Coordinated Health
Orthopedic and sports medicine surgeon Lisa O’Brien, DO, has joined the physician staff and will be seeing new patients in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, specifically at clinics in Pittston, Scranton and at the newest medical facility at Humboldt Station in Hazleton.
O’Brien completed a fellowship in orthopedic surgery sports medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Health. During her time at Wake Forest, she was a team physician for Wake Forest University Athletics, Winston Salem State University Athletics and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She currently serves as the team physician for North Pocono School District.
Distasio &
Kowalski LLC
Michael J. Kowalski, a partner in the Wilkes-Barre personal injury law firm, has been selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America for 2020. This is Kowalski’s second year for inclusion in the publication. This year, he was recognized for his work in the areas of medical malpractice law and personal injury litigation.
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. The Best Lawyers in America rankings are based solely on peer-review surveys in which tens of thousands of attorneys confidentially evaluate their colleagues.
ESSA Bank & Trust
The bank has expanded its information technology team in the Stroudsburg market and promoted Maria Kelly in its Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market areas.
Ronald Gaddy has joined the bank as a network engineer. He has more than 20 years of experience in business analytics and project management. He has served as a senior applications developer, production services supervisor and systems analyst.
Alexandros Psitos has joined the bank as a network engineer. He is a recent graduate of Pennsylvania State University, where he received his degree in information sciences and technology. He previously completed several internships where he was responsible for a team of intern developers.
Jamespeter Hinkle has joined the bank as a technology services specialist. He has more than 13 years of experience across multiple information technology disciplines and holds several industry leading certifications. Most recently, he served as senior IT specialist for an IT consulting firm and a Level 3 support specialist for a regional educational institution.
Nancy Schrader has joined the bank as consumer loan processing manager. She has more than 34 years of experience in loan processing, underwriting and system administration. She most recently served as vice president, commercial fulfillment team lead at BB&T. In her new role, she will oversee all processing and document preparation for Mortgage and Consumer Lending.
Maria Kelly, branch manager of the bank’s Scranton office, will also assume responsibility for the bank’s Wilkes-Barre office. She will now lead both teams in growing existing relationships and servicing customers in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre market area.
Kelly resides in West Pittston. She currently serves on the board of Dress for Success Lackawanna, is actively involved in Habitat for Humanity and regularly volunteers at the St. Francis of Assisi food pantry.
Geisinger
Recognized for his work and efforts surrounding diversity and inclusion between the LGBTQ community and medicine, Aliasgar Chittalia, M.D., MHA, was recently honored with the 2019 Pennsylvania LGBT Leadership Award at the Pennsylvania LGBTQ+ Unity Summit in Pittsburgh.
Presented on behalf of the National Diversity Council, the award recognizes Chittalia’s leadership and commitment to providing inclusive and respectful quality care to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. The award honors those who are taking action to affect inclusion and building better relationships with LGBT patients in medicine as well as inclusion of LGBT colleagues in the workplace.
Matthew Walsh was appointed to the position of executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective Oct. 1.
Walsh, who joined the health system in 2017 as chief operating officer for the clinical enterprise, joins the executive leadership team following more than two years of progressive leadership for its 1,300-plus physicians, 13 hospital campuses and more than 100 outpatient and ambulatory clinics. In his new role, Walsh will continue progress toward creating a seamless, user-friendly experience for everyone in the communities Geisinger serves.
Misericordia
University
The university recently named Kristin Hoffman, M.S., S.E., as the director of the Autism Center in the College of Health Sciences and Education.
Hoffman will be responsible for the administration and overall operation of the program, including budget development, marketing and coordination of programs, development and maintenance of working relationships with service partners, oversight of group facilitators and other staff, and compliance with all state and federal regulations.
Hoffman formerly served as the special education lead teacher and local screening committee chair for Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia.
The university and the Conference for Mercy Higher Education recently elected Linda Thomas-Hemak, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.A.P., Barbara A. Maculloch and Mark J. Oberstaedt, J.D., to the university’s board of trustees. They began their three-year terms in October.
Thomas-Hemak is a triple board-certified internal medicine, pediatrics and addiction medicine primary care physician, and medical educator who teaches, practices medicine and resides in her hometown of Jermyn, concurrent with her responsibilities as an executive. She currently serves the Wright Center for Community Health as chief executive officer and the Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education as president. She returned to the area in 1998 to practice primary care and joined the Wright Center in 2000.
Thomas-Hemak graduated as a Michael DeBakey Scholar from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and completed Harvard’s combined internal medicine/pediatrics residency in Boston.
Maculloch of Wyoming is the president of Pennsylvania Banking for Community Bank, NA, and a 1994 graduate of Misericordia University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with a concentration in banking. Prior to becoming president, she was the senior vice president and Pennsylvania market director for Community Bank Wealth Management.
A graduate of Leadership Wilkes-Barre, she was honored in 2007 with the Distinguished Alumni Award. She is also a graduate of Lackawanna Executive Leadership. In addition, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Business Journal recognized her as one of the Top 25 Women in Business in 2015.
Oberstaedt is a partner in the law firm Archer & Greiner in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and a 1989 graduate of Misericordia University with a bachelor’s degree in history, summa cum laude. He graduated magna cum laude in 1992 from Seton Hall Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Seton Hall Law Review. A shareholder in the firm’s litigation department and assistant chairman of the business litigation group, his practice covers all aspects of trial and appellate work relating to commercial litigation and business disputes in the federal and state courts in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other courts throughout the country.
Pennsylvania Institute of
Certified Public Accountants
The institute recognized Diana L. Davis, CPA, Maggie M. Donato, CPA, and Carolyn Chupko with 2019 Young Leader awards. They received this distinction for demonstrated leadership skills that will propel their success in a profession committed to protecting the public interest.
Davis, of Peckville, is a partner with Eckersley and Ostrowski LLP in Scranton. She is treasurer of PICPA’s Northeastern Chapter and serves on its Emerging CPAs Committee.
Donato, of Dunmore, is controller of Penn East Federal Credit Union in Scranton. She is secretary of PICPA’s Northeastern Chapter and serves on its Emerging CPAs and Corporate Finance Roundtable committees.
Chupko, of Madison Twp., is the business/CIS division chairwoman and an accounting faculty member at Lackawanna College in Scranton. She serves on PICPA’s Northeastern Chapter Schools and Colleges Committee, as well as the statewide High School Scholarship and Relations with Schools and Colleges committees.
The association’s Young Leader Awards program recognizes members under the age of 40 who demonstrate a commitment to the CPA profession through active PICPA or community volunteer leadership. This year’s group was honored Sept. 19 at PICPA’s annual Leadership Conference in Harrisburg.
Weber Gallagher
Ross J. Ventre, an associate at the Scranton law firm, was recently appointed as a board member of Pennsylvania’s Motor Truck Association — Northeast Chapter. Ventre is a longtime member of the PMTA — Northeast Chapter and dedicated to serving its mission and helping other members.
PMTA is a national integrated network of trucking associations and affiliates. They identify the key issues impacting the trucking industry and fight to preserve and strengthen the trucking industry and its jobs in Pennsylvania.
Weis Markets
Matt Burke was promoted to regional vice president. In this position, Burke oversees the day-to-day operations of 67 stores located in Binghamton, New York; Northeast Pennsylvania, the Poconos, Northern New Jersey and the Central Susquehanna Valley, including Sunbury and State College.
Burke joined the company in 2016 as district manager for the Central Susquehanna Valley/Sunbury. He has more than 25 years of store and multi-unit retail management experience.
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