JEFFREY R. RITCHIE, CPA has joined FustCharles as a principal. He comes aboard the Syracuse–based accounting firm after working at a big 4 accounting firm for the past 11 years, where he held positions within the risk-assurance practice. Ritchie specializes in risk, controls, and IT assurance and has extensive experience in system and organization-controls reporting (SOC 1 and SOC 2), internal-control transformation projects, SOX 404 compliance, IT-control assessments, process improvement, and control-readiness assessments. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Siena College.

VIP Structures, an integrated design-build firm, has hired SARA MORRIS as a construction-project coordinator, ROSEMARY POINDEXTER as a controller, RUBEN ARCE as a network administrator, and SIMON SHUSTER as an assistant project manager. Prior to joining VIP Structures, Morris gained business-ownership experience as a part-owner of Mello Vello. She has a bachelor’s degree in industrial design from Syracuse University. Her new role will include supporting project management and estimating tasks. Before joining VIP Structures, Poindexter served as controller at Catholic Charities of Onondaga County, where she managed fiscal responsibilities and led a team. She holds an MBA degree in public accounting and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from SUNY Oswego. Arce joins VIP as a network administrator in the IT department and brings more than a decade of IT infrastructure experience and several years managing substantial support-call volume and developing and conducting IT training. Shuster comes aboard VIP as an assistant project manager. He has previous experience as a project engineer, specializing in industrial mass-concrete structures. His experience includes managing mass-rebar installations and coordinating concrete logistics. Shuster has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Arizona State University.

TANYA WILLIAMSON has been appointed the inaugural assistant VP in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Syracuse University. Williamson — who previously served as associate director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the Barnes Center at The Arch —began in her new role on Jan. 2. As assistant VP, Williamson will manage departmental operations, budget and planning, and project management of the university’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Plan. She will also supervise staff in the following areas: inclusion and belonging, learning and development, and research and assessment. Williamson joined the Barnes Center in 2021 and led projects related to DEIA within the integrated center for health and wellness. Prior to coming to Syracuse University, Williamson, who is also an executive coach and consultant, held several positions at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and worked as a lead and staff psychologist. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Binghamton University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Michigan State University.

JOHN GRANATO has joined Interior Innovations as its interior architectural consultant. Granato is responsible for business development of the architectural products category including glass walls, interior and exterior signs, acoustics, auditorium seating, and more. Granato comes to Interior Innovations from Stone Central Syracuse, where he worked for eight years, including most recently as director of business development. Before that, he owned and operated his own interior design company, Master Designs, where he focused on kitchen and bath design. Granato attended Onondaga Community College (OCC), where he received an associate degree in architecture and associate degree in interior design. He also went on to serve at OCC as an adjunct faculty member for five years, teaching its first kitchen and bath design courses. 

ANDREA HINES has been appointed director of SRCTec and Defense Systems and Technologies (DS&T) Finance at SRC, Inc. In her new role, Hines will assume responsibility for overseeing all financial aspects of SRC’s product development and SRCTec’s manufacturing operations. Her responsibilities include budgeting, forecasting, program-finance execution, and ensuring the efficient allocation of resources and the successful execution of financial strategies. Hines is also the primary interface to SRCTec for Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) reporting and audit management. Hines has held various positions within the financial sector of the defense industry for more than 20 years. She joined SRC in 2014, most recently serving as senior manager of program finance at SRCTec. Hines holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. Bonaventure University and a master’s degree in business management from Le Moyne College.