Pasadena Picks Executive Arts Programs Director

Denise Nelson Nash, a former arts coordinator in Los Angeles, has been selected as Pasadena’s executive director for the arts following a six-month search.

Beginning Jan. 7, Nash, 36, will receive $55,478 annually to develop and recommend city arts policies and programs, and provide staff assistance to the City Arts Commission.

With 17 years in the arts, Nash most recently coordinated the after-school arts program for the Plaza de La Raza School of Performing and Visual Arts in Los Angeles. She also served as a panelist for the California Arts Council and as an advisory board member for the Los Angeles Festival of Masks and the Performing Tree.

* Bill Sato, a 29-year Pasadena city employee, has been named city engineer, a post that pays $79,719 annually.

He replaces David Barnhart, the former city engineer who left in September for a job with the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission.

Sato, 55, received a civil engineering degree from USC and began work with Pasadena as an associate engineer. He has been involved in street and lighting improvement projects and the rehabilitation of the Colorado Street Bridge.

* Two San Gabriel Valley doctors, Robert K. Gustafson of San Marino and Robert E. Burky Jr. of Covina, were honored by Orthopaedic Hospital of Los Angeles for their volunteer work.

The two traveled to the Valley Orthopaedic Clinic in Calexico to screen children for possible surgery or diagnostic treatment at the Los Angeles hospital.

The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center has honored Abe and Florence Katzman with a lifetime membership recognizing 44 years of service, including leading fund-raising and charity projects.