Businesses and organizations share news about new hires and locations, promotions, accolades
Accounting
CPAs Dan Leyes and Seth Timmons joined Kruggel Lawton CPAs as directors in the firm’s business valuation and tax practice areas. Leyes, who is based in the firm’s South Bend office, is the new director of valuation services. He also is a certified valuation analyst. Timmons, who previously owned Blossomland Accounting, is based in the firm’s St. Joseph, Michigan, office as a tax director. The firm hired staff accountants: Bryan Moreno in Goshen; Stella DiMarzio in St. Joseph, Michigan; and Angela Taubman and Trinity Wiseman in South Bend. Stephanie Weber was hired as a senior staff accountant in Goshen. The firm also announced its 2025 interns: Sam Frost, Elkhart; Abigail Bosch, Gracie Riegsecker and McGregor Wade in Goshen; Brady Layher, Ryan Afton and Alaina Todd in Portage, Michigan; Cody Plisky, Brian Schoonover, Maddie Kreft, Drew Gingerich and Gabe Duke in South bend; and Ethan Fynewever in St. Joseph, Michigan.
Kayla Gentry, Ryin Ott and Reid Schroeder joined Michigan City-based CLH, CPAs & Consultants as staff accountants. Ashley Holt joined as an associate. Stephanie Russell was promoted to director of operations. Russell joined CLH in 2000 through the Michigan City High School inter-cooperative work program.
Amber Bol, a finance project manager in Valparaiso, launched BooXkeeping.
Banking
Kevin Kickert joined Centier Bank as branch manager of the Crown Point North location. He replaces Christine Patterson, who moved to her hometown location in Lowell as the assistant vice president, branch manager. Kelly Blieden of Michigan City joined the bank as vice president and trust officer at its downtown Valparaiso branch.
Darrick Weeks replaced retiring Bob Falk as president and CEO of Purdue Federal Credit Union based in West Lafayette. Falk worked at the credit union for 22 years. Weeks was chosen successor after a nationwide search. He most recently served as president and CEO of Marine Credit Union based in Wisconsin.
Dan Nagle was appointed a senior commercial loan officer at Notre Dame Federal Credit Union.
Chandra Ostrander was hired by Burns Harbor-based Allegius Credit Union as its vice president of human resources and training. She previously served in senior roles at the Portage Township YMCA, Real Life Community Church and Horizon Bank.
April Ratcliff joined Michigan City-based Horizon Bank as a senior personal trust officer. Previously, she was in private legal practice as an associate attorney in Tinley Park, Illinois.
Ryan Hahn joined Goshen-based Interra Credit Union as a financial adviser.
Katie Cortes, manager of Everwise Credit Union’s Chesterton and Valparaiso South branches, was selected the winner of the 2024 David R. Sage Exemplary Leadership and Service Award. The South Bend-based credit union awards the honor each year. Cortes joined Everwise in 2018 as a teller.
Commercial real estate
Crown Point-based Latitude Commercial announced the addition of Rob Beardsley and Austin Abbring to its team. Beardsley is an associate broker. Abbring is a maintenance technician.
Construction
La Porte-based Larson-Danielson welcomed new employees in 2024: Mark Bailey as a Class A CDL driver; Andy Musgrave as a full-time mechanic; Elisha Krauth as a part-time receptionist; Thomas Klochan as a safety coordinator; and Mark Gott as a project manager. The construction company also made the following promotions: Stacy Bibian to project engineer; and Jen Waltz transitioned to PA department manager. The general contractor honored several employees for exceptional performance: Jen Waltz, the Marilyn Alm Award, established in 2021 for an office manager who retired after 35 years; Jeff Reed, John Simmons Award, created for a field supervisor who passed away in 2005; and Brett Schacht, a project superintendent; Cory Buckmaster, a laborer; and carpenters, Tim Kearney and Phil Piontek, are the first to be recognized with a Star Safety Crew award.
Garret Lytle, a concrete mixer truck driver for Ozinga, earned third place in the National Mixer Driver Championship in October. Lytle, who is based in Gary, also finished third in the 2024 Indiana Mixer Driver Competition.
Economic development
Crown Point-based Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority hired Courtney Kvachkoff as controller and AJ Bytnar as director of economic development. Bytnar previously was the executive director of redevelopment for the city of Gary and the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority. Kvachkoff came from Indianapolis-based Onebridge.
Kay Nelson, environmental affairs director at the Northwest Indiana Forum, was recognized for her dedication to the Indiana VW Trust Fund Committee on Oct. 29.
