When Joni Simpkins was hired as director of sales and marketing for the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites, all she had to worry about was the prospect of a slumping economy and a decline in corporate travel. Then Sept. 11 rolled around.

A substantial portion of the Bonaventure’s revenues come from conventions and corporate travel, two areas that have the potential to be adversely affected by the terrorist attacks on the East Coast.

“We were already dealing with the economy,” she said. “(This) will probably be the biggest career challenge I’ll face.”

To combat a decline in hotel revenues, Simpkins said she plans to focus on more local markets as well as the hotel’s catering business.

“Our markets have changed significantly. We’re looking at businesses that would drive (to Los Angeles) rather than fly,” said Simpkins, who mentioned the Bay Area as one of the Bonaventure’s key feeder markets. “I think a lot of companies are going to streamline and hold more local meetings.”

As for the local catering business, Simpkins said the hotel has begun relaxing some of its booking policies in the interest of generating business.

And like many hotels in the Los Angeles area, the Bonaventure has started slashing rates, some by as much as 30 percent. “We’re offering special rates across the board,” said Simpkins. “We’re also strategizing on some packages and (generating) some creative ideas for (attracting) new business.”

Simpkins graduated from UC Irvine in 1984. Since then she has worked for Le Meridien, the Red Lion Hotel chain and Wyndham Hotel and Resorts. Most recently, she worked for two years as director of hotel sales at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort in Dana Point. Prior to that, she was the director of sales & marketing for Richfield Hospitality Services, overseeing 12 hotels.

Simpkins will be commuting to her new job in downtown Los Angeles from her home in Lake Forest, Orange County, where she lives with her husband and three children.

Conor Dougherty

Advertising & P.R.

Kathryne Amendola Moore has been hired as vice president at Inter/Media advertising agency in Encino. She will concentrate on securing and managing clients in the education and service industries. Moore joins the firm after having served as a consultant for half a dozen direct response advertisers. Also, Erin M. Barr and Michelle Zygelman have been promoted at the company, Barr to senior vice president and Zygelman to vice president/account supervisor. Barr will oversee the account supervisor/management team and all other aspects of client services including media strategies, traffic, telemarketing, execution and the development of Inter/Media’s proprietary lead/sales tracking system. He has been an account supervisor with the company since 1998. Zygelman, who oversees more than $20 million in billings annually, was most recently an account executive.

Stephanie Eversfield has joined the Los Angeles office of Grizzard, a direct marketing agency, as a senior account executive. She will provide account management and strategic marketing counsel for American Red Cross chapters in the western region and City of Hope. Most recently, Eversfield was a senior account executive at Russ Reid Company in Pasadena.

Hilary Norton Orozco has been named a vice president in the Los Angeles office of Fleishman-Hillard, a public relations firm in Los Angeles. She will be part of the firm’s public affairs group, counseling public and private sector clients on a wide range of policy, community and media issues. Orozco, who currently serves as vice president of legislative affairs at the Central City Association, will start her new position on October 8.

Architecture

Max Williams and Nicholas Ybarra have been promoted to senior associates at Rothenberg Sawasy Architects, an architectural/interior design firm in Los Angeles. In addition, Jeffery Richards has joined the firm as director of business development.

Alice Wilson has been named vice president of corporate programs at Daniel, Mann, Johnson, Mendenhall, Holmes and Narver, an architecture and engineering firm in Los Angeles. She will oversee the firm’s business development efforts in the public/private and corporate commercial markets. Wilson most recently served as the national director of business development for LCOR Public/Private Inc., a real estate development, investment, operations and asset management firm.

Arts

Christine Franke has been named director of development at the Pasadena Symphony. She has served as the symphony’s assistant director of development since 1997 and will play a crucial role in generating funds to make the symphony’s concerts and education programs possible.

