Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP has hired Gabriella Levine as a new associate.
Levine graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. degree in political science from Union College, where she was inducted into the chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. She graduated summa cum laude from Albany Law School, where she was the executive editor for State Constitutional Commentary of the Albany Law Review.
Levine was a finalist in Albany Law School’s Domenick L. Gabrielli Appellate Advocacy Moot Court Competition and received awards for Best Oral Advocate and Best Brief, and was the winner of the Karen C. McGovern Senior Prize Trials Competition.
Her previous experience includes working as a judicial intern for Mae A. D’Agostino, U.S. district judge for the Northern District of New York, and Michael J. Garcia, associate judge of the state Court of Appeals. Levine was previously a summer associate at the firm.
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Michael Horn has joined Saratoga PLAN’s staff as conservation director.
Horn will be working on more than 10 land projects currently underway, as PLAN expands its efforts to conserve land in Saratoga County.
Prior to joining PLAN, Horn worked in a variety of roles at the General Electric Co., most recently as pricing manager in the renewable energy business.
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OrthoNY has welcomed a new pain management physician to the practice. Dr. Tory Speert provides care in Clifton Park, Malta and Saratoga Springs.
A doctor of osteopathic medicine, Speert has specialized training in interventional spine and sports medicine and is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Prior to joining OrthoNY, he completed a fellowship at Orthopaedic and Spine Specialists in York, Pa.
Speert received his medical degree from Rowan University (formerly known as the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey). Following a one-year internship at Rowan, he was in residency at Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School/ Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation for three years.
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Alison Blessing, CPA, with over 20 years of leadership experience in public and private accounting, has been named as the Teal, Becker & Chiaramonte, CPAs, PC’s third administrator in over 45 years.
While Michele Auricchio is finishing her career pending a late June retirement, Blessing will learn the position, drawing specifically on her roles as a principal at another CPA firm, the company said.
The company also hired its newest accounting staff member, Joseph Watroba, CPA.
Blessing graduated with a bachelor of business administration in accounting from Siena College. Before joining TBC, she was most recently the chief financial officer of the New York State School Boards Association. Her experience prior to that in public accounting includes performing audits, compliance audits, reviews, compilations, and attestation engagements for municipal, for-profit, and nonprofit entities.
She was a previous board member and treasurer of the Food Pantries of the Capital District, and was also an at-large member of the state Government Finance Officers Association board of governors from 2012-16.
Watroba earned both his Bachelor of Science in accounting degree as well as his Master of Science in accounting from Siena College in 2013. Prior to joining TBC, he was a senior tax accountant at another firm.
Outside of work, he and his family founded Play It Foreward 518 Inc., a nonprofit that raises funds to support Make-A-Wish NENY and the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer at Albany Medical Center.
His family established this special fund to support diversion activities for the children and their families that are receiving treatments at the Melodies Center during their time of need.