Names and changes: Business recognitions and promotions for the week of May 26, 2024

Katherine Cennamo and Wendy Jacobson have been honored with emerita status by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The emerita title may be conferred on retired faculty members who are recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands in recognition of exemplary service to the university.

Cennamo, professor of instructional design and technology in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, has been a member of the Tech community for more than 27 years. Her scholarship focused on the application of learning theories to instructional products, in particular, video-based learning. She was actively engaged in extramural research, participating with a research team that received more than $2 million in external funding, researching instructional design applications and the use of technology in teaching.

Cennamo was the author or co-author of more than 47 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and reviews. She also wrote or co-wrote five textbooks on the integration of technology into the classroom and instructional design.

Cennamo taught and lectured in graduate courses and advised students on their doctoral dissertations. She received many professional honors and awards, including the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award and XCaliber Certificate of Excellence, both from Tech.

She received her bachelor’s degree from Tech, a master’s degree from the University of Arizona, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Jacobson, associate professor of landscape architecture in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design, has been a member of the Tech community since 1991. She taught design studios and lectured in both undergraduate and graduate-level courses. She directed many bachelor’s and master’s degree students, of whom 12 were recipients of the annual Stanley Abbott Award for best senior project and thesis.

Jacobson shared her knowledge of community planning and design nationally by authoring papers and presenting her work at the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture annual meetings. In addition, she taught many outreach and engagement studios to historically disadvantaged communities, resulting in seven community commendations.

Jacobson received her bachelor’s degree from Dalhousie University and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph.

Zachary Easton has been named the H.E. and Elizabeth F. Alphin Professor of Agriculture and Life Sciences by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. Easton is a professor of biological systems engineering in the College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension specialist.

The Alphin professorship was established in 1995 through a gift from retired Army Col. Horace E. Alphin, a member of the Virginia Tech Class of 1934, and his wife, Elizabeth, to further scholarly endeavors in the area of agriculture and life sciences. The term of the professorship is five years, with the potential for reappointment.

A member of the Virginia Tech community since 2011, Easton’s scholarship focuses on hydrology, water quality, water management, and non-point source pollution. His work has achieved enduring impacts in applications including best management practices for Virginia agriculture, the enhancement of the Chesapeake Bay, and the protection of the watershed that provides drinking water to New York City.

Easton has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles and more than 200 abstracts, Extension publications, and other scholarly publications.

He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Cornell University.

The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors has named Riley Fitzgerald, assistant professor of aerospace and ocean engineering in the College of Engineering, the Ryan and Krista Frederic Junior Faculty Fellow.

The endowment supports the work of faculty in the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering to generate new interest in space-related engineering challenges. Fitzgerald will serve as the Frederic Junior Faculty Fellow for a five-year term.

In his two years at Tech, Fitzgerald has built a research group of eight graduate researchers and has graduated seven directly advised master’s degree students. He has also advised more than a dozen undergraduate research students for academic credit. He was nominated for a 2024 Annual Academic Advising Award.

Fitzgerald is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He received a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Matthew Hicks, associate professor of computer science in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been named the CACI Faculty Fellow in Cyber Security by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The CACI Faculty Fellowship was established to attract and retain leading scholars in the College of Engineering. Recipients hold the fellowship for five years.

Hicks, a member of the Tech community since 2017, conducts research, teaches, and mentors students working at the intersection of computer architecture, computer security, and embedded systems. His research contributions span hardware and embedded system security, intermittent computation on energy harvesting devices, and microarchitecture-level security.

His publication record includes 24 papers at the most competitive conferences in his field. He is the recipient of two early career awards from federal funding agencies — the National Science Foundation’s Early Career Faculty Development Program (CAREER) award and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Young Faculty Award.

He has been part of $10.2 million in externally funded research, with a personal share of $3.9 million. He was a recipient of an R&D World Top 100 award and a Top Picks in Hardware and Embedded Security award from IEEE as well as an IEEE Security and Privacy best paper award.

Hicks regularly teaches cybersecurity courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida and his master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was a postdoctoral scholar and lecturer at the University of Michigan from 2013-16.

Nicole Terrill has been named a voting member of the Roanoke College Board of Trustees after two years as co-chair of the Parent Leadership Council.

Terrill has a Bachelor of Arts in English and sociology from Roanoke College and a Master of Public Health from Columbia University’s Mailman School. She has a working background in health care administration, project management and education, and was a visiting instructor in Roanoke College’s Sociology and Public Health Studies Department during the past academic year.

In addition, Terrill has served on the board of directors for a variety of community organizations, including the Roanoke Adolescent Health Partnership, YMCA of Roanoke Valley, Junior League of the Roanoke Valley and the Roanoke Valley Garden Club. She currently serves on the Pediatric Family Advisory Council for The Johns Hopkins Hospital and is a senior warden at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Roanoke.

Bank of Botetourt has announced the promotion of Katie Farmer to branch manager of its Salem location and the transition of Kristina Lima to manager of its Bonsack location.

