People – September 2018

EASTERN VIRGINIA
Stephen Abbitt has been named executive vice president of the Newport News-based Abbitt Group, the parent company of Abbitt Realty and Abbitt Management. He will serve under the company’s president, Charles Wornom. He previously was the managing broker for the real estate division’s Newport News office. Abbitt joined the company in 2006. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Chris Crouch has joined RRMM Architects as director of business development. Crouch comes to RRMM Architects from S.B. Ballard Construction where he served as the marketing and business development manager. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Billy Samra has been named chief financial officer of Elizabeth River Crossings LLC. Samra was formerly finance director of the infrastructure development unit at Skanska (Skanska ID), one of the world’s leading project development and construction groups, active in Europe and North America. (News release)

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Economic and business development consultant Faith McClintic was hired as the GO Virginia Program Director for Region 8. McClintic is the principal and owner of Spectrum Growth Solutions LLC. GO Virginia’s Region 8 covers the Shenandoah Valley. (News release).

CENTRAL VIRGINIA
Damien Cabezas, CEO of Lynchburg-based Horizon Behavioral Health, has been appointed to the 21-member Virginia Latino Advisory Board. (The News & Advance)

Beth Doyle has been named executive vice president for the Centra Foundation in Lynchburg. She succeeds Dr. Kathryn Pumphrey, who retired earlier this year. Doyle was director of development at the Academy Center of the Arts in Lynchburg. (News release)

Chris Faraldi has joined the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance as director of public policy and special programming. He previously was the director of correspondence for U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). (News release)

Brett Harn has joined Williams Mullen’s Richmond office as the law firm’s director of finance and accounting. He was director of finance for Keller and Heckman LLP in Washington, D.C. (News release)

Bethany Miller has been promoted to vice president of domestic investment at the Greater Richmond Partnership Inc. (GRP). Miller has worked for GRP since 2013. (News release)

Leigh Sewell has been named CEO of three Richmond-area medical facilities, Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center, Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital and Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing. Sewell has been senior vice president of strategic operations for Bon Secours Virginia.  (VirginiaBusiness.com)

SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA
During its annual re-organizational meeting in July, Tazewell County’s Industrial Development Authority chose Kyle Hurt to serve as chairman and Darrel Addison as vice chair.  Ann Robinson assumes the role of treasurer. Economic Development Coordinator Pam Warden serves as clerk for the authority. (SWVAToday.com)

Beth Rhinehart, president and CEO of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce, has been selected by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives for The Fellowship for Education and Talent Development. She’ll participate in the program with 20 chamber of commerce professionals. The Bristol Chamber serves both Bristols, in Virginia and Tennessee. (News release) 

ROANOKE/NEW RIVER VALLEY
Nancy Howell Agee, the president and CEO of Roanoke-based Carilion Clinic, has been named the 2018 recipient of the Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award by the National Center for Healthcare Leadership. Agee, who started her career at Carilion as a nurse in 1973, has led the organization since 2011. She was named Business Person of the Year for 2017 by Virginia Business. (News release)

Hallema Sharif is the new public relations and communications director for the Office for Inclusion and Diversity at Virginia Tech. She was interim executive director of communications for Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts in Qatar. (News release)
Andrew Warren has been named Christiansburg’s assistant town manager. He was the town’s planning director. (The Roanoke Times)

NORTHERN VIRGINIA
Allison Felix has been promoted to president and principal of Cassaday & Co. Inc., a McLean-based wealth management firm. Stephan Cassaday, the firm’s founder and current president, will transition to chairman while remaining CEO. Felix will retain her responsibilities as the firm’s chief operating officer. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Chantilly-based OGSystems announced the recent promotion of executive partners Aarish Gokaldas and Lorinda Ayling to chief growth officer and chief services officer, respectively. (News release)

Information services company Neustar has appointed private-equity executive Charles Gottdiener as CEO, replacing Lisa Hook, who led the company for nearly a decade. Hook oversaw the company’s transition to new ownership. Private-equity firm Golden Gate Capital and its minority partner, GIC Private Ltd., bought the Sterling-based company last year for $2.9 billion. (Washington Business Journal)

Bryan Rich has joined Arlington-based Accenture Federal Services as director for artificial intelligence solutions. He was senior vice president of analytics strategy for McLean-based Novetta Solutions. (Washington Business Journal)
Cheryl Williford has been named president and chief operating officer at Reston-based Modus Create Inc. She was the global vice president at Vienna-based McFadyen Digital. (News release)

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA
Dr. A. Ahsan Ejaz has joined the Centra Medical Group Nephrology Center in Farmville. He was a faculty member at the Department of Medicine at the University of Florida. (The Farmville Herald)

Dr. Chelsie Church Novitske has joined Ridge Animal Hospital in Farmville. She is a graduate of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. (The Farmville Herald)