Washington University. Additionally, grants were awarded to the following veterans organizations: Inland NW Honor Flight, of Spokane, $19,000; United We Rescue, of Spokane, $50,000; Semper Fi & America's Fund, of Spokane County, $20,000; American Legion Honor Guard, Post 143, of Post Falls, $2,500; and Veterans Community Response, of Spokane County, $15,700.

Philanthropy

Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners, in partnership with McKinstry Co. LLC, and Avista Corp., is providing 1,000 free energy-saving kits including LED light bulbs, window plastic, weather stripping, and draft stoppers to improve energy efficiency and potentially lower utility bills for households in the Spokane area.