People on the Move - Page 27

West Virginia – The Morgantown City Council appointed Joe Abu-Ghannam as mayor. Before being selected as a replacement council member, Joe was a teacher at Morgantown high school. 

Florida – The City of Jacksonville has promoted Alex Alston to executive director of the office of Sports and Entertainment after 11 months working as chief of sports. Previously, Alston worked for the Tulsa Sports Commission. 

Columbus, Ohio, Mayor Andrew Ginther was elected by his fellow mayors to serve as the next president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Ginther, who will serve a one-year term, has been mayor since 2016. 

Alaska – Suzanne LaFrance has been sworn in as mayor of Anchorage. She is the first woman elected to lead Alaska’s largest city. LaFrance has served in the city’s assembly for the past six years, two of those as chair.

California – The University of California Board of Regents has elected physician and sociologist Dr. Julio Frenk to be chancellor of UCLA. Originally from Mexico City, Frenk will be the university’s first Latino chancellor. He been president of the University of Miami since 2015. He will

California – The Placer County Superior Court has appointed Leon A. Dixson as its newest newest court commissioner, effective July 29. Dixson will be leaving his role as regional counsel for Civil Rights for Legal Services of Northern California, where he had served for 14 years. 

Kentucky – Robbie Fletcher, Ed.D., started his new role as the state’s commissioner of education and head of the Department of Education on July 1. Fletcher has been the superintendent of Lawrence County since 2014. 

Courtney Hjaltman has been appointed to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). She was officially sworn in June 26, with a term that will expire Sept. 1, 2025. The PUCT is responsible for regulating Texas’ electric, water, wastewater and telecommunications industries.

California – Maria Rogers has been named director of rail operations for the North County Transit District (NCTD). Rogers has worked with NCTD since 2014, holding positions from conductor to manager of rail operations.