About Halcyon Northwest
Halcyon Northwest provides project leadership and change management to help our clients achieve the ambitious, high-visibility policy goals that are critical to their continued success.
Getting from your current state to your desired state can present challenges for the team who is committed to getting you there.
Managing those challenges is essential to achieving results.
And yet, most project teams lack the skills and support to effectively navigate these unavoidable challenges – and even better, to use those conflicts as a catalyst for change.
That’s where Halcyon comes in.
Working with mission-driven organizations, we combine proprietary project management prowess with professional mediation, research, and facilitation skills.
So you get optimal results. And a process with your team members that is a source of growth and transformation.
This isn’t just project management. It’s project LEADERSHIP.
And it’s why 100% of our clients would hire us again.
The higher bar that Halcyon sets ensures your custom projects and change-transformation initiatives:
- Tap all individual and collective skills, talents, voices, and contributions of your team
- Apply qualitative research-backed efforts that uncover the most critical needs among customers, stakeholders, and employees
- Run more efficiently via consensus-driven, stabilizing facilitation
- Foster a more stable culture with inspired, engaged employees who stay longer
- Build diverse coalitions in environments that support psychological safety
- Achieve ambitious and high-visibility policy goals and ROI
Our Team
Principal Leadership
Katherine Boyd
CEO and Founder, Change Management & Strategic Planning
Katherine founded Halcyon Northwest in 2014 to guide institutions through organizational change initiatives. She helps clients articulate desired goals and achieve transformative change, using an approach that centers on respect for an organization’s existing culture and the treatment of all people with dignity.
Katherine leads collaborative teams that deliver projects on time, on budget, and with the highest degree of quality. Halcyon’s rigorous project and change management approaches are informed by extensive experience and industry best practices, while adhering to Katherine’s high standards for integrity. Katherine takes pride in leaving clients in a stronger place than at the start of each project, imparting strategies and knowledge that will help organizations capably address future change initiatives.
Katherine has focused her career in the public sector because she believes it makes the biggest impact on society and community. Recent and current projects that Katherine has worked on include the Washington State Suicide Prevention Plan, the Washington State Agricultural Needs Assessment, and the fpOnline organizational change management project.
Katherine’s approach to client work extends to Halcyon’s partners and employees. All Halcyon team members excel in their areas of expertise and are encouraged to level up professionally. As a result, Halcyon is a dynamic firm that continuously evolves to offer best-in-class service to clients, staff, and strategic partners.
Katherine’s leadership propels Halcyon into the future as the firm expands its footprint in the public service and healthcare sectors, as well as into new geographies. Halcyon will continue to help organizations achieve their ambitious goals and prepare for continuous change and transformation. Meanwhile, Katherine will oversee Halcyon’s growth as a firm, scaling its industry-leading solution offerings, strategic partnerships, consulting talent, and operations.
Katherine earned a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and graduated magna cum laude. She went on to earn a Masters of Public Administration from The Evergreen State College. She funded her education with scholarships, public loans and grants, and work study, which makes it especially meaningful to give back to the public through her work.
Ed West
Principal and VP, Change Management
With a steadfast belief in empowering individuals within organizations to optimize their performance and satisfaction amidst change, Ed West embodies over three decades of dedicated leadership in change management. His journey as a transformation expert is underscored by an extensive academic background, including a Masters degree in Organizational Development from The Johns Hopkins University. He pairs this with certifications in Change Management from ProSci, Lean from North Carolina State University, and Safe Agile Project Management. Ed’s extensive portfolio spans diverse realms of change management, from overseeing IT system integrations and organizational restructuring, to spearheading clinical transformations and performance redesign initiatives. His strategic acumen and commitment to sustained improvement have yielded millions in cost savings for prominent clients such as Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, Sutter Health, Providence Health, MedStar Health, and University of Washington Medicine. Recognized as a thought leader, Ed’s contributions extend beyond his projects as a practitioner, encompassing a prolific publication record and influential lectures on transformation and change management services. Currently serving as a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Washington School of Public Health, Ed imparts his wealth of knowledge in healthcare transformation, change management, and project management, shaping the future of healthcare leaders.
Project Management Team
Jeff Kass
PMO Lead and Senior Project Manager
Jeff is a certified project management professional and certified scrum master with extensive experience in enterprise rollouts of applications and environment buildouts. Most recently, under contract, he managed multiple projects for the County of San Diego, California over a four-year period, successfully leading engineering teams and analysts. Prior to that, Jeff worked multiple years with an international team as the deputy program manager for a Middle Eastern government as part of a Boeing initiative. Jeff’s stands out in completing challenging projects with diverse groups of team members. He is a US Air Force officer veteran.
