Who’s News: Deborah Camacho joins Halstead, James Weichert Jr. joins Weichert

The Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS® welcomed Diane Cummins, branch manager of Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Katonah, as its 2014 President, and J. Philip Faranda, owner and principal broker of J. Philip Real Estate LLC in Briarcliff Manor, as the president of its subsidiary, the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service. (HGMLS).
Cummins and Faranda, along with the executive officers and directors of HGAR and HGMLS were officially installed in their new positions at the Association’s Gala 2014, held recently at The View in Piermont.
Diane Cummins has been a broker in the Westchester area for almost 30 years.
Prior to her real estate career, she spent 15 years as a theatrical agent in New York City representing clients such as Tom Cruise in film, TV and Broadway ventures.
Cummins was recognized as the Putnam County Realtor of the Year in 2000, 2002 and 2005. She is the past president of the former Putnam Association of Realtors (serving for 4 years); 2006 Chairwoman of the New York State International Committee; and the NAR President’s Liaison to the Bulgarian Real Estate Association, from 2006 to 2011.
She is also a Graduate of the Real Estate Institute (GRI), Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), holds a Transnational Referral Certification (TRC) and is a Certified NYS Real Estate instructor.
Her most recent accomplishments include receiving her certification as a NAR mediator and her acceptance into The Mayflower Descendant’s Society.
Philip Faranda founded his own firm in 2005, which today is one of the leading independent brokerages in Westchester.
An industry veteran since 1996, Faranda is one of the top-selling broker agents for transaction totals in Westchester County since 2007.
He is also a director for the New York Association of Realtors (NYSAR) and 2014 chair of the NYSAR Technology Forum. In 2012 he was among 20 agents selected nationwide to be on Zillow.com’s Agent Advisory Board and he is a 2013 finalist for the Inman News Innovator Award.
Cummins succeeds Katheryn DeClerck of BHG Rand in Warwick, the 2013 HGAR President, and Faranda takes over the reins from Russ Woolley of Wright Bros Real Estate Inc in Nyack, the 2013 HGMLS President.
DeClerck and Woolley will remain on the Executive Committees of HGAR and HGMLS respectively.
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Houlihan Lawrence announced that Kathryn Finelli has joined the firm working out of their Bedford brokerage.
Previously associated with Ginnel Real Estate for 10 years where she was a consistent producer, Finelli also has 15 years experience as a sales and marketing manager with Academy Reproduction, a leading reprographic firm in Westchester County.
While at Academy, she worked closely with area architects, engineers and building contractors, which led her to the real estate industry.
An active member of the community, Finelli volunteers with the Food Bank of Westchester and American Red Cross.
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Halstead Property announced that Deborah Camacho has joined its Riverdale office on Johnson Avenue. She is an experienced, third-generation real estate broker and advisor with more than two decades of experience in the real estate industry.
As an Associate Broker, she brings experience in all aspects of construction, development, property management and brokerage in both New York and in the Dominican Republic.
Camacho has been in the real estate industry since 1990, when she co-founded a mortgage company based in Westchester County, NY.
Fluent in Spanish, she also worked as a Corporate Administrator for several Fortune 500 companies and private firms and was involved with the development of several projects in Westchester County and a world-class Golf Mega-Villa in Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic.
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When the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island released its sales results for 2013, Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty (DGSIR) agent Carol Syznaka learned that she had sold more real estate than any other agent working on the North Fork.
Her success at Daniel Gale Sotheby’s has included recognition in the organization’s top sales awards programs — The Silver Circle of Achievement and Gold Circle of Excellence.
Syznaka’s accomplishments as a businesswoman and entrepreneur date back to her Manhattan years, when her company, PC Knitwear Inc. was recognized by Entrepreneur magazine as among the “Hot 100 Fastest Growing New Small Businesses in America” and the New York City Mayors office “Bridges to Success 25 Fastest Growing Privately-Held Firms.”
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Tatiana Nikichina has joined Broadway Realty after working as vice president and manager of Moscow Sotheby’s International Realty and at Sotheby’s International Realty’s Manhattan brokerage.
Nikichina worked in both brokerage and management capacities at Sotheby’s.
She also enjoyed great success as a broker specialist in the marketing and sale of luxury residential real estate throughout the South of France.
In Manhattan, Nikichina specializes in the sale and lease of fine residential townhouses and co-operative and condominium apartments.
Her clients include a variety of Russian, French and other international families from the worlds of technology, finance, real estate and the entertainment industry.
A graduate of Moscow State University, where she earned an advanced degree in international economics, Nikichina continued her post-graduate education at the Université Paris-1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, where she was awarded an additional graduate degree in economics. She is fluent in English, French, Russian and Serbian.
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Jim Weichert, president and founder of Weichert, Realtors, announced that his son, James Weichert Jr., will be joining him as co-president of Weichert, Realtors.
In his new role, Weichert Jr. will be responsible for growing the business of Weichert, Realtors, while providing its customers with an exceptional, full-service experience through Weichert’s mortgage, title and insurance companies.
Throughout his career, Weichert Jr. has served in a number of increasingly important and strategic positions throughout the organization, beginning as a sales associate in the Jersey City/Exchange Place office of Weichert, Realtors.
He consequently joined Weichert New Homes, where he significantly increased its representation of larger, urban-oriented residential developments.
In his next role, Weichert Jr. successfully held the role of regional vice president. After that, he worked in the office of the chief financial officer.
Most recently, Weichert Jr. led the company’s efforts to identify and develop future sales leaders, increasing the depth of the company’s management bench.