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.

Alzheimer’s Association, Central New York Chapter has named MARTHA HUTCHINSON the organization’s community engagement manager, a newly created position on its programs and services team. She will oversee the chapter’s volunteer program, grassroots outreach, and engagement of diverse and underserved communities. Hutchinson will also direct ALZTOGETHER, the chapter’s social engagement program for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia. She joined the chapter in 2016 as its volunteer and outreach coordinator. Previously, Hutchinson was the youth and community programs manager for the Peninsula School of Art in Door County, Wisconsin. Hutchinson, a native of Ellison Bay, Wisconsin, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.