BUSINESS PEOPLE
Sara Howard has been promoted to marketing coordinator at Sunny505, a communications firm with offices in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces. Howard joined Sunny505 as an intern in January 2020 and was promoted to marketing assistant in March. She has a bachelor’s degree in organizational communications from the University of New Mexico.
Santa Fe-based architect Edward Mazria was awarded the 2021 Gold Medal by the American Institute of Architects for his work sounding the alarm on climate change and motivating the architecture profession to take action. Mazria is founder and CEO of Architecture 2030 in Santa Fe. Mazria is author of The Passive Solar Energy Book and helped found the AIA’s Committee on the Environment. He has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and a master’s degree in architecture from the University of New Mexico.
Fernando Baca is the new vice president of commercial lending in Santa Fe for WaFd Bank New Mexico. Previously, Baca was vice president and commercial loan officer at Century Bank in Santa Fe and vice president and business banking officer for Hillcrest Bank, the former Peoples Bank, in Albuquerque. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of New Mexico and is a graduate of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency National Credit Training Program.
Dr. Laurence “Larry” Shandler retired at the end of December from the Southwest Care Center, where he had worked for 6½ years. Before that, he was in private practice in Santa Fe for many years. He attended Brooklyn College and Columbia University Dental School and received his M.D. at Albany Medical College.
Bruce Baizel has joined the New Mexico Environment Department as legal director. Baizel previously was energy program director at Earthworks since 2012. He has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Earlham College, a master’s degree from the University of Denver and a law degree from the University of Denver College of Law.
Katie McNutt is the new vice president of talent at Del Norte Credit Union. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Florida Southern College and a master’s degree and doctorate in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of South Florida.
Lancing Adams is the new tourism development director at the New Mexico Tourism Department. He previously was assistant commissioner for the Arizona Department of Real Estate. Adams had a prior stint at the New Mexico Tourism Department as finance director. He is also a former deputy director of operations at the New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of New Mexico and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of New Mexico.
Jennifer Kimball, chairman of the board at La Fonda on the Plaza, has been named “Historic Hotelier of the Year” in Historic Hotels of America‘s 2020 Awards of Excellence. She has led the hotel since 2007. She chairs the New Mexico Tourism Commission. Kimball has undergraduate and law degrees from Southern Methodist University.
Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity won the top prize in the national Habitat House Design Contest among 100 entries from across the country. Contest officials in a release praised the “overall exemplary performance in sustainable, affordable design.” One judge said: “Santa Fe really knocked it out of the park on climate, resilience and durability.”
Andrea Fisher Maril has been named interim executive director of the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute, replacing Executive Director Kierstan Pickens, who stepped down after seven years. Maril was CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Mountain Region for 19 years until retiring in September 2018. Since then, she has been a seasonal cashier at Newman’s Nursery and, most recently, a census field supervisor. Maril has a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology from Grinnell College, a master’s degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Iowa and a doctorate in sociology from Oklahoma State University.