From PBJ of September 10-12, 2002
ARTS
Diane L. Nixa of Princeton was recently named vice president of development for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC). In her new capacity, she will direct fund-raising for NJPAC and is responsible for raising $11 million annually, as well as coordinating several special adjunct fundraising and sponsorship initiatives. Prior to joining NJPAC, Ms. Nixa served as the first director of development for the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
EDUCATION
Rider University President Bart Luedeke has appointed Kenneth Ashworth as the university’s new vice president for development and university relations. He assumed the post on July 1.
Mr. Ashworth comes to Rider from The General Theological Seminary of New York where he served as vice president for development since 1998. He previously served as vice president for development for the University of Connecticut Foundation and as the chief development officer for the University of Oregon.
Mr. Ashworth holds a master’s degree from Cornell University’s Graduate School of Business and Public Administration and an undergraduate degree from University of Pennsylvania.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Richard Willinger, a partner in the Princeton accounting firm of Druker Rahl & Fein and chairman of its tax department, was named chairman of the Executive Committee of CPASNET.COM, a consortium of accounting and business consulting firms who have pooled their resources to provide a national overview for their clients.
Amper, Politziner & Mattia, Certified Public Accountants and Consultants, has announced that Linda Gibson has joined the firm as a senior manager in the litigation and valuation group.
Ms. Gibson has more than 20 years of experience and will be providing consulting, litigation support and business valuation services to a broad base of commercial entities, attorneys and individuals.
Amper, Politziner & Mattia, Certified Public Accountants and Consultants, has announced that Peter DiGiovanni has joined the firm as a tax manager.
Mr. DiGiovanni has more than nine years of accounting and consulting experience. Prior to joining AP&M, he was a manager in the tax services group of an international accounting and consulting firm. His areas of responsibility include providing tax planning, compliance and consulting for businesses and individuals.
Mr. DiGiovanni holds degrees from Rutgers University School of Law, Villanova University and the University of Notre Dame.
Reid Murray has been appointed senior client advisor of the PNC Advisors Office in Princeton. In this capacity, he is responsible for delivering a full range of banking services, investment management, trust and estate services, and financial planning to a portfolio of high net worth clients in the greater Mercer County area.
With more than 20 years of banking experience, Mr. Murray recently served as managing director of the investment banking area of CIBC World Markets Inc.
An active volunteer, Mr. Murray is a board member of The Historical Society of Princeton, Friends of Homeless Animals and the New York City Investment Partnership. He lives with his wife and daughter in Pennington.
Patrick M. Ryan, president and CEO of Yardville National Bank, has announced the appointment of Stephen Walker as first senior vice president and chief information officer. Mr. Walker comes to YNB with vast knowledge and experience of the financial information/technology field, having previously been associated with CoreStates Financial Corporation, Shawmut National Corporation in Boston and Merrill Lynch. At YNB, he will be overseeing four specific groups internet banking, applications, network and bank operations.
A longtime Pennington resident, Mr. Walker is a native of Worcester, Mass. He received degrees from Northeastern University and Clark University.
Jih (Betty) Lee of Princeton Junction has joined Klatzkin & Co. LLP, certified public accountants, as a staff accountant. A College of New Jersey graduate, she will be working in the firm’s tax and auditing areas.
LAW
Attorney Vincent E. Gentile, a partner with Drinker Biddle & Shanley, LLP, has been designated a Certified Civil Trial Attorney in the State of New Jersey.
Mr. Gentile is a partner in the Litigation Department. He has handled a broad range of civil and commercial litigation matters from trial through appeal, and has represented major corporate clients, individuals and small businesses in both state and federal courts.
He is a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court District VII Free Arbitration Committee and a master of the Mercer County Inn of Court.
Attorney Brian M. Cige, whose Princeton practice emphasizes employment law, has been admitted to New Jersey’s statewide roster of mediators for Civil, General Equity and Probate.
William H. Brosha, of Stark & Stark of Princeton, was elected Executive Council member of the Creditors’ Rights Section of the Commercial Law League of America.
Mr. Brosha concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial litigation and business bankruptcy representation.
Geoffrey M. Connor has assumed the position of chairman of the New Jersey State Bar Association Banking Law Section, after having served as chairman-elect for the past two years. A partner in the Financial Services and Bank Regulatory Groups in Reed Smith’s Princeton office, Mr. Connor is former chairman of the section’s Legislative and Consumer Finance Committee.
