The national law firm of Shumaker has hired a top strategist to help the firm expand and strengthen its reach in the market. As chief growth and strategy officer, Mark Usellis will work with leaders across the firm to help position Shumaker for long-term, sustainable success.

Usellis has more than 20 years of experience working with law firms as a chief marketing officer, chief strategy officer and consultant.

Prior to that, he spent 13 years in public affairs as a legislative director on Capitol Hill, as public affairs director for a large telecommunications company and as a consultant for a global public affairs firm.

Most recently, Usellis worked as COO and interim CEO for an international reforestation nongovernmental organization going through a leadership and business model transition.

Shumaker has several Florida offices, including one in downtown Sarasota. It also has offices in Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Sarasota’s Interior Design Society recently elected its 2023 board.

They are: Jesse White, Sarasota Architectural Salvage, president; Gail Forest, Gail Forest Design, vice president; Catherine Ceballos, Home and Design, treasurer; Karen Kaiser, Kirsch, secretary; Nicholas Ferris, Nicholas Ferris Photography, media chair; and members at large, Norman Rosenberg, Rosenberg Interior Technologies, Bob Hite, The Granite Place, and John Denke, La Casa Tile.

The IDS is an association of professional interior design entrepreneurs focused on helping our members grow their businesses, develop their talents, inspire each other and impact their communities.

Dr. Neha Dunn has joined Drs. Hugh Windom, Jennifer Fergeson and Jean Ly at Windom Allergy, in Sarasota.

Dunn attended college at the University of Michigan and medical school at Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University.

She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Chicago and her Allergy/Immunology fellowship at National Jewish/University of Colorado.

Dr. Dunn participated in several research projects focusing on aspirin-exacerbated lung disease, immune deficiency, chronic sinusitis and vocal cord dysfunction.

She started the allergy department at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, Illinois, where she worked for six years as the lead physician.

At the recent JMX Brands Awards Breakfast, CEO Jim Miller presented five employees with the new Mortise and Tenon Award.

The leading brand of Amish furniture, sold through its website, https://www.dutchcrafters.com, has a longstanding culture of recognition all through the year in addition to this annual event.

“Mortise and tenon joints are often unseen support for the framework of beautiful furniture,” said Miller. “Our Mortise and Tenon Award recognizes employees who often work behind the scenes to support the overall construction of the company and are critical for overall success.”

Recipients are Customer Service Specialist Lafe Bianche, System Administrator Matt Dobeck, Bookkeeper Gwen Heaton, Administrative Assistant/HR Specialist Delinda Smith and Fulfillment Team member Fang Wang.

Bianche has single-handedly and calmly worked toward solutions that benefit our customers for nearly three years.

Dobeck worked in chat and online sales before his move to system administration last year. He troubleshoots all kinds of issues and manages the migration to new systems.

Heaton’s work ethic is admirable. For nearly 14 years, she has handled nearly all the bookkeeping. Her work has included customer service, shipping and logistics, purchase orders and collection calls.

Smith has been with JMX Brands for two years and is currently shouldering the responsibility of three jobs – Miller’s administrative assistant, office manager and HR specialist, all rolled into one. She is the go-to person when things go wrong.

Wang stands out as a member of the Fulfillment Team. In six years at JMX Brands, she has managed product updates, purchase order reviews and logistics management. She manages complexity on the back end with high efficiency and effectiveness.

Criteria for the Mortise and Tenon Award include working at JMX Brands for at least two years, working behind the scenes, often unrecognized, with others depending on you, being detail-oriented, accurate and efficient, and bringing success to the company that may not always be easily quantified.

Byron Shinn has joined the board of directors of All Star Children’s Foundation, in Sarasota. Shinn is a partner with Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors, a nationally acclaimed accounting and advisory firm.

Shinn has 42 years of public accounting experience. At Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors, he provides professional services in the areas of internal audits, accounting, taxation and business consulting.

He merged his own firm, Shinn & Co., with CRI in 2018. Before starting Shinn & Co in 1993, Shinn held top positions at CRI and Arthur Andersen.

He received his degree in accounting from the University of South Florida in 1979.

Shinn serves on the boards of the EDC Sarasota, the Bradenton Area EDC and the Florida Maritime Museum.

The other members of All Star’s board of directors are Graci McGillicuddy, chair; Dennis McGillicuddy, vice chair; and Ashley Coone, Elaine Crouse, Dean Hautamaki, MD, and Noah Riner.

All Star Children’s Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to interrupting the intergenerational cycle of abuse and neglect with children and families in foster care.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Law firm positioned for growth with new hire, more awards at JMX