Education
Vicki Stieha has been appointed director of the Foundational Studies Program at Boise State University. Stieha is interim director of general education at Northern Kentucky University. She will join Boise State in August.
Stieha will lead implementation of a new set of courses at Boise State that will provide a connected, multidisciplinary framework of learning from freshman to senior years.
Foundational Studies Program courses incorporate teamwork and extend the educational experience beyond the classroom to include international studies, service-learning, internships and participation in student government. They will start in the fall of 2012.
Stieha directed the creation of a similar program at Northern Kentucky, startup leadership for the program and refinements as needed. She served as director of first-year programs at Northern Kentucky, co-chaired its campuswide common book-reading program for four years and served as adjunct or part-time faculty at both Northern Kentucky and the University of Cincinnati. Stieha received her doctorate in education studies from the University of Cincinnati in 2010. She also has a master’s degree in secondary education from Xavier University and a bachelor’s degree in communication from Florida State University.
Energy
Idaho National Laboratory researchers earned R&D 100 Awards for two of three nominated technologies during the 2011 international competition hosted by R&D Magazine.
The winning INL technologies offered two firsts in research. The capability of directly measuring the impedance in an operating battery and a highly effective chemical-foam-clay decontamination process tailored to specific radiological and metal contaminants.
INL nominated three technologies for the 2011 R&D 100 competition and with this announcement has won 46 R&D 100 Awards since 1986.
Engineering
Power Engineers Inc. announced its acquisition of Minneapolis-based Food Systems Design Inc., one of the leading consulting and engineering firms dedicated to the food processing and packaging industry.
Power’s and FSD’s clients will see a smooth transition that expands and strengthens resources and services, including process, packaging, mechanical, electrical, controls and integrated building design.
Power Engineers is a global consulting engineering firm with one of its largest offices in Boise. It specializes in integrated solutions for energy, food and beverage facilities, communications, environmental and federal markets.
Financial services
Silver Key Insurance Boise has been chosen as a provider of the Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., AARP-branded auto insurance program.
Silver Key Insurance Boise satisfied a number of eligibility requirements, such as a commitment to community service, high business and ethics standards, and completion of a training program highlighting the needs of the 50-plus population.
Silver Key (www.silverkeyboise.com) offers auto, home, life and small-business insurance.
Jonathan Chick Sr. and Walter Watts have joined the Meridian office of Pacific Residential Mortgage as mortgage bankers.
Chick graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a bachelor’s degree in business.
Watts has experience in wealth management, including tax, estate and financial planning, as well as corporate, partnership and individual income tax return preparation.
He received his bachelor’s in business administration in accountancy from Boise State University.
Government
James Cooper has been named deputy manager of the Idaho Cleanup Project, which oversees the environmental cleanup and waste management mission at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho site.
Cooper, who has more than 30 years of experience in commercial and government engineering and management, has experience in business management, including all project phases from conceptual planning, cost and scheduling, to design, licensing, construction, testing, operations, maintenance and facilities decommissioning work.
Cooper served as one of two interim deputy managers succeeding Rick Provencher, who was named Idaho Operations Office manager in May 2010.
As deputy manager of the Idaho Operations Office, Cooper will oversee 70 federal employees and nearly 3,000 contractors.
Cooper also will be responsible for an annual federal and contractor budget that exceeds $400 million.
Health care
West Valley Medical Center recently accepted a 2010 Hospital Quality Award from Blue Cross of Idaho, recognizing top-performing hospitals in the latter’s Hospital Quality Incentive Program, based on data from last year.
The medical center received the Award of Merit this year for its efforts in measuring patient safety and improving clinical outcomes.
The program evaluates several criteria, including the implementation of evidence-based measures that are known to improve health outcomes in treating pneumonia, heart attack and heart failure.
It also assesses and promotes patient safety by reducing infections and surgical complications.
The Saltzer Medical Group, formerly Medical Center Physicians, celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Founded in Nampa in 1961 by Dr. Joseph Saltzer and two other physicians, the group now has 46 physicians and nine Treasure Valley locations. Ten years ago, the group chose to change its name to Saltzer Medical Group to honor its founding physician.
Hospitality & tourism
Rob Holderness has joined LiveRez.com, a provider of web-based software solutions for vacation rental managers, as marketing and public relations manager.
A former reporter and freelance journalist for the Statesman Journal in Salem, Ore., Holderness comes to LiveRez.com after a successful stint at Vox Public Relations Public Affairs of Eugene and Portland, where he provided professional writing services, social media consulting, and media and government relations for the firm and its clients.
Holderness has more than five years of professional writing and editing experience. He holds a master’s degree in communication and political science from Oregon State University.
