Compiled by Johanne Chou and Kelly Ryan
Morton Joins Anaheim Convention Center
California native Thomas Morton has been named executive director of convention, sports and entertainment for the city of Anaheim.
He replaces Greg Smith, who retired last fall. Morton will oversee all activities at the Anaheim Convention Center and contractual relationships with management companies at Honda Center, The Grove of Anaheim and Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
Morton comes to Anaheim from the Albuquerque Convention Center. Before that, he worked in management positions at the Forum in Inglewood, the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego.
The move brings Morton back to a publicly owned and operated facility from a privately operated one.
Morton said the difference is primarily operational.
“The intent is still to make sure you’re taking care of clients and guests,” he said.
Morton inherited the task of planning the next Anaheim Convention Center expansion. He said his team is meeting with the developer to figure out how best to move forward in a difficult economy.
“We need the meeting and flexible space,” he said.
The expansion would add roughly 250,000 square feet of flexible meeting space along with at least one hotel with restaurant and retail space.
Morton said having a Convention Center staff that has a long history with the building is helping him get up to speed on all the issues involved. He expects Anaheim to continue to position itself as a leading convention destination.
“Within the industry, Anaheim is well respected across the country for the progressive nature of the city,” he said.
Morton, who grew up in San Diego, plans to live in Anaheim with his wife and young daughter. Another daughter is due in August.
The Mortons share their home with a Labrador retriever. Morton said his spare time is pretty much focused on family these days and expects Disneyland will be a frequent destination for his brood.
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Sandi Cain
ACCOUNTING
The Newport Beach office of Macias Gini & O’Connell LLP hired May Zhang as a senior auditor. Prior, Zhang was an audit supervisor at Maze & Associates.
ARCHITECTURE
Newport Beach-based healthcare architecture and interior design firm Taylor named Damon Barda, Tachen Lee and John Vaught as architects, Gretchen Loufek as director of finance, Alyssa Scholz as children’s practice leader, Jun Gang and Joe Dunn as project managers, Juan Coronado as designer and Adrian Juarez as CAD manager.
James Farnell joined Little Diversified Architectural Consulting’s retail practice group in Costa Mesa as a director of design. He’ll be charged with expanding the firm’s international focus in the Australian-Asian market. He specializes in retail design and has completed work on behalf of Apple Inc., Procter & Gamble Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. His work has been featured in Gourmet Traveler and Vogue Entertaining & Travel.
AEROSPACE
Amanda Ching joined Santa Ana-based Leading Edge Aviation Services as sales and marketing manager. Ching will be responsible for all client relations initiatives, including advertising, tradeshow and customer care support. She has experience in branding, advertising and marketing. Most recently, she worked on campaigns for Land Rover,now Jaguar Land Rover, part of India’s Tata Motors Ltd.,Wild Rivers Waterpark, Tilly’s Inc. and Lamborghini Orange County, now closed.
CONSTRUCTION
JE Dunn Construction Co. named Chris DeFazio senior project manager at the Irvine office. DeFazio previously has served as field supervisor, senior project engineer and project manager. He has managed many key projects in the greater Los Angeles area, including various facilities in the fields of healthcare, life sciences, higher education and luxury residential.
Sukut Construction Inc. in Santa Ana hired Michael Rodebaugh as a project manager and estimator. Rodebaugh oversaw grading and infrastructure on several communities for Irvine Company and Park West Cos. in Rancho Santa Margarita. Currently, he’ll be working with project managers on the Walnut Canyon Reservoir reconstruction in Anaheim Hills.
FINANCE
Brea-based Providence Capital hired Matthew Baker as a vendor relations manager. He will be responsible for equipment leasing and financing. Prior, Baker was senior account executive at American Capital Group in Anaheim.
GOVERNMENT
Lucy Dunn was added to California Transportation Commission after confirmation from the California Senate Rules Committee. Dunn is president and chief executive of the Orange County Business Council. She is the only woman on the commission and the only representative of Orange County. The commission facilitates highway, passenger rail and transit improvements throughout the state.
HEALTHCARE
Eric Van Horn, general manager of Cerritos-based CareMore Health Plan, was promoted to senior vice president. He will oversee CareMore’s product line growth, profitability and network development. Van Horn will be working in Ana-heim and Garden Grove.
LAW
Patrick and Paul Farber, structures settlement brokers with Ringler Associates, were named the first corporate diversity partners with the Litigation Counsel of America. LCA is an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society. Patrick and Paul will provide support services and technologies to the LCA’s networking gatherings, conferences, scholarship programs and award presentations. The brothers have offices in Los Angeles and Newport Beach. They work with other attorneys to create structured settlements for medical malpractice, personal injury, product liability and workers’ compensation.
Monique Donavan was promoted to partner in the Newport Beach office of Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara LLP. Donavan has experience in civil litigation, including general liability and business litigation; she specializes in complex insurance defense.
MANUFACTURING
Jim Good was promoted from vice president of operations to president of Costa Mesa-based Kyocera Tycom Corp., part of Japan’s Kyocera Corp. The company manufactures carbide cutting tools for the printed circuit board industry and is a supplier to the medical, electronic and aerospace industries.
France’s Coldpack hired Tracy Gilmore as a sales executive in Fountain Valley. Gilmore will manage the Southern California sales division. He previously was plant manager and sales manager for the Western region of Automated Packaging Systems Inc. Coldpack makes an inflatable, insulating liner that converts a corrugated box into a cooler, which can be used to ship temperature-sensitive products such as seafood and meats, fresh cut flowers and live tropical fish.
NONPROFIT
Irvine-based Free Wheelchair Mission hired Stuart Nichols as executive director. Nichols has a finance and business background, specifically in procurement, logistics and manufacturing. Prior, he served as chief financial officer and pastor of stewardship and administration at Yorba Linda Friends Church.
Orange County United Way named Al De Grassi board chair, Max Gardner vice chair, Lisa Locklear treasurer and Pete Case secretary. De Grassi has been a local resident since 1973 and has held various positions within several OC community banks. Gardner is president of Irvine Company Apartment Communities, part of Newport Beach-based Irvine Company. Locklear is vice president of finance for Ingram Micro North America, part of Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro Inc. Case is a principal at Case Communications. Also joining the board are Rob Lucenti, managing partner of OC practice at Deloitte & Touche LLP; David Meulmester, tax partner at KPMG LLP; and Peter Villegas, first vice president and national manager in the office of corporate responsibility for JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Sharon Ellis, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, was named president of Habitat for Humanity’s Southern California Affiliates Association.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
HKA Inc. in Tustin added Anika Ramirez as assistant public relations specialist and Mari Feazel as public relations coordinator. Ramirez will manage and support several client accounts. She previously worked as an assistant account executive in public relations. Feazel recently worked at the Roxy division of Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. and was director of public relations for Chapman University Associated Students.
REAL ESTATE
The board of Cresa-Partners-West Inc., a unit of Boston-based Cresa Partners LLC, named David Willis chairman. Willis was the founding principal of the OC office of CresaPartners in 1994. He has spent the past 25 years as a commercial real estate broker specializing in exclusive tenant representation.
Lake Forest resident Judi Schweitzer was named to the Green Building Code Advisory Commit-tee of the California Building Standards Com-mission. She has served on the commission in other capacities since 2007. Schweitzer is founder and president of developer Schweitzer and Associates Inc. She is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and of the Urban Land Institute. Commission members are appointed by the governor and are charged with administering California’s building codes, including their approval and
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