People on the Move 7/11/21 | Business

Geisinger

Christa Lese Martin, Ph.D., the founding director of the system’s Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute (ADMI), will lead the systemwide clinical research initiatives, including more than 500 research faculty and staff members specializing in precision health, genomics, data science, population health, implementation science, health services, bioethics and clinical trials.

Martin brings extensive experience in clinical and research genetics to the role. Before joining the health system in 2013, she was an associate professor in the Department of Human Genetics at Emory University and operations director of Emory Genetics Clinical Laboratory.

Karen Murphy, Ph.D., R.N., executive vice president, chief innovation officer and founding director of the Steele Institute for Health Innovation at the health system, has been selected as one of Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives for 2021, and has been named a 2021 Changemaker in Health by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

Modern Healthcare’s annual list of the 50 most influential clinical executives recognizes leaders who are paving the way to better health through innovation, community service and achievements inside and outside of their respective organizations.

Hotel Wayne

Jim Petorak, the hotel’s longtime general manager, is retiring. Petorak, who has more than 10 years of service, presided over significant growth to the hotel’s guest and food business and assisted in the Hotel Wayne Inc’s. acquisition and startup of five additional hospitality properties in and around Honesdale-Wayne Inn, the Wine Room, Wayne on Main, Java&More and Wayne on the Hill.

Aimee Masker, another longtime employee, assumed the role of general manager on June 28. Masker holds degrees in business management and accounting. She is a lifelong resident of Wayne County currently residing in Waymart.

Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn PC

Effective July 1, attorney Kathleen Quinn DePillis was advanced to principal status of the law firm. Quinn DePillis will join seven other personal injury attorneys and nine business law attorneys in principal stature.

Quinn DePillis grew up in Northeast Pennsylvania and attended the University of Scranton, where she was in the honors program. She graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in English and attended Boston College Law School.

Quinn DePillis is the daughter of attorney Joseph A. Quinn Jr., senior litigation principal of the firm, and his wife, Carole Quinn.

Attorney Richard Williams has been named 2021 Trailblazer for Energy and Environmental Services by the National Law Journal. Each year, the National Law Journal selects attorneys from a long list of nominations who are agents of change to recognize and honor them in their annual Trailblazers publication.

Williams is a principal in the firm where he practices in the Kingston office, concentrating in the areas of commercial and residential real estate, zoning and land use planning and telecommunications law.

Scranton Area Community Foundation

Communications Manager Brittany Pagnotti recently earned her master’s degree in business administration with a focus in digital marketing from Messiah University. She attended her graduation ceremony on May 15.

President and CEO Laura Ducceschi received her Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) certification, joining more than 6,000 other professionals around the world with this designation. The CFRE demonstrates a depth of knowledge in the highest ethical and professional standard of fundraising and confirms support for the Donor Bill of Rights. Individuals awarded the CFRE credential have met the standards set by CFRE International, including a written examination, tenure in the profession, education and demonstrated achievement in fund development. Ducceschi also is accredited as a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP), which demonstrates knowledge and tools to help individuals and families articulate and advance their highest philanthropic aspirations through effective gift planning capabilities.

Community Initiatives Coordinator Vivian Williams graduated from Leadership Lackawanna’s 2021 Core Program last week. She was part of a team that designed and outfitted a utility van for Keystone Mission to provide services for homeless individuals.

Williams is also participating in the Funders Network (TFN): Systems Transformation Learning Series, a five-part learning series that helps foundations gain the frameworks, methods and tools to support systemic change and accelerate lasting solutions.

Maggie Martinelli, vice president of administration and operations, is beginning her second term as president of the Junior League of Scranton, a volunteer leadership role in the community for an organization committed to promoting voluntarism in the community, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.

United Network for Organ Sharing Board of Directors

Matthew Cooper, M.D., FACS, began his term as president of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Board of Directors on July 1. Cooper currently serves as the director of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation at the Medstar Georgetown Transplant Institute based at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

UNOS is the mission-driven nonprofit serving as the nation’s transplant system. Last year, the national transplant system set an all-time record for the most lives saved by deceased organ donors.

Cooper is a graduate of the University of Scranton and received his medical degree from the Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1994.

Wayne Memorial Health System

Zaima Choudhry, M.D., brings an array of much-needed services to the health system’s community. She is board-eligible in nephrology, a subspecialty of internal medicine that focuses on diseases of the kidney, board-certified in internal medicine and is a certified hypertension specialist (CHS), a skill Choudhry hopes will help save many lives.

Choudhry comes to the health system from Temple University in Philadelphia, where she just completed a fellowship in nephrology.

Choudhry will also be working in conjunction with the DaVita outpatient dialysis clinic at the Stourbridge Complex in Honesdale.

Her practice at Wayne Memorial will be at the Physician Specialty Clinic inside the hospital at 601 Park St., Honesdale.

Woodloch Pines Resort

After an extremely challenging year and three-month closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the all-inclusive family resort in the Pocono Mountains was more eager than ever to recognize the hard work and dedication of its longtime employees. Although the annual in-person staff meeting and celebration could not take place, the Kiesendahl family, who have owned and operated the business more than 60 years, took the time to honor and reward their loyal team members with gift certificates and golden nametags in recognition of their service.

Of the 1,091 part and full-time workers, 199 have served the company for at least a decade. Considering that the hospitality industry is well known for its high turnover rate, this is certainly a notable accomplishment. Ninety-nine of these staff members have worked for the family resort for at least 20 years, and another 40 for 30-plus years.

One such employee, John Taninies, is celebrating his 40th year working at the resort, including managing the kitchen of the resort’s main dining room since 2006.