North Bay professionals news from Summit State Bank, Wright Contracting, WX Brands, Napa Valley Grapegrowers and more
Barbara Gradman has been promoted to vice president by Summit State Bank, based in Santa Rosa.
Gradman was corporate secretary and executive assistant to the president.
“We are fortunate to have Barbara’s knowledge and expertise of more than 15 years working as an executive assistant to C-Level executives, the past seven of which she has worked at Summit State Bank,” said Brian Reed, president and CEO of Summit State Bank. “I feel fortunate to work closely with Barbara and appreciate the continuity she brings to the executive suite. She is well respected and an integral part of our team.”
Prior to joining Summit, Gradman worked for the Law Offices of Arnold & Porter (formerly Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk and Rabkin), in San Francisco. She is a graduate of Empire Business College.
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Doug Marshall has been named Wright Contracting’s operations manager, based at the commercial general contracting firm’s Santa Rosa headquarters.
Marshall has been with Wright Contracting for 10 years and in the construction industry for 15 years overall, the firm stated. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in construction management from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
Most recently Marshall has held the role of project manager, managing school, winery, and health care projects in Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties. In his new role, the company stated that Marshall will continue to manage select projects, currently the Cardinal Newman High School new classroom building project.
Also, David Hamilton recently joined Wright Contracting as a project engineer, upon completion of a Bachelor of Science in construction management from CSU East Bay.
Hamilton interned for Wright Contracting during the summer of 2019. He is currently working on Wright Contracting’s Montage Luxury Resort project in Healdsburg.
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Scott Nava has joined WX Brands as trade marketing manager.
The Novato-based company stated that Nava has a 20-year career in marketing/advertising with a specialty in brand management, off and on-premise trade and customer marketing. Nava has previously held positions at Jackson Family Wines, Treasury Wine Estates and E. & J. Gallo Winery. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies from Texas A&M University, an MBA from Sonoma State University, and is a certified sommelier.
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Larry Hyde of Hyde Vineyards is the recipient of the 2020 Napa Valley Grower of the Year award from the nonprofit trade organization Napa Valley Grapegrowers.
Hyde began his career in Napa Valley nearly 50 years ago working for a variety of vineyards, gaining experience in both farming and winemaking before purchasing his own property in Carneros in 1979. The group stated that since then, his original 72 acres has grown to over 200. There are currently more than 15 vineyard designated wines produced from Hyde Vineyards.
He was a founding member of the group that petitioned for the Los Carneros American Viticultural Area and was the founding director of the Carneros Quality Alliance. He has been a director of the Napa County Farm Bureau. More recently, he served on the board of the Napa Valley Grapegrowers in 2011 and represented the trade group on the Napa County Pest and Disease District Board for nearly a decade.
Nominations for the Grower of the Year by the more than 700-member organization come from the association membership, and the recipient is chosen by a special selection committee comprised of past presidents and current committee members.
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Alina Varona has joined College of Marin as dean of Workforce Development and Career Education.
The college stated that she will be managing career-readiness programs and working with community businesses to help them meet their employment needs.
Most recently, Varona was the associate dean of career pathways and the Strong Workforce Program at City College of San Francisco, and before that at Skyline College as the faculty coordinator for their Career Advancement Academy for four-and-a-half years. She will complete her doctorate in education at the University of California, Davis, this summer and is focusing on issues of equity within the California Community Colleges system.
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Linda Pardini of Raymond James & Associates in Santa Rosa has been honored by Forbes as a 2020 Top Women’s Wealth Advisor. Announced on the Forbes website, the list recognizes advisers who meet qualitative and quantitative criteria conducted by SHOOK research.
Says branch manager Nathan Clakley, “Linda has consistently provided exceptional insight and support for our team. We congratulate her on this recognition and consider it a testament to the outstanding service she offers our clients.”
Pardini has been with Raymond James & Associates since 2018.
According to the firm, SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative data, rating thousands of wealth advisers with a minimum of 7 years of experience and weighing factors like revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, industry experience and best practices learned through telephone and in-person interviews. Portfolio performance is not a criteria due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. Research Summary (as of April 2019): 32,000 nominations were received based on thresholds (9,654 women) and 1,000 won.
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Greg Steele is the newest member of Exchange Bank’s board of directors.
The Santa Rosa-based bank stated that he has served in leadership roles for several local Sonoma County start-up companies including Advanced Fibre Communications and Enphase Energy. He most recently served as vice president of operations and chief of staff for Bossa Nova Robotics in San Francisco.
Steele has chaired the United Way of Sonoma County, the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts and is currently on the board of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa and serves on the Caritas Village Capital Campaign Board.
