Stephen Lamb of Wilmington and John Paradee, of Dover, have been elected to serve as officers on the Board of Directors of the Delaware Community Foundation.
Lamb, who served as Vice Chancellor in the Delaware Court of Chancery 1997-2009, is a partner with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. He has served on the DCF Board of Directors board for six years and now will serve as secretary. Judge Lamb focuses his practice on Delaware corporate law and governance issues arising in a variety of transactional and litigation contexts.
He advises Paul, Weiss clients on a full range of issues that arise in transactions, investigations and litigation. Lamb counsels boards of directors, special committees and independent committees on numerous issues, including fiduciary duties and other Delaware law aspects of corporate management, focusing especially on mergers and acquisition matters.
Paradee, an attorney with Prickett, Jones & Elliott, P.A., is the new chairman of the DCF’s Kent County Advisory Committee and joins the DCF’s executive committee in that capacity.
He practices in the areas of commercial litigation, commercial and residential real estate, general business and corporate law, and administrative law. He was admitted to the Delaware Bar in December of 1989, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in January of 1990, and the U.S. Supreme Court in April of 1997.
La Penta to head UD HR
Tom LaPenta has been named chief human resources officer at the University of Delaware. The chief human resources officer will provide strategic leadership on human resource matters to UD’s officers, faculty and staff, acting at all times as the steward of staff resources in service to the university’s mission.
Major responsibilities include support for the university’s research and teaching mission through high-quality human resources support and services, development of a strong team to advise University units, creation of policies focused on recruiting and retaining the best employees and encouraging development and retention of talent, and oversight of negotiations and implementation of collective bargaining contracts.
The CHRO also will take a leadership role in UD’s support for a fair employment environment in which diversity and respect for others are core values.
LaPenta, who joined UD in 1981, has served as interim director of UD Human Resources since February.
Prior to being named interim director, he served as assistant vice president for labor and employee relations. In that position he was involved in the negotiation and administration of union contracts and advised academic and non-academic managers on a variety of labor and employee relations issues.
A University of Delaware graduate, LaPenta earned his law degree from the Dickinson School of Law and is a member of the Delaware Bar Association and the National Association of College and University Attorneys. He began his career as a deputy attorney general in the state Department of Justice.
Ruoss to retire from Tatnall
The Tatnall School announced today that Eric G. Ruoss, head of school of the preparatory school for 17 years, has decided to retire at the close of the 2013-2014 school year.
Ruoss – the longest serving head of school since school founder Frances Dorr Swift Tatnall – and members of the school’s board of trustees said the 43-year veteran educator and administrator’s retirement will coincide with the start of the significant, multi-year strategic planning process announced by the board earlier this year.
“This appropriate and important strategic planning process will unfold over several years, and the success of this effort requires the presence of consistent leadership throughout and beyond that time,” Ruoss wrote in his letter to the Tatnall community announcing his retirement plans.
Ruoss’s leadership of the school began in 1996 when he joined Tatnall from a co-ed day and boarding school in Santa Barbara, California. His tenure at Tatnall brings his years as head of a school to more than 30.
Tatnall Board of Trustees President Kathryn Fischer added that the announcement’s timing will also benefit the search for Ruoss’s successor.
“With the advance notice, we will be able to conduct a thorough search for the right individual to lead Tatnall through our next period of growth,” she told families, alumni and staff in a letter, adding that she has asked Vice President Caroline Lintner to chair a search committee.
“I know I speak on behalf of the Board of Trustees and the entire Tatnall community when I express our deep and heartfelt gratitude to Eric for his years of tireless service to the Tatnall family,” she added. “With Eric’s leadership, Tatnall has excelled as one of the leading private schools in the region.”
Brooks named Gunnip partner
Gunnip & Company, a Certified Public Accounting and Consulting firm, announced the recent promotion of Valerie C. Middlebrooks, CPA to Partner. Valerie is involved in all areas of taxation including strategic planning, research, analysis and preparation for the firm’s clients, including individuals, small and large privately held companies, public corporations and not for profit organizations.
Valerie is active in the community. She holds multiple Board positions, as Secretary for the Delaware Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Vice President for Jewish Family Services of Delaware and the Treasurer of the Fund for Executive Women.
Gunnip & Company CPAs is a Delaware based firm serving the Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland areas with comprehensive assurance, tax, and business consulting services.
Gunnip has more than 60 professionals.
Customers include large multinational corporations, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and high net worth individuals for more than sixty-five years. For additional information, see www.gunnip.com.
Andrew named vice-chairman
Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s (ODEC) Board of Directors elected new officers at its annual membership meeting held in Dover, Del. on July 23.
Myron D. Rummel, president and CEO of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, was elected to serve as chairman of the board; J. William Andrew, CEO of Delaware Electric Cooperative, was elected as vice-chairman; Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) is a generation-and-transmission cooperative that provides wholesale power to 11 member electric distribution cooperatives in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.
Head of school
Lisa Lalama, 9-12 program coordinator and teacher, will become the next Head of School at Wilmington Montessori School.
Lisa, has 12 years of experience in the classroom. She has worked as an American Montessori Society instructor and lecturer, as a field consultant for the Princeton Center for Teacher Education.
Marie Dugan will continue as Interim Head of School for half of the 2013-14 school year, through the school’s 50th Birthday on January 31, 2014.
Lalama is now Assistant Head of School this summer through the transition period.
