People in the News

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia announced the following promotions: Jeanne R. Rentezelas, to senior vice president and general counsel, from vice president and general counsel in the Legal Department; Jake Lofton, to officer in Cash Services, from division manager of the Cash Internal Control and Compliance Division; Pattie Scafide, to officer in Financial Management Services, from senior manager; Kim Taylor, to officer in human resources, from employee-relations manager, and Linda Van Valkenburg, to officer in information-technology services, from systems development group manager.

Richard I. Fisher, a cancer center administrator and nationally recognized hematology/oncology expert who joined Temple Health on March 1, was appointed president and CEO of Fox Chase Cancer Center. Fisher will also hold the title of Cancer Center Director of Fox Chase, serving as the principal investigator on the Cancer Center Support Grant from the National Cancer Institute. He will retain the title of senior associate dean for cancer programs at Temple University School of Medicine. Before joining Fox Chase and Temple Health, Fisher was vice president for strategic and program development at the University of Rochester Medical Center and the Samuel E. Durand professor of medicine.

Julie Dietrich was promoted to director of government relations for Widener University, serving as the university's primary liaison with local, state, and federal governments for all four Widener campuses. She had been director of special projects and initiatives.

DMW Direct, a Philadelphia direct-response advertising agency, announced four hires: Bryan Wible is associate creative director; he had been senior art director at Digitas Health; Michael Schumacher is account manager; he had been account director of Medicare marketing and account director of auto-insurance marketing at TPG; Linda Tyson is account manager; she had been distribution channel manager at Aetna Inc.; Catherine Roth is senior account executive; she held the same post with fwd>direct.

Challah for Hunger, a Philadelphia nonprofit that brings people together to bake and sell challah to raise money and awareness for social justice, hired Carly Zimmerman as director and challah experience officer. She had been Jewish life director at Temple University's Hillel.

TruMark Financial Credit Union, Trevose, promoted two senior vice presidents, Vince Market, chief financial officer, and David Obarowski, chief operating officer, to executive vice presidents.

Gerard DeVita, controller/vice president, and Patrick O'Halloran, vice president of information technology, have been promoted to senior vice presidents.

Buchanan Public Relations L.L.C., a Philadelphia-based public-relations agency, hired Nicole Lasorda as account supervisor. She had been an independent communications consultant for a variety of agencies, retail brands, and trade shows.

Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry, West Conshohocken, hired Shari J. Odenheimer as shareholder. Odenheimer's practice includes estate planning, tax law, and trust and estate administration. She had been a partner at Blank Rome L.L.P.

Keane, a King of Prussia provider of unclaimed-property consulting, unclaimed-property reporting, and customized communications services, hired Bill Wallace as a project manager/securities industry specialist in the company's National Consulting & Advisory Services Group. He had been a senior associate at JP Morgan Clearing Corp., serving as manager of abandoned property services and asset recovery.

Melior Discovery Inc., a private biopharmaceutical company based in Exton that specializes in drug repositioning, said it acquired all the assets of Biolucidation L.L.C. and appointed its scientific founder, Gregory Gatto, as senior director of behavioral pharmacology. Gatto is an accomplished preclinical pharmacology expert with experience in the area of drug-abuse liability.

   Aisha Hall was hired as director of social-work counseling services at Widener University and will also join the faculty as an assistant clinical professor in the Center for Social Work Education. She had been a field-placement director and assistant professor at Valley Forge Christian College.

University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine appointed Ellen Puré chair of the department of animal biology. Puré served as professor of cellular and molecular oncogenesis at the Wistar Institute and as Wistar professor of medicine, microbiology, and pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine.

Valley Forge Casino Resort, Valley Forge, hired Jules Vorndran as vice president of player development and Vicki Tilton as vice president of marketing. Vorndran had been director of marketing and player development at the Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs, Calif. Tilton had been the director of marketing at SugarHouse Casino, Philadelphia.

 Radian Group Inc., a Philadelphia provider of private mortgage insurance and related risk-mitigation products and services, appointed Derek Brummer executive vice president and chief risk officer. Brummer had been chief risk officer and general counsel for Radian Asset.

Radian Guaranty Inc., the mortgage-insurance subsidiary of Radian Group Inc., Philadelphia, hired Robert Mullins as vice president of underwriting. He had been chief operating officer for Genworth Financial's Australian operations.

Accolade Inc., a Philadelphia consumer services company that helps employees navigate the world of insurance and health-care providers, hired James Snook as executive vice president and chief technology officer. He had been vice president of emerging platforms and innovation at Starbucks.

Devon Financial Partners, Wayne, hired Tom Kaufmann as a financial representative. He had been cofounder and owner of Beckett Corp.

Rich Sernyak was named advisory principal in the Philadelphia office of PwC. He had been a managing director for the Global SAP Practice at CSC.

Bethesda Project, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit serving the homeless community, hired Yarissa Reyes as its new marketing and communications director. Most recently, Reyes served as marketing and communications manager for the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Theorem Clinical Research, a King of Prussia contract research organization that provides clinical research and development services, hired Alison Taber as vice president of global data management and Jeff Wiley as senior director of clinical operations. Taber had been executive director of strategic alliance management at INC Research. Wiley had been senior director of clinical operations for PRA. - Mike Zebe