Chris Robinson, a Trustee at Alabama A&M University, will return to the board of directors for Leadership Greater Huntsville to lead the newly formed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. A graduate of Greater Huntsville Leadership Madison County Focus Class 5, Connect Class 3, and Leadership Flagship Class 27, Robinson has over 25 years of federal government experience in the areas of Human Resources, Organizational Leadership Development, and Public Relations. Robinson also serves as a Talent Management Strategist with emphasis in Diversity Equity and Inclusion for the Department of Defense.

The Schools Foundation (TSF) recently welcomed Stephanie Kelley, APR, as its new Executive Director. Kelley, a Huntsville native and senior PR practitioner, comes to TSF from Media Fusion where she served as Creative Director supporting the Office of Communications at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. She is an accredited public relations professional and former Public Relations Council of North Alabama Practitioner of the Year. Prior to supporting Marshall, Kelley served as the Communications Director for the Huntsville Museum of Art. She is excited for the opportunity to lead TSF in its support of principals, teachers, and students in Huntsville City, Madison City, and Madison County Schools. Kelley is a graduate of the University of Alabama.

On July 12, The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) named Neil Lamb, PhD as the 2021 recipient of the Arno Motulsky-Barton Childs Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Education. Dr. Lamb is a faculty investigator and vice president for educational outreach at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Ala. Lamb oversees all educational programming developed at HudsonAlpha, including the creation of innovative teacher training, student experiences, public enrichment, classroom kits and digital resources that re-shape how science education is delivered.

On July 22, the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology announced Mary Shirley-Howell as the new Director of Business Recruitment. Shirley-Howell brings more than ten years of area development experience to HudsonAlpha, serving in multiple leadership roles in the Auburn University Office of Research and Economic Development. Shirley-Howell earned her Bachelors and MBA from Auburn University, and Master of Arts from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.

Colonial Printing is pleased to announce the hiring of a new Business Development Associate, Scott Robinson. Scott brings many years of corporate client development, and print management experience to Colonial Print & Packaging from Las Vegas NV. His understanding of the print business will be very helpful, as we continue to expand our business within the growing Huntsville area.

IronMountain Solutions is proud to announce the promotion of Thomas Petty to Senior Vice President of Corporate Operations. Thomas joined IMS in 2020 as Special Projects Manager, bringing several years of leadership experience in strategic planning, process improvements, developing departmental budgets, reducing cost, and effectively managing critical production schedules while adhering to environmental, safety, quality and regulatory compliance requirements.

Pammie Jimmar was named the new President of the Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce. Jimmar previously served as the Vice President of Small Business and Events at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber. Jimmar is a highly driven successful leader with over 26 years in a professional leadership role and a proven record of revenue growth, implementing, and sustaining productive programs, while always utilizing efficient business practices. The other component of her role was also creating events that connect members both small and large businesses to engage in relationships that helped them build their customer and client pipeline.

Sigmatech is happy to announce Doug Allen as the new Senior Vice President. Doug joined Sigmatech after serving as the Chief Operations Officer and President of Tridents Technologies, leading the corporation through the acquisition process by a private equity firm, OceanSound Partners, LP. Doug has over 34 years of technical management and business experience related to major DoD programs. He has over 20 years of demonstrated success managing large, geographically distributed teams to respond rapidly to complex requirements, and over 14 years of experience as an executive leading Corporate capture of large multi-million dollar opportunities.

Harry Hobbs was recently inducted into the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Hall of Fame. Hobbs is the 24th Warrant Officer to be inducted in the history of the U.S. Army and said he accepted the award for all the soldiers he served with in combat and did not survive. He said it is an honor to serve our country and city and thanks everyone for their support.

The Port of Huntsville has announced Mary Swanstrom as its Public Relations Manager. As Public Relations Manager, Swanstrom is the primary contact for the media and manages customer relations, advertising, special events, social media and community relations. Hailing from Atlanta, Ga., Swanstrom has lived in North Alabama for more than 20 years. Previously, she worked as Director of Communications, Membership and Marketing for Heart of the Valley YMCA, a 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization serving five North Alabama counties and more than 51,000 individuals annually through three membership branches, three childcare centers, a resident camp and many community-based programs. Previously, Swanstrom worked in media as an Editor at The Huntsville Times and in news production at WAAY-TV Channel 31.

