A weekly roundup of business awards, promotions and recognitions.
Richard P. Becker Jr. Richard P. Becker Jr. has been named chief executive officer of Voltarra Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Bethlehem. The newly formed company recently acquired Lehigh Valley biotech companies IMC Biotechnology and Renascense Pharmaceuticals.
Becker has 20 years of experience in development of pharmaceuticals to treat ailments of the central nervous system and for use in oncology and immunology. He has served with pharmaceutical companies Alcon, Merck, Novartis, OSI Pharmaceuticals, Bayer and BASF.
Becker earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy & Sciences and an MBA from Drexel University.
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Bethlehem architectural firm Spillman Farmer Architects has been awarded the inaugural 2013 Architectural Firm Award by the American Institute of Architects, Pennsylvania Chapter. The award honors an architectural firm that has consistently demonstrated a commitment to design excellence and has made outstanding contributions to the profession of architecture for a period of at least 10 years.
Spillman Farmer also was awarded the institute’s 2013 Citation of Merit Award for its design of the Lafayette College Arts Plaza in Easton. The award recognizes projects that represent excellence through exceptional details or special design aspects.
The Arts Plaza project turned a former auto repair shop into an environmentally friendly outdoor teaching space in Easton’s urban core. The plaza also was awarded a special mention in the Architecture & Urban Transformation category in the 2013 Architizer A+ Awards.
Other local Spillman Farmer projects include Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s 109,000-square-foot TechVentures office space and technology incubator and the 67,000-square-foot ArtsQuest Center, both in Bethlehem, and the Sigal Museum in Easton.
The 30-person firm, founded in 1927, is led by principal architects Daniel Harrigan, Frederick Allerton, Joseph N. Biondo, Christa Duelberg-Kraftician, Russel Pacala and Salvatore Verrastro.
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Felicia Brunner Felicia Brunner, of Easton, has been named new restaurant and catering manager at Harkers Hollow Golf Club & Restaurant in Harmony Township.
Brunner has 30 years of restaurant experience. She previously worked at Widows Tavern & Grille in Stockertown and Gennaro’s in Forks Township. Before that she worked for a number of years at Harkers.
Brunner will preside over a special holiday open house 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 6. The restaurant will serve complimentary hors’ dourves and beverages.
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Scott Ridgway Scott Ridgway, of Allentown, director of operations of the Rose Group, franchisee of Applebee’s Grill & Bar and Corner Bakery Cafe, has been named 2013 Corner Bakery Cafe’s Franchise Operating Partner of the Year. Ridgway was recognized for exceeding goals in sales and marketing.
Ridgway began his career at T.G.I. Friday’s, where he served as a general manager for 10 years. He joined the Rose Group in 1998 as a general manager and was promoted to area director in 2001, executive area director in 2006 and director of operations in 2007. In 2005, Ridgway was honored with the Area Director of the Year Award.
Headquartered in Newtown, Pa., the Rose Group owns and operates 58 Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurants in eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware.
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Michael F.M. Truchan Michael F.M. Truchan has been promoted to assistant vice president and branch manager at Lafayette Ambassador Bank’s Newburg office in Lower Nazareth Township. In addition to his role as branch manager, Truchan will take over management responsibilities for the bank’s mailroom and inter-office courier system.
Truchan has 32 years of experience in financial services. He serves on the bank’s United Way committee.
Truchan earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Temple University.
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Ted Witman Ted Witman has joined certified public accounting and business consulting firm Concannon Miller & Co. P.C. in Bethlehem as chief operating officer. He will be responsible for implementing the firm’s strategy, monitoring and assessing business results, ensuring financial performance and supporting client teams.
Witman, of Lititz Pa., has more than 30 years of accounting and business experience, including seven years as COO for a Lancaster County CPA firm. He has served for more than 20 years as an executive in manufacturing and publishing and has experience in business and financial consulting and as executive director of a nonprofit organization.
Concannon Miller & Co. maintains offices in the Lehigh Valley and in St. Petersburg, Fla.
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Nicole J. O'Hara Nicole J. O’Hara, an attorney with the Allentown law firm Gross McGinley LLP, has been named to the board of directors of LifePath Foundation. She will help guide and shape the foundation’s fundraising efforts and projects.
