PERSONNEL FILE - FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2019

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE4/5/19 4:56 PM

... A former Higher Education Committee chairman is leading the state community colleges association ... Commonwealth Care Alliance has a new chief financial officer ... a state representative is touting his new staffer's "immigrant story" ... and a veteran Boston newsman retires, while a new voice joins the local airwaves ... This, and more, in the latest Personnel File ...

SANNICANDRO

Former state Rep. TOM SANNICANDRO was introduced March 25 as the new director of the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges. Sannicandro was director of the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass-Boston. A licensed attorney, he spent 12 years in the Massachusetts House, including six as co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Higher Education. The association advocates for the state's 15 community colleges. "We're thrilled to have Tom in this role with MACC," Dr. Valerie Roberson, president of Roxbury Community College and chair of the Council of Presidents, said in a statement. "I know he'll hit the ground running to advance the mission of the community colleges and the more than 156,000 students they serve." On Monday, the institute said the posting to fill Sannicandro's post is up, and the position will be open until April 29, with interviews anticipated in mid-to-late May. "This is such an important role within our organization, not only in terms of day-to-day operations, but also for setting our course for the future," said Dr. John Butterworth, Director of Employment Systems Change and Evaluation and Senior Research Fellow at the ICI, who is chairing the search committee.

ROJAS

JAMES ROJAS started this week as a field reporter with WBZ NewsRadio, and his new colleague Carl Stevens brought him by the State House on Friday to show him the lay of the land. Reporter-anchor DOUG COPE is retiring from the "Spirit of New England," the station announced Friday, and Stevens penned him a farewell poem. Prior to his most recent broadcasting career, Cope was a spokesman for state agencies including the Highway Department and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. Rojas comes from the West Coast where he most recently reported for KABC TalkRadio in Los Angeles. He previously anchored and reported with NewsRadio KFBK in Sacramento.

FEJZIC

Haverhill Rep. Andy Vargas has brought on EMRAH FEJZIC as his new legislative aide. A graduate of UMass Amherst, Fejzic previously worked as a research associate for the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, to a family of Bosnian refugees escaping the Yugoslav wars, and grew up in Chelsea after his family immigrated to the United States in 2001. "Emrah's immigrant story, community engagement, and economic development background will serve as great assets for the 3rd Essex," Vargas wrote on Twitter.

AMANDA MILAD COX has joined Liberty Square Group as an Associate Vice President. Previously she worked as chief of staff to Rep. Corey Atkins, and as assistant editor and ad sales associate at row2k media. Cox studied at Simmons College and graduated in 2011 with a degree in Economics and Public Health.

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and the Boston Planning and Development Agency have announced six new appointments to the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan Oversight Committee. They are CATHERINE HARDAWAY, Chair, City of Boston Neighborhood Trust; EFERTITI LAWRENCE, math teacher at the John O'Bryant School for Mathematics and Science in Roxbury; MARISA LUSE, Member, Garrison Trotter Neighborhood Association; KIMBERLY NAPOLI, Roxbury Business Owner, The Hempest; LORRAINE PAYNE WHEELER, President, Roxbury Path Forward Neighborhood Association; and STEVEN GODFREY, president and CEO of Quincy Geneva Housing Corporation/New Vision CDC.

Commonwealth Care Alliance has hired MIHIR SHAH to serve as its new chief financial officer. Shah has served as CCA's interim CFO since August 2018 and previously worked as CFO of California-based Apollo Medical Holdings.

The Boston Public Library welcomed GARRETT DASH NELSON as curator of maps and director of geographic scholarship for its Norman B. Leventhal Map and Education Center. Nelson, a historical geographer and cartographer, has worked on research examining the relationship between maps and civic knowledge and has authored work for a variety of publications. He was most recently a postdoctoral fellow at Dartmouth College.

-- Got a new chief of staff, executive director, campaign manager, press secretary, spokesperson, or otherwise important new person in your office or organization? Losing a valued worker to a new career opportunity? The News Service welcomes all personnel announcements, which will be aggregated for periodic publication. Please include contact information in your reply to this email.

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04/05/2019

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