Jeffrey L. Shanaberger, a partner with the Princeton law firm of Hill Wallack, has been appointed chairman of the Public Entity Law Substantive Committee of the New Jersey Defense Association. Mr. Shanaberger is a member of the firm’s Litigation Division and Trial & Insurance Practice Group.
A trial attorney, Mr. Shanaberger has a practice concentration in trial and appellate practice, emphasizing insurance coverage and defense in matters of governmental, public entity, civil rights, and products liabilities.
He is a member of the Middlesex and Mercer county, New Jersey and New York bar associations, Defense Research Institute and the New Jersey Defense Association.
The law firm of Hill Wallack recently added Nielsen V. Lewis as partner-in-charge of the Environmental & Governmental Regulations Practice Group.
Mr. Lewis has over 20 years of experience in the areas of environmental law, solid and hazardous waste law, insurance law, general civil litigation and land use and development. Since entering into private practice, he has focused on counseling and representing private companies, municipalities and individuals in disputes and litigation concerning the environment, land use and insurance.
Michelle Monte, a senior attorney with Hill Wallack, Princeton, has become partner of the firm in its creditor’s rights bankruptcy practice group. Her work deals with debtors in possession and debtors and trustees in liquidation and reorganization proceedings. A resident of Lawrenceville, she has been with the firm since 1996.
Howard Cohen has joined Parker, McCay & Criscuolo as a shareholder. Mr. Cohen will concentrate his practice in land use and commercial litigation, and will serve as special counsel to municipalities and public sector clients. He will work out of the firm’s Lawrenceville office.
Szaferman Lakind, a full service law firm based in Lawrenceville, announces that Phillip Boyce, has become an associate in the firm. Mr. Boyce joins the civil litigation department.
Most recently associated with the New Jersey firms of Clancy, Callahan & Smith in Roseland and Bross, Zipkin & Pinilis in Newark, he brings with him experience in commercial disputes, contract law, construction litigation, consumer fraud and personal injury. A graduate of The American University in Washington, D.C., he received his law degree from Seton Hall Law School.
Mr. Boyce resides in Pennington with his family.
Rocky L. Peterson, a partner of the Princeton law firm of Hill Wallack, where he is a member of the firm’s Litigation Division, Municipal and School Law Practice Groups, was recently appointed to the Merit Selection Panel of the United States District Court. The Merit Selection Panel will assist the United States District Court in choosing a United States Magistrate Judge for the Trenton Vicinage.
MARKETING
Princeton Partners Inc., an integrated brand marketing agency, has won first place at the 34th annual NJ Ad Club Jersey Awards for the agency’s Liberty Science Center awareness ad in the category, Newspaper Advertising. The agency also won a third place award for a radio commercial.
Gibbs & Soell Public Relations has selected D’Anne Hotchkiss of Princeton as director of business development to lead expansion efforts for its North American offices.
Ms. Hotchkiss’ experience includes corporate and marketing communications for private and public companies in a range of industries, including retail, consumer goods, healthcare, supply chain and information technology. Most recently she was a senior vice president for a high-tech public relations agency in New York. In Princeton she works with various community organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and Friends of New Jersey Familycare.
PHARMA
David Fink has joined MedPoint Inc. of Somerset, a specialty prescription pharmaceutical company, as vice president of marketing. Mr. Fink most recently was vice president, cardiovascular marketing, with Bristol-Myers Squibb in Lawrence. Previously, he had been a director of marketing for Schering Laboratories in Kenilworth.
RESEARCH
Mathematica Policy Research Inc., recently named senior health-economist Valerie Cheh as associate director of health research for the Princeton office. She will be responsible for recruiting, mentoring, and supervising new researchers and managing departmental issues.
She has directed projects on postacute care and rural health service delivery, and has been part of the management team as supervisor of health analysts in Princeton. She joined Mathematica in 1989.
Ms. Cheh, a Princeton resident, received her doctorate in economics from Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.
Mathematica has offices in Princeton, Washington, D.C. and Cambridge, Mass., and has conducted some of the most important studies of health care, education, welfare, employment, nutrition, and early childhood policies and programs in the United States.
TELECOM
V-COMM, a provider of engineering and related services for the telecommunications industry, announced the addition of Michael Schwartz as director of strategic accounts. He will oversee the building and expansion needs of new and existing clients.
A 25-year veteran of the telecom industry, Mr. Schwartz is a pioneer in wireless communications. His career includes experience in paging, cellular, PCS, telecom engineering and infrastructure equipment.
V-COMM delivers expertise and solutions for wired and wireless operators and vendors with offices in Cranbury.