Dave Frederick
Senior Project Manager
David leverages more than two decades of dynamic experience in project and program management, coupled with over 12 years of strategic consulting for Fortune 500 corporations and government entities. His commitment to excellence infuses every endeavor with a results-driven mindset. Possessing respected credentials including the Project Management Professional (PMP) designation and numerous Scaled Agile Framework certifications, David adeptly tailors approaches to suit each client’s unique needs, thereby enhancing the likelihood of optimal outcomes. He boasts a diverse professional background, having occupied roles spanning both functional and technical domains, and has spearheaded numerous transformative initiatives utilizing custom-built applications as well as commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) ERP software solutions. David’s expertise transcends industry boundaries, having made impactful contributions across sectors such as Government, Manufacturing, Financial Services, Media and Telecom, Utilities, and Higher Education.
AI Strategy & Innovation
Jeff Bloemker
Healthcare Transformation | Digital Innovation | Agentic AI Strategy
Jeff Bloemker is a healthcare transformation executive with more than two decades of experience helping health systems improve operational performance and modernize care delivery through technology, strategy, and leadership-driven innovation. His expertise spans hospital operations, digital health, and large-scale transformation initiatives, including Epic EMR implementations, development of health information exchanges, and population health strategies. Jeff increasingly focuses on applying agentic AI and intelligent automation to solve complex clinical and operational challenges. At Halcyon Northwest, he partners with healthcare organizations to translate strategy into execution, aligning people, processes, and technology to improve outcomes, strengthen performance, and prepare health systems for the future of care.
Process Improvement Team
Bill Braswell
Process Improvement
Bill is a process improvement consultant with more than 20 years of experience in leveraging Lean concepts and Organization Development, including a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt from the Management and Strategy Institute. He has a talent for bringing together diverse groups to identify priorities and to ensure buy-in for transformation efforts. His specialty is in coaching staff and leaders to excel in their roles and to continuously seek excellence.
Mark Sneeringer
Process Improvement
Mark Sneeringer is a continuous improvement leader with deep expertise in Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), Lean, Change Management, and Program Management. His strengths include cross-functional team leadership, extensive technical experience, improvement methodology training and mentoring, facilitation of complex improvement efforts to closure, and ability to quickly diagnose problems and to define and implement effective solutions.
Associates
Amanda Zubia
Process Improvement
Amanda Zubia serves as Chief of Staff and Research Associate at Halcyon Northwest, where she contributes to process improvement, stakeholder engagement, and strategic coordination across projects. Drawing on over 12 years of experience in education and community health advocacy, Amanda supports research efforts, facilitates internal and external communication, and assists in the execution of key organizational initiatives. Her work helps streamline operations, enhance cross-functional collaboration, and ensure the successful delivery of client-focused solutions. Amanda holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Master of Public Health from Grand Canyon University.
Molly McAuliffe
Business Development
Molly McAuliffe is an Associate and Business Development Analyst at Halcyon Northwest, where she supports business strategy, growth and contributes to client engagements. Her work spans business development, proposal development, market research, internal support, and client outreach, alongside project-based support in areas such as research and deliverable development. Molly brings experience in project management and consulting, having led and supported multidisciplinary teams on client-facing engagements. She has contributed to initiatives focused on policy analysis, stakeholder engagement, and organizational strategy, including university-based international research on service systems in Italy. She has also supported projects for Washington state agencies through her work at Halcyon Northwest. Molly holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and brings a strong foundation in operations, research, and communication. In her role at Halcyon, she contributes to Halcyon’s mission of transformational change management and impactful outcomes for clients.
Kathryn Bost
Marketing and Business Development Lead
Kathryn Bost has been supporting marketing teams for over 25 years by finding project opportunities, developing subconsultant teams, and submitting winning proposals. From her work in engineering, architecture, and communications firms, she has developed significant expertise in navigating public agencies and procurement processes. She specializes in working with small and disadvantaged firms to help them develop new markets, expand their connections, and win more work.
Mina Hochberg
Writer and Editor
Mina Hochberg is a professional writer and editor with a strong background in content and feature writing, editing, copy editing, and proofreading. Known for her careful reading and thoughtful interviewing style, she approaches each project with curiosity and care. Her writing is grounded in a commitment to clarity, accuracy, and humanity, ensuring that every piece not only informs but resonates with its audience.