O’Hara, of High Bridge, is a member of the firm’s Business Services Group where she specializes in intellectual property law.
O’Hara earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Rutgers University New Brunswick and a law degree from Rutgers Camden School of Law.
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Jill Schafhauser Jill Schafhauser, president and chief executive officer of Roselle Savings Bank, was awarded the Shuey Horowitz Humanitarian Award at the HomeSharing 2013 Harvest Jubilee Gala held Oct. 24 at the Basking Ridge Country Club. Both the bank and Schafhauser have been longtime supporters of HomeSharing and its mission to prevent homelessness.
Schafhauser has been employed by Roselle Savings Bank for 43 years and was named president/CEO in 2001.
Based in Union County, N.J., Roselle Savings Bank serves clients in Hunterdon, Warren, Somerset, Essex, Middlesex and Morris counties.
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Yvonne Worman Yvonne Worman, sales associate with Realtor Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach in Easton, has earned a Pennsylvania broker’s license. She also has earned her relocation certifications to assist buyers and sellers in Easton and the surrounding areas.
Worman, of Moore Township, joined the company in January and is an independently licensed notary public.
A Lehigh Valley Realtor since 1996, she is a member of the national, Pennsylvania and Lehigh Valley associations of Realtors. She is a volunteer with the Nazareth Food Bank.
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Jason D. Schiffer Jason D. Schiffer, former Bethlehem chief of police, has joined the law firm of Cohen, Feeley, Altemose & Rambo in Bethlehem as an attorney.
Schiffer will specialize in workers’ compensation, Social Security disability cases and employment disputes for both employers and employees, including discrimination claims, wrongful termination claims and contract and union disputes.
Schiffer holds a law degree and passed both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey bar examinations in 2008.
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James T. Muller, of Easton, has been promoted to manager of the TD Bank office in West Clinton. He will be responsible for new business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel and overseeing day-to-day operations.
Muller joined TD Bank in 2011 as a senior customer service representative and last served as an assistant branch manager in Clinton. He is a member of the BNI Insiders Chapter.
Muller is a 2009 graduate of Raritan Valley Community College in North Branch, N.J. He grew up in Lambertville, where he graduated from South Hunterdon Regional High School in 2000.
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Gwendolyn Mason, trade show manager for the Medical Systems Group of Olympus America Inc. in Upper Saucon Township, has completed the Exhibitor’s Certified Trade Show Marketer accreditation program, the only university-affiliated certification program in the trade show and event marketing industry.
Mason started the certification process in 2012 to improve the Medical Systems Group’s trade show marketing strategies. She has successfully accomplished all of the CTSM program requirements and will be recognized in March 2014 as one of the new CTSM graduates at the annual awards ceremony.
Mason, of Emmaus, has served in various positions for Olympus over seven years. She has more than 13 years of trade show management and event planning experience.
Mason earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Lynchburg College.
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Kevin Lenahan, vice president of finance and chief financial officer of Morristown, N.J.-based Atlantic Health System, has been named CFO of the Year among large, nonprofit companies in New Jersey by NJ BIZ Magazine. The CFO of the Year awards program honors New Jersey financial executives who contribute to the success of New Jersey’s economic growth and stability.
Lenahan has served with Atlantic Health System for 18 years, serving as the CFO since 2010. He also holds several other positions within the organization and is CFO of the Atlantic Accountable Care Organization, one of the largest accountable care organizations in the country.
Lenahan oversaw the merger of Newton Medical Center, which serves Sussex County in New Jersey and Pike County in Pennsylvania. Earlier this year Atlantic Health System and Hunterdon Healthcare System announced a joint health care alliance to provide greater care coordination and expanded services to patients in the Hunterdon County region.
Lenahan is an adjunct professor of health care finance at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He has served on the audit subcommittee of the United Way of Morris County for the past 13 years and is a member of the board of trustees of Morris Catholic High School.
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Roy W. Little has been named chief engineer of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.
Little, of Southampton, N.J., became the agency’s assistant chief engineer in 2008 and has served as the top-ranking administrator in the commission’s engineering department since September. Little began work in the commission’s engineering department as a senior program manager in 2005. He is licensed as both a professional engineer and professional planner.
Little earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Rutgers University and has completed extensive post-graduate studies at the Rutgers Graduate School of Management.