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Lopez named to Delaware Tech’s Board of Trustees
Lolita A. Lopez was nominated by Governor Jack A. Markell and confirmed by the Delaware State Senate on March 23, 2016 as the newest member of Delaware Tech’s Board of Trustees, effective immediately.
Lopez is currently the president and chief executive officer of Westside Family Healthcare, with six locations in Kent and New Castle Counties. As president and CEO of the private, non-profit community health center for the last 26 years, Lopez is responsible for strategic direction, fiscal management, development and operations.Lopez is a member of the Christiana Care Health System Board of Trustees, the Visiting Nurses Association Board of Directors, Chair of the National Association of Community Health Centers Advocacy Task Force, the Delaware Healthy Mother and Infant Consortium, the American College of Healthcare Executives Delaware Regent’s Advisory Council, the Todmorden Foundation Board, and the Delaware Center for Health Innovation Board and Co-chair of the Healthy Neighborhoods Committee.
Lopez has received numerous honors including the National Association of Community Health Centers Outstanding Achievement Award (2015), YWCA Delaware Trailblazer Award (2011), Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame (2010), Latin American Community Center Distinguished Hispanic Delawarean Award (2006), Delaware Commission for Women Hall of Fame of Delaware Women (2006), and the American College of Healthcare Executives Senior-Level Delaware Regent’s Award (2005).
Lopez graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and a master’s degree in mental health counseling. A native
Lopez replaces Audrey Van Luven on the Board of Trustees.
Chesapeake appoints controller
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation announced that Naimul Islam has joined the Company as Vice President and Corporate Controller. In this role, he will manage all of Chesapeake’s accounting operations, including corporate accounting, internal and external financial reporting, business unit accounting, accounts payable, capital accounting, income taxes and shared services-accounting.
Islam has over 20 years of broad based experience in accounting, financial reporting and governance, technical accounting research, operational finance, budgeting, forecasting, enterprise risk management, performance management and benchmarking, finance organizational transformation and financial systems planning. He has experience with several regulated and unregulated energy companies and has served in a strategic financial advisory role in most of his previous positions.
He comes to Chesapeake from SourceGas, a GE Energy and Alinda Capital-owned regulated and non-regulated utility based in Golden, Colorado where he was the Corporate Controller – Accounting.
As a key member of the Executive team, he led the transformation of the accounting organization into a “best in class” position in terms of accounting, reporting, advisory and financial operations, which better aligned with the company’s strategic objectives and GE’s leadership philosophy. He also guided the establishment and ongoing evolution of the organization’s accounting principles, practices and procedures associated with its financial records and controls as well as the preparation of its financial reports for regulators, bankers and the respective SEC filings.
Prior to SourceGas, Islam was with Southern California Edison for over 10 years. While there, he served as the Affiliate Controller and Principal Manager of Accounting where he managed all accounting functions. He also held the positions of Senior Manager – Financial Information Services, Senior Manager – Financial Analysis, and Manager – Business Planning. Prior to his time with Southern California Edison, Mr. Islam held previous financial positions with Ernst & Young, Edison Enterprises and Northeast Utilities.
Islam earned his Bachelor of Science with Distinction in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maine, and his Masters of Business Administration in Finance and International Business from New York University. He also holds Harvard Business School Certificates in Strategy Formulation & Execution and Operations.
McNeil joins Delaware Small Business Chamber
The Delaware Small Business Chamber is pleased to announce the hiring of Brenda McNeil as the new Events & Membership Manager. McNeil joins the Delaware Small Business Chamber after spending the last five years with Waste Oil Management. Prior to that she worked for another local chamber.
Graves and Stimson join Strongpoint Marketing
Strongpoint Marketing announced that Michael Graves, former senior fellow at the Redwoods Group Foundation, and Laura Stimson, former executive producer of the MidAtlantic Wine + Food Festival, have joined the firm as senior account executive and senior account manager, respectively. Each will help lead the success of the agency by designing and implementing marketing strategies that serve the company’s growing list of clients.
