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 his intent to appoint Vilicia Cade and Richard “Mouse” Smith to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans. The commission aids in developing, implementing, and coordinating educational programs and initiatives for agencies such as the Department of Education. Specifically, it provides advice to the President through the Secretary of Education on matters pertaining to educational equity and economic opportunity for the Black community.
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Vilicia Cade | PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPTIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT[/caption]
Cade, an accomplished educational leader, scholar, author, and social justice advocate, is the first Black female CEO and Superintendent of the Capital School District in Dover, Delaware. Cade is the only Black female Superintendent in the state, and she brings over three decades of improving outcomes for vulnerable children and adults to her current role. Her portfolio of public-private partnerships validates her track record in improving the quality of life and economic opportunities for her students. Cade is known for her inspired and innovative approaches to bolstering community, faith-based, and business partnerships interrupting the school-to-prison pipeline. Notably, she was a key administrator of the Brooklyn High School's New Visions reform project, Co-Creator of the College Readiness Scholars Institute at the University of Delaware, and is credited for launching numerous parent empowerment programs.
Cade enthusiastically embraces her personal journey as a former ward of the State of New York, described in her debut bestseller
If Not For Love. Her story resonates with many Black Americans illuminating the gaps in our child welfare system. Her childhood has established a firm foundation for resilience proving why empowering the disenfranchised is quintessential. Cade has served on boards such as Northeast Ohio Boys & Girls Club and United Way of Delaware. Cade earned her bachelor’s degree, three master’s degrees, and doctorate from New York University. In 2020, she received the prestigious Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. Education Advocate Centennial Dove Award. A radio personality on the Stellar Awarded WNZN in Lorain, Ohio, she uses urban inspiration to connect the significance of service, educational equity, and economic development.
Smith is a lifelong Delawarean — his family has been in Delaware since the 1860s. Smith is the President of Delaware’s NAACP Coalition of Branches and he has been in the NAACP since 1959. He was a union president for eight years and worked at the Port of Wilmington for 42 years. Over the years, he has worked with seven Wilmington mayors and six Delaware governors. Smith helped establish the Delaware Rainbow Coalition with Jesse Jackson, which was part of the coalition to desegregate schools. Education has been integral in his life, and it is one of his main priorities for his community.
A Better Delaware (ABD), has selected Ethan Lang as its new executive director, leading its efforts as a non-partisan public policy and political advocacy organization that supports pro-growth, pro-jobs policies and greater transparency and accountability in state government.
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Ethan Lang | PHOTO COURTESY OF A BETTER DELAWARE[/caption]
In April, Lang will succeed Kathleen Rutherford, who has accepted a position as an advocacy consultant for the D.C.-based Taxpayer Protection Alliance. Lang has been involved in politics for five years, getting involved with his local representative’s campaign as a volunteer coordinator at age sixteen. He went on to Dartmouth College, one of the eight Ivy League schools, and will graduate with degrees in government and public policy. He is also a Politics and Law Fellow and a senior editor for the Dartmouth Law Journal. Further, he was appointed as the Deputy Recorder of Deeds in Kent County. “I am excited to see what Lang does with ABD. He brings a combination of pedigree and energy to the organization that I believe can take us far and continue the good work of our previous directors.”Vice Chair of ABD, Sam Waltz, concurred with Kenny, adding, “I am pleased with the choice. I believe that the advisory board and Lang have a formidable skillset, and I eagerly await his plans for the future of ABD.”
“A Better Delaware is laying the groundwork for change in our state,” said Lang.“I hope to build upon the strong foundation of my predecessors and bring my perspective to the organization. To me, this is personal. I am young and want to see a Delaware I can continue to be proud to raise in my family. I hope to expand upon our extensive social media reach across all our platforms and continue our grassroots efforts in promoting policies that will benefit our economy. Our mission is essential; Delaware needs a government that is transparent and accountable to the people.”
Wells Fargo has recently promoted Tara Handforth to the division executive for the Mid-Atlantic. She’s returning to the area and based in our Conshohocken, PA office, though traveling every day throughout her territory. Handforth brings over 25 years of banking and leadership experience in credit, risk and relationship management, as well as a reputation for being a true team player. In this new role, she’ll be leading a team of over 130 commercial bankers in DE, PA, MD, VA, WV and D.C. who provide loan, treasury management, and deposit products and services to middle-market companies with annual sales between $25 million to $5 billion.
