People on the Move – August 20

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.

---

Doneene Damon, president of Richards, Layton & Finger, has been named among the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 2021 Diversity Leaders in Business.  Damon’s leadership within Richards Layton, the legal profession, and the community at large sets the standard for community involvement and professional excellence.  In addition to serving as Richards Layton’s president, she is co-chair of the firm’s Business Department and chair of the Corporate Trust and Agency Services Group. Damon focuses her legal practice on the use of Delaware and New York trusts in a wide range of commercial transactions, and represents banks and trust companies in connection with their trust and agency services under Delaware and New York law.

Long an advocate for diversity, Damon is a member of the Steering Committee for the Delaware Bench and Bar Diversity Project.  She previously served on the board of directors for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law. Damon was chair of the ABA Business Law Section’s Lawyers of Color Subcommittee, was Diversity co-chair of the Committee on Partnerships and Unincorporated Business Organizations, and was co-chair of the Committee on Corporate Director Diversity, which is committed to promoting the placement of women and minorities on boards of directors. Damon chaired Richards Layton’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee for many years and is one of the leaders of the firm’s Women’s Initiative.

Damon is the chair of the board of directors of Christiana Care Health System, Inc., Delaware’s largest health system.  She also serves on the boards of the Forum of Executive Women, the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, the Structured Finance Association, the First State FinTech Lab, the Cameron Kravitt Foundation, and two privately held companies.

---

Natalie D. Ramsey, from Robinson+Cole’s Delaware office, was selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2022 in the areas of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation-Bankruptcy. Overall, 65 lawyers from across the firm’s practice groups and offices were named to The Best Lawyers in America 2022 list.

Ramsey, a Regent of the American College of Bankruptcy, has practiced in the areas of bankruptcy and corporate reorganizations for more than three decades. She is co-chair of Robinson+Cole’s Bankruptcy + Reorganization Practice Group and the partner in charge of its Wilmington and Philadelphia offices. She practices in all areas of domestic and international restructurings, crisis management, financings, acquisitions in distressed situations and asset recovery litigation, often involving challenges to complex corporate transactions. Ramsey is certified by the American Board of Certification accredited by the American Bar Association in Business Bankruptcy and is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.

---

Bayside Resort Golf Club has announced Brian Rashley is the club’s new general manager. As general manager, Rashley will oversee all elements of the club from golf operations, agronomy, sales/marketing to food & beverage and fitness club operations.

“We are delighted to welcome Brian to Bayside Resort Golf Club. He comes to us with a great deal of knowledge, and a genuine passion for the customer experience. Rashley is known for creating an environment where team members can do their best work,” said Michelle Freeman, CEO of the Carl M. Freeman Companies, in a statement. “Rashley is committed to understanding the member’s perspective and working tirelessly to insure that everyone’s experience remains a point of pride.”

“Joining Bayside Resort Golf Club is an extraordinary opportunity for me,” said Rashley. “ I feel extremely grateful to be advancing my career with Troon Golf while staying with the Carl M Freeman Companies and continuing to call the Bethany Beach Area Home. Being General Manager at the No.1 rated golf course in Delaware is a dream come true.”

---

Jimmy Valm, the brewmaster at Thompson Island Brewing Company welcomes Charlotte Jump and Nikolas Theopold to their team of brewers.

“We’ve been working hard to keep up with the demand for our beer,” Valm says. “It’s wonderful to see how much our guests enjoy our products at all of our restaurants. Charlotte and Nik will be a great asset as we continue to take our beers to the next level.”

Jump, who has been at Thompson Island since it opened in 2019, started as a server, but the biochemistry major, who graduate from Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, was drawn to the brewing process.

Theopold recently graduated from UCLA with a master’s degree in organic chemistry. He became interested in brewing when he met a brewmaster in California. “He was so happy at work,” Theopold recalled. “I wanted to try it.”

He picked the right training ground. Thompson Island Brewing Company has won numerous awards, including a gold medal for Thompson Island IPA at the U.S. Open Brewing Beer Championship. Glazed & Confused earned a bronze in the chocolate-cocoa beer category.

---

The NECS platform of companies has announced the addition of Matthew Spong and Trisha Sawicki to its growing Landscape Architecture Practice.

Spong has over 40 years of experience practicing in Delaware and Maryland and has been responsible for the completion of approximately 1,600 projects focusing on land, site, and park planning, and landscape improvements. His notable projects include Jester Park in New Castle County, DE; 22 Phases of The Mispillion Greenway Riverwalk, Milford, DE; Oyster House Park in Seaford, DE; Grove Park Canal Dock Rehoboth Beach, DE; and Bethany Beach Nature Center & Conservation Greenway in Bethany Beach, DE.

Sawicki has 27 years of experience in Landscape Architecture and has carried projects from the design of master site plans through the production of construction documentation and specifications. With a strong background in horticulture, Trisha is adept in designing sustainable native gardens and landscapes.

They will be based out of the mid-Atlantic (Duffield) area but will focusing on growing the Landscape Architecture services of the entire NECS platform, which currently includes the leading environmental, energy, water and civil infrastructure firms Duffield Associates, LLC; Hull and Associates, LLC; HSW Consulting, LLC; and GeoInsight, Inc.

---

Santora CPA Group has announced the promotions of Mandy Calvello to supervisor and Debi Koch to tax manager.

Calvello has been with the firm full- and part-time since 2000.  Mandy is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. She is a member of the American Institute and the Delaware Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Koch started her accounting career with the firm in September 1999, and after taking a few years off to start a family, she returned in 2008.  Debi is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. She is a member of the American Institute and the Delaware Society of Certified Public Accountants.

---

Saint Mark’s High School welcomes Mike Carney (Class of ‘76) as he joins the school as Alumni Ambassador. Carney is a lifetime entrepreneur with strong ties to the Saint Mark’s community. He was the third of nine siblings to attend Saint Mark’s and his daughter Hannah graduated from Saint Mark’s in 2015.

He coached Saint Mark’s football from 1984 to 1987 and again from 1999 to 2015. He also served as Saint Mark’s Director of Major Gifts from 2005 to 2016.

Carney shares, “It’s great to be back at Saint Mark’s, where I belong. As I was driving up Spartan Drive on my first day back, I noticed the sign “This Is Home”, so true. As I continued up I thought of another, “This Is Cool!” I am humbled and so grateful to be back at Saint Mark’s and to continue the awesome work that we started some 50 years ago. We look forward to seeing you soon!”

---

Seventy-three Richards, Layton & Finger attorneys have been named in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. The firm is also ranked first in Delaware in three practice areas: Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Commercial Litigation, and Securitization and Structured Finance Law.

Best Lawyers has also selected five Richards Layton attorneys as 2022 Wilmington, Delaware Lawyers of the Year, an award presented to one outstanding lawyer in a designated metropolitan area in each practice area: Doneene Damon in Securitization and Structured Finance Law, Kelly Farnan in Patent Litigation, Jennifer Jauffret in Labor Law – Management, Elisa Erlenbach Maas in Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), and Russell Silberglied in Bankruptcy Litigation. A complete list of attorneys can be found here.