Newsmakers: People on the move in Palm Beach County business

Sept. 10--COMMUNITY SERVICE -- Benjamin T. Hodas has been elected vice chairman of the Florida Bar's marital and family law board certification committee. He has been a member of the marital and family law board certification committee since 2015. Hodas has served as a member of the 15th Judicial Circuit grievance committee. He is a founding member of The Susan Greenberg Family Law American Inn of Court of the Palm Beaches. Hodas has served on the executive council of the Florida Bar family law section. He has chaired the Palm Beach County Bar Association subcommittee for model parental time sharing. A family law attorney, Hodas is known for his direct and tactical approach to divorce and family law.

Geoff Sluggett was appointed to the board of directors of Palm Beach State College Foundation and the South Florida Fair. He has over 15 years of experience in state and local government. Sluggett previously served as director of government relations for the Associated General Contractors of America. In this role he served the commercial and industrial construction industry. Additionally, Sluggett worked as a legislative aid and staffer for the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners. He holds a bachelor's degree in public affairs from Florida Atlantic University. Sluggett has resided in Palm Beach County for more than 30 years. He is president of Geoffrey B. Sluggett & Associates, a consulting and lobbying firm based in West Palm Beach.

CONTRACTING

The Weitz Company has hired James Auld as a director of business development for the firm's Florida operations. Auld will be responsible for developing and maintaining client and associate relationships throughout the state. He works with marketing and business development staff in the firm's West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale offices. Auld has 32 years of construction experience in Florida. He is a certified building contractor, and has worked in various levels of industry, including in the field and in national executive roles. He earned a degree in construction management from the University of North Florida.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Veriato has hired two directors. Patrick Knight has been named senior director of cyber strategy and technology. He will oversee the company's security field, work to expand partner relationships and assist meeting customer needs. He has more than 20 years of experience in cyber security, in intelligence and private commercial sectors. Prior to Veriato, Knight was the security research architect for Cylance Inc. and with Intel Security. He also served in the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense, where he dealt with military intelligence.

Mike Perrault has been named director of sales engineering. He has over 18 years of experience in sales, working for companies such as Scriptlogic, Quest, BMC, RSA and Varonis. Perrault focuses on security, including user and entity behavior analytics, and data governance. He earned an MBA in operations management and a master's in computer science engineering.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Cardno has hired Amy Long as the company's regional services manager in its West Palm Beach office. She will assist public and private sector clients with redevelopment needs, to aid them in urban planning and development projects. Long has 10 years of experience in project management roles, where she assisted clients in securing and implementing state and federal funding. She is the conference co-chair for the Florida Brownfields Association, the young leaders co-chair for the Tampa chapter of the Urban Land Institute and is a member of the American Planning Association.

LEGAL

Shalloway & Shalloway has hired two attorneys. Jeremy Soffler will focus on estate and long term care planning, in addition to probate issues, guardianships and special needs trusts. Soffler is a graduate of the University of Florida and the UF Levin College of Law.

Rafael Perez will focus on estate planning, Medicaid asset protection, probate administration and guardianship. Perez is a graduate of Georgetown University and the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida.

Michael Salnick has been certified in criminal law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is managing partner of Salnick & Fuchs in West Palm Beach and has been a criminal trial lawyer for 30 years.

Robert J. Harvey has been elected the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit commission's vice chair. He is a founding partner of Jenks & Harvey in West Palm Beach. Harvey focuses his practice on representing brokerage firms, financial institutions and financial advisers in state and federal courts. He also represents investors who have suffered monetary losses as the result of securities fraud. Harvey is a BIZPAC trustee, a member of the land development regulation advisory board for Palm Beach County and is a member of the government and public policy advocacy committee of The Florida Bar. He began his career with the United States Navy, and as a Navy judge advocate and special assistant U.S. attorney.

NONPROFITS

Student ACES

has appointed three to its board of directors. Dionne Boldin established the Anquan Boldin Foundation and the Q81 summer enrichment program. She is highly experienced working with youth.

Rob Kornahrens has years of leadership experience and community involvement in Broward County. He is CEO of Advanced Roofing.

Syd Kitson has served on various civic, education and nonprofit boards, and is a member of the board of governors for the State University System of Florida. He is on the executive committee and board of directors for the Florida Council of 100, in addition to serving as chairman of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. Kitson is chairman and CEO of Kitson & Partner, specializing in real estate, and master-planned communities and commercial properties.

