Southwestern Vermont Medical Center recently welcomed physician assistant Samantha Kaftan to SVMC ExpressCare and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians.

Kaftan joins SVMC from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, where she worked as a physician assistant in the emergency department. She also previously held physician assistant positions at CHI Health Clinic in Omaha, NE, and Council Bluffs, IA.

Secretary of State-elect Sarah Copeland Hanzas has announced her intent to appoint S Lauren Hibbert as deputy secretary of state when Copeland Hanzas is sworn in on Jan 5.

Hibbert has worked in the Office of the Secretary of State since 2011; she has served as director of the Office of Professional Regulation since 2018 and previously served in the roles of general counsel and chief prosecuting attorney. Before moving back to Vermont, she worked as a public defender in New York City.

Deborah Stephenson, former senior executive vice president and chief compliance officer at Berkshire Bank, has been appointed president and CEO of Brattleboro Savings & Loan. She succeeds Dan Yates, who will retire at the end of December after 17 years leading the bank.