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Newsbites
Navient Recognized for Gender Diversity
Navient, a leader in technology-enabled education finance and business processing solutions, is proud to announce that it has been recognized as a Corporate Champion by Women’s Forum of New York. Navient, which has four women on its nine-member board, was honored at the Women’s Forum of New York’s seventh biennial Breakfast of Corporate Champions, which celebrated 233 companies in the S&P 500 and Fortune 1000 that have achieved at least 40% female representation on their boards.
“Congratulations to Navient’s CEO and Board as a 2023 honoree at the Women’s Forum of New York Breakfast of Corporate Champions for having 40% women on their board, exceeding the national S&P 500 average of 33%,” said Janice Ellig, CEO of Ellig Group, and founder and Chair of the Women’s Forum of New York’s Breakfast of Corporate Champions. “Navient’s commitment to gender diversity has been recognized for exceeding the national average at each biennial Breakfast of Corporate Champions since 2015.”
NCAA Division II Executive Board Names Chair
Goldey-Beacom College (GBC) President Colleen Perry Keith, a longtime advocate of bettering student-athletes’ lives and a longtime voice within the NCAA, will be elevated to chair of the NCAA Division II Executive Board when the 2024 NCAA Convention concludes in January in Phoenix.
“Dr. Keith’s appointment is important for the College and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC),” Director of Athletics Jeremy Benoit said. “Our president continues to make an impact on the College, but she always has her eyes set on the improvement of our community … whether that means our immediate community or a community as large as the NCAA membership. Her willingness to get involved at this level will continue to ensure that small colleges like Goldey-Beacom have their voices heard in the legislative process. There is no one more well-read and capable to do that than she.”
Dr. Keith will also serve as the Division II representative on the NCAA Board of Governors in a renewable one-year term. She is one of nine presidents on the 14-member board out of the 311 Division II institutions who will serve on the Executive Board.
“I am honored to serve the NCAA Division II colleges and student athletes in this role,” Dr. Keith said. “The philosophy of Division II—life in the balance—fits well with who I am, but more importantly, who and what Goldey-Beacom and our sister colleges in the division are.”
Nemours Children’s Health Names Delaware Valley Regional President
Nemours Children’s Health announced that Mark Marcantano, JD, will join the organization as regional president for Nemours Children’s Delaware Valley. Marcantano is a seasoned healthcare executive with significant operations, strategic planning, and financial performance experience at prominent pediatric academic medical centers.
“Mark brings a perfect blend of both ambulatory and inpatient experience to the new role of Regional President for Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware Valley,” said Mark Mumford, enterprise chief operating officer for the multistate, multisite children’s health system. “His six years at Boston Children’s, experience leading Care New England’s Women and Infants Hospital, and his most recent role at Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital, position him well to lead our commitment to purposeful growth, increased patient and associate engagement, innovation and value-based care.”
“There is no more inspiring focus than the mission and vision at Nemours Children’s Health to provide the highest quality, value-based pediatric healthcare necessary to create the healthiest generations of children,” said Marcantano. “I am incredibly humbled to join the amazing team at Nemours and energized to continue the important work ahead with one of the top pediatric integrated health systems in the nation.”
Beebe Welcomes New Physician in Selbyville
Beebe Medical Group welcomed primary care physician Darlene Haupt, DO, to its medical staff.
Dr. Haupt will provide primary care services for children and adults at Beebe Primary Care Selbyville, conveniently located at “Bayside Corner” at the intersections of Routes 54 and 20. Beebe opened this new location in early December 2023.
Dr. Haupt focuses on wellness and preventive healthcare, as well as comprehensive care for patients with a wide range of acute and chronic health issues. She is especially interested in women’s health.
“It is exciting to relocate to Sussex County after spending the past 25 years getting to know the area, as a vacationer. I am comfortable and happy here,” said Dr. Haupt. “I love what I do and feel honored to take care of patients and help them reach their health goals.”
Easterseals Elects New Board Officers
Easterseals Delaware & Maryland’s Eastern Shore recently announced its slate of new officers elected to the 2024 board of directors, including: Penny Saridakis as chair, Pierre Anderson as vice chair, Michael J. Tretina as treasurer, and Jen Mathews as secretary.
Saridakis has devoted her time to enhancing the quality of life in the state through efforts in healthcare, education, and the arts. Along with Easterseals board, she has chaired its Governance Committee and has served on the Development and Strategic Direction Committees. Saridakis has served on the Easterseals board since 2019.
Currently Anderson serves as the senior vice president and chief information officer of Artesian Resources Corporation & Subsidiaries, having responsibility for all technology functions of the organization. He has served on the board since 2017. Tretina is the senior vice president and CFO at Bayhealth, Inc. and Bayhealth Medical Center in Dover and has served on the board since 2019. Mathews is a vice president of technology for CSC®. She has served on the board since 2019.
