JOHN FURNER has been named facilities plant operations manager at the St. Elizabeth Medical Center (SEMC) Campus of the Mohawk Valley Health System. He has been an SEMC employee since 1999, serving as an electrician. Since 2000, Furner has served as maintenance supervisor and was assigned to construction management. He received his associate degree in electrical service technology from Mohawk Valley Community College and in 1998, he became a journeyman electrician and received a master electrician license in 2008.

JATIN PATEL, M.D. has joined the St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency Program as a faculty member and has privileges at St. Elizabeth Medical Center. The Residency Program is an affiliate of SEMC and the Mohawk Valley Health System. He previously was employed as assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Southern Illinois University. Patel earned his medical degree from Ross University in Dominica, West Indies, and New Brunswick, New Jersey. He completed his family medicine residency at Southern Illinois University and his bachelor’s degree in mathematics, with minors in biology and chemistry, from the University of Illinois. Patel is board certified in family medicine.

Menter, Rudin & Trivelpiece, P.C. has hired RAJA N. SEKHARAN as an associate. He is a 1993 graduate of the Valparaiso University School of Law. Sekharan went on to earn his master of laws in taxation degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. Sekharan is a member of the firm’s business restructuring, bankruptcy, and creditors’ rights practice groups and also with the municipal law practice group.

RONNIE WHITE, JR. has joined the litigation department of Mackenzie Hughes LLP. He previously worked with the Onondaga County Department of Law since 2013. White is a founding member of the William Herbert Johnson Bar Association of Central New York, the region’s only African American Bar Association. He holds a juris doctorate and a certificate in technology commercialization from the Syracuse University College of Law, and two bachelor’s degrees from Georgia State University.

DEAN J. DIPILATO has joined Mackenzie Hughes as a partner. With 18 years of experience as a litigator, he has worked at large law firms in Boston and New York City, as well as small firms. DiPilato also has served as an assistant general counsel with Fresenius Medical Care, as well as a law clerk to a U.S. District Court Judge. He has taught numerous seminars on the topic of electronic discovery and is a featured speaker on the subject. Additionally, DiPilato will also be teaching the subject as an adjunct professor at the Syracuse University College of Law. He holds a juris doctorate from the Columbia University Law School and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. 

JOSEPH P. MORAWSKI recently joined Melvin & Melvin PLLC as a family law and QDRO attorney. He previously practiced with Gordon & Morawski of Syracuse with a concentration in legal matters affecting families for more than 10 years. Morawski graduated from Syracuse University College of Law.

AIMEE TESTA has returned to real estate as a licensed real-estate salesperson after taking some time off. She will be joining the HUNT Real Estate ERA office in Liverpool.

After six months as the general manager for Ben Weitsman of New Castle, a division of Owego–based Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling, the company has promoted GEORGE OSTENDORF to corporate VP of the firm’s Western Region. Prior to joining Ben Weitsman of New Castle in the summer of 2017, he spent just under a decade with scrap company Metalico. During that time, Ostendorf managed Metalico’s operations in Rochester and Buffalo, selling non-ferrous metals and building dealer and industrial relationships. Five years ago, he moved to Austin, Texas to open his own yard, Worth Metal Recycling, and will now be returning to the Northeast.