Lynn Renee Híjar

Lynn Renee Híjar was named director of protocol for San Diego on the staff of Mayor Jerry Sanders. She previously worked for the commander of Naval Air Forces as director of community relations and protocol, and for the San Diego World Trade Center as trade research manager.

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The Asian Business Association of San Diego appointed Joni T. Low as executive director. She has been an active member of the ABA since 1999, and has served on its board for the past three years. Previously, Low held positions with the American Lung Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties, the County of San Diego, and the California State Association of Counties. She also owned a legislative consulting business in Sacramento.

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The San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce added Miguel Hidalgo and Jackie Prather Payne to its staff. Hidalgo is a former finance director for El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, and has experience with private companies on both sides of the border. For more than seven years Prather-Payne worked as senior staff of the National Council of La Raza based in Washington, D.C.

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Craig Nichols

A 20-year veteran of the broadcasting and cable industry, Craig Nichols is the new v.p. and g.m. of Channel 4 San Diego. Nichols, who also manages advertising sales efforts of the station and its 10News Channel partnership with KGTV, joined Cox in San Diego last year as director of TV operations for Channel 4.

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With 16 years of aviation industry experience, Shannon Standish has joined Schubach Aviation as chief pilot. Standish most recently served as an instructor and check pilot for Hawker jets at CAE Simuflite in Dallas.

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First National Bank hired Kathryn Nielsen as senior v.p./relationship manager for San Diego County. Most recently she was with Bank of the West.

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Geary Interactive, headquartered Downtown, hired Jason Egnal as COO, Kevin Hawke as director of client services, and Lesli Kibar as associate media director. Egnal’s experience includes co-founding of SA Active.com. Hawke has experience with several interactive marketing agencies, and Kibar’s experience includes similar positions in New York.

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McMillin Capital appointed Hong Lee as senior v.p. He has more than 25 years of experience in real estate development, management and construction, and he has worked as a consultant with The Corky McMillin Cos. for more than 11 years. The company hired Anne Wenzel as controller. For 19 years, Wenzel has held positions in financial reporting and accounting for venture capital companies, commercial and residential real estate firms. Prior to joining McMillin Capital, Wenzel was director of finance for Sorrento Associates Inc

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McGraw/Baldwin Architects promoted Dan Rosenberg to senior associate. He has been with the firm since 1990 and became a licensed architect in 1993.

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The Urban Land Institute, San Diego/Tijuana Council hired Tracy Morgan Hollingworth as district council coordinator. She replaces Jodi Varner, who held the position for two years. Morgan Hollingworth has managed several associations over the last 10 years, including the local chapters of American Society of Landscape Architects and Lambda Alpha International.

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Susan Guerra

Chesnut Properties, a San Diego-based real estate company, promoted Susan Guerra to COO. Guerra has more than 15 years of commercial real estate experience. Guerra joined Chesnut in 2004 as director of management. She previously was with UCSD’s real estate development.

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Kirby Noonan Lance & Hoge named Jacob M. Slania as a partner. The firm also recently added Rana Aryan as an associate attorney. Slania’s practice includes general civil litigation. Formerly, he was an associate with the San Diego law firm of Ramseyer & Kuhlman.

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David Jesme was named v.p. and preconstruction manager for Sundt Construction Inc. He joined Sundt 10 years ago as project manager/estimator for special operations. He has more than 20 years of industry experience and is a certified professional constructor. The company hired Neal Mason as a project manager, Jared Metee as an estimator and Cheryl Hennessy as a project engineer. Mason is a LEED accredited professional and has worked in the construction industry for nine years. Metee has four years of construction experience in both the federal and private sectors. Hennessy is a recent graduate of CSU Chico.

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The Southern California Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works, an alliance of 63 public wastewater agencies operating in Southern California, appointed John N. Pastore as executive director. Pastore, who has more than 30 years experience in Southern California’s water and wastewater industry, succeeds Ray Miller, who is retiring after 14 years.

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Jeffrey Nunn, a 27-year veteran of the residential real estate industry, was named manager of the Carmel Valley office of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.

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The San Diego office of Best Best & Krieger has two new partners: Mary Beth Coburn and Paula de Sousa. Coburn practices in the area of construction law, and de Sousa practices in most areas of public agency representation and provides general and special counsel to public agencies.

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Roger Feyen, a 10-year construction industry veteran, joined TSA Contracting as project manager. Previously Feyen was the owner of R&D Construction (now Blueprint Contracting) as well as a project manager at Mission Valley Cabinets. Pete Hunter, a 22-year construction industry veteran, was named senior project manager at TSA. Previously Hunter was with Roel Construction.

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Cylene Pharmaceuticals appointed Larry D. Witte, as chief scientific officer. He has more than 25 years of combined industrial and academic experience. Most recently he served as v.p. of research, and as a member of the executive steering committee, at ImClone Systems Inc.

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Nereus Pharmaceuticals Inc. appointed Gary Shearman, as board chair. Shearman is chair and managing director of HBM Advisors USA. He has been a Nereus director since September 2004 and was previously senior v.p. of drug development.

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Carrier Johnson hired Thomas Lehn as a design principal. Prior to joining Carrier Johnson, Lehn served as a principal with the design firm Rossetti in Southfield, Mich., and Los Angeles.

