Appointments
•  West Valley Women, a social networking organization, has announced the appointments of the following four women:
Director: Kate Cox, community relations director and operational manager, Heard Museum West
Ambassador: Paulette Goldman, information center manager, Estrella by Newland Communities
Ambassador: Sharon Levinson, Levinson and Associates
Ambassador: Christine Siler, president and CEO, Advanced Computer Performance
Dana Kennedy, communications director for the Arizona AFL-CIO and founding member of Democratic women political leadership training organization Emerge Arizona, has been named Arizona communications director for the Clinton campaign. 
A veteran of several political campaigns, Kennedy plans to “wage a dynamic and vigorous effort to ensure that Hillary’s message of real change and experience reaches every corner of the state.”  
Nick Hont, Mohave County public works assistant director, has been installed as president of the Arizona Association of County Engineers. Hont has a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering, specializing in transportation engineering.
Born in Hungary, Hont began his career as an engineer in the 1970s while living in West Germany.  In 1978 Hont moved to California, where he worked for several southern California engineering companies. He was a founding member of SECOR International. After doing some consulting work for Mohave County, Hont, his wife and two sons moved to Arizona in 2000.    
Gerard Morales is expected to be nominated to the National Labor Relations Board by President Bush.  Morales, a former University of Arizona law professor, is currently a partner at Snell & Wilmer, LLP.  If approved, he will serve a five-year term.
Media
•  Ward H. Bushee, former editor and vice president of  The Arizona Republic, has been named the executive vice president and editor of the San Francisco Chronicle.
During his 33 year career, Bushee was named Gannett Company, Inc. editor of the year three times and has won the company’s President Ring 11 times. “The journalism community has regarded Ward as among the top newspaper editors in American and we are happy to have him as editor of The Chronicle,” said George B. Irish, president of Hearst Newspapers, the company that owns the San Francisco Chronicle. 
Bushee will take over the position from Phil Bronstein, who was named editor-at-large of Hearst Newspapers Division and The Chronicle on Jan. 23.
Politics
•  Tom Husband was elected Chairman of the Maricopa County Republican Committee in an uncontested election held Jan.19.  He takes over after former Chairman Lyle Tuttle resigned due to health problems. 
The following five Maricopa County Republican Committee Executive Guidance Committee members-at-large also have been elected:
Sandy Doty
Daniel Grimm
Ken Going
Walt Opaska
Brian Symes   
•  Arizona Democratic Party state committee members elected a new vice chairman and chose the following three representatives for the Democratic National Committee (DNC):
Harold Holmes, chairman, African-American caucus, elected vice chairman
Fred DuVal, Board of Regents member and former Clinton White House official, chosen as DNC representative
Judy Kennedy, secretary and former chairwoman of the Maricopa County Democratic Party, chosen as DNC representative
Carolyn Warner, former superintendent of Public Instruction and current DNC member, chosen as DNC representative
Education
•  Gov. Janet Napolitano has appointed the following two people to the Arizona Board of Regents, the body that oversees the three state universities:
Bob McLendon, a former high school government and American history teacher, served in the state House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and later was a member of the Yuma County Board of Regents. His term expires in 2012.
LuAnn Leonard, the executive director of the Hopi Education Endowment Fund, formerly worked in the chairman's office and as director of the tribal Office of Youth Affairs. Her term expires in 2016.
McLendon and Leonard fill seats already vacated by Christina Palacios and Gary Stuart, whose terms expired. Both Palacios and Stuart were appointees of former Gov. Jane Hull.
The appointments are subject to confirmation by the state Senate.
• Debra Friedman has been named the university vice president of Arizona State University’s Downtown campus. Upon joining the university in 2005, Friedman was named dean of the College of Public Programs and led the relocation of the college to downtown, refined its vision and strategic plan and has secured new funds during her tenure as dean.
Mernoy Harrison, who oversaw construction of the downtown campus, will continue as vice president and executive vice provost, but he will take on the additional responsibility of constructing ASU’s virtual campus. Harrison has been with ASU since 1997. 
Both appointments are pending Board of Regents approval.
New Hires
•  Kat Quevedo has been hired as the director of marketing for Scottsdale-based Emissions Technology, Inc., an emissions control company for diesel-powered engines.
Quevedo is the founder of Quevedo Media Group and has worked as a journalist and anchor in several markets for NBC, CBS and ABC. She has a BS in Communication from Boston University and a masters in business administration from Northeastern University. 
Associations
•  Carl McFarland, a construction executive for Mortenson Construction, has been elected the 2008 Government Affairs Committee chair for the Arizona Contractors Association. 
McFarland, an architectural engineer graduate from the University of Colorado at Boulder, has headed up projects such as the Coors Field in Denver and the Surprise Spring Training Facility.  In 2003, McFarland served as the association’s chairman of the board.