Transwestern hires top healthcare experts

Transwestern Commercial Services (TCS) announced it has hired Kate Morris and Vince Femiano to serve as Senior Vice Presidents and lead the firm’s Healthcare Advisory Services group in Phoenix. Morris and Femiano have won NAIOP’s Healthcare Brokers of Year award for the last five years.

“Morris and Femiano are highly respected and considered experts in the healthcare space by their peers,” said Mark Stratz, Transwestern Managing Director and Phoenix City Leader. “We are thrilled they are returning to Transwestern as we continue to grow our talented team and expand our service offering in Phoenix.” 

Morris worked at Transwestern from 2005 to 2014 and Femiano from 2001 to 2014. Most recently, they served as First Vice Presidents at CBRE. Collectively, Morris and Femiano bring more than 50 years of healthcare real estate experience with clients including hospital systems, large physician groups, and developers and investors in the medical office, senior housing and lab sectors.

“We are looking forward to furthering Transwestern’s robust healthcare services, which has seen tremendous growth recently under the national leadership of Eric Johnson,” Morris said. “Transwestern’s collaborative environment and national platform will be valuable resources as we aim to help our clients serve patients more efficiently and with better health outcomes.” 

Morris earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Iowa State University and a master’s degree in business administration from Loyola University Chicago. Femiano earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Arizona State University.

Kevin Smigiel also joins Transwestern as a senior associate.

Tyler Smith joins Kidder Mathews’ Phoenix office

Commercial real estate veteran, Tyler Smith, has joined Kidder Mathews’ Phoenix office where he has been named a senior vice president. Smith specializes in the sale and leasing of office properties in the West Valley market.

Smith is a top producing broker with more than 22 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. During that time, he has completed more than 1,500 leases totaling over 15 million square feet, and he has sold more than 2 million square feet of office condominiums in the West Valley. Before joining Kidder Mathews, he was with NAI Horizon and before that, he was with Colliers International.

Linda Ross named CEO of Circle the City

After a three-month nationwide search, Circle the City has selected health care executive Linda Ross as Chief Executive Officer.

Ross replaces interim CEO Joan Lowell and brings more than 15 years of health care leadership experience to Circle the City. As Chief Executive Officer, Ross will provide overall leadership and direction for administrative and clinical staff and will steer her skills toward ensuring the organization’s mission of delivering high-quality, compassionate health care to men, women, and children facing homelessness in Maricopa County, continues to flourish.

“Linda brings a strong business and health care background, paired with a servant’s heart, which is exactly what we were looking for,” said Lowell. “She has already demonstrated a collaborative approach in her leadership style and we’re excited for her to fully step into this role and offer her expertise and talent to our team, as well as the patients we serve.”

Most recently, Ross served as Director of Ambulatory Care at Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS), where she was responsible for the operations of 11 outpatient health centers that provide primary care and ancillary services to people in Maricopa County. She supervised a team of clinic managers, provided indirect supervision of 140 employees, and shared process improvements that enhanced the provision of clinical services, outcomes and patient experience overall.

Joseph Benesh named executive director of Arizona Citizens for the Arts

Joseph Benesh, who has been engaged with a variety of arts and cultural institutions for nearly 20 years including as Director of Phoenix Center for the Arts since 2011, has been named Executive Director of Arizona Citizens for the Arts (AzCA), the nonprofit statewide arts advocacy organization.

Benesh will replace Catherine “Rusty” Foley, who announced her retirement, effective at the end of this month, in February. Benesh will begin his tenure with Arizona Citizens for the Arts on July 1.

“We are thrilled that Joseph has agreed to build upon the foundation that Rusty helped shape and advance since being named Executive Director in 2011,” said AzCA Board President Michael Seiden. “His commitment to arts and culture in Arizona is undeniable and is clearly defined by the success he has experienced at Phoenix Center for the Arts.”

During his tenure there, Benesh led the growth of the organization from a budget of $200,000 to nearly $2 million, creating a range of programs including Phoenix Festival of the Arts, Mayor’s Arts Awards, Beta Dance Festival, V-Week, the Arizona Art Mobile and the now three-year-old Thunderbird Arts Center. 

The programs he helped create, always in partnership with artists, benefit more than 38,000 people every year.  He oversaw a 16-member staff and more than 100 teaching artists.

“I leave Arizona Citizens for the Arts in great hands,” Foley said.  “Joseph brings new energy, new thinking and proven leadership to the position.”