NEWSMAKERS
ADVERTISING
Jeremy Colfer has joined Stun Creative, an advertising agency on Miracle Mile, as vice president of branded content and development. Colfer was previously director of development and production for Crackle, Sony Pictures Television’s online video site.
Hydra, a Beverly Hills-based online ad network, has hired Edward Roberto as interim president and Trevor Thomas as senior vice president of sales. Previously, Roberto served as managing director at Islander Holdings LLC, a Denver-based financial analyst firm. Thomas was senior vice president of sales for Experian Interactive Media, a Santa Monica financial information services company.
BANKING & FINANCE
William J. Stolte has been appointed to the board of Hanmi Financial Corp. Stolte was previously senior executive vice president of Union Bank of California in San Francisco.
GOVERNMENT
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has named Yvonne Arceneaux and Gloria D. Gray as board members. Arceneaux is a Compton City Council member. Gray is on the board of West Basin Municipal Water District.
HEALTH CARE
The International Society of Andrology, a global organization that promotes men’s health research, has appointed Christina Wang as president. Wang is program director of the General Clinical Research Center at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Amy Zimmerman & Associates, a Torrance-based job placement company, has named Teddi Franklin-Hammer senior career manager. Hammer was previously freelance career manager.
INSURANCE
Grace Neumann has been named assistant vice president of Momentous Insurance Brokerage Inc., a Van Nuys insurance company. Neumann was previously vice president of the private client advisers practice at Hub International, an insurance and wealth management services company based in Chicago.
GOVERNMENT
Ahmed Zewail has been appointed to the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Zewail is professor of chemistry and physics, and director of Caltech’s Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology.
LAW
Law firm Khorrami Pollard & Abir LLP has hired Launa Adolph and Bevin Allen as associates in its downtown L.A. office. Adolph and Allen were previously associates at Milstein Adelman & Kreger LLP, a Santa Monica-based law firm.
Law firm Buchalter Nemer has named Michael L. Lovitz of counsel in its downtown L.A. office. Lovitz was previously partner at Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz LLP, an intellectual property and business law firm in Wilmington, Del.
Suann Maclsaac has been appointed to the board of the Century City Bar Association and chairwoman of its entertainment law section. Maclsaac serves as marketing partner at Greenberg Glusker, a Century City entertainment and real estate law firm.
Glaser Weil Fink Jacobs Howard & Shapiro LLP, a Century City law firm, has named John Mason partner. Mason was previously co-founder and name partner at Mason Miller LLP, a Century City law firm.
MEDIA
Buzz Media Inc., a Hollywood operator of pop culture Web sites, has promoted Alan Citron to president. Citron was previously senior adviser to the company.
NON-PROFIT
Stephen Donell has been appointed to the board of the Los Angeles/Orange County chapter of California Receivers Forum, a Laguna Beach-based non-profit organization formed by receivers, attorneys, accountants and property managers to facilitate communication between the receivership community and the courts. Donell is senior vice president in the West L.A. office of Jalmar Properties Inc., a real estate investment and property management company.
Peace Games, a Boston-headquartered non-profit organization dedicated to ending youth violence, has appointed Mandy Nelson executive director in its downtown L.A. office. Nelson previously served as senior development and communications officer at the Women’s Foundation of California.
REAL ESTATE
Wixen Real Estate Services, a West L.A. commercial real estate firm, has named Christina Clark vice president. Clark was previously director of business development in the downtown L.A. office of design firm RTKL Associates Inc.
Randall Reel has been named principal in the El Segundo office of Third Wave Partners LLC, a commercial real estate services company. Reel was previously senior vice president at Molasky Group of Cos., a Las Vegas-based real estate development and management firm.
RETAIL
Nora Lighting Inc., a Commerce-headquartered company that manufacturers lighting fixtures for retail, commercial and residential installations, has hired Louise Gardner as director of marketing and engineering. Gardner was previously director of sales and marketing with Moz Designs, an Oakland manufacturer of architectural and decorative metals for commercial and hospitality construction.
Sherri Sebastian has joined Fragrance West, a Van Nuys fragrance manufacturer, as senior perfumer. Sebastian was previously a perfumer at Creative Concepts, a fragrance manufacturer in Norwood, N.J.
TECHNOLOGY
Verifi Inc., an L.A.-headquartered company that provides electronic payment and risk management solutions for merchants, has hired Edward Katzin as chief technology officer. Katzin was previously chief information officer at Revolutionary Money Inc., a payment network.
