Kara Brown new COO at Foundry; NNBV people briefs for August 2018

EDITOR’S NOTE: Northern Nevada Business View people briefs are published on a monthly basis and compiled from submissions emailed to the newsroom at editor@nnbw.com. Please note that submissions are published at editorial discretion, and some briefs may publish online only due to print space limitations.

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Kara Brown

Full-service integrated marketing agency, Foundry, announced the addition of Kara Brown as chief operating officer, a new position within the agency. Brown will oversee internal operations, including managing company growth and further expanding the agency into the digital arena.

Brown brings 24 years of media and management experience to Foundry. She spent the last six years at Times Shamrock, a national media company, in a variety of leadership positions.

Brown has served on the board for the Nevada Broadcasters and was inducted into the Nevada Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame. When she’s not in the office, she can be found playing in Tahoe with her two children, Jack and Hope.

Drew Roschli

Northern Nevada Development Authority announced Drew Roschli as the new Terminal Manager for the Black Gold transloading and storage terminal at the Northern Nevada Railport & Logistics Center in Fernley. Roschli is responsible for business development and all operations within Northern Nevada.

Prior to Black Gold Terminals, Roschli was a Trainmaster for the Barstow, Fresno and San Bernardino yards of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF Railway). Roschli holds a B.A. in Business Administration with a focus on entrepreneurship from University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Carl Ribaudo

Carl Ribaudo, founder and president of destination marketing firm SMG Consulting, announced his appointment to the Nevada Commission on Tourism’s Marketing Committee. Ribaudo will contribute over 25 years of experience to the Committee, wherein he will, among other tasks, assist in the development and execution of marketing plans for the Nevada Division of Tourism (TravelNevada).

Ribaudo has served as a trusted adviser to CEOs, senior executives, tourism business improvement districts and municipalities — assisting individuals and groups such as these to make key decisions about how to tell the stories of their region, enhance destination competitiveness, manage organizational change and chart the overarching destination marketing strategy.

Chris Moton

Chris Moton has joined the team of Dickson Commercial Group (DCG), a full-service commercial real estate firm, as a multifamily specialist.

Chris has been involved in real estate investment for more than five years and has completed an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management with focus on urban real estate investment and entrepreneurship.

Prior to joining DCG, Chris served 10 years in active duty with the U.S. Navy as an officer and a helicopter and multi-engine aircraft pilot. After leaving active duty, he spent time as a software developer and business intelligence engineer in the healthcare industry.

Cindy Buchanan

First Independent Bank welcomes Cindy Buchanan as vice president, senior commercial lender.

Buchanan is a longtime Northern Nevada resident and an experienced banker who has spent more than 27 years building relationships with business owners and operators who seek lending and banking solutions. In her position, Buchanan will assist the commercial lending team in attracting new business and expanding existing relationships within the region’s growing economy.

Buchanan completed her B.S. in Business Administration at UNR, with a specialization in Finance. She also holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix.

Colin Jacobsen

Miles Construction named Colin Jacobsen as project manager for its commercial construction business. Jacobsen brings more than 20 years of diversified construction and project management experience to this role.

Prior to joining Miles Construction, Jacobsen spent eight years as project manager/design manager with T.B. Penick & Sons of San Diego. He also has extensive project management experience with federal contracts including those with the Department of the Navy and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Jacobsen relocated to Reno where he makes his home with his wife Christina and two children Colin and Olivia.

Christina Roush

Cushman & Wakefield announced the appointment of Christina Roush as Managing Principal of the firm’s Nevada offices. Roush brings more than 25 years of commercial real estate experience in sales, leasing and asset management and development to her new position.

Roush previously served as the Western Managing Director for CBRE’s Private Client Group, overseeing more than 80 professionals and 32 teams in the West. She is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of San Diego.

Mike Dunn, who previously served as Managing Principal of the Nevada offices, will remain with Cushman & Wakefield in Las Vegas and focus on his clients.

Erika Mendoza

Erika Mendoza has been named the new branch manager of Greater Nevada Credit Union’s (GNCU) University branch, slated to open later this summer.

