Faces&Places

January 2005

Troy Peters, the music director and conductor of the Vermont Youth Orchestra since 1995, was named conductor of the Middlebury College Orchestra. He will continue with the VYO.

Criterion, a consulting firm serving public-sector entities, announced that Rick Carey joined the company as a senior consultant. Carey was chief of human resources at the Vermont Agency of Transportation.

Kelliher Samets Volk announced that 10 communications professionals have joined its team. Aimee Frost is a media planner and buyer. She was with a Boston firm. Arielle Schwartz is media coordinator; she was a lawyer's assistant. Ian Orekondy is a project coordinator.; he was with Clear Channel Communications. Jan Vroman is traffic/production coordinator; she worked at her father's advertising agency in Pennsylvania. Jeff Novak is a senior project manager; he was with a New York firm. Jonathan Leong is a senior brand planner; he has seven years' experience in advertising and management consulting in New York. Kara Egasti, a 2004 graduate of the University of Vermont, is an administrative assistant. Sarah Miller is a production assistant and assistant to Linda Kelliher; she is also the associate director of the Phoenix Gallery in Burlington. Sarah Serling, formerly with a Boston firm, is a public relations associate. Shelly Robbie is a senior copywriter; she was with Evergreen Direct in Middlebury.

The John A. Russell Corp. of Rutland announced that Jay Conway was hired as industrial business development manager for its Russell Industrial Services in Glens Falls, N.Y.

Union Bank in Morrisville announced the hiring of Michael Curtis as vice president, commercial lending, and Carol Allen as commercial lending assistant. With 30 years of banking experience, Curtis was most recently with Banknorth. Allen was also with Banknorth, for 15 years.

Redstone, a Burlington commercial real estate firm, has hired John Wakefield as development assistant. Wakefield was a project manager with Redstone Construction. Having been granted her real estate license by the state of Vermont, Rachel DiGiammarino, the director of marketing since July 2004, is now also a real estate sales assistant.

Merchants Bank announced the following changes. Chris Jarvis was named commercial banking officer within the commercial banking group. A 10-year veteran of Merchants with experience as a corporate banking administrator, Jarvis had been branch president at Kennedy Drive since 1999. In retail banking, Tanya Webster, teller customer representative, was promoted to lender customer representative at the Winooski branch. She has been with Merchants since June 2000. Jeff LaBonte was named lender/customer representative at the Shelburne Road branch. He has been with the bank since March 2000.

The Community College of Vermont has appointed Pam Durda office manager and administrative team leader in the college's Burlington location. Durda was with the University of Vermont and owned Heaven-Scent Herbs in Hinesburg.

Bread Loaf Corp. architects, planners and builders in Middlebury announced the addition of John McLeod as architect. McLeod was with a New York firm.

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility has hired Scudder Parker as public policy coordinator. A former state senator, Parker was director of the energy-efficiency division at the Vermont Department of Public Service.

Attorney Barbara G. Ripley, who served as secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources under former Gov. Howard Dean, has joined Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC as a director and member of the firm, working in the areas of environmental, regulatory and land-use law in the firm's Montpelier office. Attorney Barclay T. Johnson joined the St. Johnsbury office and will practice in the area of insurance defense and general civil litigation.

Cope & Associates Inc. announced that Jillian Bryant and Pam Cary have joined the consulting and training firm. Bryant is office coordinator and marketing associate. Cary is assistant to the vice president of human resources.

Elizabeth Ottinger has joined Vermont Public Television as community outreach director, a new position to help local organizations and schools use VPT's programs and services. She was with Earthjustice in Oakland, Calif. Matthew Rizzo was named director of major gifts. He was executive director of First Night Burlington for two years and managing director of Burlington Discover Jazz Festival.

Bruce Douglas, P.E., has joined the civil and environmental engineering firm Forcier Aldrich & Associates Inc. in Essex Junction as senior engineer. He has more than 24 years' experience.

The Community College of Vermont has appointed Larry Elliot operations manager. He has been a member of CCV's site staff in Rutland for three years.

Burlington College promoted Melissa Howanitz to the position of registrar. She has served as academic coordinator since 1995. The college has also appointed Gillian McMahon executive assistant to the president. The Dublin, Ireland, native was with Wheaton College in Massachusetts; senior international contract analyst with EMC Corp. in Massachusetts; and corporate sales representative at Borders in Burlington.