The American Public Gas Association (APGA) has named John Olshefski of Huntsville Utilities in Alabama as the First Vice Chair of its Board of Directors. Olshefski was elected during the 2021 APGA Annual Meeting, where he began a one-year term. APGA is a national, not-for-profit association of over 700 publicly-owned local distribution systems in 38 states. APGA is the only trade association that solely represents the interests of public natural gas systems at the federal legislative and regulatory level.

DCS Corporation’s Director of Talent Acquisition, Carrie Hamn, has been selected as a winner of the 2021 OnCon Icon Award in the Top 50 Talent Acquisition Professional category. The OnCon Icon Awards recognize the top human resources professionals and human resources vendors worldwide. Carrie assumed leadership responsibility for the Recruiting organization. At the time, DCS had a total employee count of 1,076. Three years later, DCS employees number nearly 1,900, an increase of 74%.

DCS Corporation’sVice President of Human Resources, Jack Jackson, has been selected for the 2021 WashingtonExec Chief Officer Award in the Private Company Chief Human Resources category. Jack has played a key leadership role during the pandemic, managing the company’s response, policy rollouts, COVID-19 information updates, employee engagement, and contact tracing activities. Jack continues to lead, grow, and enhance DCS’s technical workforce in their roles in support of their customers’ critical missions to ensure our national security.

Chadwick Ford was recently promoted to Director, Business Development, U.S. Army & SOCOM, JADC2 Requirements and Demonstrations for Collins Aerospace in its Huntsville AL. office. In this role, he is responsible for leading a team that interfaces directly with US SOCOM, PEO Aviation, PEO IEW&S, PEO C3T, as well as other governmental agencies. He also coordinates Army pursuits with business development personnel from across the entire Collins Aerospace sales and marketing organization.

As a result of the experience and leadership growth she realized during her 13-year career at Pinnacle Solutions, Inc., Tina Tucker has been selected as Pinnacle’s first Chief Operating Officer (COO).  In this role, Tina is responsible for planning, overseeing, and coordinating the operations of the entire organization to help ensure the achievement of established policies, goals, and operating objectives.  Additionally, she will provide executive oversight in analyzing and appraising the effectiveness of organizational operations; participate in the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of key business and performance goals and short- and long-term strategic planning and objectives; as well as evaluating and approving plans, budgets, programs, and policies.

Raymond “Randy” Centanni, Jr. has joined Raytheon Intelligence & Space as business development manager. In this role, he coordinates pursuit, capture, and growth activities and supports global training and logistics across the federal marketplace. He has more than 30 years of experience in the defense industry. Throughout his career, he has managed day-to-day business development, marketing, and strategic financial analysis, working closely with the Department of Defense. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Athens State University and has taught functional organization support within the business development process. He is a graduate of Leadership Huntsville’s Focus program (class 36) and is a member of the Project Management Institute and the Association of Proposal Management Professionals.

Davidson Homes, a rapidly growing home builder based in Huntsville, has promoted Greg Duriez to chief operating officer. Duriez, who previously served as regional president, has more than 30 years of experience in the new home industry. Before joining Davidson Homes, he was the Atlanta division president for Century Communities. Duriez has also worked for Pulte Homes, NVR Ryan Homes and KB Home.

Davidson Homes, a rapidly growing home builder based in Huntsville, has promoted Jeff Deane to chief financial officer. Deane brings 26 years of accounting, finance and operations experience to his role at Davidson Homes. Prior to joining the company, Deane had worked in homebuilding since 2005 with William Lyon Homes where he served in several leadership roles in finance, accounting and operations. Deane’s positions included vice president/regional controller, vice president of corporate accounting and finance, and vice president/division manager.

System Dynamics International (SDI) is proud to announce the promotion of Dana Cantrell to Vice President, Business Operations. Mrs. Cantrell joined SDI in 2008 as an Accountant and has worked in both the Finance and Contracts department in the ensuing years. She was previously promoted to Director of Contracts in 2015 and to Corporate Controller in 2017.

System Dynamics International (SDI) is proud to announce the promotion of Travis Clement to Vice President, Unmanned Programs. Mr. Clement joined the company in 2020 as a Program Manager and brings over 35 years of US military aviation maintenance and logistics experience including 11 years with the US Marine Corps.

Traci Tyree has joined the Huntsville Botanical Garden as Vice President of Finance. Traci brings with her over 20 years of experience in accounting and strategy, having served as Chief Financial Officer for HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and CFO/Vice President of Operations for Diatherix Eurofins Laboratories. As an active member of the Garden’s leadership team, she provides vision, direction, and management to ensure the effective performance of fiscal responsibilities.