Graves joins Strongpoint after leading the “Partnering In Prevention” program at The Redwoods Group Foundation, a national initiative aimed at preventing the sexual abuse of children through education and public policy initiatives. In this work Graves built collaborative strategies in 245 communities in 24 states and helped train more than 90,000 community leaders in prevention techniques. Earlier, Graves was president & chief executive officer of YMCA of Delaware for 26 years, during which time the organization grew from $6 million to $37 million in revenue, serving one-in-four families statewide. Among other achievements at the YMCA of Delaware, Graves led efforts to generate $84 million in capital acquisitions and improvements.
Stimson re-joins Strongpoint after producing the 2015 MidAtlantic Wine + Food Festival, which operated as an independent non-profit organization before suspending operations late last year. She first joined Strongpoint in 2012 then resigned in 2014 to produce the festival.
While with the festival, she designed and executed more than 40 events throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Earlier in her career, Stimson served as marketing and sales manager at the Marple Sports Arena. At Strongpoint, she leads service efforts for a significant group of clients.
Flores-Gopez named Nurse Manager at Christiana Care
Carolina Flores-Gopez was named nurse manager of the Cardiovascular Critical Care Complex (CVCCC) in February at Christiana Care.
She worked at the Philippine Heart Center for Asia before she moved to the United States. She came to Christiana Care from Jamaica Hospital, Queens, New York in 1991. She served as the assistant nurse manager and PCC of CVCCC for 14 years. She earned her BSN from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines, and her MSN and MHA degrees from the University of Phoenix. She is certified in critical care nursing and is a certified nurse executive.
She was recognized in 2015 as a Top Nurse by Delaware Today in the category of Excellence in Service and received the Nursing Excellence Award from Christiana Care.
Crowgey named Associate Director at Nemours
Erin Crowgey, PhD, who recently earned her doctorate in bioinformatics at the University of Delaware, has joined Nemours as Research Associate Director of Bioinformatics. Crowgey has unique expertise in identifying genetic variation captured from regions of interest in DNA samples.
To do this, she develops software scripts (sometimes referred to as pipelines) that sift through enormous amounts of data with the goal of identifying genetic alterations that are linked to a specific disease.
Coleman new Manager
Allen Harim has hired a new Business Development Manager. Michael Coleman will oversee the sales of Nature’s Sensation®, the company’s No Antibiotics Ever signature product line.
Coleman most recently served as director of sales and marketing at Wellshire Farms, an all-natural meat business located in Swedesboro, New Jersey. A graduate of St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration focusing in Food Marketing, Coleman gained further experience with Brooks Provisions, Dietz & Watson, and Nestle USA while completing his education.
Bayhealth names Officers for Board of Directors
Bayhealth’s Board of Directors is comprised of community leaders with diverse talents and expertise. They are an all-volunteer group of professionals in the education, real estate, financial services, small business and healthcare industries who serve without pay. Bayhealth’s board members devote substantial time to direct the organization’s strategic plans and goals to meet the needs of our community.
Bayhealth, Inc. announced the appointment of its officers for the 2016-2017 term.
Chair: I.G. Burton, III
Vice Chair: Sharad C. Patel, MD
Vice Chai:William J. Strickland
President & CEO: Terry M. Murphy, FACHE
Secretary: Mary Jane Willis
Treasurer: Michael J. Tretina, CFO
Bayhealth, Inc. has also appointed two new members to its Board of Directors.
Kathleen S. Matt, PhD, is the dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Delaware (UD) and the executive director of the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance (DHSA). She is also the co-director of UD’s health education partnership with Thomas Jefferson University (TJU). Matt earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from UD and received her doctorate degree in endocrine physiology from the University of Washington, Seattle.
Charles C. Rodriguez is the owner of R&R Commercial Realty, Inc., and has served as a board member for numerous community initiatives, including the Downtown Dover Partnership and the Delaware Association of Realtors. Rodriguez has worked in commercial realty for more than 16 years.
Wanda Loughrey joins Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, REALTORS
Hockessin-Pike Creek Home Marketing Center, announced Wanda Loughrey as a Sales Associate. Loughrey serves New Castle County.