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TelePacific Communications named Jim Buntz director of major accounts. A resident of Carlsbad, Buntz has more than 37 years of telecommunications sales and operations experience. He joined TelePacific in 2003.

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Joining Grubb & Ellis|BRE Commercial is real estate broker Scott Dickson, who is transaction and service delivery manager for the company’s industrial and office properties division.

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Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton named Sandra L. McDonough as its newest partner. She specializes in employment litigation. She joined the San Diego-based firm in 1999.

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The San Diego office of Ryan Companies US Inc. named Gregory Nelson as project manager. He was owner representative/project manager for Hillstone Restaurant Group in Los Angeles.

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Rebecca Jenks joined Graphic Solutions as marketing coordinator. She has five years of experience in marketing and management.

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Ambit Biosciences hired Donald R. Myll as senior v.p. commercial operations and CFO. Myll has more than 19 years in the health care industry. The company also appointed Stephen Keane to v.p., corporate development. Prior to joining Ambit, Myll was CFO of AMN Healthcare.

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Sales professional Christine Richards joined the staff at Santaluz Realty. She has more than 20 years of real estate industry experience. Aurora Valenzuela, also at Santaluz, was named exclusive sales agent. She was with the company when it started in 2001.

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Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton added Mauricio Flores and David Heisey to the firm’s Del Mar Heights office. Flores and Heisey are both members of the intellectual property practice group. Flores was most recently with McDermott, Will & Emery in Orange County. Heisey was most recently with Luce Forward in San Diego.

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Kadima Independent Day School (KIDS) named Cecile B. Jordan as principal. Jordan recently completed 18 years as executive director of the San Diego Agency for Jewish Education. She also served as a day school principal, supplementary school principal and teacher in public and private schools.

Kadima Day School will no longer be under the auspices of Congregation Beth Israel, as it has been for the past 24 years.

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Verus Pharmaceuticals Inc. appointed Ahmet S. Tutuncu as v.p., medical affairs. Tutuncu has 20 years of experience in medical practice and corporate medical affairs, most recently at SkyePharma as medical director for pulmonary products.

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ROEL Construction promoted Jason Albrecht and Jason Hunking to project managers. Both joined ROEL in 2002 as project engineers. Roel also hired Perry Scotti as superintendent. Perry has been in the construction industry for 17 years and formerly had his own business, Perry Scotti’s Construction & Home Improvement Services. The company promoted Brent Hughes, Ben Pia Jr. and Lauren Hill. Hughes has been named senior project manager; Pia is project manager; and Hill was promoted from project engineer to assistant project manager. Also hired were Eric Solem as project engineer, formerly with Fine Edge Inc., and Hillary Alarcon, project coordinator, formerly with T. B. Penick & Sons Inc. Also new at Roel is Bill Thompson, project manager, with more than 25 years in the construction industry, and Alice Trinidad, as assistant project manager. She has more than 16 years of construction. Shawna McClure was hired as a project coordinator. She has 17 years of experience.

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Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Penfield added Teresa C. Baird as an associate. Her practice specializes in serious personal injury and wrongful death, product and premises liability, automobile and highway design. She previously was an associate in a St. Louis firm.

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Pat & Oscar’s, a San Diego based restaurant, promoted Brent Dunkin to CFO, and hired Vincent Finch as assistant controller and Phillip Olea as information technology manager. Dunkin has been with Pat & Oscar’s since 2001 and previously served as senior director of finance. Finch was assistant controller for Elite Racing and has experience in hospitality finance. Olea has more than 20 years of technology experience.

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Stephen Haase joined Sudberry Properties Inc. as a v.p. of development. He has more than 10 years of city planning experience, most recently as director of the City of San José planning, building, and code enforcement department for three years. Before that he spent 13 years with the city of San Diego.

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Attorneys Katie Jacobsen and Laura Sonaty joined Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps as associates in the firm’s San Diego office. Both joined the firm’s real estate practice group. Jacobson was an associate with Hecht Solberg Robinson Goldberg & Bagley. Sonaty previously was an associate with a firm in Walnut Creek.

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Foley & Lardner promoted Adam C. Lenain, a member of the business law department, and Barry S. Wilson, a member of the intellectual property department. Lenain practices in Foley’s Downtown office, and Wilson works out of the firm’s Del Mar office.

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RBF Consulting promoted Trudi Lim from the San Diego office to a position as a senior associate.

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SZPR Inc., a public relations and marketing firm, hired Jennifer Borba as an account executive. She has experience in the creation and execution of strategic public relations campaigns among diverse industries.

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Golden Care Workforce Institute, a San Diego nonprofit agency, hired Thomas McSorely as director of development. He has more than 16 years’ experience in fund-raising and communication. Before moving to San Diego from Washington, D.C., he was director of development for InterAction, the National Minority AIDS Council, Greenpeace USA and the Whitman-Walker Clinic. In San Diego, he was employed as a senior product development and national accounts manager for Kintera Inc.

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Homewood Suites by Hilton-San Diego/Del Mar added three new staff members: Anthony Medawar, assistant general manager, who has worked for Hilton San Diego/Del Mar, Wyndham San Diego at Emerald Plaza and Carlsbad Seapointe Resort; Cassie O’Neill, guest services manager, who has two years of experience and was named a Hilton Hotels employee of the year; and Brooke Morar, sales and meeting services manager, formerly. catering and convention services manager at a Doubletree Hotel.