Farmer has been in the industry for more than 23 years and will be transferring from the Cave Spring location, where she has worked as head teller for three years.

Farmer attended high school in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Hong Kong. She furthered her education at Hollins University, earning her history and elementary education degree.

Farmer volunteers at her church and is a cheer coach. She also enjoys spending time with her husband and their 10 children and stepchildren. They currently reside in Cave Spring.

Before her promotion to manager of the Salem office, Lima previously worked at the bank’s Daleville Town Center office as an assistant branch manager. Lima has been with the bank for 10 years and has been in the financial industry for almost two decades.

She graduated from James River High School and continued her education at Radford University where she earned a degree in business and Spanish.

Lima resides in Buchanan with her husband, Alex.

Freedom First has announced its 2024 board of directors. Kevin Byrd is joining the board to serve a one-year term. Andrea Garland, David Lowen and Keith Perry will continue serving for an additional term of three years.

Byrd, the executive director of the New River Valley Regional Commission since 2009, has close to 20 years of community development experience in the public sector at the town, county, and regional levels of government along with private sector consulting experience.

Garland is a transportation professional with knowledge and technical expertise in the sustainable transportation field.

Lowen, a retired certified public accountant, dedicated 43 years of his career to working in downtown Roanoke for Foti, Flynn, Lowen & Co.

Perry has more than 40 years of expertise in the information technology field. He currently leads the alignment of information and technology services with the overall strategic objectives of Carilion Clinic.

Tiffany Rawling has been appointed chief operations officer at Valley Wealth Group, a regional wealth management firm.

Rawling joined VWG during its inception in 2015 as client service director. As the firm continued to grow, it benefited from Rawling’s leadership in overseeing day-to-day operations and industry regulations and compliance as well as overall strategic planning.

Rawling’s professional experience in the financial sector began in 2007 at AXA Advisors and continued at SunTrust Investment Services. In 2014 she was recruited as part of a team by Valley Bank to take over its existing investment program.

She is a graduate of Roanoke College where she earned her Bachelor of Business Administration.

Spilman Thomas & Battle (Spilman) has announced that Jennifer A. Baker has joined the law firm as counsel.

Baker’s primary area of practice is litigation, with a focus on business litigation, family law, local government law, trusts and estates litigation, and bankruptcy and creditors’ rights. She has significant experience representing insured commercial and individual clients in multiple states in a variety of legal disputes including premises liability, indemnification, contract disputes, and motor vehicle accidents, among others.

Baker is a member of the Federal Bar Association, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association. She earned her undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Virginia Tech and her law degree from Rutgers Law School.

Spilman has also announced that Bryce J. Hunter and Lori D. Thompson have been named to the 2024 Pro Bono Service Honor Roll by the Virginia Access to Justice Commission for their voluntary pro bono service contributions.

Hunter and Thompson have a long history of pro bono service.

Hunter serves on the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners Character and Fitness Committee and the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Committee. At Spilman, his practice focuses on banking and financial services law, including securities law, finance transactions, creditors’ rights, and debt restructuring. He also assists clients in real estate, tax credit financing, and franchising matters.

Thompson provides representation in guardianship cases through Blue Ridge Legal Services, including recently handling a contested custody matter, among other pro bono service. At Spilman, her primary area of practice is litigation, including bankruptcy and creditors’ rights. She also serves as the member in charge of the firm’s Roanoke office and chair of the firm’s DEI Committee.

The Supreme Court of Virginia established the Virginia Access to Justice Commission in 2013 to ensure that an entity is actively coordinating and promoting access to justice efforts in the commonwealth.

Josh Tooley, mailing/digital coordinator, is Employee of the Quarter at McClung Cos.

Established in 1992, the award is based on recommendations from fellow workers and recognizes employees who display extraordinary dedication to their jobs.

Tooley has worked seven years at McClung and lives in Waynesboro.

D. Bruce Patterson has retired from Bank of Botetourt’s board of directors after serving 23 years (2001-24). Patterson joined the board as the bank expanded into the Rockbridge region and has overseen the bank’s total consolidated assets grow from $167 million in 2001, to more than $800 million as of March 31, 2024.

During Patterson’s time on the board, the bank opened seven office locations, two of which are in Rockbridge County, and introduced its mortgage division in 2016.

After graduating from Rockbridge High School, Patterson attended Virginia Tech where he earned his bachelor’s degree in public administration. He later attended graduate school at Virginia Commonwealth University, earning his degree in business management.

He returned to Rockbridge and ran for clerk of the Rockbridge County Circuit Court, a position he held from 1978 until his retirement in 2017. In addition to his experience on the Rockbridge County Circuit Court, Patterson is a former member of the Judicial Systems Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Patterson’s commitment extended beyond the Bank of Botetourt, as he donated his time to various community organizations, including the Rockbridge Area Housing Association and the Brownsburg Community Water Association.