FINANCIAL SERVICES
Cathleen “Cathy” Sleeper has been promoted to regional vice president at Meredith Village Savings Bank, overseeing the bank’s offices in Meredith, Center Harbor, Moultonborough, Wolfeboro and Melvin Village.
Tom Haggerty of Pelham has joined Bedford-based Primary Bank as manager of its Nashua branch. He has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry.
Annie Scionti Brett, CPA, has been promoted to a manager at Nathan Wechsler & Company, PA. She first joined the firm in 2019 as a senior in the tax department, and earned her CPA designation in 2020 as a member of the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Davis and Towle Insurance Group, Concord, has acquired Marshall Insurance Agency, which has offices in Lancaster and Berlin. Marshall Insurance, which was founded in 1928, ”has a long history and tradition of serving clients in northern New Hampshire and Vermont,” said Ryan Towle, vice president of Davis & Towle.
Northeast Credit Union has named Ken Lawrence as senior vice president and chief information officer. He brings over 20 years of experience to his new role, including 15 years as director of corporate security, infrastructure and architecture for the U.S. Army. The credit union also welcomed Dan Raposa to the team as vice president and executive director of the Northeast Credit Union Foundation, bringing with him over 35 years of fundraising and philanthropy experience.
Christina Ladue has joined Primary Bank as the VP/business development officer in Manchester. She has been in the banking industry for over 25 years developing her commercial expertise.
ACCOUNTING
Baker Newman Noyes has announced that Jessica Bouchard has been promoted to principal in its Manchester office. Bouchard, of Henniker, joined the firm’s Manchester office in 2009. She specializes in delivering audit and other attestation services to commercial, financial services and nonprofit clients.
TECHNOLOGY
Datanomix, a Nashuabased developer of automated production intelligence software, has announced a partnership with Hexagon, a global information technology company specializing in hardware and software digital that is based in Stockholm, Sweden. Under the agreement, Hexagon will offer Datanomix software solutions to its global manufacturing customers.
PUBLIC POLICY
The NH Fiscal Policy Institute has launched the first edition of New Hampshire Policy Points, a book that “provides a data-driven snapshot of key issues facing Granite Staters, such as population and demographics, income and economic security, economy and jobs, housing, health, education, broadband internet, transportation, and how we fund public services,” said Gene Martin, NHFPI executive director. He added that the organization “hopes this publication will be a go-to resource for policymakers, community leaders, journalists and the general public.”
Matt Mowers of Bedford, who twice sought the New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District seat, has launched Valcour LLC, a public strategy firm in Washington, D.C. Mowers will serve as president of the firm, with John Callaghan as associate director as well as strategic advisors Joel Rubin, Matthew Bartlett, Scott Merrick, Jaime Figueras and Dr. Sungbae Ju. Valcour will operate out of Washington, New York and New Hampshire, the firm said.
HEALTHCARE
Concord Hospital’s board of trustees elected new officers: Manisha Patel, chair, and Charles Fanaras, vice chair. Newly elected trustees include: Matthew Nadeau, Nathan Wechsler & Co., and Katherine Saunders, Tilton School.
Cheshire Medical Center has added Catherine Schuman, a licensed clinical psychologist, to the staff of its Family Medicine Residency program, where she will be the director of behavioral science. For the past seven years, she was the director of behavioral science education for the Gundersen Health System Family Medicine Residency in La Crosse, Wis.
Granite VNA, Concord, invested more than $5 million in community programs and services last year, according to the agency’s 2022 Community Benefits Report. Key investments included: $2,289,605 for subsidized health services at the Hospice House; $89,300 in charity care to individuals who are uninsured, underinsured, or otherwise unable to pay out-of-pocket fees for services; $139,948 in educational opportunities that are free of charge and help individuals of all ages manage their health, improve their quality of life and maintain their independence; $165,583 for employees to support and strengthen communities through volunteerism, educational opportunities, and board and committee participation; $82,972 for basic community health services such as foot care and blood pressure screenings provided at foot care clinics; $32,190 in bereavement and grief support for community members who have experienced the death of a loved one; and $207,225 to provide clinical training opportunities for undergraduate nursing, social work, physical therapy and speech therapy students.
Four new public trustees and one new physician trustee were elected to Dartmouth Health’s Board of Trustees: Dr. Laura M. Chiang, assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care, vice chair for education for Department of Anesthesiology and co-medical director for the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center; Dr. Gary V. Desir, Paul B. Beeson professor of medicine and chair of internal medicine at Yale School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Hospital, and vice provost for faculty development and diversity at Yale University; Tina M. Dooley-Jones, a retired senior foreign service officer; Mark S. Speers, co-founder and senior advisor of Health Advances LLC; and Dr. Paul A. Taheri, clinical partner at Welsh Carson Anderson and Stowe.
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING
Anne Marino, art director at Studio Three Design in Windham, recently received two American Graphic Design Awards, on behalf of the Windham Endowment for Community Advancement, for her “15 Years of Impact” brochure and her “Coming Together to Give a Dam” sign installed at Moeckel Pond in Windham.
EDUCATION
Great Bay Community College has introduced the Dutton Family Scholarship Fund for students in their Veterinarian Technology program. Scholarships will be awarded twice a year to qualifying students who have completed one semester of vet tech studies. Nine students applied for inaugural scholarship, and Faith Dittmar and Stephanie Lewis became the first recipients.
