Career FRONT

FINANCIAL FRONT

Ransom

Charlotte-based Truist Financial Corporation has named Thomas Ransom as regional president for the Virginia region. Thomas has nearly 22 years of banking experience and previously served as the market president for the Greater Washington D.C. area, for Truist predecessor BB&T. His role as regional president will be to lead the locals to serve Truist’s clients in the Virginia region.

CREATIVE FRONT

Access Advertising & Public Relations has appointed Lucas Weaver as public relations specialist and Olivia McKinney as art director. Weaver joined Access after graduating from Roanoke College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a concentration in marketing. McKinney is a graduate of Virginia Western Community College with an associate degree in visual design. Both Weaver and McKinney joined Access in July 2020.

Weaver

McKinney WELLNESS FRONT

Malaiskaite

Friendship Health announces Nurse Practitioner Indre Malaiskaite has joined the organization’s newest healthcare offering, Friendship Physician Clinic, which opened in January. Malaiskaite, who did some of her training at Friendship, earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Roanoke College. She later earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in nursing from the Jefferson College of Health Sciences.

Richfield Living, a senior living and rehabilitation company in Salem and Roanoke, has announced the

Chocklett

selection of Sarah Chocklett as Administrator of The Joseph C. Thomas Center. Chocklett, has four years of healthcare leadership experience. A Licensed Nursing Home Administrator, Chocklett holds a bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Management from Jefferson College of Health Sciences (now Radford University Carilion). She joined Richfield in May 2021.

Akers

Warm Hearth Village in Blacksburg recently

hired Jennifer Akers as the new Director of Nursing (DON) for the Kroontje Health Care Center. Akers earned her Associate of Science Degree in Nursing in 2015 from ITT Technical School in Salem. She became a Registered Nurse (RN) in 2016. Akers was previously with MFA Pulaski Health and Rehabilitation Center, where she was the Director of Nursing.

EDUCATIONAL FRONT

Pennix

The Virginia Tech Office of Undergraduate Admissions welcomes James Pennix as senior associate director of undergraduate admissions. Pennix has more than 20 years of experience,

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most recently serving as assistant vice chancellor for enrollment management at Elizabeth City State University. Prior to that Pennix served as vice president for enrollment management at Ferrum College; dean of admissions and AVP of enrollment management at Radford University; and director of admissions at Roanoke College.

Curator, artist, and educator Brian Holcombe has joined the Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech as its curator, leading the center's year-round program of art exhibitions and related educational and engagement activities in its galleries and public spaces. In 2002 Holcombe founded Saltworks, a contemporary art gallery in Atlanta, Georgia, and served as the gallery's director and curator for 12 years.

Holcombe

Christina Fabrey,

Fabrey associate dean for advising and academic achievement at Prescott College, has been named director of the Student Success Center (SSC) at Virginia Tech. Fabrey is responsible for overseeing retention and persistence efforts related to student support, including orientation and ongoing

community programming with diverse student populations, tutoring, academic skills development, academic recovery, peer coaching programs, curriculum development for academic support courses, and scholar support.

Eric Paterson has been appointed executive director of the Virginia Tech National Security Institute. Paterson has served as interim executive director for the Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology for over two years and has led the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering as department head for almost 10 years.

Paterson

Catherine Woteki, a

Woteki

Virginia Tech alumna who earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, was recently named to President Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and is one of 30 members who will directly advise the president. Woteki currently serves as president of the Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation,a nonprofit organization that works to promote a broader, comprehensive understanding of agriculture through increased scientific knowledge. She is Visiting Distinguished Institute Professor in the Biocomplexity Institute at the University of Virginia, and a professor of food science and human nutrition at Iowa State University. Virginia Tech’s Advancement Division has added Charleon Jeffries to its senior leadership team in the newly created position of assistant vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Jeffries previously served as director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for Penn State University’s Division of Development and Alumni Relations.

Jeffries

MUNICIPAL FRONT

The Roanoke ValleyAlleghany Regional Commission has appointed Andrea Garland to head its multi-regional commuter assistance program, RIDE Solutions. “Andrea’s deep background in transportation and mobility planning [she comes from Roanoke City’s transportation department], coupled with her long history of advocacy for multi-modal transportation options both within the Roanoke community and elsewhere, make her a natural fit for this leadership position,” says Regional Commission Executive Director Jeremy Holmes. RIDE Solutions began as an air quality improvement program focused on carpooling in 2006 and expanded to encompass programs and promotions supporting public transportation, bicycle commuting and pedestrian safety.

