Dr. Albert Telfeian has been named director of pediatric neurosurgery at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. more

Craig M. Syata has been appointed president of the Rhode Island Council of Community Mental Health Organizations. more

Dana Alexander Nolfe has been named director of communications at Cox Communications. more

Scott A. McCaughey has been named vice president and commercial lending officer at The Washington Trust Co. more

Robert R. Kent Jr. has been named senior vice president and commercial lending team leader at The Washington Trust Co. more

Tom Fitzgerald has been named senior vice president, team leader of the commercial banking division at Bank Rhode Island. more

Jennifer R. Wheelehon has been hired as director of development for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ocean State, where she will be responsible for building and diversifying philanthropic support. more

Melissa Husband has been named executive director of Providence Community Action. more

Monica Restrepo, a certified nursing assistant, was recently awarded the Imogene Higbie Service Award – Bronze Level for her service and dedication to the residents of St. Clare Home in Newport. The award is presented by Rhode Island Generations to an outstanding direct-care worker in the nursing home industry. Restrepo, who became a CNA while living in a shelter through a program offered by the Women’s Resource Center, is a graduate of Central Falls High School. She has worked at St. Clare for 15 years. more

Changes in health care laws and labor relations will affect businesses dramatically next year, but many human resources managers at a Providence Business News-sponsored Employment Trends 2013 summit said they consider social media a contender for a top spot on the list of concerns. more