A lot of people think Jason Bonderoff spends his days watching soap operas.

That’s only part of what the 54-year-old father does in his role as editor-in-chief of SoapCity.com, a Culver City-based Web company owned by Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment.

After 12 years with Soap Opera Digest where he served as the magazine’s first news editor and, later, as online director of SoapDigest.com Bonderoff recently joined SoapCity, where he oversees all of the site’s content as Editor-in-Chief.

“I put myself in the shoes of soap fans and I say, ‘What do they want to know?'” he said.

That’s not much of a stretch for Bonderoff, who himself is a soap fan. “You get involved with the characters. You get swept up in the stories,” he said.

As a classical civilizations major at Brooklyn College, Bonderoff often watched soaps in between classes and soon discovered a connection between the shows and his studies.

“It dawned on me very quickly that soaps have a lot in common with classical Greek dramas,” he said. “They were very morality-oriented. They followed the unities of time and place.”

SoapCity provides coverage of 10 network-television soaps and gets an average of 18 million page views a month, Bonderoff said.

His goal is to cover soap operas from a “news point of view.” “It’s our mission to really help elevate the medium,” he said. “We want soap fans to feel good about this pastime they have.”

Despite the site’s popularity, SoapCity faces a lot of competition for the attention of soap fans.

Promotions and good coverage are essential to staying ahead of the competition, Bonderoff said.

Claudia Peschiutta

Accounting & Consulting

Anthony Villasenor has joined the Los Angeles office of BDO Seidman, a tax consulting and professional services firm, as a senior manager. He will be responsible for auditing in the manufacturing wholesale distribution, retail, technology, professional and non-profit industries, with a focus on Hispanic-owned businesses with revenues exceeding $10 million. Prior to joining BDO, Villasenor was a senior manager at Pannell Kerr Forster CPA’s in Los Angeles.

Advertising & P.R.

Kim Gaertner has been promoted to account manager at Nostrum Advertising Inc. in Long Beach. She will maintain responsibility for the management of all existing accounts at the agency in addition to her new responsibilities of overseeing account strategy, customer satisfaction and supervisory support to all account team members. Gaertner was previously a senior account executive.

Melissa Schumer has been named senior vice president of GCI Los Angeles, a public relations firm. She will specialize in strategic communications for new media, emerging technologies, consumer products and sports marketing. Schumer most recently served as senior vice president, public relations for News Digital Media, the digital arm of News Corp. and the producer of Fox.com, FoxSports.com and FoxNews.com.

Charlie Tercek has joined the Los Angeles office of Grey Worldwide, an advertising firm, as vice president and associate creative director. He will be responsible for writing for the California Department of Consumer Affairs and the California State Lottery. Most recently, Tercek was executive story editor on the ABC show, “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.”

Robert Hartman has joined Pallotta Teamworks, an event production and marketing company in Los Angeles, as vice president of marketing. He will be responsible for managing a $15 million budget for media, Web, database and grassroots programs for the company in addition to guiding an in-house creative agency and plan strategic marketing and public relations programs for seven event brands. Hartman served as director of consumer marketing for OmniGift.com prior to joining Pallotta.

Banking & Finance

R.J. Arnett and Jeff Garrison have been promoted at Countrywide Home Loans, a wholesale lender in Calabasas. Arnett has been promoted to senior vice president and will have responsibility for production and operations in the Countrywide Wholesale Lending Division’s four Western regions, which encompass 25 branch offices. Arnett most recently served as regional vice president for Southern California. Garrison will be succeeding Arnett as regional vice president. He will be responsible for overseeing the company’s six wholesale branches in Southern California. Garrison was previously branch manager of Countrywide’s Pasadena office.

Engineering

Jacob Tsimanis and Dan Ursea have joined Mazzetti & Associates, a engineering design firm in Los Angeles. Tsimanis has been named principal and director of the firm’s Los Angeles office, where he will be responsible for managing operations, leading marketing efforts and heading the mechanical engineering group. He previously served as leader of the mechanical engineering and building groups at Arup Partners in Los Angeles. As a senior associate, Ursea will be responsible for overseeing the office’s plumbing department in addition to assisting with daily operations and marketing efforts. Ursea was also at Arup Partners before joining M & A;, most recently serving as lead engineer for the firm’s plumbing group.

