NEWSMAKERS
Accounting
Green Hasson & Janks LLP in West Los Angeles has appointed Thomas J. Barry and Anant Patel to partner. Barry and Patel were previously principals with the firm.
Good Swartz Brown & Berns LLP has appointed Scott M. Sachs as managing partner of its San Fernando Valley office. Sachs was a partner with the firm.
Advertising
Tracy N. Lehmann has been named a director of media planning for Encino-based Inter/Media Advertising. Previously, Lehmann was a senior media planner and supervisor at G2 Direct & Digital.
Automotive
The California Motor Car Dealers Association, a state association of franchised new car and truck dealers, has elected Peter Hoffman as chairman. Hoffman is president of Sierra Auto Cars Inc. in Monrovia.
Banking & Finance
Indymac Bank has hired Meredith Blaine as a business development manager for the wholesale lending division at its Pasadena branch. Blaine was previously an account executive at Lime Financial.
Salem Partners, a Los Angeles-based investment bank and wealth management firm, has appointed David Dodson as director of the wealth management group. Previously, Dodson was vice president and portfolio manager for Essential Advisers Inc.
Steven H. Reiner has joined the Beverly Hills office of Financo Inc., a New York-based investment bank and provider of financial advisory services, as managing director and head of the West Coast banking team. Reiner was recently managing director and a leader with CIBC World Markets.
Education
The Los Angeles Unified School District has appointed Dennis Barrett as director of food services. Barrett had recently served as food service director for the Mesa County Valley School District in Grand Junction, Colo.
Government
David L. Swartz has been named president of the California Board of Accountancy. Swartz is firm wide managing partner at Good Swartz Brown & Berns LLP.
Law
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP has named Michael J. Quinn partner at its Los Angeles office, effective March 1. Quinn is currently an associate.
Michael L. Resch has been elected to partner at Howrey LLP’s Los Angeles office. Resch was a senior associate.
Jones Day, an international law firm, has promoted to partners: Todd R. Miller, Esme C. Smith, Kirstin Poirier-Whitley, and Jeffrey M. Rawitz. Also, Brian Hoffstadt was hired as a partner and Brian Hershman as of counsel. Miller and Smith were associates; Poirier-Whitely and Rawitz were of counsel; Hoffstadt and Hershman were assistant U.S. attorneys.
Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro LLP has hired Manali V. Dighe as an associate in its intellectual property practice. Dighe was formerly a life science specialist at Sigma-Aldrich Corp.
Major Lindsey & Africa, a legal search firm, has hired Krista E. Kamper as a managing director in its Los Angeles office. Kamper was recently an associate at Minyard Morris in Newport Beach.
Media
Premiere Radio Networks Inc., a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, has promoted Alan Wenkus to vice president of comedy and prep services. Wenkus was creative director.
Non-Profit
Partners in Care Foundation, a San Fernando-based non-profit healthcare and social service organization, has named Juan Vargas as controller. Vargas was previously vice president of finance for Western States Chiropractic College in Portland, Ore.
The Pasadena Convention & Visitors Bureau, a non-profit organization dedicated to marketing the city, has appointed Monica Smith to director of sales. Smith was formerly vice president of sales at the Newport Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau.
Masami Higa has been named to the board of Reading Is Fundamental of Southern California, a non-profit organization that promotes literacy for children. Higa is currently litigation services manager at Gursey Schnieder & Co. LLP.
Public Relations
Cerrell Associates Inc., a Los Angeles-based public affairs consulting agency, has promoted Danielle Carignan to assistant account executive for the land use and planning practice area. Carignan was an account coordinator.
Real Estate
Centex Homes, a Dallas-based homebuilder, has appointed Amanda Larson as director of sales and marketing at its Los Angeles/Central Coast division. Larson was formerly director of operational marketing with the company.
NAI Capital, a commercial real estate brokerage headquartered in Encino, has hired Christopher Jackson and Todd Lorber as senior vice presidents and Lenny Cohen as senior associate. Jackson was previously vice president; Lorber was senior vice president; and Cohen was an associate. All had come from Grubb & Ellis.
Technology
Youbet.com, a Woodland Hills-based Internet wagering company specializing in horse races, has named Michael Nelson chief accounting officer and corporate controller. Nelson was formerly vice president and controller at Point.360 in Burbank.
KUDOS
Frank Flores has been awarded the SHPE Technical Achievement Recognition Corporate Achievement Award by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Flores is vice president at Northrop Grumman Corp. The award recognizes his scientific, technical and engineering success.
Los Angeles’ Integrated Resources Plan, a wastewater resource initiative that involves the community in policy decisions and facilities planning, has been awarded the 2007 Engineering Excellence Golden State Award by the Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California. IRP was also granted the Protection Award by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board for its efforts to preserve and enhance the quality of California water resources.
The Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles announced the following honors at its 58th Annual Installation & Awards Banquet: Carl Douglas was named Trial Lawyer of the Year; Sharon Arkin was named Ian Herzog Appellate Lawyer of the Year; Robert Greenwald was given the Consumer Education Award; J. Stephen Czuleger was named Alfred J. McCoutney Trial Judge of the Year; Paul Boland was named the Roger J. Traynor Award/Appellate Justice of the Year; Fabian Nunez was given the George Moscone Award for Outstanding Public Service; and Charles B. O’Reilly was given the Ted Horn Award. Douglas is an attorney at the Law Offices of Carl E. Douglas; Arkin is senior partner of Arkin & Glovsky in Pasadena; Greenwald is a producer, director and founder of Brave New Films; Czuleger is presiding judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court; Boland is an appellate justice on the California Supreme Court; Nunez is California’s Assembly speaker; and O’Reilly is an attorney at the Law Offices of Charles B. O’Reilly.
J.H. Snyder Co., a real estate development firm, and Los Angeles City Councilman, Jose Huizar, was given the Andelson Award for providing housing alternatives for senior citizens. The award was granted by Alternative Living for the Aging.
DONATIONS
The Lynne Cohen Foundation USC/Norris Benefit Event raised about $400,000 for the Lynne Cohen Preventive Care Clinic for Women’s Cancer at USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. The center provides screenings for breast and ovarian cancer for underserved women.
Christian Schoyen and Christin Tellefsen donated $10,000 to the Los Angeles Mission. The proceeds come from the Schoyen and Tellefsen’s film “Living the Dream.”
Jade Takahashi