Olin Robison announced his plans to retire from the presidency of the Salzburg Seminar in the first half of 2005. The former head of Middlebury College was elected president of the Salzburg Seminar in November 1991.

Jan Blittersdorf, former vice president and chief financial officer for NRG Systems in Hinesburg, was named president and chief executive officer. The company also announced the addition of three new employees. Carl Irving, a Rensselaer Polytechnic graduate, is a software engineer. David Carlson, a Vermont Technical College graduate, is an electronics technician. Both worked at NRG part time while in school. Ric Trzeciak joined NRG as a purchaser. He was a senior buyer at Huber+Suhner Inc.

Rebecca Cook has been named corporate events director for the American Heart Association's Vermont office. She has 12 years' corporate sales experience, and will lead the Heart Walk for both Vermont and Plattsburgh.

New England Financial Vermont announced that Scott Daley has joined the firm as a financial planner. He has more than three years' experience in brokerage and financial planning and 15 years in real estate development, construction and marketing.

Hummel America Inc., a soccer fashion company, announced the following staff additions. Cody McGee, formerly with Adidas and N1, heads the sales team. Ed Sinkus, formerly with Adidas, is regional business representative for the Midwest. Jennifer Karpinski, formerly with Lord & Taylor and Ann Taylor, is merchandise, planning and purchasing manager. Katie Driver, a former UVM athlete, insurance representative and soccer coach, is regional business executive in the Northeast. Michelle Armentano, a former UVM athlete and elementary school teacher, is a retail and consumer relations representative nationwide. Kellie Parks, director of consumer and retail relations, is now the primary media contact.

Jager Di Paola Kemp Design announced the following appointments. Brian Rosen and Nate Herzog were named IS user support specialists. Rosen has more than 10 years of information technology experience; Herzog was with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Suzie Quinn was named managing director of the product design team for Merrell and Sebago footwear and luggage, and Kristen Faulkner was appointed a designer on the same team. Quinn was the owner of HQ Associates, a Burlington marketing business. Faulkner ran her own design business in Burlington. Rudd Davis was hired as junior project manager for the firm, and Brian Foster was named junior designer. Davis is a recent graduate of Bard College. Foster was a freelance designer.

Circus Smirkus of Greensboro announced the hiring of two staff members for the Circus Smirkus Academy at its new location in the Champlain Valley Exposition fairgrounds in Essex Junction. Phyllis Lecky, director of the academy, was the founder of New England Performance Art Center, where she served as theater director and choreographer for nine years. Dana Amey, assistant director, was a grant writer and helped set up the academy's new quarters.

Lang Associates announced the addition of Erin Saunders to its team as a shared agent assistant. Saunders is a third-year marketing major at Champlain College.

Fiducial, a tax, financial and business service provider owned by Leo O'Reilly, has moved its offices to 100 Dorset St., Suite 20B, South Burlington. It is an independently owned and operated member of the Fiducial network. 859-0003.

Ross Environmental Associates Inc. of Stowe announced the appointment of Nicole Stevens and James Gascoyne to its team. Stevens is manager of the accounting department. Gascoyne is responsible for implementing the firm's field investigations and overseeing the removal of underground storage tanks.

Vermont Development Credit Union of Burlington has a new name: Opportunities Credit Union.

Gregory Marchildon was appointed state director of AARP Vermont, charged with directing the organization's statewide efforts through community service, education and advocacy. The Lake Placid, N.Y., native was state director of the AARP office in Hawaii.

Peter L. Post, president and founder of PostScript Inc., announced that Sara C. Blum, vice president, joins him and Patricia C. Post as a co-owner of the firm. The marketing and public relations firm was founded in 1984. Blum has been with the firm since 1987.

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility has hired Scudder Parker as public policy coordinator. A former state senator, Parker was director of the energy efficiency division at the Vermont Department of Public Service.

Joel Dube has joined the commercial lending team at Northfield Savings Bank. He will be based at NSB's Chittenden County headquarters in Williston, but will work throughout the county. Dube was with Banknorth.

Lauri A. Fisher has become an associate at the law firm of Roesler, Whittlesey, Meekins & Amidon. She was admitted to the Vermont bar in November 2004 and will concentrate her practice in the areas of family law, civil litigation and real estate.