Amerind Foundation names Szuter its executive director
Christine Szuter was named executive director of the Amerind Foundation. The foundation has a public museum and art gallery in Texas Canyon, 60 miles east of Tucson, designed “to promote knowledge and understanding of the Native Peoples of the Americas.”
She will succeed John Ware, who is retiring to Santa Fe, N.M., this summer after 13 years as executive director.
Szuter is professor of practice and director of the graduate Scholarly Publishing Certificate Program at Arizona State University in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies.
Szuter holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Arizona specializing in Southwest archaeology and zooarchaeology.
Her research interests include food systems, indigenous studies, digital humanities, gender studies, scholarly publishing, and public history.
She has served as the director of the University of Arizona Press, where she collaborated with three other university presses on the First Peoples Initiative funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. She has also served on many boards and committees.
Yuan to conduct research at Health Sciences Center
Dr. Jason X.-J. Yuan, a leader in pulmonary vascular disease research, was appointed associate vice president for translational health sciences at the Arizona Health Sciences Center at the University of Arizona.
Yuan also joins the faculty of the UA College of Medicine as professor of medicine with a joint appointment as professor of physiology.
He will direct a research program in translational and clinical pulmonary hypertension and vascular medicine, working with research groups across the UA, university officials said in a news release. He will also establish a new Division of Translational and Regenerative Medicine.
Yuan previously was a professor and a director of research programs at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also has held faculty positions in the medical schools at University of California-San Diego and the University of Maryland-Baltimore.
He has served as adviser and reviewer with many national and international associations, including the National Institutes of Health, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and National Science Foundation, and has received numerous awards.
Yuan received his medical degree from Suzhou Medical College, Suzhou, China. He earned his doctorate in a joint training program with the University of Maryland and Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing.
Army dentist Lew brings maxillofacial expertise here
Timothy Lew, D.D.S., joined Associates in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and will see patients at its Tucson and Sierra Vista locations.
Lew, a cum laude graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas with a double major in biology and business administration, attended dental school at Columbia University in New York City, where he was awarded a United States Health Professional Scholarship and was elected to the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Dental Society.
He performed his residency at the San Antonio Military Medical Center, one of the U.S. Army’s Level I trauma facilities for treatment of burn and combat injuries. While there, Lew took part in projects at the Institute of Surgical Research and received the Maj. Gen. Joseph L. Bernier Research Award.
For the past four years, Lew was an active-duty oral surgeon in the United States Army stationed in Landstuhl, Germany, and the San Antonio Military Medical Center.
A board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Lew is experienced in specialties including wisdom teeth, dental implants, anesthesia, and dentoalveolar, orthognathic and reconstructive surgery.
Brown named regional head of Washington Federal
Washington Federal named Michael Brown as Arizona regional president.
He has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry.
Washington Federal expanded banking operations by acquiring 13 new branches in Arizona in May. The company operates 36 locations throughout the state.
Before joining Washington Federal, Brown was president of Western Alliance Equipment Finance, a subsidiary of Western Alliance Bancorporation in Phoenix. He was previously executive vice president and group head of the CIT Group, president of the Wells Fargo Leasing Corp., president of First Interstate Leasing and regional sales manager for General Electric Capital.
Brown holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Kansas State University.
Bank of Tucson hires Henry, Robles and Masterson
Bank of Tucson has three new employees:
- Kevin Henry
- is senior vice president and commercial loan officer. Henry has more than 20 years of banking experience and most recently served as vice president and senior relationship manager for Northern Trust Bank.
- Rey Robles
- is assistant vice president and commercial loan officer. Robles, who has more than 15 years of lending experience, will be joining Henry in leading the bank’s Northwest Office.
- Ray Masterson
- is a credit analyst, and has years of experience in analysis and commercial underwriting. Masterson was previously with Comerica Bank based in Phoenix.
Universal Avionics gives Dickey sales manager post
Tucson-based Universal Avionics named Ross Dickey to the newly created position of airline and government sales manager for Europe, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
In joining the company, Dickey brings an extensive background in avionics sales and engineering which included sales and support of Universal Avionics’ products during his time at Northrop Grumman, and later at DAC International.
Dickey will be based out of Middlesex, England.
Ashby will manage projects for Psomas’ Tucson office
Matt Ashby joined Psomas’ Tucson office as an assistant project manager in the transportation and public works group.
Ashby has 12 years of experience in a variety of transportation and traffic engineering projects for public sector clients. He specializes in roadway design, traffic signal design, lighting design and analysis, intersection modifications, and hydraulic design and analysis of culverts and storm sewer systems.
Ashby has designed projects for Pima County, the city of Tucson, the Arizona Department of Transportation and the towns of Oro Valley and Marana.
He is a registered civil engineer in Arizona and holds a bachelor of science degree in engineering from the University of Arizona.
Weiss named to Pima panel on trial court appointments
Attorney Stephen M. Weiss was appointed by Gov. Jan Brewer to fill a vacancy on the Pima County Commission on Trial Court Appointments.
Weiss is a long-standing partner in Karp & Weiss P.C. and practices in the areas of criminal defense, personal injury, civil-rights litigation, and medical and other professional malpractice.
Weiss has also been recognized as a Martindale-Hubbell AV rated pre-eminent lawyer since 1986.
Medberry is new adviser in Farmers’ S. Ariz. district
The Southern Arizona District Office of Farmers Insurance Group appointed Katherine Medberry as its newest adviser to Tucson.
Medberry holds property/casualty and life/health insurance licenses and has a background in the medical field.
