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Staats named YWCA CEO
YWCA Delaware announced that Stephanie Staats as the new Chief Executive Officer. Former CEO Michelle Basham has accepted a position as Executive Director of The Bridge for Youth in her home state of Minnesota.
Staats has more than 20 years of experience working in the Delaware nonprofit sector. Prior to joining YWCA Delaware, she worked at the Delaware Community Foundation, Delaware Humanities Forum and others along with serving on numerous boards and task forces throughout her career. She has dedicated the past 10 years to YWCA Delaware, starting in late 2004 as Director of Economic Advancement and most recently serving as Chief Operating Officer for the past two years.
The Board of Governors of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce elected the following leaders to Board:
Tony Allen, Bank of America
Stephanie Andrzejewski, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
Steve Baccino, Delmarva Power
Jeffrey Fried, Beebe Healthcare
Julie Garner, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
Timothy Houseal, Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP
Guy Marcozzi, Duffield Associates, Inc.
Terry Murphy, Bayhealth Medical Center
Roy Proujansky, The Nemours Healthcare System
Rhett Ruggerio, Ruggerio Willson & Associates, LLC
William Smith, Environmental Alliance
Grace Stockley, FideliTrade, Incorporated
The Chamber was founded in 1837 as the Wilmington Board of Trade.
Four join Hall of Fame
Four women were chosen as the 2016 inductees into the Hall of Fame of Delaware Women. The nominees are:
Annie Norman, is a library professional. She established the statewide Delaware Library Catalog which provides seamless access to millions of items shared by more than 50 academic, special, and several public school libraries. She also led Delaware to the distinction of being the first state to implement an innovative statewide library technology platform.
Chandra G. Pitts, a social entrepreneur and the founder & CEO of One Village Alliance. She is the creator of “Girls Can Do Anything!” that has engaged more than 1300 females to redefine womanhood and what it means to be a girl! Chandra Pitts was named 2015 Hometown Hero by Glamour Magazine.
Sonia S. Sloan, is an advocate and leader dedicated to strengthening the sustainability of organizations that serve an important public interest. She has worked with a number of organizations including the ACLU,Planned Parenthood, the YWCA, Public Allies Delaware, the Financial Literacy Institute, and the Wellness Community. She has raised over $140 million for Delaware non-profit agencies, and a reformation of program for youth released from Ferris School.
Jamie L. Wolfe, is an advocate for persons with disabilities. She is recognized as a pioneer in the disability movement at the University of Delaware where she worked tirelessly to ensure her success and the success of her peers with disabilities. When engaged in her advocacy she is equally at ease with a state senator, a college student with disabilities or a parent of a child with disabilities.
They will be inducted into the Hall of Fame of Delaware Women, March 24, 2016, at the Dover Downs Conference Center.
To date, 139 women have been inducted. The public is encouraged to continue to nominate women, even if in a given year they were not selected.
Rossi elected chairman of State Chamber
Salvatore J. “Chip” Rossi, has been elected chairman of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce (DSCC) board of directors, effective at the Annual Meeting on January 11, 2016.
Rossi succeeds Mark Stellini, who will continue to serve on the DSCC board of directors.
Rossi is the Consumer and Global Wealth & Investment Management Risk executive at Bank of America. He also represents the bank as the Delaware Market President. Rossi graduated from Gettysburg College, where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Management. He has been on the DSCC Board of Directors since 2010.
Stowell named Gore global sales leader
W. L. Gore & Associates announced Nora Stowell as global sales leader of footwear, gloves and accessories. Stowell, an outdoor industry veteran with over 20 years of experience.
Stowell previously held leadership positions at Amer Sports managing sales for Arc’teryx, Atomic, Salomon, Suunto, and Mavic.
Stowell will be honored as the winner of the 2016 Pioneering Woman award by the Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition in January at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market. Recipients of this award are honored for their significant achievements in the outdoor industry, while working toward greater diversity and inclusion in the workplace. She is currently the vice chairman of the executive committee for the Outdoor Industry Association board of directors.
Medical director named
Delaware Hospice announced Dr. Jo Ann Fields as Associate Medical Director. Fields will be located at the Delaware Hospice Center in Milford working with hospice patients as well as Delaware Palliative patients to provide them with quality healthcare services.
She joined the Delaware Hospice team on December 1st. She is looking forward to helping promote Delaware Hospice through its Delaware Palliative and hospice care programs. Fields will accompany a complete medical team that provides comfort and quality of life to patients and their families.
“I look forward to help patients and caregivers who struggle to coordinate multiple illnesses and life limiting illnesses,” stated Dr. Fields. “Through one of the variety of services and programs offered by Delaware Hospice, I know that we can help you or a loved one.”
