Firley, Moran, Freer & Eassa, CPA, P.C. has promoted RICHARD SMITH and NICOLE WOODALL to principal. Smith joined the firm in July 2015 and has dedicated more than 15 years to the public accounting profession gaining tax experience with Deloitte Tax and PricewaterhouseCoopers, according to his LinkedIn profile, and more than two years in Firley, Moran’s tax department. Prior to joining Firley, Moran, he focused much of his attention on multi-state tax services. Smith is a CPA and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA from SUNY Oswego. Woodall joined the firm in January 2017 and has more than 21 years of public accounting experience, primarily with PwC in Cleveland/Akron, Ohio and New York City, according to her LinkedIn profile. She is a CPA and earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from SUNY Oswego. 

KAITLYN TOTTEN recently joined LAUNCH as a LIFE counselor. She is a graduate of Niagara University with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and criminal justice and a minor in sociology. Before joining LAUNCH, Totten lived in Florida and worked as a direct support/overnight trainer for East Coast Habilitation Options, Inc. She worked directly with individuals with disabilities to help them become more independent. LIFE is a community habilitation program that assists individuals with developmental disabilities with becoming more independent in their daily lives. 

AUDREY CROSS has been named project manager of support services for the Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS). Prior to joining MVHS, she worked at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield in Utica as facilities manager and was also employed as project superintendent at Hayner Hoyt Corporation in Syracuse. Cross currently serves as an adjunct professor at Utica College. She earned her master’s degree in construction management, with a minor in business management, from Drexel University in Philadelphia and completed her bachelor’s degree in construction management at Utica College.

LISA PERRY has been named vascular coordinator for interventional radiology and neuroendovascular services at MVHS. She previously served as a staff registered nurse in the emergency department, operating room, post anesthesia care unit, cardiac catheterization lab, and interventional radiology at Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare. Perry also previously was nurse manager for the emergency department and telemetry department at Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton. She earned her associate degree at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, and is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Utica College.

HCR Home Care has added a new employee to its Onondaga County operations. TANASIA SHAW joins the company as a home health aide. 

SCOTT A. SHATRAW, former senior VP and chief financial officer of Utica First Insurance Company in Oriskany became company president and CEO on Jan. 1. He succeeds longtime president and CEO, RICHARD J. ZICK, who will act as executive consultant to the insurer’s board of directors. Shatraw, a graduate of Le Moyne College with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, joined Utica First Insurance in 1990 as controller. He is a CPA and a chartered property casualty underwriter. 

EVAN MOORE has joined the Syracuse branch of AXA Advisors, LLC. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Oswego University and additionally earned his life and health, Series 7 and Series 63 licenses. 

BRYN LOVEJOY-GRINNELL has joined Bousquet Holstein PLLC as of counsel in the firm’s matrimonial and family law practice group. She began her career as a domestic violence advocate at the Advocacy Center in Ithaca. Advocating for victims of domestic violence spurred her to go to law school. For the first eight years of her legal career, Lovejoy-Grinnell represented clients at the Frank H. Hiscock Legal Aid Society in family and matrimonial matters. Since starting her private practice in 2017, she has represented women and men in many different courts in Central New York. Lovejoy-Grinnell is a graduate of Cornell Law School, and earned her undergraduate degree at Harvard University. 

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York has hired EMILY WHALEN as volunteer manager. Prior to joining Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York, she gained experience as marketing director at Empire Brewing Co. and as catering manager at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. Whalen has a bachelor’s degree in communications from SUNY Cortland.