Matthew Candeias has joined the Huntsville Botanical Garden as Curator of Living Collections. In addition to his Ph.D. in Community Ecology, Matt brings with him extensive experience in plant taxonomy and identification, habitat restoration and research, and a passion for science communication in botany and ecology to diverse audiences. His internationally acclaimed podcast, In Defense of Plants, has over 300,000 subscribers and inspired his book In Defense of Plants: An exploration into the Wonder of Plants published in 2021. As a member of the Garden’s Plant Conservation and Curation team, he provides vision, direction, and management of living collections to enhance scientific value to better support research, educational activities, and conservation initiatives.

James Monroe recently joined Signalink, Inc. as a Human Resource Analyst supporting the Human Resource Division, Center Staff, Redstone Arsenal. Before joining Signalink James supported the Technical Management Division Redstone Arsenal serving as a System Analyst. James is a retired Marine and has over 30 years of administrative experience.

The Highland Group is proud to welcome Savannah Brasher to its Huntsville leadership team. Brasher joins The Highland Group as Director of Development. In this position, Brasher will identify and manage new real estate acquisitions, initiatives, and plan for new commercial and residential development. Her skills and ambitious demeanor will help Highland strategically work with stakeholders to identify new development opportunities to benefit the local community.

The Highland Group is proud to welcome Chris Jones to its Huntsville leadership team. Jones joins The Highland Group as Construction Superintendent in Huntsville. Jones is a Huntsville native and brings with him eighteen years of experience in the commercial construction world with a diverse portfolio of projects under his belt, from malls and hotels to high rise multi-family projects.

Dentons Sirote PC is pleased to welcome Dorothy Lee Donaldson to the firm. Dorothy has joined the firm’s Trusts, Estates and Wealth Preservation practice group as Of Counsel in the Huntsville office. Dorothy focuses her practice on advising clients regarding estate and tax planning, estate and trust administration, charitable giving, and business succession planning. Dorothy has experience in drafting simple to complex estate planning documents, which include wills, revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, generation-skipping transfer tax trusts, powers of attorney, and advance directives for health care.

Doster Construction Company proudly welcomes Chance Mitchell as Preconstruction Manager in their new Huntsville office. Chance joins the Doster team with 12 years of preconstruction and estimating experience in industrial and commercial construction in the Huntsville market.

Doster Construction Company is expanding and has opened a new office in Huntsville, Alabama. They recently welcomed Conn Crabtree as Vice President and Operations Manager for the new Huntsville Division. Conn is an industry veteran with more than 21 years of experience in healthcare, commercial, multifamily, and institutional construction. Join us in welcoming Conn to the Doster team.

CB&S Board of Directors recently announced the promotion of Jennifer McKay to Vice President. Jennifer studied Humanities at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and is currently a first year student of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. McKay has worked in the banking and financial services industry since 2001 and holds Series 7 and Series 66 licenses from FINRA, and Life and Health and Property and Casualty licenses from the Alabama Department of Insurance. Jennifer currently serves as a Commercial Relationship Manager and works from our downtown Huntsville, Alabama office.

NAI Chase Commercial, a member of the world’s premier managed network of commercial real estate firms, NAI Global, has announced that Rick Davis has accepted a position as Executive Director, Research Park - Leasing & Sales in the Huntsville office.  He will be responsible for all leasing activities for Corporate Park, Park Place, 4900 Bradford, 4811 Bradford Drive along with other Chase properties within or adjacent to Cummings Research Park, the nation’s second-largest research park.

Longview Financial Advisors, Inc., a financial planning and wealth management firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Charles Wesley Johnson as its next Chief Investment Officer. Wes will take over the Chief Investment Officer role from Jeff Cedarholm on July 1. Cedarholm, who is semi-retiring at year’s end, is excited about this transition.

Longview Financial Advisors is pleased to announce that Jeff Jones, Director of Financial Planning, has been named as the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) Board of Directors Chair-Elect. During its most recent meeting, the NAPFA Board of Directors unanimously elected Jeff to serve as Chair-Elect for the 2021-2022 term. Jeff was named to the National Board in 2019 and has served as the organization’s Treasurer during the 2020-2021.

