Kyocera Wireless Corp., a manufacturer of CDMA wireless handsets and telemetry modules, appointed Harsh Karande as v.p. of operations. Karande, who joined the company in 2001, was previously senior director of manufacturing. Since December 2003, he has overseen global operations for the company in San Diego, Tijuana, Mexico, Sao Paulo, Brazil and Hyderabad, India and will continue this role in his new executive capacity.

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Guia Anicete-Tabunan joined Masson & Associates Inc. as accounting assistant. Previously, Tabunan was employed by NAS Engineering & Construction Inc. where she was the bookkeeper and office manager. She has nearly two decades of accounting experience.

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Bill Cardon

Bill Cardon was named president of Buie Residential, a new division of Buie Communities LLC. Cardon was regional g.m. at KB Home. He has 31 years of experience in residential real estate development.

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Sandra Butler was appointed executive v.p., sales and marketing for the San Diego Convention Center Corp. Separately, Sallee Pavlovich was appointed v.p., national trade show marketing. Butler spent the past six and a half years at the Hawaii Convention & Visitors Bureau as v.p. of sales and marketing. Pavlovich has more than 20 years experience including serving as the director of business development for Marketing General Inc.

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Thomas R. Cleary has joined USD as director of community and government relations. As a public relations consultant for the last three years, his clients have included nonprofit organizations, local and state agencies, as well as private sector interests. Cleary also has served in legislative and policy positions with the San Diego City Council, California State Assembly and U.S. House of Representatives.

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Nolte, a land planning company, named Larry Shaw as business development manager for the Southern California region. He has 20 years’ experience in project development and principal management.

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Clark Carlson joined Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch as a member of the management team and as director of human resources and administration. James Fazio joined the firm and is on the litigation team. He has more than 20 years of experience.

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Ron Graves

Coldwell Banker Commercial-Towne Centre named Ron Graves as v.p. at the Towne Centre office. Graves, a native San Diegan, has 20 years of experience, most recently with Retail Properties Group in University Towne Centre.

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Gary B. Fogel, v.p. of Natural Selection Inc. was elected a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. This is the second highest level of membership in the organization.

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Thomas M. Murphy is the new v.p. of Solomon-Page Group in biotechnology and the life sciences. He spent five years as executive v.p. at R.J. Watkins & Company Ltd., a San Diego-based executive recruiting firm, where he led the bioscience practice. Previously, he spent seven years at Advanced Tissue Sciences Inc., a La Jolla biotech.

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Trial attorneys Don G. Rushing, Mark C. Zebrowski and James W. Huston, joined Morrison & Foerster’s San Diego office. Rushing has 25 years of experience in litigation and is the former chairman of Gray Cary. Zebrowski has practiced in San Diego for more than 20 years and successfully defended the San Diego Padres in suits seeking to block the construction of Petco Park. Huston, a former Navy officer, has specialized in aviation litigation.

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Tom Shepard & Associates Inc. named Scott Maloni as v.p. of public policy strategies. He formerly was press secretary and spokesman for the “Yes on Prop. C” ballpark and redevelopment campaign and the “Yes on Prop. L” branch library initiative.

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Rolf Benirschke joined California Bank & Trust as a spokesman to serve as a customer ambassador, participate in media marketing and develop new business relationships. Benirschke is known for his 10-year career as place-kicker for the San Diego Chargers and later for Rolf Benirschke Enterprises. David Medrano was named v.p. and branch manager of the Vista office of the bank. He previously worked for Glendale Federal and Security Pacific National Bank.

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San Diego National Bank named William Wood as senior v.p., commercial real estate lending. Previously Wood was senior v.p./managing director at GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp.

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Neil Dymott Perkins Brown & Frank announced shareholder David G. Brown has returned to the firm after serving in the Middle East for two years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. Brown became a member of the Marine Reserves in 1980. He was recently honored as the 2003 San Diego Defense Lawyer.

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Equis appointed John P. Mitchell III as v.p., and Andrew Huggett as associate, in the firm’s San Diego office. Mitchell has more than 12 years of experience in commercial real estate and was regional managing director and senior project manager for Douglas Wilson Cos. Huggett was a recruiter for Culver Personnel.

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The Carlsbad branch of Century 21 Award hired real estate agent Tracey Crawford. Crawford, a 12-year real estate veteran, was recognized in 2000, 2001 and 2002 as the Property Manager of the Year by the San Diego County Apartment Association. Her focus has gone from home leasing to sales. Eliot Rachman, a sales associate in the office, was recognized as one of the top producers nationwide with a ruby level masters award.

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Barnhart Inc., a general contracting and construction management firm, promoted Clay Maki to v.p. of field operations. He has been with the company for 15 years.

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Douglas Allred Co. appointed Kurt Sullivan as v.p. of residential property management. He was employed for 18 years by TrizecHahn Corp. and oversaw operation of 25 shopping centers.

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Craig R. Cummings was named to the board of Satellite Security Systems. Cummings is SAIC’s assistant to the CEO for port and border security programs. He has more than 30 years of experience in developing technology-driven businesses in transportation and energy.

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Shelley Thompson, executive vice president and director of wealth management for City National Bank in Beverly Hills, was elected to the USD board. Prior to joining City National two years ago, she served as CEO and managing director of U.S. Trust Co. in Minneapolis. During her 20-year banking career, she has also held senior positions at U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo.

Tina Nova, president, CEO and founder of Genoptix Inc., also was elected to the USD board. Nova founded Genoptix, a developer of optical technologies for cellular analysis, in 2000. Previously, she served as president and COO operating officer of Nanogen Inc. from 1994 to 2000.