TRANSPORTATION
Hooksett-based Merchants Fleet, the national fleet management company, has announced its sponsorship of United Autosports, one of Britain’s leading endurance motorsport teams. In 2021, Merchants became a sponsor of the McLaren Extreme E Team, an all-electric, off-road international racing event that provides the world’s first gender-equal motors-port platform. In 2022, Merchants’ Chairman and CEO Brendan P. Keegan, lifelong racing enthusiast, joined United Autosports’ Investor Advisory Board as a co-owner.
NONPROFITS
The Diocese of Manchester has hired Tara Bishop of Manchester as its new communications director, responsible for sharing the news and ministerial works of the church and serving as Diocesan spokesperson.
She has 25 years of communications, marketing and public relations experience with marketing firms and nonprofit organizations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, including the Archdiocese of Boston.
The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests has added five new staff members in the areas of development, communications, reservation stewardship and forestry:
Sarah AlSamaraee of Laconia, stewardship and forestry administrative coordinator; Sophie Oehler of Hollis, communications coordinator; Ron Snow of Concord, manager of individual giving; Dylan Summers of Bethlehem, stewardship projects manager; and Laurel F. Swope-Brush of Deerfield, land steward and volunteer coordinator.
United Way of Greater Nashua recently announced $1.1 million in three-year funding for 24 different local nonprofits in the areas of health, education and economic mobility: The Adult Learning Center; Bridges Domestic and Sexual Violence Support Services; Boys and Girls Club of Greater Nashua; Big Brothers and Big Sisters; The Caregivers; The Front Door Agency; Greater Nashua Dental Connection; Family Promise of Southern New Hampshire; Gateways Community Services Adult Day Program; Milford Thrives; Grow Nashua; Operation Delta Dog; Girls Inc. of New Hampshire; Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity; Marguerite’s Place; Granite State Children’s Alliance; Nashua PAL; Waypoint; The Youth Council; Stepping Stones; Nashua Senior Activity Center; Greater Nashua Smart Start Coalition; Meals on Wheels of Hillsborough County; and Upbeat New Hampshire.
Debra Weiss Ford, managing principal of employment law firm Jackson Lewis’ Portsmouth office, has been named to the Granite State Children’s Alliance’s board of directors.
The Greater Rochester Community Health Foundation has announced $80,000 in grants to eight nonprofits working to improve the health and well-being of people in Strafford County. Each organization will receive a $10,000 grant to support its operations. They are: Community Partners of Dover; Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation of Dover; Greater Seacoast Community Health of Portsmouth; Haven of Portsmouth; NH Alcohol & Drug Abuse Services of Dover; Strafford Nutrition & Meals on Wheels of Somersworth; The Joan G. Lovering Health Center of Greenland; and Waypoint.
Alisa Druzba of Concord has been named the NH Children’s Health Foundation’s first director of research and community impact. She previously served as the director of the Rural Health and Primary Care Section at the NH Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services for 18 years.
The NH Food Bank was recently awarded more than $660,000 to expand access to fresh produce for those who are food insecure in New Hampshire with four new retail locations, two new farmers markets and a pilot, community-supported agriculture program, which will link participants with local food producers. The funding was received as part of a $4.8 million U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program grant awarded to the New England Nutrition Incentive Collaborative, of which the Food Bank serves as the New Hampshire partner.
Merrimack County Savings Bank donated $10,000 to Riverbend Community Mental Health and NAMI New Hampshire to support their mental health services and community initiatives.
BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
The Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce has named Doreen Manetta as its board chairman for 2023. Also added to the board were Elizabeth Covino, Greater Nashua YMCA; Purvish Patel, Clarion Inn; and Alan Brown, Pennichuck Water Works.
The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce has announced the appointment of Matt Cookson, president and CEO of Cookson Communications, as its board chair.
In addition, four new members have been elected to the chamber’s board of directors: Dr. Greg Baxter, president and CEO, Elliot Health System; Talesha Saint-Marc, shareholder, Bernstein Shur; Ken Senus, CEO, St. Mary’s Bank; and Jodie Nazaka, economic development director for Manchester.
Eighteen individuals from across New England, including five from New Hampshire, have been selected as the inaugural cohort of the Empower Success Corps Catalyst program. The initiative — funded by the NH Charitable Foundation, The Brooks and Joan Fortune Family Foundation, Liberty Mutual Foundation, Eastern Bank Foundation, Silicon Valley Bank Foundation and ESC — provides midcareer professionals of color with training to develop consulting skills that will advance their careers. The 2022 ESC Catalyst Fellow cohort includes Granite Staters Lisa Carter of Kensington, Jeannette Davila of Bedford, Arnold Mikolo of Manchester, Priyanka Sharma of Derry and Douglas Sutherland of Hancock.
Stay Work Play New Hampshire has hired Kristina Lafiosca as its events and communications manager.
Beginning her career in the nonprofit sector, she most recently owned and operated her own business in the Lake Sunapee Region of New Hampshire.
SolutionHealth welcomes Michael Turilli
Michael Turilli has been named chief financial officer of SolutionHealth, the healthcare system whose founding members are Elliot Health System of Manchester and Southern New Hampshire Health of Nashua.
Turilli joined Elliot Health System in March 2018 and served for more than three years before taking a CFO role at Lawrence General Hospital in Massachusetts. In June 2022, he returned as senior vice president and CFO for Elliot Health System.
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