Government
Jim Kolbe, former congressman from Arizona’s 8th District, has been appointed by Gov. Janet Napolitano to serve as chair of the CANAMEX Corridor Task Force. He will also serve as a representative for CANAMEX’s multi-state coalition with Arizona Department of Transportation Director Victor Mendez.
The CANAMEX Corridor is a trade route from the Mexican states of Sonora, Sinaloa, Nayarit, and Jalisco through the U.S. states of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Montana and into the Canadian province of Alberta. CANAMEX strategically invests in infrastructure and technology to increase competitiveness in global trade, create jobs and maximize competitiveness within the region
Kolbe is replacing Peter Woog, who resigned in June. Woog oversaw the Corridor’s initial development.
Peter Silverman has accepted the position of Democratic Caucus legal counsel, replacing David B. Gass who joined the Attorney General’s Office as government relations director
Silverman previously served as an assistant attorney general in the Solicitor General’s Office and has also worked for the law firm of Quarles & Brady Streich Lang.
Education
Patricia White, dean of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, will step down at the end of June, but remain as a faculty member at the college after a sabbatical next year. White became dean in January 1999 and was the first woman law dean in Arizona. A national search will be conducted for White’s successor.
New Hires
Kevin Warren has joined Lewis and Roca, LLP as of counsel in the firm’s Sports & Entertainment practice group where his practice will focus on all sports and entertainment-related matters.
Warren also serves as vice president of operations and legal counsel for the Minnesota Vikings. Warren received his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1990, his M.B.A from Arizona State University in 1988 and his B.S. from Grand Canyon University in 1986.
Dusty Vogelpohl has joined Lewis and Roca, LLP as of counsel in the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group, where his practice will include counseling in patents, trademarks, Internet issues, copyrights, trade secrets and business transactions.
Prior to joining the firm, Vogelpohl was an associate with Greenberg Traurig, LLP in Silicon Valley, Calif. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2002 and his B.S.E from ASU in 1999.
Awards
Charlita Shelton, organizational diversity officer for Apollo Group, Inc., was named “Diversity Champion” at the 2007 Arizona Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Diversity Leadership Alliance Conference Awards at the Phoenix Convention Center recently.
Paragon Space Development Corporation of Tucson was selected as one of the winners of the 2007 Tibbetts Awards.
Paragon Space Development Corporation, one of 55 U.S. companies to receive the award, is a woman-owned small business and full-service aerospace engineering and technology development firm. It is a major supplier of Environmental Control and Life Support System and subsystem design for the aerospace industry.
The honor is named for Roland Tibbetts, who is considered the father of the Small Business Innovation Research program. The company will receive its award Oct. 10 in Washington, D.C.
Emory Sekaquaptewa, a Hopi educator and judge, will receive the Spirit of the Heard Award, which recognizes a person’s actions and work experience and how they have exemplified the Heard Museum’s mission — “To educate the public about the heritage and the living cultures and art of Native peoples, with an emphasis on the peoples of the Southwest.”
Committee members chose Sekaquaptewa, a research anthropologist at the University of Arizona, because of his tireless work in helping preserve all aspects of Hopi life, including the Hopi language for future generations.
The award will be presented at the Heard Museum on Oct. 5, at 9 a.m., with a reception to follow.
PBSJ/PGH Wong joint venture and Structural Grace, METRO’s construction administration team, has won a Grand Award in Engineering Excellence from the Arizona chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies. The award recognizes engineering firms for projects that demonstrate a high degree of achievement, value and ingenuity.
The team was recognized for the construction of METRO’s $21.8 million Tempe Town Lake Bridge, completed on time and 3 percent under budget in September 2006 after 19 months of work. When METRO begins light rail operations, the bridge will light up with changing, multi-color displays each time a train passes over.
Associations
MaryAnn Parkinson was recently elected to serve a two-year term as president of the All Arizona School Retirees Association (AASRA) at the group’s annual convention in Phoenix.
Parkinson’s goals for her term include increasing membership and keeping members informed on the group’s retirement fund, medical insurance and legislation issues relating to seniors and education. Prior to her appointment Parkinson served as president and vice president of the Westside Unit of AASRA in Phoenix and served on the AASRA Executive Board.