Douglas Kiehl was named the senior vice president of workforce development and chief technology strategist for BioCrossroads. Patrick McGrew joined Conexus Indiana as senior vice president of talent strategy and programming. Casey Osterkamp joined TechPoint as senior vice president and chief operating officer. All three organizations are part of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership based in Indianapolis.
Cory Pringle of Eat This Page, Miranda Bueno of M.E.X. Snack Cart, and Rachel and Nathan Kain of Stockroom East won more than $1,000 grants each at the South Bend Awesome Fund’s November quarterly meeting.
Vince Parisi, president of NIPSCO, was among 24 new directors of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce board.
Education
Alejandra Castillo was appointed Purdue University Northwest’s senior fellow for economic development. She most recently served as the 23rd U.S. assistant secretary of commerce for economic development.
Greg Deason was named the Purdue Research Foundation’s new chief operating officer. Chad Pittman was named president and CEO to replace Brian Edelman whose retirement was effective Feb. 1.
Rebekah Arevalo was honored by Ivy Tech Lake County with the Distinguished Alumni Award. Arevalo is Valparaiso University’s assistant vice president for Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives, chief of staff and board liaison. Powers Health was honored with the Benefactor Award during a ceremony last fall in Indianapolis.
Arun Agrawal, a scholar of environmental politics and sustainable development, joined the University of Notre Dame as the inaugural director of the Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative.
IU Northwest alumna Amber Clement published her debut novel, “Fortune’s Kiss,” in November by Union Square & Co., a publisher owned by Barnes & Noble.
The Creekside Early Learning Center opened in Portage.
Shaun Sahlhoff was hired as Valparaiso University’s executive director of external relations.
Brian Pappas was named chancellor of the Indiana University South Bend campus effective July 1. He will replace former Chancellor Susan Elrod, who retired in December.
Anthony Butler was appointed Appleseed Childhood Education’s first executive director. The Jasper County-based nonprofit focuses on increasing the availability of affordable, quality child care for Rensselaer and surrounding communities.
Engineering
RT Patterson, an engineering firm with nearly 70 years of experience, signed a long-term lease at 8585 Broadway in Merrillville, expanding its operations in Indiana.
Financial services
Melisa Hajek is the operations manager for TrueWealth Advising Group based in Crown Point.
Government
U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan was elected by the House Democratic Caucus to serve on the House Appropriations Committee.
Everette Fitzgerald was invited to become a case administrator at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Hammond after an internship through the Model Intern Diversity Pilot Program and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Jason Jablonski of Mishawaka, regional pharmacy director for Community Health Systems, which is the parent company of Northwest Health La Porte, Porter and Starke, was reappointed to the Indiana Board of Pharmacy. His term will end Sept. 30, 2028.
The Honorable Jeff Balon of Valparaiso, Porter County sheriff, was appointed to the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board. His term will expire Dec. 31, 2026.
Valerie Rosenblum of Valparaiso, broker associate with McColly Real Estate, was appointed to the Indiana Real Estate Commission. Her term will expire Sept. 30, 2028.
Bharat Barai of Munster, an oncologist and hematologist with Premier Oncology Hematology Associates, was reappointed to the state’s Medical Licensing Board. His term will end June 30, 2028.
Ronald Hellenthal of South Bend, who represents aquatic ecologists, was reappointed to the state’s Pesticide Review Board. He will serve until April 30, 2026.
The city of Valparaiso named Paul Sommer as its Good Neighbor recipient for 2024. The Mayor’s Youth Council named Evan and Ryan Quackenbush as Valparaiso’s Rising Stars.
Community Corrections Custody Officer Alan Andrews was honored by the Lake County Council for the life-saving measures he took in November to aid an unconscious male resident living at the facility.
Health care
Janice Ryba, CEO of St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart, was awarded the 2024 Distinguished Service Award by the Indiana Hospital Association. One Indiana hospital CEO earns the award each year.
Becky Fletcher was named executive director of Senior1Care’s Mishawaka office. Lori Allen, a registered nurse, was promoted to executive director of client and caregiver experience.
The Franciscan Physician Network welcomed new staff, including: Arshia Mohiuddin, an internal and pediatric medicine nurse practitioner in Munster; Dr. Manoj Duggal, cardiologist, in Crown Point; Dr. Wajeeh Bakhsh, orthopedic spine surgeon, in Chesterton and Michigan City; Dr. Jasmine Vayalil, a family medicine physician, in Dyer; and Dr. Tansel Turgut, heart specialist, in Michigan City. Dr. Radhika Chillarige relocated to the Crown Point Pediatric Health Center, 1141 S. Indiana Ave., from the St. John Health Center.
