People in business
• Tod Thayer has been selected executive director of Southwest Washington American Red Cross. Thayer most recently served as executive director of the American Red Cross chapter in Eugene, Ore. He has held leadership positions at the Mount Hood Kiwanis Camp and the United Way of Columbia Willamette and has been a Vancouver resident for more than 50 years.
• PeaceHealth has named Kathy Dean the system vice president of communications, marketing and public affairs. She will be based at PeaceHealth’s shared services center in Vancouver.
• Carol Van Natta will join PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center Foundation as chief development officer and executive director. She begins her new role July 15. Van Natta will serve as a member of the PeaceHealth Southwest executive team and will lead foundation staff in supporting strategic initiatives. Van Natta previously served as vice president for the Oregon State University Foundation Portland Center.
• Johnson Bixby & Associates, LLC, has hired Paula Lee as the new business manager. Her responsibilities include accounting, recruitment, public relations, event coordination and property management. The financial planning firm has offices in Vancouver and Longview.
• Mackay Sposito has added Diane Sacco as the new accounting coordinator on its corporate services team. Sacco has more than 15 years of experience in accounting a property management. She is based out of the firm’s Vancouver office.
• Irina Makarow has joined BergerABAM in the Vancouver office. She has 26 years of engineering and environmental permitting experience. For the past 18 years, Makarow has provided regulatory and environmental reviews for a variety of industries. Currently, she is working on projects for western Washington utilities and port clients. BergerABAM is a multidisciplinary consulting firm.n The Free Clinic of Southwest Washington recently welcomed three new members to its board of directors: LeAnn Bremer, William Lockwood and Sister Beth Taylor. Bremer is an attorney and partner at Miller Nash in Vancouver. Lockwood is a branch manager and senior vice president of investments for Wells Fargo Advisors in Vancouver. Taylor entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in 1962. She is currently a member of the organization development team at the PeaceHealth Shared Service Center.n Mike Plymale, a certified public account, was originally appointed to the Charities Advisory Council by Secretary of State Sam Reed in August 2010. He was recently reappointed by new Secretary of State Kim Wyman. Plymale’s CPA practice has focused on the nonprofit sector since 1983. The charities council advises the Secretary of State on training and educational needs of charitable organizations and model policies related to governance and administration of these organizations.
Other business news
• Vancouver USA Regional Tourism website was among the winners of the 2013 Communicator Awards. The awards are judged and overseen by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, a 600-plus member organization of lading visual arts professionals.
• Chad G. Wade purchased Evergreen Dental, 2403 E. Evergreen Blvd., on May 1. His office will offer family dentistry for all ages. Wade was raised in Clark County and graduated from the dental school at the University of Washington. He has been practicing dentistry for five years.
The Columbian welcomes submissions about Clark County residents or businesses, as well as regional business events. Information must be received by noon of the Tuesday preceding the intended Sunday publication date. Send to mary.ricks@columbian.com
