Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County Welcomes New Advisory Board President

AMHERST — Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County (BBBSHC), a program of CHD, announced the appointment of Claudia Pazmany as its new advisory board president.

Pazmany, the new executive director of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, joined BBBSHC as an advisory board member in May 2016. She served on the development committee and led the efforts to celebrate outgoing Executive Director Renee Moss, while simultaneously serving on the search committee to hire her replacement, current Executive Director Jessie Cooley. 

“Claudia’s successful 17-year history in professional fundraising has made her a true steward of her craft in philanthropy, and this is part of what drew her to us,” said Cooley. “Claudia is also passionate about the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters, with contagious enthusiasm and innovative ideas, and she will help lead us into the next phase of our program’s growth.”

Pazmany embraces the goal of empowering youth through mentoring relationships. “Our program is unique and maintains high-quality match support, which ultimately yields greater impact for both mentee and mentor,” she said. “Participants in our program gain a renewed sense of community, and mentees emerge stronger, more confident, and ready to be our new community leaders. I am thrilled to be a part of this organization and to take on this new role, leading a stellar advisory board.”

Erin Couture, vice president at Florence Bank, has served as BBBSHC board president for four years, overseeing the transition in agency leadership, leading the effort to grow annual events like the successful Daffodil Run, and earning the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s Person of the Year Award in 2018.