Donna Preiss, CEO of the Preiss Company, a student housing firm based in Raleigh, was appointed to the board of directors of the Wake Tech Foundation.

Nancy McFarlane, CEO of MedPro RX, a provider of specialty pharmacy services in Raleigh, received the Distinguished Pharmacy Alumni Award from Virginia

Commonwealth University, her alma mater.

Bri Tegtmeier, a student in the N.C. State University Jenkins Master of Business Administration program, was selected to participate in the 2010 Canadian Leadership Orientation Program for U.S. MBA students.

Cammery Cole Manning, associate professor of mathematics at Meredith College in Raleigh, was named workshop director of the Association for Women in Mathematics.

Michaelle Bowers, associate professor of political science at Wake Forest University, received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to complete a book on politics in the Middle East.

Maureen Sherbondy of Raleigh announced:
• Her short story collection “The Slow Vanishing” was named a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
•“Weary Blues,” her third collection of poetry, will be published this year by Big Tate Publishing.

Kimberly M. Knight, of Morrisville, published a book called “The Love Club” about dating and relationships from the perspective of women in their 20s and 30s.

Garner’s Donna Daniels Wade published “Wisteria Trees and Honeybees,” a novel about secrets that divide a young girl’s family after her mother dies.

Joan Vine created an online store, Florenza’s Treasures. She also opened a showroom at East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.

Horizon Forest Products and Long Floor in Raleigh announced the addition of Bridget Nordlie to the purchasing department of their corporate branch.

Suzanne Libfraind, president of Wardrobe Consulting in Raleigh, announced:
• She was named the fashion contributor for “My Carolina Today,” a local lifestyle show airing Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. on NBC-17.
• She was selected to style Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, a string band from Durham.

Elaine Buxton, president and CEO of Confero, a national customer experience measurement firm based in Cary, released a podcast on the benefits of mystery shopping.

Morrisville’s Ann Jagger announced:
• She launched Southport Graphics, a digital printing company.
• Southport Graphics received certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, which recognizes businesses that are 51 percent owned, controlled, operated and managed by women looking for larger business opportunities.

Leslie Atalese joined Synaptis, a knowledge-transfer company in Cary, as a knowledge harvest sales representative.

Raleigh-based MMI Public Relations announced:
• Patty Briguglio, president, gave a presentation on crisis public relations to the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association.
• Anjelica Locklear joined the firm as a traffic coordinator.
• Kathleen Mongero joined as an assistant account executive.

Christina Harper joined Howard, Merrill & Partners, a Raleigh business and communication strategy agency, as a member of the media assets team.

Lana Calloway, president of Exhibit Resources, a design agency in Raleigh, announced that Candice Kimble joined the agency as a graphic designer.

Clean Design, a branding and design agency based in Research Triangle Park, announced that Sally Nicol joined the agency as a client service manager.

Ronica VanGelder, owner of Ronica’s Custom Creations, a full-service design and drapery workroom in Knightdale, said the business received the Ingenuity Workroom Combination Treatment award at the 2010 Envision Design and Ingenuity Workroom Competition in Atlanta.

Fuentek, an Apex-based consulting firm, announced:
• President Laura A. Schoppe was selected to present information in the Technology Transfer Tactics webinar.
• Karen Hiser, senior consultant, helped lead a marketing course at the Eastern Region meeting of the Association of University Technology Managers.
• Senior consultant and process director Nannette Stangle-Castor was a panelist for Managing Intellectual Property Issues in Alliance Relationships presented by the Research Triangle Park chapters of the Licensing Executive Society and the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals.

Macy’s at Raleigh’s Crabtree Valley Mall announced the 12 winners of the “Macy’s & Clinton Kelly Make Over America” tour. The winners received a fashion makeover from Kelly of TLC’s “What Not to Wear.” The winners were:
• Jennifer Vion, Apex
• Jeannie Shotwell, Hillsborough
• Emily Tackett, Greenville
• Melissa Cotton, Holly Springs
• Teresa Pitt, Fuquay-Varina
• Sarah Ruiz, Cary
• Johnna Stephenson, Raleigh
• Teresa Baines, Stem
• Ruth Cody, Garner
• Michelle Lekander, Clayton
• Tammy Martin, Raleigh
• Nicole Greene, Garner

Michele Little of Raleigh-based One Chic Mama image consulting, announced that the business now offers consulting packages for professional women and that it launched an Inner Circle membership program.

Edgerton Immigration Law, a law firm in Raleigh, announced that founding attorney Laura Edgerton gave a talk at the 2010 Members in Business and Industry conference about hot topics in business immigration.

Jessica Williams, owner of Lather Hair Salon in Raleigh, partnered with the Pretty in Pink Foundation for a day to raise money for disadvantaged women with breast cancer. Every Lather customer who donated $6 to the Pretty in Pink Foundation received $6 off salon services.

Caroline Shillito, owner and principal designer of emma delon, an interior design business in Durham, announced:
• She participated in a taping of the “All Things Real Estate with Bill Sahadi” radio show.
• Jamie McKenna joined the business as an intern for the summer.

Andrea Whittington opened the Blue Note Grill in Durham, a blues-theme restaurant that serves Southern-style food.

Samantha Duckworth was hired as a database technician for Pierce Group Benefits, a provider of employee benefit packages that is based in Holly Springs.

Crystal Suazo, CPA and partner at Vaco Raleigh, an executive placement and consulting firm, was named chair of the Triangle’s 8th annual Gingerbread Gala. The event features some of the area’s finest pastry chefs in a fundraising effort to help Triangle families in need.

Raleigh’s Olalah Njenga, CEO of marketing company YellowWood Group, presented at the 2010 annual National Speakers Association Convention in Orlando.