Law
Amy A. Lombardo has joined Moffatt Thomas as an associate. Lombardo joins the firm after holding a position with Bancroft, McGavin, Horvath & Judkins P.C. Her practice areas include commercial litigation, employment, labor law, government affairs, insurance defense and professional malpractice.
Lombardo earned her bachelor’s degree with high honors in political science and a bachelor’s in history from Boise State University in 1999 and her law degree from George Mason University School of Law in 2005.
Lombardo is an Idaho native and a volunteer with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, including as a leader for the CF Cycle for Life event. She is also involved with the Women in the Law Committee of DRI, serving on the publications subcommittee and on the 2012 steering committee for the Sharing Success Seminar.
Hawley Troxell partner Tim Tyree was chosen to receive the Boise State University Distinguished Alumni Service Award for service to the Alumni Association and Boise State University. The award will be presented at BSU’s annual Presidential Alumni Recognition Gala in October. In addition, Tyree will be recognized on the blue turf at halftime of the homecoming game, when the Broncos play Air Force on Oct. 22.
Tyree’s practice includes commercial transactions, as well as real estate and business law. He also is experienced in eminent domain, real estate brokerage, limited liability companies, and profit/nonprofit corporations.
Tyree is part of the firm’s energy group, with an emphasis on legal matters with respect to wind power.
A graduate of Boise State University, Tyree earned his law degree from Willamette University in Oregon.
John N. Zarian of Zarian, Midgley and Johnson PLLC has been recognized in Chambers and Partners upcoming 2011 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Chambers and Partners is a legal research firm.
This is the second consecutive year Zarian has been recognized by Chambers and Partners for his work in general commercial litigation.
Zarian is a founding member of Zarian Midgley and chairman of the firm’s Complex Litigation Practice Group. He is licensed to practice in Idaho, Utah and California.
Nonprofits
Kathleen Wold has been named the new fund development manager of the Boise Art Museum, and Kristine Asin Hamasaki has been named marketing and events manager.
Wold has a diverse business and nonprofit background, from energy trading to nonprofit development. Her responsibilities have encompassed nearly all facets of development, including corporate giving, annual campaign, creating volunteer engagement opportunities and donor affinity groups. Most recently, she served as vice president of resource development for United Way of Treasure Valley, where she was responsible for a $5 million community campaign.
Hamasaki is a third-generation entrepreneur with over 18 years of experience, which includes roles as head of an Internet trade association in Seattle, former president of the Idaho NAWBO chapter, and a grassroots marketing evangelist. Most recently, she worked for eCompanyStore based in Alpharetta, Ga., managing events for clients such as Microsoft, CA Technologies and HP.
Heather Smith has joined the Idaho Main Street Alliance, an advocacy coalition, as small-business organizer. Smith will be responsible for building a voice for small businesses on public policy issues, including health care and financial institution accountability.
Smith first became interested in advocacy and organizing while working on poverty issues in a rural village near Chaing Mai, Thailand. She went to law school and graduated with an emphasis in human rights. After working for one year as an attorney in Queensland, Australia, Smith moved back to Boise, her hometown, for an internship at the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho. There she focused on immigrants’ rights and participated as a panelist at the Public Policy Conference on Immigration Issues. Most recently, she worked in immigration law in Boise.
Real estate
Tricia Callies, a commercial real estate sales professional in Boise, has joined KW Commercial, a division of Keller Williams Realty Boise Market Center.
Callies has been in the commercial real estate industry for more than 20 years and owns her own brokerage and property management business, Boise Realty Inc. and Complete Property Management. Callies also holds her certified commercial investment member and certified property manager designations. She is participating in the Idaho Association of Realtors Leadership Academy and has passed the exam to be able to teach classes approved by the Idaho Real Estate Commission. From 2004 through 2008, she held the Ada County Association of Realtors Circle of Excellence.
Retail
Jeff Mooney has been promoted to president of Best Bath Systems, a manufacturer of premium composite showers and walk-in tubs. Mooney will be responsible for operations, including budgetary management, production, sales and product delivery.
Mooney has worked for Best Bath for 19 years. In that time, he has held several key managerial positions, including production manager, plant manager and executive vice president of sales and marketing. He has experience in operations, logistics and customer retention.
Technology
Mark R. Smith has joined S1 IT Solutions as a business development executive in storage systems. Smith is responsible for expanding S1’s storage systems and service offerings.
Smith is an award-winning sales leader in storage and infrastructure markets, with nearly 20 years of experience with Cisco and EMC. He is based in Boise. He also worked in Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland and Denver. Smith worked for TW Telecom as a senior account executive. He has been responsible for Cisco Systems and EMC portfolios in senior worldwide account and regional sale management positions at companies including Microsoft, Nexus IS, INX, MSI Systems Integrators and Mountain States Networking. S1 IT Solutions is an authorized IBM, Cisco, Microsoft and NetApp solution provider.
Pat Carson: 377-6400
