Napa’s Wine Country Radio names GM; Santa Rosa’s Exchange Bank picks chief credit officer
Melissa Galliani has joined Wine Country Radio in the Napa Valley as general manager.
Most recently, Galliani was vice president of sales for San Francisco’s Cumulus Media responsible for stations KGO-AM and KSFO-AM. She began her career at KGO Radio in 2000 as an account executive, later serving in business development at NBC affiliate KNTV, local sales manager for CBS’ KFRC and KSFO’s local sales manager, Wine Country Radio stated.
Galliani has a bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University and an MBA from Dominican University of California in strategic leadership.
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Mary Leonard-Wilson, senior vice president and senior credit officer of Exchange Bank in Santa Rosa, has been promoted to chief credit officer, reporting directly to Troy Sanderson, president and CEO.
“Mary and I have been peers in community banking in Northern California for many, many years,” said Sanderson. “Her reputation was beyond reproach back then, and that reputation has only been surpassed by my actual experience working with her here at Exchange Bank. We are very lucky to have her in this role and on our team>”
Before joining Exchange Bank, Leonard-Wilson served in lending and credit capacities with several independent community banks in the San Francisco Bay Area. Before that, she held a wide range of positions managing teams of lenders in New York, Chicago and New Jersey..
In 1994, Leonard-Wilson relocated to Napa Valley where she joined National Bank of the Redwoods as head of commercial lending, assuming additional responsibilities as senior loan officer and chief credit officer until the bank’s merger with Westamerica Bank in 2005. In 2006, Leonard-Wilson co-founded Presidio Bank. It merged with Heritage Bank of Commerce in October 2019.
Leonard-Wilson holds a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University in English.
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Cruz Avila has been named chief executive officer of Alcohol Justice, a San Rafael-based alcohol industry watchdog.
Avila replaced Bruce Lee Livingston, who had led the nonprofit since 2006. avila has been the chief executive of Poverello House, a shelter and social services agency in Fresno.
Alcohol Justice was formed in 1987.
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Kerry Philipovitch has joined the board of directors of Intervine, an international wine and program management supplier servicing airlines and the travel sector based in Napa.
She most recently served as senior vice president – customer experience for American Airlines.
“It’s cliché, but we are absolutely thrilled to have Kerry join our Board!” said Intervine CEO Ed Matovcik. “There are a lot of executives with her experience, but few with her intellectual curiosity, emotional IQ and passion for wine. She’s a unicorn in this business and we are so proud to have her on our team.”
Intervine also announced that Sandra Pineau-Boddison has been named Board Chair after serving on the board for two years. Pineau-Boddison has over 30 years' airline experience, serving in key corporate leadership roles, most recently as senior vice president, customers at United Airlines. She is currently an independent consultant and partner with The Hayward Partnership and President and board member of the International Flight Services Association Foundation.
Headquartered in Napa, it became 100% employee-owned in 2018. It manages the full wine programs of several airlines including JetBlue, WestJet and the three-cabin service of American Airlines flights.
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Beth Reizman has been chosen as board president of the Vivalon board of directors. Vivalon, formerly Whistlestop, has served as Marin County’s hub for healthy aging for 67 years as the largest nonprofit serving older adults and people with disabilities.
Prior to becoming board president, Reizman served on Vivalon’s board as vice president for three years and as a board member for a total of six years. Former board president Dennis D. Ryan will remain on the Vivalon Board of Directors and Executive Committee as immediate past president after serving as president for seven years.
Along with the appointment of Reizman as Vivalon’s board president, Stan Moore was named Vivalon’s new board vice president and Cynthia Wuthmann was named new board secretary. Prior to their new positions on the Vivalon Board of Directors, Moore served as a Vivalon board member for nearly two years and on the finance and audit committees for seven years, and Wuthmann served as a Vivalon board member for eight years, including as board secretary and fundraising/marketing committee chair.
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Jason Martin has been hired as chief of the Napa County Fire Department.
Former county Fire Chief Geoff Belyea left his job on Sept. 12 to become assistant chief with the American Canyon Fire Protection District. Martin has served as interim chief since then.
He began his Cal Fire career in 1988 and moved to Napa County in 1995 for a firefighting job. He was promoted to Napa County Fire Department assistant fire chief in 2019.
Martin’s appointment comes with a promotion to deputy chief of Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit.
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Richard Celli is the new chief of the investigations bureau at the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.
Celli replaces Cecile Focha. The agency stated she retired after leading the division for nearly three years.
He previously held the position of supervising District Attorney investigator, came to the district attorney’s office in January 2018 from the Santa Rosa Police Department where he had worked for 27 years, retiring at the rank of sergeant. As a Santa Rosa police officer, Celli was an operator and supervisor of the SWAT unit, a traffic unit supervisor, a field training officer, and a narcotics detective and sergeant.
Celli holds a Bachelor of Science degree in administration of justice from Sacramento State University.