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Sharon Massey, with 25 years of experience in the local radio industry, was promoted from director of marketing to executive director for the San Diego Radio Broadcasters Association. She succeeds Tammy Shushan who held the position for 17 years. Massey began her job there in July 1997. She was honored in 2002 with the Paula E. Sullivan Award for outstanding career achievement from the San Diego Advertising Club after she helped establish the San Diego Advertising Fund for Emergencies.

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Stephanie Penner was named senior account executive at Woodenship Advertising & Public Affairs. She has 10 years of public and community relations experience.

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Ted Reynolds, of Poway, was appointed to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Board. Reynolds was in the Navy for 26 years and worked for 13 years at General Dynamics.

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Grant Silva joined the Carlsbad office of GVA IPC as an associate at the commercial real estate company. He formerly worked for 10 years for the environmental health and safety office at UCSD.

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Lani Lutar was named executive director of the Asian Business Association of San Diego. She formerly worked as a political consultant and managed Scott Peters’ successful campaign for San Diego City Council. For the past five years, she worked for the La Jolla Group, a political consulting group.

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The San Diego chapter of California Educational Theatre Association named William A. Virchis the 2004 arts administrator of the year. Virchis is the district director of the Visual and Performing Arts Department of the Sweetwater Union High School District. He was the artistic director and a professor at Southwestern College for 30 years.

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EWI Holdings Inc., a provider of payment services, hired Stephen Williams as v.p. of engineering, and Jay Cisinsky as national sales manager. Williams has more than 18 years of software engineering experience, most recently with Fair Isaac Corp. Cisinsky’s 14 years of experience include working as national sales manager for American Wireless. The company also appointed to its board Herbert A. Lurie, retired chairman of Merrill Lynch & Co.’s Global Financial Institutions investment banking group, and Todd McCuaig, managing director of National City Equity Partners.

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Centre for Health Care in Rancho Barnardo appointed Joanne Reilly as manager of business services. She has more than 20 years’ experience in health care related accounts receivables and finance and was with HRA Medical Management Inc. and San Diego Hospice.

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Gina Clark-Bellack joined Public Solutions, a public affairs agency, as director of public policy. She was employed as a land use attorney in a San Diego law firm.

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John S. Adler joined Littler Mendelson, a labor and employment law firm. Previously, Adler was a sole practitioner in San Diego and has practiced law for almost 30 years.

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After a national search, Stephanie Casenza was appointed executive director of the San Diego Performing Arts League. She replaces Alan Ziter, becoming the second person to hold that post in the 20-year history of the League. Casenza was contracted by SDSU to assist with special projects and fund-raising for a new alumni center. Before that, she was director of communications at Alliance Healthcare Foundation and a public relations consultant specializing in nonprofits.

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Karen Damian of San Diego was promoted to area director of the David Green Organization, She joined the company in 2002 and has been national sales manager for the San Diego office. She has 15 years of experience in hospitality marketing.

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C. W. Clark Inc., a commercial real estate developer, hired Paulina Pham as accountant, and Shannon Burnett as assistant property manager. Most recently, she was assistant corporate controller for Woodfin Suite Hotels and the Hardage Construction Corp. Burnett, a licensed real estate broker, produced large-scale promotional events and fashion shows throughout southern California for Nordstrom Inc.

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Joan St. Clair-Patton has returned to San Diego National Bank as the branch manager in Encinitas. She has more than 20 years of experience in commercial and consumer finance and successfully opened five new offices during her career. She lived in Encinitas for more than 20 years before moving to Northern California.

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Maureen Hayley, v.p. of Precept, a provider of employee benefit procurement, consulting, administrative and data management, will manage a new office opening in San Diego.

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Duane J. Roth was named board chairman of the College of Business at SDSU. Roth works as chair and CEO of Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp.

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Anthony J. Eppert, an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney, joined the law firm of Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps as an associate.

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Blanca Quintero, a Chula Vista resident, was elected a member in the Cozen O’Connor law firm. Quintero concentrates her practice in subrogation and recovery matters and serves as chair of the State Bar Committee on Ethnic Minority Relations.

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Jennifer Mulholland and Brian Surratt joined the tax department at Lavine, Lofgren, Morris & Engelberg, an accounting firm. Mulholland was an intern at Sempra Energy, and Surratt formerly was with BDO Seidman.

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Fresh Start Surgical Gifts named Shari Brasher executive director and Steven F. Edwards as chief operations officer. Brasher and Edwards have been donors and volunteers with Fresh Start since 1994 and 1997, respectively.

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Jessica Grisafi joined Charles Dunn Co., a full-service commercial real estate firm, as a tenant services coordinator. Grisafi previously worked for Fidelity National Title Co. as an escrow assistant.

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Angela J. Pierce joined Sullivan Wertz McDade & Wallace law firm as an associate. She is a 2003 graduate of the USD School of Law.

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Asset Marketing Systems named Michael Botkin as executive v.p. Botkin is president of Preservation Financial and Insurance Services, Inc.

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Selfhelpworks appointed Alan Edwards as president. He also will join the company’s board. Edwards formerly was president and board member of EMD Biosciences, a division of Life Science Products, Merck KGaA.

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Kerry Grace joined the National Multiple Sclerosis Society as finance director. Her 20 years of experience include working for an engineering firm as an accountant.

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Dr. Lawrence Addleson was elected president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He has practiced in San Diego since his graduation from the USC School of Dentistry, and he teaches adhesive dentistry to other dentists.

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D.R. Horton, Western Pacific Series, San Diego Division, promoted Anthony Wyman to senior v.p. Wyman joined D.R. Horton last year as v.p. of forward planning and acquisition. He has 20 years in the homebuilding industry and formerly worked at KB Home Coastal Division. The company hired Linda Wood as v.p. of sales. She has 25 years of experience in real estate.