George Holback, Cho Benn Holback + Associates principal and co-founder, retired on Nov. 1. Holback practiced throughout the MidAtlantic region for 35 years. In 1979, he helped found the Baltimore-based firm, which was acquired by Quinn Evans Architects in May. Holback led design teams on projects such as Baltimore’s American Brewery renovation, which transformed an 1887 industrial building into a community training center and corporate headquarters. He also led design efforts to renovate a 1914 building, near Union Station in Washington, D.C., for the National Postal Museum. He also helped to convert Baltimore’s historic Mercantile Bank building into the Chesapeake Shakespeare Theater. Holback has served as a leader and volunteer with the Neighborhood Design Center, which assists underserved communities in Baltimore and Prince George’s County, Md.

Fairfax, Va.-based Dewberry hired Elese Adele Roger as executive director for IT and technology. Previously, Roger was Michael Baker International’s executive vice president-CIO.

Philadelphia-based structural engineering firm Keast & Hood promoted John R. Davis, Denise L. Richards and Craig D. Swift to principals. Davis  has managed projects such as the Museum of the American Revolution and the Arlen Specter Center for Public Policy at Jefferson University, both in Philadelphia. Richards, the firm’s first female principal, has managed the Statue of Liberty National Monument life-safety upgrades and is leading the 1.5-million-sq-ft Fashion District Philadelphia mixed-use complex, scheduled for completion in 2018. Swift opened and, since 2015, has led the firm’s Charlottesville, Va., office. A seismic design expert, Swift has led projects for the University of Virginia, Virginia Military Institute and the Fort Monroe Visitor Center.

WSP USA named Gary Hamilton senior vice president and health-care leader in its Arlington, Va., buildings practice. A published author in the health-care industry, Hamilton was elevated in 2015 to the senior status of the American Society of Healthcare Engineers. Before  joining WSP, he was SmithGroup-JJR’s national engineering health-care leader.

WSP USA also named Jodie Misiak service area manager, strategic initiatives for alternative-delivery advisory services. Misiak will develop opportunities for new advisory business in infrastructure asset assessment, development, valuation and acquisition. Misiak previously worked for the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Build America Bureau. She also has been director of the Maryland Dept. of Transportation’s office of innovative project delivery.

John Nicholson was promoted to the lead position at the civil technical excellence center in WSP’s Pittsburgh office.

Diana Mendes, HNTB Corp.’s MidAtlantic division president, transit-rail practice leader and senior vice president, has been named chair of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) legislative committee. Furthermore, she was appointed to APTA’s executive committee.

Mendes is the first legislative committee chair from a private-sector firm in APTA’s 135-year history. The committee is responsible for developing consensus recommendations about federal legislative activity.