Category: Council News
Leadership Transition Update
The Northwest Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council (Council) is proud to announce that Fernando Martinez, President and CEO, Northwest Mountain MSDC, will join the National Minority Supplier Development Council’s (NMSDC) Executive Leadership team in a newly created and essential position as Senior Vice President of Network Success. Fernando has spent the last 14 years at the Council advocating for the ethnic minority business community and looks to bring his ideologies and passion to the National Council.
We’re excited to announce that Karla Malacon has been promoted to Interim President & CEO for the Northwest Mountain MSDC! Karla has been an integral part of our team for the last 6 years, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to see her take on this new challenge. Karla has proven to be a dedicated and hardworking member of our team, always going above and beyond to ensure the success of the Council while representing its values both internally and externally. Her experience and expertise working in Marketing, Operations and Certification make her the perfect fit for her new role.
We look forward to making a smooth transition as we gear up for a busy rest of the year. Join us in congratulating Karla and Fernando on their new endeavors!
Request for Services for West Point Treatment Plant
King County’s new E-Procurement Supplier Portal is now live! Register today to for a chance to support the upcoming West Point Treatment Plant project.
KC000800 RFI-GC/CM SERVICES FOR WEST POINT TREATMENT PLANT
PURPOSE: King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) held an Open House on 1/31/23, requesting industry comments on its upcoming GC/CM Services for WPTP Project, located in Seattle, WA. King County anticipates utilizing the General Contractor/Construction Manager (GCCM) delivery method and is seeking Project Review Committee Approval on 3/23/2023.
King County is providing prospective Proposers an opportunity to provide feedback, particularly on the items within the formal Request for Information (RFI) questionnaire. Responses to the RFI will assist in formulation of the PRC application.
PROJECT BACKGROUND: The West Point Treatment Plant (WPTP) provides secondary treatment for approximately 700,000 residents and businesses in Seattle and northern King County. With many mechanical, electrical, and support systems at the WPTP reaching the end of useful life, King County will invest more than $800 million over the next 10 years to upgrade the WPTP. This project will deliver a portion of that work, including mechanical, electrical, and seismic upgrades and will coordinate with other active construction contracts at the Plant. Constraints includes performing work on an operating wastewater treatment facility which requires carefully planned and executed outages, close coordination with Operations and Maintenance staff, and sequencing of projects to minimize Plant disruption. In addition, space is limited for contractor staging and parking which may require off-site lay down and parking.
MACC ESTIMATE: $150,000,000 – $200,000,000
KING COUNTY’S E-PROCUREMENT SUPPLIER PORTAL
The official advertisement for this RFI has been published through King County’s E-Procurement system. To receive future notifications, please be sure your firm is registered in King County’s E-Procurement Supplier Portal. For registration information, please visit:
Click here to register.
Year End Meeting Recap
Thank you to those of you who participated in the Northwest Mountain MSDC 2022 Year End Meeting! The Council appreciates everyone’s efforts in making this a memorable event.
The opportunity to gather with individuals, MBEs and Corporate/Public Agencies highlighted discussions around parity for MBEs, equity in minority communities and a year in review for the Council. Lead by Fernando Martinez, guests enjoyed a presentation about this years accomplishments and an outlook on the milestones set for 2023. The presentation also included anecdotal data on the return on investment for MBEs and Corporate/Public agencies through sponsorship, as well as financial goals met for the year.
Special thanks to our title sponsor T-Mobile USA Inc. and our Year End Meeting sponsor JP Morgan Chase & Co. for their contributions to the event as well as the rest of our Annual Sponsors for another year of support.
Click here to view the full 2022 Year End Meeting presentation.
Credits to Mike Nakamura Photography LLC for capturing the memorable moments from this event!
Port of Seattle Business Accelerator Graduation Ceremony
Congratulations to the following cohort associates:
Upcoming Bid Opportunity with Skanska
Calling all Small, Women and Minority Owned Business Enterprises!
An upcoming bid opportunity session is being held by Skanska on November 16th, from 3-5pm at Parable in Tacoma for the Bryant Montessori project. Come to learn more about the specifications, timetables, and bidding for the project. Demo will start in May 2023. Packages to be released for bid late November or early December of 2022. Representatives from both, Tacoma Public Schools and the Skanska project team will be present.
Port of Seattle Business Accelerator Program Update






Weeks one through five included in-depth engagement sessions and workshops highlighting topics such as, financial health, strategic communications and even a Regional Contracting Forum where participants got to engage with Corporate and Public Agencies. Other sessions included a business plan builder and infrastructure design panels covering accounting, legal and banking relationships. After the first 5 weeks of programming, the majority of the cohort associates have reported the beneficial growth of their organization in some form. Some of the cohort associates have reported winning new contracts, building new relationships, and exploring partnerships with their cohort peers.
“My experience with the Port of Seattle Business Accelerator Program to date has been great, affording the opportunity to learn from others as well as make meaningful networking connections. We are already partnering with one of my fellow cohort members!”
-Edward Buyers, Partner and Lead Consulting, ONIT Management Consulting
“The Business Accelerator has been a wealth of information and incredible networking opportunity– I look forward to improving our sales/ marketing approach to scale our material/ equipment procurement logistics services.”
-David Molina, Founder & CEO at Molinas Construction Company
During the remaining weeks the associates can expect more learning opportunities and engaging sessions such as, the general contracting panel, marketing collateral design workshop and additional learning sessions. These challenging sessions are bolstered with the help and leadership of mentors plus the willingness of cohort associates to accept feedback. The Council in collaboration with the Port of Seattle thank the 50+ individuals and companies that have contributed to the success of the 2022 Port of Seattle Business Accelerator Program.
Join us on Wednesday, November 16th for the Business Accelerator Graduation Ceremony as the Council and Port of Seattle celebrate the completion of the 2022 Programming!
26th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser & Silent Auction Recap
On September 1st, 2022 The Northwest Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council celebrated the 26th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser & Silent Auction at the Washington National Golf Club, with all proceeds benefitting the MBE Scholarship fund. In efforts to support our MBEs through their continuing education and minority business advancement we raised $15,738.19, which exceeded the amount of proceeds made from last year by more than $2,000!
Congratulations to this years tournament, contest, raffle and silent auction winners:
1st Place: Greater Pacific Industries Team: Ben Zhang, Alex Cormier, Travis Pozega, and Dawa Sangpo
2nd Place: The Boeing Company Team: Matt Blondin and Vivian Wisdom hosting Ron Benman from Hovair Systems Mfg., Inc. and Mike Byron from Vital Mechanical Service
3rd Place: PromoShop Team: Mathew Mason and Memo Khan hosting Joel Gillespie from The Microsoft Corporation and Eric Shimizu from DKS Associates
Congratulations to our Straight Drive, Closest to the Pin, Long Drive, Mega Putt, and raffle winners:
Mike Byron, Erik Lee, Chris Goodman, Jeff Blackham, Shanell Powell and Vivian Wisdom.
Thank you to our annual sponsors, guest and auction contributors for making this a great event for everyone involved. Enjoy a gallery of photos from the event, captured by Mike Nakamura Photography.




























































































































Seeking Growth For Your Business? Apply to the PortGen Accelerator Today
Turner Construction Launches TCSM Program
Turner School of Construction Management Program
The Turner Construction Company is excited to launch the Turner School of Construction Management Program! The 5 week, 9-course program is set to begin September 6th, where attendees will meet every Tuesday and Thursday.
Click here, to view the full program details and see how you can apply today!