Barge Design Solutions announced on August 16, 2021 that Nancy Schultz, vice president of global consulting company North Highland, has joined its board of directors. “After more than ten years of knowing Nancy and serving on a board with her, I have seen how she puts employees first and understands clients' needs,” said Bob Higgins, CEO of Barge Design Solutions. “I am beyond excited she is joining us in this role at Barge. She is bringing over 35 years of management consulting expertise to help us better serve our employees and customers.”

Kurt Close has been promoted to president of Valent Group, a subsidiary of EBSCO Industries. Valent provides business insurance, employer benefits and personal insurance services to companies and individuals in the Huntsville area, and throughout the state. Kurt takes the helm after serving as Valent Group’s chief operating officer and overseeing the agency’s Property and Casualty division and agency operations teams. Under his leadership, the division was restructured for optimal performance and sustained success, ultimately delivering record growth of 21% in the most recent fiscal year. Prior to Valent Group, Close spent nearly 30 years at Travelers in various insurance leadership roles.

Evan Crouse joined Warren Averett Asset Management in 2019 as a Financial Planning Associate. His educational background in finance, combined with his prior leadership experiences as an Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Air Force and his work at a major defense contractor, have greatly contributed to his longstanding interest and passion for personal finances and investments. Since he joined Warren Averett, he has thrived in his career as a financial planner.

David Vance Lucas, a partner in the Huntsville office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, has been named the North America Leader for the World Services Group (WSG) Trade and Investment Practice Group. Mr. Lucas provides legal strategy for technology and business, applying technological and operational experience to craft strategic advice on a variety of intellectual property, international trade and complex litigation matters – to both U.S. businesses abroad and non-U.S. businesses’ operations in the U.S. His experience includes serving as general counsel to an international technology company, and a laboratory software company.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Scott E. Ludwig, a partner in the firm’s Huntsville office, has been recognized as the ninth Fellow of the Alabama Law Institute. In addition to his service to the Institute, Scott has served the Alabama State Bar as Chair of the Tax Section. He has also served as President of the Alabama Federal Tax Clinic and President of the Huntsville Financial and Estate Planning Council.

MartinFederal is pleased to announce the promotion of Brhe Anne Coleman to Assistant Facility Security Officer (AFSO). Brhe began her career at MartinFederal in July 2019 as the Office Administrator. She has been instrumental in helping the entire company operate at the level of excellence we strive to achieve. She has continuously looked for ways to grow in her current role, including taking on more responsibilities with property management and security.

Elizabeth Gregg has joined MartinFederal as the Associate Subcontracts Administrator. In her role, she will be responsible for providing support related to subcontracts, Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), Teaming Agreements (TAs), Proposals, and Subcontract Negotiation. Previously, she was the Human Resources Recruiter at Science and Engineering Services (SES). During her tenure at SES, she held extensive knowledge in Applicant Tracking Systems, allowing her to manage all day-to-day recruitment actions. Elizabeth is a graduate of Athens State University, where she majored in Project Management and Marketing.

MartinFederal is proud to announce the promotion of Jacqueline Lutz to Director of People & Culture. Jacqueline began her career with the company in 2016 and has been the backbone of the company’s growth and culture. Jacqueline is responsible for Human Resources, Recruiting, and Employee Engagement – all three vitally important to the company’s current and future successes. Jacqueline will continue to work with her team to ensure that the company focuses on: hiring ideal team players, keeping our current employees highly engaged, and advocating for the company’s cultural norms.

MartinFederal welcomes Lexi Cheatham as the company’s new Senior Contracts Manager located in the corporate office. Lexi is a skilled contracts manager with extensive experience in proposal development and government contract administration. Lexi believes in having an engaged and well-educated workforce by providing the opportunity for professional education and leadership training.  She also believes in the power of networking with colleagues to build lasting professional relationships.

MartinFederal is pleased to announce the addition of Paige Davis as the new Executive Assistant, primarily supporting the company’s two Executive officers. Paige brings more than six years of administrative and executive support experience and recently relocated back to Huntsville, AL, from Houston, TX.

Cody Curtsinger has become LSINC’s Senior Director of Engineering. He leads a multifaceted engineering team and manages delivery of full product development life cycle engineering projects, including direct-to-object digital printers, test equipment, mock-ups and trainers, etc. He also supports the c-suite in the future trajectory of corporate technology. Curtsinger was previously LSINC’s Director of Engineering and has been with the company as a senior mechanical engineer since 2017. He was formerly a senior engineer for Tennessee-based companies Electrolux and Des-Case Corporation.

