VALLEY NEWSMAKERS

Burke-Kelly: Also dealing with budget. FEATURED NEWSMAKER: As Pierce College’s 21st president, Dr. Kathleen F. Burke-Kelly plans to make sure the campus’ extensive construction program stays on track and on schedule, while continuing to focus on quality higher education amidst state budget shortfalls. “My top goal is always improving student success, to have students achieve their goals,” said Burke-Kelly, who took the helm as president of Pierce College Aug. 2. One of the major challenges she faces is balancing the impact of the California state budget crisis with the needs of the students when already workload reductions have led to canceled classes across most colleges in the district. Burke-Kelly will also oversee big construction plans at the college including a new Horticulture & Animal Science Campus with specialized classroom and laboratory facilities, as well as significant landscape and hardscape improvements to support state-of-the-art instruction in horticultural sciences. This project is expected to break ground soon, she said. The master plan for the project was approved by the board of trustees last week. The College will also be adding a new building for maintenance and operations on the southeast corner of the campus, and remodeling its stadium and auto tech areas. Additionally, Burke-Kelly said the College has plans to build a new structure to host a workforce development program on green technologies. The college is currently developing the curriculum for that program which is expected to open within four or five years, she said. “One of my goals is making sure construction stays on track, the more we stay on schedule the more efficiently we’re able to spend the funds and the more we can build,” she said. Burke-Kelly, who has three decades of experience as a local community college educator and administrator, most recently served as vice president of academic affairs at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. Prior, she served as vice president of academic affairs at Los Angeles City College from August 2007 to June 2009, and as vice president of academic affairs at Los Angeles Mission College and dean of academic affairs at East Los Angeles College. Before joining the Los Angeles Community College District in 2001, she had served for 10 years as division chairperson for visual and performing arts at Glendale Community College, where she was also an associate professor of art history and served as president of the college’s Board of Trustees. She succeeds longtime Pierce administrator Dr. Joy McCaslin, who was named Pierce’s interim president in July 2009. The previous president, Robert Garber, announced his retirement in August 2009 after three and a half years at the post. – Andrea Alegria Architecture Tarzana-based architecture firm James Heimler, Architect, Inc. has hired three new senior draftpersons. Daniel Hansell has 20 years of experience in project types ranging from commercial to educational and tenant improvements. Paolo Sant’Ambrogio has 23 years of experience and has worked on several different project types including residential, commercial, food service, and institutional. Raul Villaflores has 21 years of experience as project coordinator, job captain, and interior designer among others. He has experience working on commercial, institutional and residential job types. Awards The California Lutheran University Alumni Association Board of Directors presented the 2010 Outstanding Young Alumna Award to the Baskin-Robbins director of marketing for Asia. Sara Larcombe accepted the award Aug. 31 at the Thousand Oaks university’s opening academic convocation. Larcombe served as an intern for Baskin-Robbins while studying at CLU and the company offered her a full-time position after she graduated with a degree in communication in 2000. She has opened new stores in Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Bangkok and is currently focused on further expansion into China. Banking and Finance California United Bank promoted relationship managers Shelley Gibson and Kevin McElroy to senior vice president. Gibson was promoted to senior vice president-private banking and McElroy to senior vice president-commercial real estate and construction lending. Gibson and McElroy, have been with CUB since the bank’s inception in 2005. McElroy has thirty years of experience specializing in commercial real estate. He worked at Metro Bank, Bank of Los Angeles, Santa Monica Bank, and US Bank, before joining CUB. Gibson, who has more than twenty years of banking experience, is a former Vice President of Union Bank, US Bank, and the original California United Bank. She specializes in private banking, providing personalized services to entrepreneurs, business owners, professionals and high net-worth individuals. Chase bank hired Scott Lane, a 29-year veteran of the financial industry, as a senior vice president of middle market commercial banking, covering the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas. Lane started his career in 1981 when he entered the Management Training program at Union Bank. In 1999, he joined the Technology and Life Sciences Division as vice president and regional manager at Comerica Bank. In 2004 he joined Bank of America as senior vice president in Woodland Hills in their Commercial Banking Division where he worked with middle market companies throughout the greater San Fernando, Santa Clarita Valleys, Ventura County and North Los Angeles County. Lane holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in finance from California State University Northridge. NPB Financial Group, LLC based in Burbank, hired Stephen J. Kipp, as a registered principal and branch manager, for an office of supervisory jurisdiction location in Ventura. Kipp has been in the financial planning and investment advisory industry since 1984. His Ventura-based firm, Kipp Financial Group was established in 1990. Kipp earned the professional designation of Personal Financial Planner (PFP) through the UCLA Graduate School of Management. He earned his MBA from Cal State Northridge and a Master’s in Public Administration from USC. NPB Financial Group, LLC, conducts a retail securities business in California and 28 other U.S. states. The company is also licensed as an SEC registered investment advisor and a life insurance agency. Education University of Phoenix appointed Kendra Angier to director of human resources for the western region. In this capacity, Angier will become a member of the western leadership responsible for human resources, learning and professional development, and talent acquisition. Angier is based at the Southern California Campus at the Costa Mesa regional office, which includes the Woodland Hills Learning Center. Angier has more than 15 years of experience in human resources in roles at organizations such as THINK Together (non-profit), Pepsi, Corning, Accenture and Pacific Gas & Electric. Non-Profit Organizations The Child and Family Guidance Center board of directors installed Sari Scheer as Board Chair. Scheer has served as a member of the Board since 2008. She has also served on the Development and Nominating committees of the Northridge-based organization, which is dedicated to supporting children struggling with emotional, behavioral and mental health challenges. Glendale-based nonprofit organization, International Trade Education Programs, Inc., appointed Amy L. Grat as its new CEO. Grat replaces Carol Rowen, the founder of ITEP, who retired after more than a decade at the helm. Grat has been a member of the ITEP Board for the past three years. Prior to ITEP she was director of Marshall Partners and associate director of Annual Giving for USC’s Marshall School of Business, where she received her MBA in 2008. Earlier, she served as vice president of Investor Relations for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. Retail Van Nuys apparel company Cherokee Inc. has hired Henry Stupp as its Chief Executive Officer and a member of its Board of Directors. Stupp is one of the original founders of Novel Teez Designs (later known as NTD Apparel). During his more than 20 year tenure with NTD, Stupp successfully identified, negotiated and introduced over 200 well-known brands and licenses. Stupp’s employment agreement includes the purchase of $2.5 million of newly issued common stock in Cherokee Inc. and the option to purchase an additional 300,000 shares of common stock. Technology Interlink Electronics in Camarillo announced that Charles Best, its president and chief operating officer since 2005, is leaving the company. Steven N. Bronson, the chairman and CEO of Interlink Electronics, will assume the roles of president and chief operating officer on an interim basis. Transonic Combustion in Camarillo has hired automotive industry veteran Wolfgang Bullmer as president and chief operating officer. He will be managing day-to-day operations of the company, which provides automotive manufacturers with high efficiency fuel delivery technology for modern engine platforms. Bullmer joins Transonic Combustion from BorgWarner where he was most recently vice president of Advanced Engine Engineering.