HUNT Engineers and Architects has named VP CHRIS BOND as its new president. He takes over the leadership of the Horseheads–based firm from Dan Bower, who will remain as CEO and chief strategic officer. Bond is only the third president of the 150-employee company which was founded by Robert Hunt in the wake of the devastating 1972 Corning floods. Bond graduated Clarkson University in 1988 and joined HUNT’s Transportation Division — then led by Chuck Franzese. He honed his skills as a structural engineer predominantly on bridges in upstate New York and by 1995 was working on a variety of building structures. In 1993, Bond earned his professional engineering license, and, subsequently, rose within HUNT to director of structural engineering in 2001, principal (2004), corporate secretary (2006), and VP (2015). 

C&S announced that the following two employees have been promoted to new roles in its Syracuse office.

JEFFREY PALIN is now a VP, managing C&S’s industrial and private facilities architecture and engineering practice and agency construction management group. He has been with C&S for more than 30 years, managing a wide variety of facility design and construction projects involving structural and civil design, and construction.

ERIC QUINN has been promoted to chief information technology officer. He has been with C&S for more than 30 years, starting in engineering and transitioning to technology and support. Quinn oversees the technological vision of the C&S and leads the Q Ware solution team. 

CHA Consulting, Inc. announced that JOHN URBAN has joined the firm’s electric distribution design group in Syracuse as an assistant systems analyst. He is an experienced utility systems specialist and production technician with a background in geographic information systems. He has also worked as a new construction, NESC violation, and quality control inspector for CATV installations. Urban has a bachelor’s degree in geography from Villanova University.

Solvay Bank has hired ROB HILL as assistant VP, branch manager of its Cicero branch. He was previously the branch manager of the bank’s North Syracuse branch. Hill has been with Solvay Bank since 2011. 

Tompkins Trust Company has promoted GREGORY MITCHELL to officer, assistant controller. Mitchell has been with the banking company since 2016 and has four years of banking experience overall. In his role, he will prepare and maintain financial statements on a monthly and quarterly basis. Mitchell will also support Tompkins Trust’s controller in other accounting and finance functions. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Siena College. Tompkins Trust has also promoted DEBORAH TRACY to officer, assistant manager of the bank’s Dryden branch. She has been with the company since 2007 and has 16 years of banking experience overall. In her role, Tracy manages daily customer service, reports, audits, staff scheduling, new accounts, loans, and staff coaching. She holds an associate degree in business.

DAVID M. CATALFAMO has been named Oneida County’s director of economic development. He will be the lead on all of Oneida County’s economic-development efforts, including downtown development; small-business expansion, creation, innovation and incubation; tourism; education; cybersecurity; unmanned aircraft systems; and Griffiss International Airport. Catalfamo has 20 years of New York State government experience, including both the legislative and executive branches. He has spent the last dozen years working as a communications and economic development consultant with the Dilenschneider Group, Capitol Public Strategies, and Park Strategies. Catalfamo is a graduate of SUNY Albany. 

ROZA KARABANOV, a family nurse practitioner, has joined the MVHS Little Falls Medical Office and has admitting privileges at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica. Karabanov has worked as a staff nurse with MVHS at the St. Luke’s Campus in Utica since 2008, provided training to new graduate nurses, and served as a preceptor for Utica College nursing students. Before MVHS, she worked as a caregiver at the Resource Center for Independent Living in Herkimer. Karabanov received her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in nursing from SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Utica. She completed her associate degree in nursing at St. Elizabeth College of Nursing in Utica. 

ANNE B. RUFFER has been named managing partner at Mackenzie Hughes — the first woman to lead the law firm in its 135-year history. Ruffer, in her 11th year on the firm’s executive committee, will serve as chair of the committee and succeeds Stephen T. Helmer, who served in the role since 2008. Ruffer, who joined Mackenzie Hughes in 1987, focuses her practice on estate planning, which includes wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health-care proxies, living wills; estate and trust administration; special-needs planning; estate litigation; guardianships; elder law; and long-term care planning. She has been recognized for her pro-bono work in the community by receiving the Onondaga County Bar Association’s Distinguished Pro Bono Award and the New York State Bar Association’s President’s Pro Bono Service Attorney Award. Ruffer holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a juris doctorate from Syracuse University College of Law.

TEAL JOHNSON has been promoted to associate at Melvin & Melvin PLLC, following her admission to the New York State Bar. Johnson graduated from the Syracuse University College of Law and has been working in the collections and creditors rights and commercial litigation practices of Melvin & Melvin. Johnson earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota. As an associate attorney at Melvin & Melvin, she will continue her practice in collections and creditors’ rights and commercial litigation.