Dover Gets Grant for Electric Mowers and Vehicles
As the nation transitions away from gas-powered engines in favor of more sustainable solutions, the City of Dover is using a $500,000 grant from Energize Delaware’s EV Fleets for Local Governments program to pilot a new fleet of electric vehicles and electric lawn equipment.
“Our crews are very excited to put this new equipment to the test,” Dover City Manager Dave Hugg said. “Before we invest taxpayer money in this still relatively new technology, we want to make sure the EVs are able to perform as needed and withstand the usage that we put on our vehicles. The grant from Energize Delaware is allowing us to try before we buy and make sure this equipment is right for our needs.”
Using the Energize Delaware grant, the City purchased two commercial Greenworks electric riding mowers, a Chevrolet Bolt, six Ford F-150 Lightning pickup trucks, and upgraded their electric infrastructure for charger installations. The vehicles are spread throughout different divisions in the city to test their feasibility.
To date, the Energize Delaware funding supported the opportunity for nearly 20 local and county governments to pilot electric vehicles in their communities. The grant helps alleviate the logistical concerns of installing the infrastructure to maintain the EV fleets.
Whisman Giordano & Associates Gives to Food Bank
Whisman Giordano and Associates, LLC (WGA) responded to the Food Bank of Delaware’s call to help make the holidays brighter for Delawareans facing food insecurity. The WGA team donated over 1,800 boxes of macaroni and cheese and stuffing and raised $10,559 in donations.
In celebration of WGA’s 50th anniversary, the firm has been working on its 50 Acts of Kindness initiative. This is one of the numerous activities completed this year. According to the Food Bank of Delaware’s website, they can provide three meals for every $1.00 donated. This means that WGA’s fundraising alone, excluding the 1,800 boxes, provided 31,677 meals.
Khan Joins World Trade Center Delaware Board
Ayanna Khan, founder, president and CEO of the Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce, has joined the World Trade Center Delaware board of directors. Khan is the newest business leader to join the board, which guides and advises the operations of the state’s foremost global business resource. She is also president and CEO of Khan Consulting LLC and an adjunct instructor in grant writing at Delaware Technical Community College.
The Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce has been a World Trade Center Delaware member since 2021. With 634 members, it was named the Best Black Chamber for 2023 by the National Black Chamber of Commerce, and Khan was recently inducted into the Delaware Business Hall of Fame.
“I am honored to join the board of World Trade Center Delaware and support its continued growth and success,” Khan said. “International trade and business are the next frontier for many Black-owned businesses. I look forward to contributing to the forward momentum World Trade Center provides for all of Delaware.”
“We are very pleased to have Ayanna Khan join our Board. Her expertise in community building will allow us to increase our outreach to additional businesses throughout the state,” said Carla Stone, president of World Trade Center Delaware.
Southern Delaware Tourism Launches New Website
Culinary tourism involves visiting destinations to explore the local culture through authentic local food and drink and includes activities like culinary trails, cooking classes, food festivals, food tours, and farm weekends. Thanks in large part to social media and the universality of phone cameras, it’s booming and showing no signs of slowing down.
The purpose of the new website is to offer this growing travel segment onestop shopping for in-depth information about Southern Delaware’s unique, rich, vibrant, and storied culinary scene in order to encourage visitation and as a tool to assist in travel planning.
The new Culinary Coast™ website links from Southern Delaware Tourism’s main website’s Eat & Drink tab and has a standalone URL, www. CulinaryCoastDE.com. The website’s content includes restaurant, brewery, winery, and distillery listings; culinary events, classes, and tours; farmers markets, and local specialties. It also showcases a blog that welcomes guest posts from Culinary Coast™ chefs, restaurateurs, and producers; a “Culinary Coast™ in the news” section; local chef bios; and it will include agritourism and aquaculture components.
This new website allows Southern Delaware Tourism to more effectively spread the word that Life Tastes Better Here to travel writers and culinary tourists who aren’t yet familiar with the destination.
Promotions and New Partners at Morris Nichols
Morris Nichols announced that Alexandra Cumings and Kyle Pinder have joined the firm partnership, effective January 1, 2024, and Elizabeth Mullin was promoted to special counsel.
“On behalf of the partnership, I am pleased to announce the promotion of Ali, Kyle, and Liz. I have had the privilege of working with all three individuals since early in their tenure at the firm, and I look forward to seeing them embark on this next phase of their careers,” said Bill Lafferty, chair of the firm’s executive committee. “Their exceptional talents and dedication will carry them, and the firm, onto a promising future.”
Ali, Kyle, and Liz have all been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch which recognizes lawyers who are earlier in their careers for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice.
