Mark Berger

Mark Berger was named president and CEO of Partnerships With Industry, an organization that provides job training and placement for adults with developmental disabilities. Berger, former principal of Mark I. Berger & Associates, is a former board member and past chair of the PWI board.

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Two partners were admitted to the San Diego office of Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Eric S. Hornsten joined the firm in 1993, moved to San Jose in 1999, and has returned to San Diego. Owen W. Murray transferred to the San Diego office in 1992. Soon he and his family will enjoy a three-year tour in Tokyo.

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Kilroy Realty Corp. named Brian T. Galligan as v.p. of asset management for the San Diego region. Galligan is an 18-year industry veteran. Prior to joining KRC, he was director of asset services at Cushman & Wakefield of California Inc.

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Phoenix Realty Group appointed Tammy Harpster as v.p. of acquisitions in the firm’s San Diego office. Before joining the company, she was an assistant v.p. for Buchanan Street Partners.

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Lenette Hewitt, who joined Barratt American in 2004 as marketing director for Fanita Ranch community in Santee, was promoted to v.p. of sales and marketing, over all three divisions of the firm. A 12-year veteran of the home-building industry, Hewitt has held marketing positions with The Olson Co. and William Lyon Homes in Orange County and California Pacific Homes in San Diego County.

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Norma Gallardo was promoted to assistant v..p. of loan support for San Diego National Bank. She has more than 16 years of experience in the banking industry, the last past seven years at SDNB.

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Carrier Johnson added five new employees in the firm’s interior design studio. They are Marianne Berg, senior designer; Jeremy Haskins, Stacy Buckley and Nicole Baker, interior designers; and Karen Blackerby, a junior designer. All five work from the firm’s San Diego office. Berg has nearly eight years of experience, most recently working on the Viejas Casino expansion. Haskins has a background in corporate office environments; Buckley has returned to Carrier Johnson and has eight years of design experience; Baker has six years. Blackerby joins as a junior designer.

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Mike Howes and Stan Weiler founded Howes, Weiler & Associates, a land planning and development firm based in Carlsbad. Howes has more than 28 years of experience in land planning and development for public and private sectors. Weiler has more than 17 years of experience in public and private land use planning for counties in Southern California and other states.

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Linda Wood

Ashbrook Communities added industry veteran Linda Wood to its management team as v.p. of sales and marketing for Southern California. Before joining Ashbrook, Wood was v.p. of sales for D.R. Horton-Western Pacific Homes.

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Roland Hoven is the newly hired CFO for European Natural Stone in Santee. He has 20 years of financial management experience.

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Jeanine Dodman was named v.p./ chief lending officer by Financial 21 Community Credit Union. She previously held the CEO position at Escondido Federal Credit Union for 26 years.

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The San Diego office of Best Best & Krieger added three associates: William Pate, Jodi Smith and Glenn Spitzer. Pate, who practices in the areas of private and public litigation, has expertise in representing businesses, public agencies, special districts and schools. He was an associate with Stutz, Artlana, Shinoff & Holtz in San Diego. Smith joins Schools and Special Education practice. Previously, she was a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. Spitzer is a member of the firm’s litigation practice and also will focus on natural resources and real estate law. He was with Daley & Haft in Solana Beach.

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Brad Roppe joined the commercial real estate organization of Lee & Associates as president, working from the Carlsbad office. Formerly Roppe was v.p. of business development for Stewart Title of California. and he has been a practicing attorney for five years.

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NTDSTICHLER, an architectural firm specializing in education and health care facilities, has two employees who have become licensed and registered. Carrie Baughan, with the company for three years, and Buddy Gessel, who joined the firm in 2001, are both based in San Diego headquarters of the company.

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Real estate attorney Nada Lahoud joined Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps as an associate in the firm’s San Diego office. Lahoud specializes in acquisition, financing, leasing, transactions and residential development. Formerly Lahoud was an associate with Lamb & Kawakami in Los Angeles.

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Barnhart Inc. promoted Dave Roach to senior v.p. He joined Barnhart in 2003. He will head the Reconstruction project at San Diego Unified District’s Lincoln High School and construction of the future Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary School.

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Silicon Border Development hired Octavio Garza as v.p. of business development and administration. He will be responsible for business development for Silicon Border, as well as running the company’s newest operations in Mexicali. Garza was with Sony Electronics Corp., where he spent nine years in a variety of management positions. Garza also has held management positions with Deloitte & Touche and Monsanto.

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Patrick F. McMillin was named senior v.p. and director of information and technology activities of The Corky McMillin Cos. He will assume the technology and telecommunications responsibilities for the entire McMillin organization while maintaining his current position as executive v.p. and broker of record for McMillin Realty. Patrick McMillin joined his cousin, Corky McMillin, in 1981 as a residential real estate agent.

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Joining Ware Malcomb’s national architecture, planning and interior design firm is Andy Dzulynsky. He transferred from the company’s Chicago office where he was a senior project manager. He has more than 12 years of experience in architecture, interior architectural design, and construction administration.

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Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch added associate Lisel Ferguson to its intellectual property team. She was with the San Diego law firm of Perkins & Miltner. Also new at the firm are of counsel attorneys Michael Lyon and Evelyn Heidelberg; and senior associates in the real estate and environmental team, Aaron Beard and Si-Hung Choy. Lyon is a real estate transactional attorney and a founding partner of the San Diego law firm of Hilding Kipnis Lyon & Kelly. Heidelberg and Choy were with Latham & Watkins. Beard was with Kaye Scholer in Century City.

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KMA Architecture & Engineering promoted Jim Belmont to senior associate overseeing the company’s mechanical engineering team and hired Ron Bastin, senior electrical engineer, and Jay Guerrero as electrical designer. Belmont joined KMA in 1982, and Guerrero also formerly worked at TMAD Engineers in San Diego.