Eileen Batson, of Batson Group Marketing and Public Relations in Raleigh, announced that she added Nancy Bolen, of Healthy and Trim for Life, to her client list.

Patricia Anderson opened her private practice in Apex, which focuses on professional counseling for adults, couples, work and career issues and life coaching.

Jess McLamb, president and founder of The Roper Group in Raleigh, which specializes in QuickBooks training and bookkeeping services, announced:
• Brooke Schwab, April Hamilton and Katherine Hedrick joined the firm.
• The firm was selected by the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce as a 2010 Pinnacle Award Winner. The award recognizes entrepreneurial businesses.
• McLamb competed with 15 other female entrepreneurs for vital small-business growth resources at the Make Mine a Million $ Business in Newark, N.J.

Sepi Asefinia, president of SEPI Engineering and Construction, was the keynote speaker at the Women in Business Luncheon of the Garner Chamber of Commerce.

Raleigh author Bearta Powell was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award by UNICEF for her book “Orphans of War” and her donation of a substantial portion of the book’s proceeds to the SOS Children Charity.

Liz Broadway, of Hughes Pittman & Gupton, a CPA firm based in Research Triangle Park, graduated from the Leadership Raleigh program of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

Beth Bordeaux is the newest executive director of PLM Families Together, which provides housing and comprehensive services for homeless families in Wake County.

Deborah D. Lambert of Raleigh was named the 2010-2011 chair of the N.C. Association of CPAs, the only statewide organization for certified public accountants.

Michelle Thompson, of Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, a financial management and consulting firm in Raleigh, was appointed to the board of directors of Junior Achievement of Eastern North Carolina, an organization dedicated to educating students on entrepreneurship, the modern workplace and financial management.

Barbara Bradley, president and CEO of Action for Children North Carolina, a Raleigh-based nonprofit, announced that it unveiled a new website.

Sharon Hill, president of Sharon Hill International, a Chapel Hill-based business that teaches business etiquette and communication, was appointed district governor of N.C. Toastmasters International.

Beverly Murray, president of R + M, a brand agency in Cary, was selected as a member of the board of directors of the Schoolhouse of Wonder, a Durham nonprofit environmental and cultural learning experience for children.

Melanie Black Dubris, a partner at the law firm of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein in Raleigh, was named chair of the Carolina Ballet’s developmental committee for 2010-2011.

Billie Redmond, CEO of Coldwell Banker Commercial TradeMark Properties in Raleigh, was master of ceremonies at the 2010 N.C. CEO forum, a business event to discuss the state of North Carolina’s economic and environmental conditions and initiatives.

Linda Craft & Team Realtors in Raleigh announced:
• Vivis Vega of Raleigh joined as a buyer and relocation specialist.
• Stephanie Kerr, a buyer and relocation agent, is the team’s top agent for the year to date.
• Jo Ann Gardner, a broker and buyer specialist, earned the Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource certification.
• The agency introduced a Triangle Transit Map to its website to help commuters new to the area.

Lou Jurkowski, CEO of BJAC, an architectural firm in Raleigh, announced that it was awarded the Champion Award for Most Creative Local Marketing Campaign by the Triangle Commercial Real Estate Women.

Allen Tate Realtors announced:
• Cheri Roeder joined the Falls of Neuse office in Raleigh.
• Carolyn Andrews, Maggie Savidge and Marilyn Skaer joined the Brier Creek office in Raleigh.

ForeverHome and Fonville Morisey & Barefoot of Raleigh announced that Denise Wildblood and Dina Falco White sold out their 65-unit townhome community, Meadows at Olde Carpenter, in a record nine months.

The Strickland Road, Raleigh, office of Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston announced:
• Lisa Marie Turner joined the firm as a sales associate.
• Victoria Riddell was awarded the Certified International Specialist designation.

Mariana Fiorentino, of Terra Nova Global Properties in Carrboro, joined Barbara’s Inner Circle on BarbaraCocoran.com, an international real estate network.

Dr. Sheila Allison joined the speakers’ bureau of Warner Chilcott. Warner Chilcott is an international phamacuetical company that spun off Warner-Lambert in 1996. Its focus includes gastroenterology, dermatology and women's health. Allison practices locally at Southpoint Medicine and Women’s Health in Durham.

Mary Lawrence, president of Cornucopia Cancer Support Center, which provides expert nonclinical cancer support services to anyone affected by any type of cancer, announced that it will be moving from Chapel Hill to Durham.

Tonya Norwood McLamb, founder of Modern Enhancement Salon & Spa in Raleigh, announced:
• She has expanded her salon into a full-service day spa.
•Sarah Kanetzke, licensed esthetician, submitted a lesson plan to the N.C. Board of Cosmetic Arts Examiners.
• Abby Erickson, the salon and spa manager, attended Bumble and Bumble’s three-day business immersion training seminar.

Cynthia M. Gregg, MD, announced that her practice was awarded the Diamond Status with Allergan Pharmaceutical. This designation is in recognition of the experience Gregg and her staff have with Allergan's facial rejuvenation injectible products. Only a very small percentage of practices are awarded this status. Gregg is a Cary facial plastic surgeon.

Pandora Holloway, chief compliance officer for WakeMed Health & Hospitals, joined the board of directors of the Garner Chamber of Commerce.

Crystal Koran, of Cary Family Dental, was named Hygienist of the Year by the Crown Council, a multi-national alliance of dental teams dedicated to raising the standard of dental care.

Karen Albright, president of BodyLase Skin Spa in the Triangle, released two podcasts, one describing intense pulsed light photofacials and the other describing the permanent cosmetic procedure.

Dr. Jennifer Green and Dr. Elizabeth Holt of Duke Medicine spoke at the Taking Control of Your Diabetes Conference and Health Fair in Raleigh, which aims to educate and encourage people with diabetes.