Pinckney Hugo Group, a full-service marketing communications firm, has hired KATE VERZOSA as an art director, MATT OLSEN as a talent and culture specialist, MATT WEINER as an assistant account manager, and OLIVIA WATTS as a junior motion graphics designer. Before joining Pinckney Hugo Group, Verzosa was a senior designer at Magnifi U, Inc. She also gained experience as a senior designer at another marketing organization in Central New York and as a freelance designer. Verzosa has a bachelor’s degree in communication design from the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University.

Olsen previously worked as a senior people operations associate at Hapn. He also gained experience in people operations, recruitment, and talent acquisition at organizations in New York City. Olsen has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and neuroscience from Syracuse University.

Weiner was previously an account manager at Ader, a marketing agency in Los Angeles. Prior to that, he gained experience in editing, digital marketing and social media at The Daily Walkthrough in Alexandria, Virginia. Weiner has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University at Buffalo.

Prior to joining Pinckney Hugo Group, Watts was a junior motion-graphics designer at MJH Life Sciences in Cranbury, New Jersey. She has a bachelor’s in fine arts degree in film and animation from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh recently appointed JAKE DISHAW as deputy commissioner of code enforcement and zoning administration in the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development (NBD). Dishaw will be responsible for advancing and managing the work of the Division of Code Enforcement to improve quality of life in city neighborhoods. The role includes leadership of the new Office of Zoning Administration, which moved from the joint Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency (SOCPA) to NBD in July to better manage growth in the city and county. He will provide oversight and supervision of the staff and activities involved in permitting, licensing, plan review, zoning administration, city codes, inspections, and lead-hazard reduction. Dishaw has been a part of the Syracuse Code Enforcement team since high school, when working a summer job maintaining vacant properties. He returned to Code Enforcement full-time in 2008 and has served in various roles including structural examiner, director of central permit office, and director of code enforcement. In his most recent role as director of code enforcement, Dishaw was responsible for plan review and inspection of building construction within the City of Syracuse. Dishaw is a graduate of SUNY Oswego and has been a New York State-certified code enforcement officer since 2008.