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In a March 28, 2024, GeekWire roundup, Seattle pre-seed investor Ascend named Jen Haller a partner and Common Room added Amanda Kleha to its board. The column also reported leadership changes at Syndio, NLM Photonics, the University of Washington’s stem-cell institute and Maritime Blue. These are the roles and plans reported at that time; the article does not establish whether they remain current.
Ascend names Jen Haller partner
GeekWire reported that startup veteran Jen Haller became a partner at Seattle-based pre-seed venture firm Ascend. She joined the firm as chief of staff in January 2022. In her expanded role, she was to advise founders on operations, manage Ascend’s internal operations and support community engagement.
Haller said the title recognized her role in broadening the firm’s offerings as an early-stage venture capital firm. She described Ascend’s support as extending beyond its initial investment, with hands-on help for founders from incorporation through raising a Series A.
At the time of the report, Ascend had more than 80 portfolio companies, nearly 60 of them based in the Seattle region, according to GeekWire. Those figures describe the firm as reported in March 2024, not its current portfolio.
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Haller’s background
Before joining Ascend, Haller worked in operations at Seattle startup Attunely, served as office manager at Stratolaunch, co-founded strategic-growth consultancy The Flight Team and managed the Seattle office at Axon. GeekWire reported that she oversaw Axon’s Seattle office buildout as its headcount grew from 20 to 150; the office won “Geekiest Office Space” at the 2016 GeekWire Awards.
Ascend founding partner Kirby Winfield credited Haller with supporting portfolio companies and building connections in Seattle’s tech community through events, volunteering and introductions.
Amanda Kleha joins Common Room’s board
Common Room added Amanda Kleha to its board, GeekWire reported. The Seattle startup aims to help companies build a better conduit between their organizations and people in their communities. Kleha’s prior experience included Google, Zendesk and Airtable; she most recently served as chief customer officer at Figma, according to the roundup.
Other Pacific Northwest moves in the roundup
Syndio: Doug Aspland becomes chief revenue officer
Doug Aspland became chief revenue officer at Syndio, a Seattle workplace equity analytics startup. He was most recently global vice president for Calm Business and previously held sales roles at Udemy, Box, Workday and Salesforce.
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NLM Photonics: Brad Booth takes over as CEO
Brad Booth took over as CEO of Seattle-based NLM Photonics, which works on hybrid electro-optic modulation for computing and networking. GeekWire reported that Booth had spent nine years at Microsoft and served on NLM’s board. He succeeded co-founder Gerard Zytnicki, who remained chief operating officer and board chair in the report.
UW and USC: Charles Murry moves to lead research at Keck
Dr. Charles “Chuck” Murry, director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM) and a longtime UW School of Medicine faculty member, was leaving UW to lead stem-cell research at USC’s Keck School of Medicine. The March 2024 report said he was due to start in August 2024.
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- Author: Bungay Stanier, Michael.
- Publisher: Page Two
- Pages: 244
- Publication Date: 2016-02-29
- Edition: 1
Murry, cancer specialist Dr. Tony Blau and developmental biologist Randy Moon founded ISCRM in 2006. At the time of the article, institute scientists were exploring stem-cell therapies for heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and other conditions.
Maritime Blue: Brian Hoffman joins Blue Ventures
Brian Hoffman joined Maritime Blue as director of Blue Ventures. The Washington state public-private coalition focuses on environmentally friendly maritime technologies. Hoffman previously held several executive leadership positions at StartX, a nonprofit founder community for Stanford University entrepreneurs.
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Source and timing
This roundup reflects Kurt Schlosser’s GeekWire report published March 28, 2024. It records the appointments and transitions as reported then; it does not confirm whether the people or organizations still hold those roles in October 2026.
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