Garland

Compiled by Gene Marrano

Shon Aguero is the executive vice president and chief banking officer for Freedom First Credit Union. A graduate of Oklahoma State University, Walden University, SW Graduate School of Banking, Cox School of Business - SMU, and New York Institute of Finance, he moved here from Southwest and Midwest US, and lives in Roanoke with his wife and two children.

Lisa Clause is senior director of marketing and philanthropy at Richfield Living. She is a recent MBA graduate with distinction of Liberty University and has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and minor in professional and technical writing at Virginia Tech. She began her career at the Roanoke Times, moved to WSET television rising to national sales manager. She co-owns Fine Line Interiors with her husband, and enjoys gardening, bike riding, and church activities.

Jennifer Poff Cooper is a senior correspondent for FRONT, and a graduate of the RB Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech with a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Hollins University. She is a native of Christiansburg, where she lives and writes in her family’s home place. [cooperjp91@gmail.com]

Mike Dame is the vice president of marketing and communications at Carilion Clinic. A graduate of the University of Florida, he spent nearly a decade as a sportswriter for the Orlando Sentinel before transitioning to a career in digital communications that landed him at Virginia Tech in 2005; he joined Carilion in 2008. Mike lives in Roanoke with his wife Valeria and enjoys golf, guitar, spending time with friends and cheering on his beloved Florida Gators.

Dan Dowdy is the business development director for Valley Business FRONT and owner of The Proofing Prof proofreading services (proofingprof.com). His background includes service in the U.S. Air Force and an extensive career in education, including teaching college-level writing competency and business courses, and working for a Fortune 100 company. [ddowdy@vbFRONT.com]

Tom Field is a creative director, marketing executive and owner of Berryfield, Inc. in Salem, and owner of Valley Business FRONT magazine. He has written and produced programs and materials for local and international organizations for 40 years. [tfield@berryfield.com]

Micah Fraim is a topreferred Certified Public Accountant and business finance strategist who is well-connected in the regional business community and nationally recognized. Publisher of The Little Big Small Business Book, he also publishes a blog at www. fraimcpa.com/blog and is frequently interviewed as a business financial expert in national media channels. [ micahfraim@fraimcpa.com ]

William Hall is the Chief Executive Officer of Beacon Partners Consulting. They specialize in Human Resources, Operational Efficiency and Brand & Marketing. A graduate of Roanoke College, Will has several years experience working in the consulting field with small business owners. When not consulting you can find him at a local pickup game playing basketball.

Jennifer Leake is an expert in employee assessments and their use to better select, engage and lead employees. Jennifer has over 20 years of assessment experience and is certified in multiple assessments, including Emotional Intelligence and Employee Engagement tools.

Mike Leigh is president of OpX Solutions, LLC, a performance improvement company that helps organizations pursue operational excellence. A retired naval commander and former GE manufacturing manager, he has extensive experience in leadership development and process improvement. [Mike@ OpXSolutionsLLC.com]

Gene Marrano is FRONT editor and an award-winning anchor and reporter for WFIR Newstalk radio. He recently won best feature award from the Virginia Association of Broadcasters for his Dopesick interview with Beth Macy. He also now hosts and co-produces “Business Matters” on Blue Ridge PBS. [gmarrano@cox.net]

Mary Ann L. Miller is vice president of business banking and community relations at Bank of Botetourt. A graduate of Bridgewater College, she has been in the banking industry for more than fifteen years and currently serves on the board and executive committee as past-president with the Botetourt County Chamber of Commerce, a board member with the Daleville Institute, and is vice chair of the board of with the Botetourt Family YMCA. A native of Botetourt County, she resides in Daleville with her husband, Matthew and their son Ira.

Michael Shelton is a Registered Financial Consultant, tax specialist, and owner of 360Wealth Consultants. His firm specializes in providing retirement planning and wealth preservation strategies for business owners and astute individuals. What really has the locals excited, though, is his groundbreaking, proprietary software, designed to streamline accounting and wealth planning for business owners of medical practices, real estate properties, and construction industry businesses. [michaal@ discover360Financial.com]

Nicholas Vaassen is a graphic designer with 19 years experience, specializing in publications. His design projects include FRONT, lifestyle, real estate, municipal, classified sales and cultural organization magazines in Roanoke and southwestern Virginia markets. [nvaassen@ berryfield.com]

Michael Waldvogel is the president and chief executive officer of Waldvogel Commercial Properties, founding it in 2004. With three decades of commercial real estate experience, he was also the founding principal of Waldvogel, Poe & Cronk, a business development director for the Better Business Bureau, and executive director of the Downtown Business League. He is active in a number of business, professional, trade, and service organizations, and is an outdoor enthusiast and runner.

A year ago, my wife and I ordered a couple of mountain bikes. We're ”“ still waiting for one of them. — Page 18

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