In her new role, Diaz will manage Umpqua Bank’s home lending production in Southwest Washington. She and her loan officers will help customers identify the mortgage options that best fit their lifestyle, the bank said. Additionally, she will continue her work with customers and builders on custom construction projects.
“Stephanie’s commitment to excellent customer service, her ability to form strong, strategic alliances and her demonstrated leadership skills made her a natural selection for this position” said Susan Brown, vice president and regional manager for the bank.
Diaz has more than twelve years of home lending experience. She is currently a member of the Building Industry Association and the Clark County Association of Realtors and a past Board Member of the Vancouver Downtown Association where she oversaw the Spring Clean Up and the Flower Basket Project.
KRISTEN TUREK
Kristen Turek has joined the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington to serve as the organization’s donor and nonprofit services officer.
Turek’s responsibilities include enhancing existing services to increase the impact that donors, nonprofits and businesses have upon the community, the organization said.
“Kristen will be able to hit the ground running, given her depth of expertise related to our core programs and services”, said Community Foundation President Richard Melching. “She is highly qualified for this position and we are grateful to be able to add her to our team.”
Turek spent the past ten years at the Marin Community Foundation in Novato, California. She began her tenure there as a community outreach associate, was promoted to philanthropic services coordinator, and served as senior philanthropic advisor for the past three years. In her most recent role, she was responsible for managing a portfolio of 150 clients with assets totaling $64 million with a focus on donor advised funds, as well as serving as the lead officer for a large family foundation.
MIKE BEVARD
Mike Bevard has joined WheelKraft NW as a sales manager.
WheelKraft NW is a Vancouver-based Automobile Wheel Repair company currently operating five mobile wheel repair vans serving the Vancouver/Portland market.
Bevard brings more than 20 years experience in the automotive collision and refinish field. He also brings a solid outside sales background to the team at WheelKraft NW, the company said.
In his new role, WheelKraft said Bevard’s focus will be to solidify the brand in automobile dealerships, tire stores and collision centers in the area.
STEPHEN AARON
Stephen Aaron (not pictured) of Aaron & Associates, a Vancouver-based private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services Inc., has ranked in the top 25 percent of a recent Ameriprise financial advisor client relationship study.
The survey, conducted by an independent research organization, provided Ameriprise clients with the opportunity to rate their advisor in a number of areas. More than 3,700 Ameriprise advisors participated in the survey.
STACY FROST, CEM GOKCORA & KATHY LOMBARDI
Architectural and environmental consulting firm Maul Foster & Alongi Inc. (MFA) recently hired three new project engineers at its Vancouver corporate headquarters. Recently joining the firm are Stacy Frost, Cem Gokcora, and Kathy Lombardi.
Frost most recently worked at HDJ Design Group, where he provided business development, civil engineering, and project management for private and port sectors. A graduate of Oregon State University with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering, Frost has received several notable recognitions and awards, including Young Engineer of the Year in 2006 from the Oregon Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and an Oregon Stater Award to be presented in February 2012; he is also a graduate of Leadership of Clark County.
Gokcora’s areas of expertise include project management, land-use entitlement, and site and land development engineering, the firm said. Before MFA, Gokcora worked for firms in Oregon as well as in Turkey and recently worked on entitlement processes for large retail projects. Gokcora received a master of science in engineering and technology management from Portland State University and a bachelor of science in civil engineering from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey.
Lombardi served as a senior environmental program director with a background in environmental and water resource engineering before joining MFA, working most recently for the Natural Resource Conservation Service in Salt Lake City, Utah, on projects involving stream and watershed restoration. Before joining MFA, Lombardi worked for design consulting firms in the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest. Lombardi received a master of science degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin, and a bachelor of science in environmental engineering from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California.