Fields brings an extensive medical background and knowledge of end of life care to Delaware Hospice. Through her experiences with internal medicine and being a primary care physician for 19 years in Kent County.
Coker Graham new bureau president
Julie Coker Graham was named the new president and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB). She assumed the role following the retirement of current President and CEO, Jack Ferguson on December 31. In June 2014, Coker Graham was promoted to Executive Vice President of the PHLCVB as part of a strategic succession plan that allowed her to continue leading the organization’s convention sales efforts, while expanding her responsibilities to include overseeing all of the PHLCVB’s departments and operational duties. A 21-year Hyatt Hotel Corporation veteran, Coker Graham will be the only female African-American president & CEO to lead a major CVB in the top 50 U.S. markets.
Coker Graham grew up in Wilmington.
As the primary sales and marketing agency for the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center, in 2014 the PHLCVB boasted its strongest convention booking year in a decade.
Physician joins St. Francis
Saint Francis Healthcare announced the addition of Neha Vora, M.D., to its Women’s Health Department. Vora will join Dr. Richard Henderson’s practice on the fifth floor of the medical office building on North Clayton Street in Wilmington.
Before joining Saint Francis Healthcare, Vora completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at Christiana Care Health System. She received the William G. Slate Resident Research Award and took first place in this health system’s Academic Jaw Bowl for her research related to placenta previa and its effects on pregnancies.
She received her medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine and focused on obstetrics, gynecology, surgery and family medicine during her third- and fourth-year clerkships. While completing her undergraduate degree at Brown University, she received a research and teaching grant to help design an online resource about HIV/AIDS issues specific to Mali and West Africa.
In the community, Vora has provided volunteer prenatal care and organized fundraisers for car seats and formula for mothers in need. She also educated HIV-positive teens about dating violence as part of a domestic violence prevention project.
Dr. Vora is a member of the American Congress of Obstetrics & Gynecologists, American Society of Colposcopy & Cervical Pathology and the American Medical Association.
Stephano Slack adds staff
Stephano Slack LLC, an accounting and consulting firm, announced William S. Covert as Chief Financial Officer. Covert will be based in the firm’s Wayne, PA headquarters.
Covert is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the accounting and financial functions of the firm, as well as leading and managing M&A strategies and corporate finance activities, and maintaining relationships with various external entities including vendors.
Covert held financial executive positions with Siana Carr O’Connor & Lynam, LLP where he served as a Tax Consultant and Personal Financial Planner; Eagle Energy Systems, Ltd. Where he served as Chief Financial Officer; and Davidson Trust Company where he held the concurrent executive positions of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Accounting from Bloomsburg University. Covert is a Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Global Management Accountant and has earned the Personal Financial Planning Certification. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Covert is also active in the community and serves as Treasurer of St. Maximilian Kolbe CYO in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
The also announced staff promotions and new hires to support the firm’s continued growth in the new year.
Key team members promoted to Senior Accountant include Alvin Bastian, Michael Farren, Dave Kubovsak and Patricia Timko.
The firm’s new hires will provide Stephano Slack with the necessary infrastructure to continue to deliver a broad range of services to its clients in southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and northern Maryland. The additions to the Wayne office are: John Allenson Staff Accountant, Todd Rogers Senior Accountant, Patrick Dougherty Staff Accountant, Anne Garcon Staff Accountant, Matthew Kurish Staff Accountant, Ryan May Staff Accountant and Stephanie Thomas Staff Accountant . the Wilmington office, Jeff Cyron n has joined the firm as a Senior Accountant. Yan (Isabella) Ma will join the Wayne office as a Staff Accountant in February.
In their Wilmington office they announced that Kenneth Stewart, CPA has joined the firm as a Tax Manager.
Stewart will focus on tax planning, consulting and advisory services for clients while mentoring younger colleagues as the firm grows into one of the area’s preeminent accounting firms.
His areas of expertise include: tax deferred exchange agreements; family income and asset shifting; taxation minimization; deferred compensation planning; education funding; individuals’ asset acquisition and the attendant financing issues; charitable giving mechanisms; among others.
Previously, he held senior positions at prestigious area firms. He was a principal in the tax department at Master Sidlow & Associates, P.A.; Director/Stockholder at Belfint Lyons & Shuman; and Director/Stockholder of Truitt Sarnecki & Associates. He is a graduate of Wilmington College.
Pataki, Wallace join realty firm
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, Hockessin-Pike Creek Home Marketing Center, announced Christopher Pataki as a Sales Associate. Licensed since 2006, Pataki is a member of the New Castle County Board and Delaware Association of REALTORS. He is a recipient of the Five Star Real Estate Agent Award for each of the past five years.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, Newark Office, announced Julia Wallace as a Sales Associate. Wallace is a member of the New Castle County Board of Realtors.