Jeremy Wright was promoted to the role of Senior Director of Manufacturing at LSINC, after previously serving as the company’s Director of Manufacturing. He leads the company’s assembly and machine shop teams in the delivery of all manufactured products. In his new capacity, he also takes on the additional responsibility of supporting the c-suite in planning for the implementation of larger manufacturing initiatives and quality assurance. Wright is a master machinist and, most immediately prior to joining LSINC, he was a manufacturing and production manager for M&J Precision and Hearing Protection.

Laken Laird is now the Senior Director of Business Affairs at LSINC. She has been with LSINC for six and a half years and moves into this role after having previously served in roles of Director of Operations and Strategic Business Analyst. In her role as Senior Director of Business Affairs, Laird will lead a multi-disciplinary team that handles all aspects of the company’s business operations. She will also support c-suite initiatives, such as sales and strategic growth. Prior to joining LSINC, Laird was Deputy Director of Research and Publications for InterGroup Services, a Baltimore-based consulting company and spent time supporting legislative affairs on Capitol Hill.

BMSS has promoted Amanda Hunt, CPA to manager. Hunt joined the BMSS team in 2016. Her work can include a variety of tasks ranging from preparing individual and business tax returns and training tax interns to bookkeeping services for small businesses.

Christi Frassrand has been promoted to senior consultant in BMSS’ Client Advisory and Accounting Services (CAAS) practice area. She has been with the firm since 1998 and handles day-to-day operations for several of our outsourcing clients, prepares monthly financial statements, provides consulting services and assists clients with payroll tax issues. She also specializes in the implementation of accounting systems. She has received the following designations:  Quickbooks® Online Certified ProAdvisor & Quickbooks® Online Advanced Certified ProAdvisor.

Elizabeth Plasters, CPA has been promoted to manager at BMSS. Plasters joined the firm in 2020 and works in the Client Advisory and Accounting Services practice area.

Garrick Sams, CPA has been promoted to senior manager at BMSS. Sams joined the firm in 2015 and currently works in tax and business services. His present work includes federal and state tax for both individuals and corporations within the construction, e-commerce and manufacturing industries. Sams is a member of Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants (ASCPA), AICPA and University of Alabama in Huntsville Alumni Association.

Jessie Jackson is now a supervisor at BMSS.  She has been with the accounting firm since 2013 and works in the government contracting department.

Whitney Badgett, CPA is now a supervisor at BMSS. She joined in 2019 in the firm’s assurance department. She primarily focuses on providing services to clients in the governmental and nonprofit industries. In addition, she also serves as an adjunct accounting instructor at Jacksonville State University.

Chip Cherry, CCE, was recently named 2021-22 Board Chair of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). Cherry serves as President & CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Alabama and Secretary of the Huntsville Industrial Development Board.  His Chamber career spans 39 years of service with Chambers of Commerce in Macon, Georgia; Greenville, North Carolina; Fredericksburg, Virginia; and Rocky Mount, North Carolina – holding the position of President & CEO in all Chambers with the exception of Rocky Mount.

The Huntsville/Madison County Chamber is pleased to announce that Lyndsay Ferguson has returned as Vice President of Workforce.  With over 15 years of human resource and leadership experience, she brings a wealth of knowledge about workforce challenges that companies face, and the Chamber is proud to welcome her back. Lyndsay was previously employed at the Chamber as Workforce Director from 2015-2017 and most recently employed at Mazda Toyota Manufacturing as Human Resources Manager.

Jamie Russell is a new employee of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber. She joined the team in August as the new Investor Relations Support and Program Specialist. In this role, she will manage the Ambassador and Emissary Programs and also be assisting with ChamberON and HREGI Investors. Jamie was previously the General Manager for a Madison-based small business, Apparel Lab.

Crystal Baker is the new Membership Retention Specialist with the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber. She is essential in supporting the Membership Team and keeping the lines of communication open to our members. She helps to provide communication and education of member benefits to all existing Chamber members and helping to increase member involvement and engagement in Chamber activities.

Tiffany Boyd has been promoted to Events Coordinator at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber. In her role, she helps manage recurring events, including Professional Development, C-Suite, and Networking, and also helps with events in Cummings Research Park. Boyd started with our team as Resource Desk Coordinator and was later promoted to Administrative Coordinator. Boyd lives in Madison and has five sons and one daughter.