Westerly, Rhode Island... Washington Trust announces the following promotions:
Joanna E. Valentini, CPA, of Westerly, R.I., has been promoted to Vice President and Assistant Controller. Joanna joined the Bank in February 2004 as Assistant Vice President, Accounting Officer and was promoted to Assistant Controller in December of that year. She is responsible for oversight of many accounting operation functions, including general ledger reconciliation, accounts payable, and SEC regulatory reporting. Joanna holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Rhode Island, and has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1993. She is a member of the Rhode Island Society of CPAs.
Bethany A. Lyons, of Mystic, Conn., has been promoted to Vice President of the Bank’s Commercial Real Estate Group. Bethany joined the Bank in 2001 after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Providence College, where she also earned a Master in Business Administration in 2005. After completing the Bank's management training program, she joined the commercial lending department in 2002. Currently, she is responsible for developing new business, analyzing and structuring transactions, and managing a sizeable real estate portfolio for the team leader.
David S. Kozora, of Stonington, Conn., has been promoted to Vice President, Small Business Lending. David joined the Bank in 1994 overseeing the commercial credit function of the Commercial Lending department for eight years. He rejoined the Bank in 2008 as a Credit Analyst with the small business lending team, as well as a trainer and mentor to newer members of the team. David assists in the analysis of SBA loans and renewals, as well as line of credit renewals. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Providence College and Master of Science in Finance from Bentley College.
Robert J. Pacheco, of Exeter, R.I. has been promoted to Vice President, Purchasing. Bob joined the Bank in 1988 as Purchasing Agent and Mail Operations Manager. He was promoted to Purchasing Officer in 1997 and to Assistant Vice President, Purchasing in 1999. Bob is directly responsible for furniture and equipment procurement, new office construction, relocations and renovations, as well as records retention and overall warehouse management. He received a certificate in Purchasing and Materials Management from Bryant University, and serves on the United States Postal Customer Council and is co-captain of the Bank’s Rebuilding Together Providence team.
Bethany A. Palagi, of Narragansett, R.I., has been promoted to Vice President and Branch Manager of the Bank’s Sweet Meadows office in Narragansett, R.I. Bethany is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the branch, as well as business development in the Narragansett market. Prior to joining Washington Trust, Bethany held branch manager positions at The People’s Credit Union, and most recently at Bank RI. She is a graduate of Rhode Island College with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Public Relations, and is a board member for the Narragansett Chamber of Commerce.
Betsy G. Hochadel, of Newton, Mass., has been promoted to Assistant Vice President, Compliance of WestonFinancial, a division of Washington Trust Wealth Management, located in Wellesley, Mass. Betsy is responsible for ensuring that all Weston transaction are in compliance with applicable SEC, FINRA and state insurance regulations. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bates College, and recently passed the FINRA Series 24 – General Security Principal licensing exam. Betsy is currently pursuing her Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University Law School.
Elizabeth M. Turner, of Groton, Conn., has been promoted to Assistant Vice President, Risk Management, and is responsible for monthly reserve calculations, migration analysis, watch list preparation and quarterly reporting for the Audit Committee on loan review. Liz participates in all functions of the Risk Management team, including special assets, managed assets, and appraisal and environmental administration, and serves as secretary to the Enterprise Risk Management Committee. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Connecticut.
Patrick S. Webber of Hope Valley, R.I., has been promoted to Assistant Vice President, technology services. He joined the Bank as a information technology intern, and became a PC Specialist after graduation. Patrick was promoted to technology services officer in 2009. He has been instrumental in many projects, including the development of applications to help streamline tasks, e-mail filtering upgrades, and migration to the Bank’s core platform. Patrick completed the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineering (MCSE) training classes and serves as a volunteer on the Hope Valley fire department.
Luba V. Stolyarova of West Warwick, R.I., has been promoted to Commercial Credit Officer and is responsible for the underwriting of commercial and industrial loans, asset-based loans, and commercial real estate relationships. Prior to joining the Bank, Luba was a senior financial analyst at FleetBoston Financial, a merchant services underwriter at Bank of America, and most recently a small business lending underwriter at Citizens Bank. She holds a bachelor of science in finance with a minor in applied math statistics from Bryant University.
Kristen L. Cornwall of Kingston, R.I., has been promoted to Branch Manager, Officer of the Bank’s Bonnet Shores branch at 885 Boston Neck Road in Narragansett. She is responsible for the daily operations of the branch, as well as its overall deposit and loan portfolio growth by maintaining existing customer relationships and developing new business relationships in the Bonnet Shores/Narragansett and Wakefield areas. Kristen began her banking career as a teller with First Bank & Trust in 2002, which was then acquired by Washington Trust. She held various customer service positions with Washington Trust and was promoted to Senior Customer Service Representative in October 2007. In 2009 she transferred to Washington Trust’s Wakefield office where she assisted the branch manager with outside business calling efforts, and was named Bonnet Shores Branch Manager in August 2010. A graduate of Rhode Island College, Kristen has resided in the Wakefield area much of her life and is the former owner of the Bears Book Den.
Steven D. Dabkowski of Westerly, R.I., has been promoted to audit officer and is responsible for leading and conducting operational and financial audits within the Bank, assessing controls over assets, and performing Sarbanes Oxley 404 compliance testing of the critical controls over financial reporting. Steve joined the Bank in December 2006 as staff auditor and was promoted to senior staff auditor in July 2009. He holds a Bachelor of science in accounting with a minor in business administration from Central Connecticut State University and is a certified fraud examiner with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and a certified internal control auditor with The Institute for Internal Controls.
The Washington Trust Company is a subsidiary of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc., a $2.9 billion corporation headquartered in Westerly, Rhode Island. Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is the oldest community bank in the nation and is the largest independent bank headquartered in Rhode Island. A state-chartered bank, Washington Trust offers a full range of financial services, including commercial banking, small business banking, personal banking, and wealth management and trust services, through its offices located in Rhode Island, southeastern Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Corporation's common stock trades on The NASDAQ Global Select® Stock Market under the symbol WASH. Web site address: www.washtrust.com.