Mendoza brings more than 10 years of banking experience to her role at GNCU, including previous experience as a branch manager and service manager. After joining GNCU in August 2017, Mendoza has assisted with managing several branch locations. She also has conducted financial education courses at the Boys and Girls Club, UNR Athletics, and UNR School of Business.

Jenny Casselman

Greater Commercial Lending (GCL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Greater Nevada Credit Union (GNCU), has named Jenny Casselman its Vice President of Commercial Operations.

Casselman is responsible for delivering strategic objectives related to the commercial loan servicing, secondary marketing, funding and investor efforts within GCL, which provides commercial lending services to entities across the nation.

Casselman has been with Greater Nevada for more than 15 years, holding positions of Branch Manager and Member Resource Center Manager. She has also held positions within Greater Nevada Mortgage, another subsidiary of GNCU.

Heather Creveling, Jillian Heuer and Michelle Piccinini

Home At Last, a program of the Nevada Rural Housing Authority (NRHA), recent named Heather Creveling, Jillian Heuer and Michelle Piccinini as Centennial Award recipients for their work each in helping more than 100 Nevadan families obtain homeownership.

Creveling’s team of “dream makers,” as she says, ensures homebuyers are educated about the process, get answers to all their questions, and are supported each and every step of the way.

Heuer said the Home At Last program and team provide the tools and resources that make it easy for her to support her clients during every step of the loan process.

Piccinini combines her many years of experience in the mortgage banking industry with the unique options Home At Last provides when leading her clients down their path to homeownership.

Heidi Ward

Reno resident Heidi Ward recently acquired her real estate license and is now assisting her clients through Chase International’s Reno office.

Her high-level of experience comes from her years as a physical therapist assistant and certified athletic trainer in the Bay Area and Reno and an Athletic Trainer with USA Water Polo Women’s Junior National Team — of which she is was vital team member assisting during the World Championships in 2007 and 2009.

Neil Edward Saiz

Neil Edward Saiz of the financial services firm Edward Jones in Wingfield Springs (Sparks) recently won the firm’s Edward Jones Sr. Founders Award for his exceptional achievement in building client relationships.

Saiz was one of 2,200 of the firm’s financial advisers to receive the Edward Jones Sr. Founders Award. The firm’s 16,000-plus financial advisers serve more than 7 million clients and care for $1 trillion in assets under management.

Bill Brewer

At its July 19 meeting, the Nevada Rural Housing Authority (NRHA) Board of Commissioners voted to approve Bill Brewer as the agency’s new executive director. This appointment comes after former Executive Director Gary Longaker’s retirement from the authority after 15 years of leadership.

Prior to his appointment, Brewer served as NRHA deputy director since 2015. Thirty years ago, he began working for the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA). In 1994, he became the first housing program director for the new Nevada State Office of FmHA, which subsequently became the state office of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development.

Brewer attended Oklahoma State University, and taught vocational agriculture there for several years.

Katie Coleman

Nevada Rural Housing Authority (NRHA) announced Katie Coleman as its new director of communications and public affairs. Coleman brings 15 years of marketing communications experience to the role and will be responsible for all internal and external communications activities for the agency.

Prior to NRHA, Coleman led the Accounts Team at KPS3, a full-service marketing firm in Reno. Previously, she managed a variety of communications programs at International Game Technology (IGT).

Elizabeth Parks

In August, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) announced the hiring of Elizabeth Parks as Grassroots Manager to serve the needs of NFIB small business members throughout California and Nevada from the Sacramento office.

Parks will work to develop, coordinate and implement grassroots activities for NFIB members, in coordination with internal departments, to further advance the organization’s mission and grow member activism. Parks previously worked in Washington, D.C., for 11 years, serving in the areas of policy and communications. Most recently, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff for U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly (MS). She is a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in political science and history.

A and H Insurance

A and H Insurance announced the addition of five new members to its team.

Grace Daidone joins the agency as a Health and Benefits Consultant. Daidone brings 25 years of experience in human resources, health benefits, and health care policy.

In May, the agency welcomed Pat McGuffey as Commercial Lines Account Executive. McGuffey brings more than 30 years of experience on the broker and carrier side of the industry.