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Sundt Construction Inc. promoted Robin Tsuchida to v.p. Tsuchida joined Sundt in 2000 after 20 years in the architectural field. During her career she served as a company principal, project manager and director of business development.

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MACTEC Engineering & Consulting appointed James. J. Hogan as San Diego business unit leader, concentrating on federal clients and the military. Hogan joined MACTEC in 1994 and has won a number of company awards, including Western Region sales awards four times in the past seven years.

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The San Diego division of John Laing Homes added Ken Nishikawa as v.p. of planning and development. Most recently he was a v.p.for Laing Forster Ranch and the South Coast division of John Laing Homes. He specializes in large-scale residential communities.

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Michael Ryan joined Environmental Business Solutions, an SCS Engineers company, as an associate professional/regulatory analyst. Ryan previously was an intern for the San Diego Water Operations Division, and later as administrative assistant to the environmental management representative.

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National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. promoted Steve Stroebel to v.p. of material, a new position. Stroebel most recently was director of materials. He began his career in 1976 as a nuclear engineer in the U.S. Navy and joined NASSCO in 1991. Bob Hillstrom was promoted to v.p. of production. Hillstrom has more than 25 years of shipbuilding experience and has been at NASSCO since 1980. Steven Davison, at NASSCO since 1995, is director of planning and facilities engineering, another new position.

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The Coastal chapter of Leads Club, honored Catherine Petersen as Leader of the Year. Petersen owns The Power of Prevention, a Carlsbad women’s health education business.

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Nolte Associates Inc. hired Jack Abcarius as an engineering manager, and Jim Wight as civil design engineering manager. Abcarius, an expert in California bridge design, has been a civil engineer in this state since 1986. Wight’s career spans 35 years and specializes in seismic safety and risk analysis.

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Union Bank of California named Liliana Zuñiga Avila manager of the bank’s 4S Ranch branch located at 16613 Dove Canyon Road. Zúñiga has nearly 10 years of experience.

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Bailey Gardiner Inc. added Scott Curry as account supervisor and promoted Jill Esterbrooks to media specialist. Curry joins BGI from Cassle Communications where he was v.p. specializing in real estate and advertising and public relations campaigns. With more than 15 years of experience, Esterbrooks was a public relations freelancer at BGI for a year.

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Shane Crotty, a scientist at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, was chosen as one of America’s “Most Promising Biomedical Researchers,” by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the University of California at San Francisco. He and 14 other researchers nationwide were selected as 2005 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences. The Pew biomedical scholars, started in 1985, are researchers expected to advance the scientific frontier.

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Trisha Norwood and Brian Sickles were appointed to director positions with Time Warner Cable, Norwood as director of network and dispatch operations, and Sickles as director of quality control and operations. has been with Time Warner Cable for 26 years. Sickles, with nearly 10 years of call center management experience, Sickles joined Time Warner Cable in June 2004.

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The Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego appointed Neil Kendricks as film curator. Kendricks has worked with the museum, curating the short film festival. Kendricks is a San Diego-based visual artist, writer, photographer and filmmaker. He has taught art at SDSU now teaches at Southwestern Community College.

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Walt Waggener was elected president of the Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary Club. He owns a State Farm Insurance Agency. Mike Pfankuch is outgoing president. Other officers are Mike Metts, president-elect; Gloria Foote, secretary; Neal Stehly, treasurer; Ken Ryan, director of club service; Patrick Casinelli, director of community service; Pat Hurley, director of international service; and Jim Brubaker, director of vocational Service.

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Jason Hinkle was named recipient of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s 2005 Personal Achievement Award for California. Hinkle was selected for his community involvement and advocacy for people with disabilities. Hinkle uses his 28-minute film, “My Life,” and lectures on living with a disability. The film earned honors for a special documentary at the Goldie Film Awards Festival. Hinkle is set to produce a second film, about transportation for people with disabilities. Chapter and was then named California’s award recipient.

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The MarketBuilding Team hired Randy Rose as operations director. She was project manager at Capital One Auto Finance and worked for Gateway Computer’s online accessory store.

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Alternative Strategies, a marketing agency, hired Christian De Anda as client relations manager, a newly created position. He previously created two start up businesses and has worked with Blue Cross of America and Performance Label.

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Carmen M. Vazquez was appointed USD’s v.p. for student affairs. She is assistant vice chancellor for student life at UCSD. In that position, Vazquez will become a member of the President’s Executive Council. She has more than 25 years of experience as a student affairs officer beginning at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

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Donna Pippins is returning to her position as director of development for Senior Community Centers. Pippins worked for the organization from 1997 through 2001 and was most recently with SDSU’s College of Extended Studies as the manager of customer support.

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Synthetic Turf International appointed Elizabeth Brigman as regional sales representative for San Diego. Most recently she was an outside sales representative for a San Diego-based synthetic putting green company.

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H.G. Fenton Co., hired Kari Prevost as general counsel to provide legal advice and to work closely with Fenton Investment Co., the equity investment division of H.G. Fenton Co. She has 13 years of real estate law experience. Formerly Prevost was senior counsel in the San Diego office of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble & Mallory.

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Andrew J. Schmidt joined Gillespie Design Group Inc., as a landscape designer. He has a special interest in hospitality and resort design.

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Adam Post joined Kring & Chung where he will specialize in construction defect litigation. He has been a clerk at the San Diego Public Defender’s Office and the Arizona Attorney General’s offices. He dedicated several hundred hours to Pro Bono work and twice received the King Hall Pro Bono Certificate. He also worked as a certified law student at the UC Davis Family Protection and Legal Assistance Clinic.