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A December 17, 2024 Pacific Northwest tech roundup highlighted three leadership changes: Julie Harris was appointed vice president of The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, Stacy Brown-Philpot resigned from Nordstrom’s board, and William Canestaro joined Pioneer Square Labs as its health and life sciences lead.
Julie Harris returns to the Allen Institute
Julie Harris became vice president of The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, a division of the Seattle-based Allen Institute. The appointment was reported by GeekWire on December 17, 2024.
The Frontiers Group is not simply an internal research laboratory. Its role is to identify promising or unconventional bioscience ideas and recommend funding opportunities to the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. The institute and the foundation are related but separate organizations: the Frontiers Group operates within the Allen Institute, while its recommendations inform the foundation’s grantmaking.
Harris brought experience across neuroscience research, research administration, grant strategy and preclinical biology. She spent nearly 10 years at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, from 2011 through 2020, where she was a researcher and associate director of neuroanatomy. She helped build the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas and other open-science resources.
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Before returning to the institute, Harris was executive vice president of research management at the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, where she oversaw funding strategy and research priorities for a portfolio described by GeekWire as approximately $29 million. She had also been vice president of preclinical biology at Seattle biotech company Cajal Neuroscience. Harris holds a Ph.D. in neurobiology and behavior from the University of Washington.
Her appointment creates a connection between scientific discovery and philanthropic funding. It may strengthen the Frontiers Group’s ability to evaluate research with potential relevance to neurobiology, neurodegenerative disease and translational science, although the announcement itself did not establish a new strategic priority or say that Harris controls the foundation’s investment decisions.
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Stacy Brown-Philpot resigns from Nordstrom’s board
Stacy Brown-Philpot notified Nordstrom of her resignation on December 13, 2024, and the resignation was effective immediately. Nordstrom disclosed the change in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 16, 2024. A Nordstrom-hosted copy of the filing is also available.
The company said Brown-Philpot resigned for personal reasons. The filing expressly stated that her departure was not the result of a disagreement with Nordstrom’s management or board. Nordstrom reduced the size of its board by one director.
Brown-Philpot joined Nordstrom’s board in 2017. She chaired its Technology Committee and served on the Audit and Finance Committee. Her background included more than eight years at Google, followed by leadership roles as chief operating officer and chief executive officer of TaskRabbit. GeekWire also described her as a co-founder of the then-new venture fund Cherryrock Capital.
There is no basis in the filing to link her resignation to Nordstrom’s later ownership or strategic developments. In particular, a merger-agreement filing dated December 22, 2024 came after her resignation. The official disclosure gives personal reasons and rules out disagreement; speculation beyond that is not supported by the available record.
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William Canestaro joins Pioneer Square Labs
Seattle venture firm Pioneer Square Labs added William Canestaro as its health and life sciences lead. According to GeekWire, he said his work would include ideation and diligence for software-first companies serving healthcare and life sciences.
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His move gives PSL a leader whose experience spans scientific research, healthcare and commercialization. That background could help the firm assess startup ideas requiring both technical and clinical understanding and could strengthen the bridge between university research and software-oriented company formation. The announcement did not say that Canestaro became a partner, managing director or head of all of PSL’s healthcare investments.
Why these Pacific Northwest moves matter
Taken together, the changes show how leadership expertise moves among the region’s research institutions, philanthropic funders, biotech companies, venture firms and major corporations.
- Harris: connects neuroscience and open research with grantmaking and bioscience opportunity identification.
- Brown-Philpot: leaves a technology-focused corporate-board role after serving on Nordstrom’s board and its key committees.
- Canestaro: brings research-foundation and translational experience into venture-backed healthcare and life-sciences company creation.
These were personnel developments reported in December 2024, not verified statements of each person’s current role in 2026. Current titles, board memberships, fund activity and organizational responsibilities would require separate, up-to-date confirmation.
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