Handforth was born and raised in the Tri-State area and has spent most of her banking career in commercial lending and client facing roles in the Greater Philadelphia Region and Delaware, starting her career with legacy bank CoreStates. She received her MBA at Villanova and is looking forward to being back in the region.
InterDigital, Inc., a mobile and video technology research and development company, announced has been named Skip Maloney chief people officer and the nomination of Samir Armaly to the Board of Directors.
Maloney has over 25 years of industry experience and joins InterDigital from Aspen Technology, a Nasdaq-listed provider of asset optimization software, where he served as the chief human resource officer since 2018.
“InterDigital is at the leading edge of innovation, and I am excited to work with some of the brightest engineers and leaders of our industry as they drive change within the wireless, video and AI ecosystems,” Skip said. "I'm looking forward to help further the mission of InterDigital and support its transformation in this ever-changing environment."
Prior to Aspen Technology, Maloney was the chief human resources officer at Netscout Systems where he designed and led HR strategy for a 3,000-plus employee global organization with offices in over 40 countries. Before that he held senior roles at Lake Region Medical, Brooks Automation and Mercury Computer Systems. A native of Boston, Maloney is a certified professional executive coach.
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.
“As we continue to see the rise of streaming video, the convergence of wireless and video technologies, and the proliferation of connected devices, this is an incredibly exciting time for InterDigital,” Samir Armaly said. “If elected, I look forward to working with the Board and with the company’s leadership to help realize even more value from InterDigital’s foundational innovation.”
Landmark Science & Engineering announce the promotion of Craig M. Lynch, P.E. and Joseph C. Marvasi, P.E. to the position of firm Associate. The two professional engineers bring a combined 18-years of relevant experience to the 36-year-old civil engineering, surveying and environmental consulting firm.
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Craig M. Lynch | PHOTO COURTESY OF LSE[/caption]
Lynch is a Professional Engineer and DNREC Sediment and Stormwater Management Certified Construction Reviewer who has worked as a civil project engineer for Landmark for the past three years. Prior to joining Landmark, Lynch was a plan reviewer for New Castle County Department of Land Use where he reviewed 231 Land Development Applications over a five-year period. He gained valuable insight into the land development plan review and approval process and continues to draw upon that experience in his current role as a project engineer. Lynch has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BCE) degree with a concentration in Environmental Engineering from Michigan State University (2010). He applies civil and water resources engineering, site design, and construction review experience to commercial, industrial and residential development projects, while specializing in stormwater runoff conveyance, stormwater management facility design, erosion and sediment control, and floodplain delineation studies. Public and private projects include the new Crystal Run Elementary School at Summit Campus near Middletown, First State National Historical Park’s John Dickinson Plantation Visitors’ Center and walking trail to St. Jones Reserve, Food Bank of Delaware’s warehouse expansion and Siemens’ Innovative channel restoration and stabilization project to remove erosion and sediment from entering Sunset Lake at three stormwater outfalls.
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Joe Marvasi | PHOTO COURTESY OF LSE[/caption]
Marvasi, a Professional Engineer with 10 years of experience performing site/civil and environmental engineering design, has worked for Landmark since joining the firm in 2018. Marvasi has a Master of Civil Engineering (MCE) degree with a concentration in Environmental Engineering and Water Resources from Norwich University (2019), where he was presented the Outstanding Student Award for the MCE program, and a BCE degree from the University of Delaware (2016). Marvasi applies civil and water resources engineering and site design to commercial, institutional and residential development projects, specializing in stormwater management facility design, outfall remediation and restoration, erosion and sediment control, and water and sanitary sewer design. Public and private projects include Delaware Army National Guard facilities at River Road and Bethany Beach Training Sites, the Everett Meredith Middle School in Middletown, and Avenue North mixed-use redevelopment, including the ACEC-DE Grand Conceptor Award-winning channel restoration and stabilization project at the Fairfax site.
