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Verragio’s Michael Barabash, a ‘Kind Soul,’ Dies at 58Barabash, Verragio’s client relations representative, was a vital member of the team and is remembered as being warm and full of life.
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GIA Board Elects Kenyon as Chair, Inducts New Members
At its annual board meeting, the Gemological Institute of America appointed the former president of the Jewelers Board of Trade as the new board chair.
Carlsbad, Calif.--At its annual board meeting held this month, the Gemological Institute of America’s board of governors elected Dione Kenyon as the new chair.
Green remains on the board.
The board also inducted two new members at the meeting: Barbara Dutrow, Adolphe G. Gueymard Professor of Geology at Louisiana State University; and Stephen Kahler.
Dutrow, who holds a Ph.D., researches mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, and computational modeling and visualization. She also teaches mineralogy and is the co-author of a best-selling mineralogy textbook.
Kahler is the senior vice president of global sales operations for Swarovski Gemstones. He started at Swarovski in 1993.
Two members of the board retired at the meeting and were honored for their service to the GIA: Aron Suna, president of Suna Bros. Inc., and Hank Siegel, president and CEO of Hamilton Jewelers. Each served on the board for eight years.
Glenn Nord, former GIA president and board member since 1983, was named governor emeritus.
The GIA’s 10th annual research meeting was held the week prior to the board meeting. It took place over three days in Carlsbad, with dozens of participating experts, including GIA research staff, scientists, Richard T. Liddicoat Postdoctoral Research Fellowship program fellows, as well as members of the board of governors.
Topics discussed included advancements in instrumentation, diamond treatment and synthetic detection, and determining origins of colored gemstones.
“The remarkable work of this research team is directly incorporated into GIA’s laboratory services and education programs,” said GIA President and CEO Susan Jacques. “We’re incredibly grateful for the many breakthroughs they’ve made in the study of gems and minerals.”
Editor's Note: This story was corrected post-publication to reflect the fact that the GIA board of governors welcomed two new governors, Barbara Dutrow and Stephen Kahler, not three as previously reported.
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