LOCAL BUSINESS PEOPLE TO WATCH

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Palm Beach Opera has added three members to its board of directors: Dr. John Strasswimmer, Jeffrey Alderton and Sanford Fisher.

Strasswimmer is a board-certified dermatologist and founder of the nonprofit Dermatology Medical Missions. He has worked with patients suffering from spinal muscular atrophy, and conducts research on skin cancer. He worked at Massachusetts General Hospital before moving to South Florida.

Alderton is a senior partner with Deloitte Consulting. He brings experience in operations, human resources and business transformation. During his career at Deloitte Consulting, he led the company’s human resource initiatives in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Fisher is the former CEO of Media Access Corporation, a New York-based company that provides production, marketing and special events services to corporations and nonprofits in the performing arts industry. He has previously served as board member for the Metropolitan Opera and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and has produced special events for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and the Broadhurst Theatre. He is also an Emmy winner.

KidSafe Foundation has appointed Beth A. Johnston to its board of directors. She is senior market development manager for the Southern Region of Florida Blue. Her past positions include director of community outreach for Florida Atlantic University, executive vice president for the Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce. Johnston holds a degree in business from Barry University.

EDUCATION

Steve Eshelman has joined Palm Beach Atlantic University as director of alumni relations. Eshelman holds a bachelor’s degree in communication with a minor in Christian social ministries from Palm Beach Atlantic University. For the past 10 years, he has worked with the Florida Boy Scouts of America as senior development editor of the Gulf Stream Council. In his new role, Eshelman will be responsible for enlisting volunteers for the Alumni Board of Directors and develop a plan to enlist support for the alumni scholarship fund.

HOSPITALITY

The senior living community Atria at Villages of Winsor has hired Brian Wykoff and Kristin Brown to advance its culinary and events programs.

Brown will direct Atria Senior Living’s signature Engage Life events, classes and activities program. Brown previously was Atria’s Engage Life director for its Roslyn Harbor and Forest Hills communities in New York.

Wykoff has more than 15 years of experience in country club settings nationwide. He most recently served as executive chef for the Country Club of Florida in the Village of Golf and the Pinehurst Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C.

RECOGNITION

Donald Takeshi Yoshino, president of Yoshino Architecture, was honored by the government of Japan with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, one of the highest ranking civilian honors awarded to those from other countries. The honor is in recognition of Yoshino’s commitment to the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens and his work to promote an understanding of Japanese culture.

A third-generation Japanese-American, Yoshino was born in an internment camp in Colorado during World War II and then was educated and started his career in California before moving to Boca Raton in the late 1980s, when he became aware of the Morikami Museum. He served on the board of trustees for the Morikami Museum from 1995 to 2007 and was instrumental in helping the museum achieve national accreditation from the American Association of Museums.

Yoshino received his degree in architectural engineering from California State Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo.

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