Northwest Medical Group in La Porte hired a husband-and-wife team: Dr. Erika Pettis, obstetrician and gynecologist at Northwest Medical Group – Women’s Health, 1509 State St.; and Dr. Jaron Pettis, general surgeon at Northwest Medical Group – General Surgery, 1331 State St.
Brandon Cosby was named the chief financial officer for Northwest Health’s hospitals in La Porte and Starke counties.
Crown Point-based Prestige 2.0, a regenerative medicine clinic opened a new facility at 7134 Calumet Ave., Hammond.
Helper’s Heart Home Care recently opened new headquarters in Hammond.
Michele Lange was promoted to vice president of human resources at Hammond-based Alverno Laboratories. She started at the company as an intern in 2006.
Hospitality
Chef Joe Farina and wife Yvonne planned to launch Rocco’s Tavern at 827 Franklin St. in Michigan City.
Laura Verheaghe, owner of Red Cup Café, moved the local favorite to a new location at 117 Broadway Ave. in Chesterton.
Insurance
Gary Shearer, president and CEO of Fort Wayne-based Physicians Health Plan of Northern Indiana, retired in January. PHP was acquired by Priority Health, a Michigan-based nonprofit health plan that serves Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, in December. Ross Hensley, chief sales officer for PHP, will assume expanded market leader responsibilities.
Law
Lake County Superior Court Judge Stephen Scheele replaced retiring Judge Terry Crone on the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Elizabeth Klesmith was made partner at South Bend-based THK Law. She joined the firm in 2014.
Tolbert & Tolbert, a Gary-based law firm, received the Top Supporter of the Year Award from the Dunlap School of Karate in Gary.
Manufacturing
Andy Fayyad joined Hitachi Global Air Power as vice president of operations at its Michigan City location. Fayyad will be responsible for continuing the company’s operations transformation at the Sullair air compressor manufacturing facility.
Jane Cronin was appointed to the Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. board of directors. Cronin is senior vice president of finance of The Sherwin-Williams Co. She will join the board’s audit committee. Cleveland-Cliffs has locations in Burns Harbor, East Chicago, Gary and New Carlisle.
Media
Becky Mateja, owner of P&H Printing and Vision Quest in Whiting, launched “Good Day NWI” on multiple platforms, including social media, cable and podcasts.
Nonprofit
The Unity Foundation of La Porte County’s founding President Maggi Spartz will retire at the end of 2025.
Lorann Lombardini was chosen to lead Whiting nonprofit Angels Honor Guard, which provides resources for drug prevention, mental health and animals.
United Way Northwest Indiana appointed Chris White, former publisher of the Times of Northwest Indiana, as its new CEO.
State Rep. Earl Harris Jr. (D-East Chicago) was re-elected vice chair of the board of Latino Legislative Leaders, a national, nonpartisan organization comprised of Latino state legislators from around the nation.
Kasandra Tenbarge of Chesterton was hired as First Things First Porter County’s associate director.
Kristina Knowski was chosen as the newest South Shore poster artist, working with Humane Indiana to create a poster to help celebrate and protect the Region’s wildlife.
Retail
The Package Depot and Hot Body Pilates studio opened in The Meadows Shopping Center in Portage.
Cricket Wireless plans to open a location at 6124 Broadway in Merrillville, expanding the Atlanta-based wireless service provider’s footprint in the Region.
Technology
Elkhart-based Surf Internet appointed Heather Brenneman Miles, an Elkhart native, vice president and corporate counsel. Patrick Wheeland transitioned to the new role of chief information officer, and Chad Burgh was hired as vice president of network engineering.
Polygon Composites Technology promoted Bree Katulak to president. She joined Walkerton-based Polygon as chief financial officer in the fall 2022.
Gerardo Rios of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, was made a delivery drive for Pulse Technology, which has a location in Merrillville. He will serve customers in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
Utilities
Vince Parisi, president and COO at Merrillville-based NIPSCO, joined the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s 200-member board of directors. His term will continue through 2027.
Wellness
Eric Greenhill and Mike Kerr re-opened Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs at a new location at 7208 W. 132nd Ave. in Cedar Lake.
Troy and Sandra Turner expanded Right at Home services to Gary. They started serving Merrillville in 2020. The franchise offers in-home care for seniors and adults with disabilities. •
Want to share your employee news with our readers? We consider press releases about new hires, promotions and other company news for Around the Region in each issue. Email announcements and headshots to news@nwindianabusiness.com.
Read more stories from the current issue of Northwest Indiana Business Magazine.
