Giving Back
1. Brycon once again partnered with the City of Chandler to participate in the 2023 Operation Back to School event. Brycon was able to donate 100 backpacks filled with school supplies. Employees donated money, bought supplies and spent a morning assembling 100 backpacks.
Awards & Accolades
2. The Greater Phoenix Chapter of IFMA celebrated a year of membership philanthropy at its annual Cheers to the Foundation and Awards Ceremony recently in Phoenix. Members who have made significant contributions to the chapter over the past year were honored. They included:
- Associate Member of the Year: Aimee Wells, Express Facility Management;
- Professional Member of the Year: Dawn Holst, City of Tempe;
- Associate Company of the Year: ATI Restoration;
- Professional Company of the Year: Terracon;
- Rising Star Student of the Year: Anjani Sharma, Arizona State University;
- Emerging Leader of the Year: Robert Dahlk, APS;
- Committee of the Year: Sponsorship Committee (Stephanie Jones, Nickol Shaffer, Samantha Perkowski);
- Committee Member of the Year: Cristina Butler, Rainbow Restoration;
- Helping Hand of the Year: Kristy Schlesselman, LMI360;
- President’s Award for Special Recognition: Mike Hollingsworth, City of Chandler; Stephanie Jones, Allied Universal Security Services; Charles Bladine, City of Tempe; and Jay Natale, Square Care.
Boards & Commissions
3. Heather Personne, Managing Principal of development firm Evolve Ventures, has been selected as the new Chair of the Urban Land Institute, Arizona District Council, serving on a voluntary basis for a two-year term that started on July 1. Other members of the executive leadership team are Vice Chair Steve Lindley with Cushman & Wakefield and Treasurer Tammy Carr with Brinkmann Constructors. Personne succeeds longtime ULI leader Mark Winkleman, President of MGS Realty Partners.
4. Sun Corridor Inc. announced the following new leadership positions for the Fiscal Year 23-24 beginning July 1:
- Chair of the Board: Susan Gray, President & CEO, Tucson Electric Power
- Immediate Past Chair: Judy Rich, President & CEO, TMC Health
- Secretary/Treasurer: David Smallhouse, Managing Director, Miramar Ventures
- President & CEO: Joe Snell, Sun Corridor Inc.
5. The Arizona Association for Economic Development announced the election of five members to serve on the Executive Committee of its Board of Directors. The committee includes:
- President: Vincent “Skip” Becker;
- President-elect: Karla Moran;
- Vice President: Jennifer Lindley;
- Secretary/Treasurer: Heath Vescovi-Chiordi, and
- Immediate Past President: Wendy Bridges.
New Hires
6. Harvard Investments recently announced several new hires that have joined the firm in the last year across its various divisions:
- Robert Trujillo, VP – Harvard FirstStreet;
- Janelle Humphrey, Controller – Harvard FirstStreet Division;
- Nathan Shooks, Senior Development Associate – Harvard FirstStreet Division;
- Aaron Pederson, Director of Finance – Estrella;
- Tiffany Greene, Real Estate Legal Coordinator – Harvard Investments, and
- Rebecca Palacio, Contracts Coordinator – Estrella.
7. JLL announced that Adrienne (Kautzman) Andrews has joined the firm’s Phoenix Capital Markets office as a Managing Director in its Hotels & Hospitality division.
8. Fidelity National Title Agency announced it has added to its senior administrative team with the hiring of Taylor Mize as VP, Commercial Sales Manager.
Retirement
9. After 35 years at Harvard Investments, Kathe Astrom announced her retirement effective June 30. Astrom served as the CFO. Astrom is a Certified Public Accountant experienced in finance, accounting, audit and tax reporting.