Entertainment

Brian Lambert has been appointed to vice president, motion picture & television music at Universal Music Publishing group in Los Angeles. He is responsible for marketing and pitching the company’s catalogue for use in film, television and advertising. Lambert joined the company from Zomba Music Publishing where he was vice president of catalogue marketing.

Peter Levitan has joined Intermedia, a diversified entertainment investment company in Los Angeles, as executive vice president, business and legal affairs. He will be responsible for all production legal and business affairs matters. Prior to joining Intermedia, Levitan was vice president, legal affairs at Twentieth Century Fox.

Wesley Mallette and Alison Olin have been appointed to new positions at MTV Networks in Santa Monica. Mallette will be serving as vice president, corporate communications. He will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the communications department. Most recently, Mallette was in charge of corporate communications at Intimate Brands Inc. Olin has been named director of corporate communications. She will be responsible for working with network press departments to develop and implement press strategies in the Western region, as well as work on feature film publicity for MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. Prior to joining MTV, Olin worked as director of communications at e24/7, a messaging technology company.

Craig Minassian, Cameron Burr and Lisa Doty have been hired at Comedy Arts Studios, a production company in Los Angeles. Minassian will oversee strategy and daily operations for CAS as well as work in the development of talent and content. He was previously assistant press secretary and director of television news in the White House for President Clinton. Burr has been named director of development. He has worked for the Comedy Arts Festival for three years, most recently serving as programming director. Doty will be a creative executive, responsible for aiding the company in staffing directors and writers for future projects.

Nick Morton has joined Crusader Entertainment, a film production company in Los Angeles, as vice president of development. Previously, he was vice president of production at Phoenix Pictures.

Kelley Oien Perez has joined Jim Henson Television in Los Angeles as director of children’s television. She will be responsible for the development of children’s programming worldwide, including animated and live action projects. Previously, Perez worked in development and production at Nickelodeon.

Brian Spaulding has been named senior vice president and controller of Walt Disney International in Burbank. He will be responsible for all aspects of the company’s financial activities. Most recently, Spaulding served as senior vice president and chief financial officer for Walt Disney International’s Asia-Pacific region.

Law

Diana P. Scott has joined Greenberg Traurig LLP in Los Angeles as a firm shareholder. She will practice in the firm’s litigation department, specializing in representing employers in jury and non-jury trials and counseling them on employment policies and procedures designed to ensure regulatory compliance. Scott was previously chair of the employment group at Gilchrist & Rutter.

Media

Scott M. Jarus has joined J2 Global Communications Inc., a messaging and communications services provider, as president. He will be responsible for day-to-day operations. Jarus most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Onsite Access Inc., a national provider of communications services to commercial office buildings. J2 has also promoted Nehemia Zucker to chief marketing officer. He will be responsible for overseeing the company’s web and corporate channels. Zucker will also keep his position as chief financial officer. Zohar Loshitzer was promoted to executive vice president, corporate strategy. He will be responsible for building J2’s licensed services channel and pursuing partnership and acquisition opportunities. Loshitzer was previously the chief information officer.

Real Estate

David W. Powell has been promoted to executive vice president and manager of the San Gabriel Valley office of NAI Capital Commercial, a full-service commercial real estate brokerage firm. He was previously senior vice president in the San Gabriel Valley office.

Dennis Smith has been promoted to senior vice president and managing director at Travers Realty in Los Angeles. He is responsible for providing brokerage acquisition and disposition services as well as lease portfolio management services to companies nationwide.

Trade

Carmen Ornelas Perez has been voted president of the Long Beach Harbor Commission. She will preside over the commission’s weekly meetings, make committee appointments and act as the port’s chief spokesperson. Perez is a hospital administrator and has twice since her 1991 appointment served as president of the commission.