The Yerington office welcomed Gay Lynn Smith, Barbara Rowley, and Krystal Babcock. Lynn is an Account Manager who worked for the O’Keefe Agency in Yerington for 39 years before it merged with A and H Insurance in May of this year. She is joined by Rowley, an Account Manager with 18 years’ experience; and Babcock, an Assistant Account Manager.

Dave Simonsen

Newmark Knight Frank welcomed Executive Managing Director Dave Simonsen, SIOR, CCIM to its Reno office.

Before joining Newmark’s industry leading industrial team, he served as Senior Vice President and Partner at Kidder Matthews. Prior to Kidder Matthews, Simonson also worked with CB Richard Ellis, Colliers International and NAI Alliance.

Through his impressive career, he has had the opportunity to work with many notable clients including: Prologis, University of Nevada Reno, American Red Cross, AT&T, UPS, Otis Elevator, and IBM.

Sheila Ryan

Clear Capital announced Sheila Ryan has joined the company as Chief People Officer. The company also announced it has hired 116 people in 2018, with 67 of those new hires based out of its Reno headquarters.

Before joining Clear Capital, Ryan served as vice president, global people and workplace for Glu Mobile, a multimillion-dollar, 750-person mobile game developer. Earlier in her career, Sheila led human resources and culture efforts at multiple companies, including Practice Fusion, CBS Interactive and CNET Networks.

Matthew Foster

CEI Alarm announced Matthew Foster has been named security consultant. He will be responsible for sales, customer satisfaction through security analysis and project management of product installations.

Foster brings more than 20 years of experience in the security industry to his new position. Previously, he was a sales manager responsible for self-generating leads, closing deals, maintaining customer service after a sale and directing employees in day-to-day sales operations. He is an active member of Toastmasters and Business Network International (BNI) groups and volunteer with the Builders Association Charity.

Dickson Realty agents

Dickson Realty agents David Hughes, Joseph Wieczorek, Lori Welsh, Diana Renfroe, Beau Keenan, Rob Wonhof, Brooke Sullivan and Monica Gore have been named among America’s most productive sales associates as a part of REAL Trends America’s Best Real Estate Professionals, the newly issued ranking report produced by REAL Trends and sponsored by Adwerx.

Dickson Realty agents are recurring members of the “America’s Best Real Estate Professionals,” and ranked as some of the most productive agents in the Reno/Sparks region.

REAL Trends America’s Best Real Estate Professionals ranks more than 13,800 residential real estate professionals solely based on their excellence in real estate sales during calendar year 2017. All production numbers are independently verified by a third-party in order to ensure accuracy and report integrity.

RE/MAX Realty Affiliates agents

RE/MAX Realty Affiliates (RRA) agents from the Carson City, Gardnerville and Reno offices also recently earned recognition on the REAL Trends America’s Best Real Estate Professionals List for their outstanding performance in 2017.

Individual RRA agents who earned a spot on the REAL Trends America’s Best list include Laura Moline, Matthew Carter and Scott Smith from the Gardnerville office, and Mary Jo Brummer from the Carson City office. RRA group teams who made the list include the Mike Wood Team and The Lessinger Team, both located in the Reno office.

Full information on the REAL Trends America’s Best Real Estate Professionals List can be found at americasbestre.com.

NCET board

Sue Irvin and Bill O’Driscoll were recently elected to the board of NCET, a member-supported nonprofit that produces educational and networking events to help people explore businesses and technology. Jodi Jung and Renee McGinnes were re-elected to the board.

Irvin, banking center manager at Mutual of Omaha Bank in Reno, was elected vice president of membership administration for NCET. She has worked in the banking industry since 2002 and has held management positions in commercial banks in Reno for more than 13 years.

Irvin earned an associate’s degree in business administration from Western Nevada College and a bachelor’s degree in human resource management and personnel administration from Columbia Southern University.

O’Driscoll, a freelance writer and editor in Reno, was elected vice president of communications for special projects for NCET. O’Driscoll is a longtime business journalist in Reno and former editor of the Northern Nevada Business View. He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from UNR.