SMALL BUSINESS

Principal Financial Group announces Matthew Woodsford has joined its Central California Business Center.

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Woodsford will serve as Financial Advisor, assisting clients and businesses with their financial needs. Woodsford has more than two years working in the insurance and financial services industry, most recently serving as a Financial Advisor at Valic.

HEALTH CARE

Michael W. Peterson, MD, associate dean at UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program, has been awarded Mastership in the American College of Physicians, the national organization of internists. As associate dean, Dr. Peterson oversees the development of UCSF Fresno’s clinical and academic programs.

MEDIA

At its most recent Board Meeting, the ValleyPBS board of directors elected new Officers for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2017. Officers include: Jose Plascencia, chair; Jane Olvera Quebe, vice chair; Karen Musson, financial officer; and Kurt Madden, immediate past chair. The board has also added six new members this year: Kristen Beall Barnes (Kern County), Jody Graves (Tulare County), Lorenzo Rios (At Large), James Shekoyan (Fresno County), Larry Stefani (Merced County) and Debra B. Walker (Fresno County).

EDUCATION

A senior hoping to help young people and a freshman entrepreneur have been awarded the 2016 Martin Luther King, Jr. & Fannie Lou Hamer Scholarship, a partnership that began between Fresno Pacific University and several local congregations. Deja Alewine is an FPU senior who plans to graduate in December 2016 with a major in psychology and a minor in criminal justice. Samuel Janzen is a freshman majoring in business administration with a focus on international sports management.  Now in its third year, the King & Hamer Scholarship supports African American students, who are underrepresented in higher education in general, and Christian higher education in particular. The scholarship is also designed to raise awareness of FPU within the African American community and send the message that Christian higher education is affordable and accessible.