Shelburne attorneys, Jane Osborne McKnight and Robert W. Scharf, have established the Vermont Employers Law Center, Inc. McKnight and Scharf announced the creation of a joint venture emphasizing employment law assistance to employers. The new entity will do business on Webster Road, in Shelburne, Vermont, where both maintain private law practices.

Norwich University’s Career Development Center recently welcomed Jim Graves as the university’s Internship Coordinator. Graves is responsible for assisting employers in developing internship programs and for helping Norwich students secure internship positions. His experience guiding students through the complex decision making process of career development makes him an excellent addition to Norwich’s Career Development Center staff.

TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, has named James (Jim) E. Van Orden III as Relationship Manager in Commercial Lending in Burlington, Vt. He is responsible for developing and managing commercial loan relationships with business clients throughout Northwestern Vermont and Northeastern New York. Van Orden has 40 years of experience in banking and commercial lending. He is re-joining TD Bank, where he served in a similar role in St. Albans between 2006 and 2012.

Prof. Robert A. Oden, Jr. PhD, former president of Carleton College and Kenyon College, has been named Chair of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Board of Trustees. Oden, a member of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock board since January 2011, succeeded Wayne Granquist as chair on December 31, 2012.

Ericka Garstka has joined the asset management staff of Housing Vermont, a statewide affordable housing developer and tax credit syndicator. Housing Vermont’s asset management staff is currently responsible for 160 Low Income Housing Tax Credit partnerships and five New Markets Tax Credit financing ventures.

Prior to moving to Vermont in 2010, Ericka was a property manager in California and Montana where she provided property analytics to investors and partners. Most recently, Ericka was a staff accountant for a large, private real estate company based in Burlington.

National Bank of Middlebury is pleased to announce the appointment of Amy Prior as a Community Lender in their Bristol office.

VSECU is excited to welcome Bonnie Black as a new addition to the Mortgage Department in the Burlington Branch. Bonnie brings with her more than 20 years of experience in the Real Estate and Mortgage Lending Industry. She has held positions including origination for Northfield Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Multiple Listing Service Director and Outreach Coordinator at Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA). Bonnie will join Shari DeLatte, who recently moved to the Williston Branch, in covering Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle and Northern Addison Counties.