Chambers of Commerce

Carol Ann Wentworth has been appointed the new president and chief executive of the Woodland Hills Chamber of Commerce. Recently, Wentworth has held positions as the director of placement at Globe College of Business in Minneapolis, owner of Carol Ann Design in Los Angeles and vice president, new business development at Stanton Chase International in Agoura Hills.

Entertainment

Susan Law has been named to the newly created position of vice president, advertiser sales marketing and promotions at Columbia TriStar Distribution in Culver City. She will direct all marketing activities for Columbia TriStar’s Television advertiser sales, the company’s national barter advertising unit, DirecTV national spots and its programming publications and Game Show Network national advertising. Law has served as director, merchandising and marketing since 1994.

Jan E. Smith has been named president of the newly formed Buena Vista Game Entertainment Studio business unit of Walt Disney Co. She will continue to serve in her current role as president of Disney Interactive while creating a new organization to leverage and combine new and emerging technologies, such as broadband and wireless, with video consoles, PCs, other technological innovations and online games. Smith is a 14-year veteran of the company.

Health Care

Paula Golden has been appointed vice president, development and foundation relations, at Saint John’s Health Center. She will be overseeing the multi-year development effort called “Campaign for Saint John’s,” which seeks to raise more than $125 million for a new health center. Golden previously served as director of development for neuroscience, a cross-departmental appointment supporting research at UCLA.

Jon Hermie has been promoted to chief operating officer at Spotlight Health, a creator of health-issue awareness campaigns in Los Angeles. He will oversee all company operations including marketing, business development, information technology and client and celebrity program implementation. Hermie most recently served as the company’s senior vice president of marketing and program operations.

Steven G. Orvis has been appointed senior consultant at HPEN, a Los Angeles-based firm that serves as management consultants to the healthcare industry. He will be responsible for the day-to-day management of major projects related to the medical billing group and business office operations. Most recently, Orvis served as a senior associate at Stockamp & Associates, a national consulting firm that specializes in the restructuring of patient accounting offices.

Manufacturing

Michelle Wolloff has been appointed to the position of director of marketing at the California Manufacturing Technology Center in Gardena. She will be heading up CMTC’s marketing, communications, research, corporate branding, data base management and sales support including telemarketing and new business development. Most recently, Wolloff was responsible for product marketing programs at Neurosmith, a Long Beach-based manufacturer of electronic educational smart toys.

Non-profits

John F. Cooke has been appointed president of Declaration of Independence Inc., a non-profit organization designed to encourage civic activism. The organization, which was founded by producer Norman Lear, includes a project to take an original copy of the Declaration of Independence on a three-and-a-half year cross-country tour. Cook joins the project after serving as executive vice president, external affairs of the J. Paul Getty Trust.

Professional Services

Lois Damrow has been named vice president of business development for the Southern California office of M Squared Inc., a broker of independent business consultants in Los Angeles. She will be building relationships with healthcare, consumer products and automotive companies throughout Southern California, and high-tech and other industries in the San Fernando Valley. Prior to joining M Squared, Lois was business development manager for Cruel World.

Cathy Griffin has been promoted to managing director at Korn/Ferry International, an executive search firm in Los Angeles. She will lead the firm’s sports practice in Los Angeles and New York and also will work with the entertainment/media/convergence and consumer specialty practices.

Real Estate

Eric B. Moore has joined the Los Angeles office of Julien J. Studley Inc., a national commercial real estate firm specializing in tenant representation, as corporate managing director. Moore will be advising firms on real estate issues such as acquisition and disposition, collocation and lease negotiations for office and equipment facilities and call centers. Prior to joining the firm, Moore was a founding partner of Millennium Advisors MSN, where he focused on telecommunications leasing.

Services

Mitchel Zelinger has been appointed director of business development at Herman Miller Workplace Resource, a provider of office, residential and health care furniture and services in Los Angeles. He is responsible for implementing the company’s new sales initiatives while working with the existing sales teams at the firm’s regional offices in Los Angeles, Woodland Hills and Irvine.