David Lin has been named CEO of the Palm Beach Habilitation Center in Lake Worth. He previously worked as the organization's executive vice president since 1986. Lin works with individuals with mental, emotional and physical disabilities. He is a certified vocational evaluator and has an undergraduate degree in social science. He has worked with local colleges and universities in their social work and occupational therapy programs. Since 1997 Lin has served on the board of directors of the Lake Worth Towers, a senior housing project, and currently serves as its board vice-president.

REAL ESTATE

CBRE has been selected to manage Golden Bear Plaza in Palm Beach. CBRE will provide executive oversight to the property management team. Senior real estate manager Michael Bowden will direct on-sight operations.

BUSINESS OPENING

DRI Fund has opening an office in West Palm Beach. The firm has extensive experience in mortgage loan investing, and promotes community development. DRI is located at 625 N. Flagler Drive, Ste. 600.

JFO Group has opened in Wellington. The company specializes in traffic engineering and transportation planning solutions in the context of land development. JFO is located at 11924 Forest Hill Blvd., Ste. 10A.

CALENDAR

The Palm Beach County Hotel & Lodging Association will hold a meeting on Sept. 13 at noon at the Hilton Garden Inn Palm Beach Gardens, 3505 Kyoto Gardens Drive, Palm Beach Gardens. The meeting's host will be Achim Kuhn, general manager of the hotel and treasurer of the association. The meeting will also review the initiatives of Els for Autism, Gulfstream Goodwill Industries and Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County. The cost is $35 for members and their guests in advance, $40 at the door. $45 for nonmembers, who must pay in advance. For more information, call 561-882-9813 or visit hotelassociation.com

The Boca Real Estate Investment Club will present "Landlording" at the group's September 14 meeting at 7 p.m. at Renaissance Hotel Boca Raton, 200 NW 19 Street, Boca Raton. Club president David Dweck will lead the presentation. The keynote speaker will be landlord/tenant attorney Charles Simon. The cost is $20 for nonmembers, free for BRIC members. For more information, call 561-391-7325 or visit bocarealestateclub.com

RECOGNITION

The City of West Palm Beach CRA was named a finalist in the

2017 Knight Arts Challenge Miami by the Knight Foundation. The agency was recognized for its proposed art project in the city's Historic Northwest District with artist Lily Yeh.

The Learning Experience, has earned a designation of honor roll and been named a fastest-growing private company in America by "Inc." magazine's Inc. 5000 list. The education franchise is based in Boca Raton.

Shepherd Search Group has been named a fastest-growing private company in America by "Inc." magazine's Inc. 5000 list. Shepherd is an executive search and recruitment firm for the healthcare, technology, engineering and FinTech/payment industries.

Jake Huxtable has received the NFL Agent Certification. He can now represent NFL players and negotiate on their behalf. Huxtable is as associate of Cole, Scott & Kissane, in the firm's West Palm Beach office. He has experience in the areas of injury, wrongful death, construction litigation and general insurance defense, among others.

Brenda Abrams has been named to "The Best Lawyers in America" 2018 peer review guide in the field of family law. Abrams is a fellow of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Attorneys, and has served on the organization's board of managers and chair of the Amicus committee. She is past chair of the family law section of The Florida Bar, and has served as vice chair, secretary, treasurer and executive council member. Abrams has been listed in "The Best Lawyers in America" since 1987. She is part of the counsel at Shapiro, Blasi, Wasserman & Hermann.

Esther Wylen has earned the designation of Certified Professional Coder. She performs medical necessity reviews required for health care providers for Acevedo Consulting Incorporated, based in Delray Beach.

Barbara Abernathy has been named a 2017 Healthcare Provider Hero In Medicine by Palm Beach County Medical Society. Abernathy is CEO of Pediatric Oncology Support Team (POST), a local nonprofit that gives financial and emotional support to families coping with the devastating impact of their child's cancer diagnosis.

The West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority has won nine SUNsational Awards. The DDA took home three first place awards, five second place awards and one third place award. The city was recognized for its social media accounts, media, volunteer and agency collaboration programs, and community outreach.

Maria L. Sachs has received the Guglielmo Marconi Award from the Order Sons of Italy in America. She was recognized for her advocacy of offering Italian as a global language in all public schools in Florida. She also promoted a resolution to recognize October as Italian Heritage Month to honor the 1.7 million Florida citizens of Italian descent and their contributions to society. She is executive director of Innovation Florida and a former Florida state representative.

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