People on the Move: April 21

People on the Move is a rundown of recent hirings, promotions, appointments and other notable movements by professionals in the state. If you’re interested in submitting an entry, please contact news@delawarebusinesstimes.com.

President Biden announced the appointment of members to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House. The Committee for the Preservation of the White House is an advisory committee charged with the preservation of the White House, the official home and principal workplace of the President of the United States. The Committee is largely made up of citizens appointed by the President for their experience with historic preservation, architecture, decorative arts, and for their scholarship in these areas.

Penny Ashford is a photographer dedicated to capturing the effects of climate change across the globe. For her work, she has traveled to Antarctica, the North Pole, the Great Barrier Reef, Svalbard, Norway, and, most recently, Greenland to focus on water. Her photography has promoted awareness to Save the Children in Ethiopia, Grassroots Soccer in Zimbabwe, and Coaches Across the Continent in India. Her photographs have been exhibited in throughout the United States. Ashford is the founder of Ashford Interiors, started in 1995 after working for six years with Cullman and Kravis, Inc. in New York City. She served on the board of Winterthur Museum, the Delaware Art Museum, The Pennsylvania Ballet, and St. Michaels School and Nursery in Wilmington, Delaware.

Wendy A. Cooper is curator emerita of furniture at Winterthur Museum following two decades as senior curator of furniture. She is a cum laude graduate of Brown University, and holds an M.A. from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture from the University of Delaware. Cooper has worked at The Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and has guest curated four exhibitions at the National Gallery of Art: The Kaufman Collection of American Furniture (1986-87); In Praise of America: American Decorative Arts, 1640-1840 (1980); An American Vision: Henry Francis du Pont’s Winterthur Museum (2002); and Masterpieces of Furniture from the Kaufman Collection, 1700-1830 (2012 – the present). Before coming to Winterthur in 1995, she was Curator of Decorative Arts at the Baltimore Museum of Art where she organized the traveling exhibition Classical Taste in America, 1800-1840, with the accompanying book. In 2011 she organized the groundbreaking exhibition Paint, Pattern, and People: Furniture of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1725-1850 at Winterthur, with a publication of the same name. She is now a consultant, researcher, writer, and lecturer, and serves on museum committees and boards.

Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long announced Elizabeth “Liz” Richards will join her staff in the role of senior advisor on Strategic Initiatives.

“I am excited and honored to have Liz join our team,” Lt. Governor Hall-Long, Ph.D., R.N, said.  “A respected leader in Delaware and beyond, Liz brings a wealth of experience working effectively with community and business leaders and organizations to deliver solutions for working families. She’s a problem-solver and coalition-builder with a track record of changing Delawareans’ lives for the better, and she believes, like I do, that community engagement with businesses and advocates is key to successful leadership. I look forward to having her join me, my Chief of Staff Keith Warren, and our team as we work to build a stronger, healthier Delaware.”

Richards has worked in a variety of capacities to advance common-sense policy solutions and ensure that government is responsive to the needs of local communities and families. Most recently, she founded and led the Delaware Cares Coalition for paid leave. In that role, she helped build a coalition featuring 50 organizations that successfully worked to pass the Healthy Delaware Families Act of 2022, which will make Delaware the 11^th state, in addition to the District of Columbia, to create a paid family and medical leave program. Prior to founding Delaware Cares, Liz served as a strategic communications advisor to public officials and issue coalitions across the country, working to advance issues like equal pay, strong public schools, and healthy workplace policies. Richards is currently expected to complete her master’s degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University in the Summer of 2023.

Barry W. Yerger, Jr. has joined J.P. Morgan Private Bank as an executive director and banker. A lifelong Delaware resident, Yerger works with prominent corporations and endowments in the state that seek a source of seasoned guidance to help make the most of their complex financial scenarios. Yerger partners with clients to design a path forward and brings together like-minded individuals to find alignment and explore shared ideas. Barry joins the firm from Barley Mill Asset Management.

Fredrick J. Dawson | PHOTO COURTESY OF BDF

President Fredrick J. Dawson of Bassett, Dawson & Foy, Inc. and Wealth Manager in Wilmington was among the Raymond James-affiliated advisors named to the Forbes 2023 list of Best-In-State Wealth Advisors. The list recognizes advisors from national, regional and independent firms.

The Forbes ranking of Best-In-State Wealth Advisors, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative criteria, mostly gained through telephone and in-person due diligence interviews, and quantitative data. Those advisors that are considered have a minimum of seven years’ experience, and the algorithm weights factors like revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, industry experience and those that encompass best practices in their practices and approach to working with clients.

This is Fred’s fifth time being recognized for this accomplishment, having also been recognized in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022.  Dawson, who joined Raymond James in 1983, has more than 39 years of experience in the financial services industry. He offers a comprehensive range of wealth management services for individuals, businesses and non-profit organizations.

Saranya Biswas | PHOTO COURTESY OF BAYHEALTH

Bayhealth welcomes Internal Medicine Physician Saranya Biswas, MD. 

The Bayhealth Primary Care, Milford – Airport Road practice in Milford recently relocated just down the road. It opened at 1012 Mattlind Way with a new name—Bayhealth Primary Care, Milford. This practice is part of Bayhealth Medical Group, a partnership of highly trained physicians and advanced practice clinicians, their staff, and an administrative support team that operates medical offices throughout central and southern Delaware. 

“We’re very pleased to have another talented physician on our primary care team,” Bayhealth Vice President, Physician Services and Clinical Integration Lawrence Ward, MD, MPH, FACP, said. “Bayhealth continues to recruit and hire new clinicians to help meet the demand for primary care in Delaware. Dr. Biswas is an experienced internal medicine physician who can help adults in our community manage chronic or complex illnesses and provide the routine and preventative care they need for overall wellness.” 

Jamie Clough has been named director of Government Affairs at the Delaware Association of REALTORS® (DAR).

Jamie Clough | PHOTO COURTESY OF DAR

Clough brings vast government and political experience to the Association, most recently as Government Affairs Director at the Kitsap County Association of REALTORS® in Washington State. He worked with elected officials to support REALTORS® and homeowners’ property rights. Prior to joining the Kitsap County Association of REALTORS®, Jamie worked on multiple political campaigns as a Field Organizer and Director, ranging from the local, state, and national levels. In his position at DAR, he will direct DAR’s lobbying efforts and monitor the legislative session for proposals that have an impact on the real estate industry including private property rights.

Clough is a graduate of Western Washington University in Washington State with a bachelor’s in political science.

InterDigital, Inc., a mobile and video technology research and development company, announced the nomination of Samir Armaly for election to the company’s Board of Directors at the company’s annual shareholder meeting scheduled for June 7, 2023.

Armaly is an experienced tech executive with a deep understanding of the video services sector and global IP licensing. From June 2020 to March 2022, Armaly was the President, IP Licensing of Xperi (now Adeia) Inc., a leading IP licensing business, and before that was a strategic advisor on intellectual property matters to the CEO and Board of Directors of Rovi and its successor TiVo Corporation. He graduated from the University of Missouri Columbia with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering and received his J.D. degree from the University of California Berkeley.

“Samir combines a keen insight into key technology markets with excellent experience in global IP licensing,” S. Doug Hutcheson, chairman of the Board, InterDigital, said. “We believe his background in the implementation of video and other media technologies across a growing range of devices and services will be incredibly valuable in broadening InterDigital’s existing licensing programs and in helping to develop new opportunities.”