People on the Move

Wolf & Co., P.C. announced the promotion of Ryan Gorman, CPA, to Member of the firm. He has 15 years of experience in providing audit, review, and business-advisory services to middle-market businesses within various industries and ownership structures. A significant focus of Gorman’s practice includes private-equity and family owned manufacturers, distributors, retail, and service organizations. In addition to his private-company practice, he also works with publicly traded companies and performs audits of employee benefit plans. Gorman, a graduate of Stonehill College, is a founding member of Wolf’s audit quality task force, a committee established to ensure the company is equipped with the appropriate training, tools, and techniques to deliver effective, quality services.

•••••

 

Howard Bruck has been named president and CEO of Farm Credit Financial Partners Inc. (FPI). With 30 years of experience in general business and financial services, Bruck was most recently chief information officer with Sterling National Bank in New York, responsible for information technology and banking operations. “The breadth and depth of Howard’s business and technology experience and expertise will bolster our collective and individual efforts to better serve our customers and continue to evolve our organizations,” said Bob Bahl, chairman of the board. “His vision builds on FPI’s 21-year history of providing technology to the Farm Credit System.” Bruck has an MBA in accounting from Fordham University and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Long Island University. He also served as an adjunct professor at Fordham University, teaching technology, information-management systems and security, and project and operations management for the past 10 years. He has also advised major corporations, investment managers, and technology providers in those areas. “FPI has an impressive history of providing important technologies to the Farm Credit System for over 20 years,” Bruck said. “I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the organization as we embark into an exciting era of business-technology transformation. Realizing the opportunity to strengthen our products and services and support the business objectives of our customers will require us to be innovative, proficient, and competitive. A big part of my job will be to insure that we focus on creating and delivering great solutions and be recognized as thought leaders and valued partners.”

•••••

Greenfield Mayor William Martin and Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz announced the hiring of Teri Anderson as the new Executive Director of the Franklin Hampshire Employment & Training Consortium (FHETC) and the Franklin Hampshire Career Center. FHETC is the administrative entity established by the two mayors in 1981 to operate public employment services in the 50-community Franklin, Hampshire, and North Quabbin region. Utilizing federal and state funds associated with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the agency delivers services through one-stop career centers in Greenfield and Northampton, and a satellite office in the North Quabbin region. The previous director of the center, Michael Truckey, retired in May 2015 after 38 years with FHETC. An interview team including representatives of the mayors’ offices, the career center, the Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board (REB), and the Mass. Division of Career Services conducted a thorough search process, looking for a person with the right combination of leadership, planning, and management skills to take on the job. Anderson is past economic development director for the city of Northampton and brings many years of experience in planning, project development, grants management, and economic development. Patricia Crosby, executive director of the Franklin Hampshire REB, which oversees workforce services in the region, quoted from the letter sent on behalf of the interview team to the mayors, saying, “we firmly believe that Teri has both the big-picture visioning and the day-to-day administrative skills needed for this important position, and that her deep knowledge of the Franklin/Hampshire region, planning expertise, and calm, steady presence will serve us well in this critical transitional period.” Anderson has recently has held positions with Common Capital and the Mass Broadband Institute. In addition, Crosby noted, she is no stranger to the workforce-development activities of the Career Center and the REB, having served in the past on the board as a representative of the former Northampton mayor’s office.

•••••

 

HUB International New England, a division of HUB International Limited, announced that Eric Martinez has joined the company as Personal Lines Account Manager. He will be based in the East Longmeadow office and will assist clients with their homeowner’s, auto, and personal-liability umbrella coverages. Martinez joins HUB International with more than 10 years of experience in the personal-lines field. His past job responsibilities have included supervising and scheduling staff, resolving client issues, working to maintain carrier relationships, and assisting in planning and implementing marketing programs. His role at HUB International includes assisting in the day-to-day needs of clients, reviewing and updating policies and certificates, maintaining existing client relationships, generating new business, and keeping abreast of the changing market. Timm Marini, president of HUB International New England, noted that “Eric’s personality and strengths will certainly be beneficial as we continue to expand into one of the largest agencies throughout New England.”

•••••

Peter Pan Bus Lines announced that Danielle Veronesi has been named Marketing Director. She will be responsible for overseeing Peter Pan’s Marketing Department, which includes but is not limited to creating digital advertising in multiple markets through multi-media platforms. Veronesi brings more than 15 years of experience in the marketing and promotions industry. She previously worked at iHeartMedia, where she served as the company’s Marketing and Promotions director.

•••••

Matthew Sosik, president and CEO of bankESB, announced the following:

• Kirsten Barkman has joined the bank as Assistant Vice President, Portfolio Manager. Barkman most recently served as a portfolio manager at Chicopee Savings Bank, where she had been working since 2012. She has more than 15 years of experience in the financial industry. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Tufts University. She has also passed Level 1 and Level 2 of the Chartered Financial Analyst examinations, and she is a Risk Management Assoc. member; and

• Erin Joyce has been named Special Assets Officer. Joyce joined the bank in October 2014 as special assets manager. She has had many years of banking experience within the local banking industry, the last six in the area of residential and consumer collections. She attended UMass and has completed numerous Center for Financial Training courses and received certificates and diplomas in many areas of finance, lending, appraisals, and compliance. Joyce is a volunteer tax preparer for the IRS Volunteers in Tax Assistance Program. She was a parent volunteer and fund-raising coordinator for the Northampton Youth Football League and Northampton High School Booster club. She has also served as treasurer for the John F. Kennedy Middle School PTO.

•••••

Jay Smith, founder and president of Sports Travel and Tours, has been named Vice Chair of the executive board for the board of directors of the National Tour Assoc. for 2016. NTA is the leading business-building association for travel professionals in the packaged travel and tour industry. Smith, whose sports-travel business entered its 20th year this fall, has served for four years on the NTA as a tour-operator board member and as its secretary last year. NTA was founded in 1951 and is now the leading business-building association for professionals serving customers traveling to, from, and within North America. Smith founded Sports Travel and Tours in 1996. Its mission is to offer hassle-free trip options to sports fans so they can attend games and other events across the U.S. and Canada.

•••••

Homewatch CareGivers announced the hiring of Deborah Epstein as business development manager for Hampshire and Franklin counties. She will work in tandem with Kate Tyler, who also works in those two counties. Epstein comes to Homewatch CareGivers with a skill set in public relations, program development, and administration. She has a master’s degree in public health from the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences with a focus in health policy management and community health education. This complements her dual bachelor’s degree in management and psychology from Simmons College in Boston. She also works as a marketing and health-promotion consultant for various organizations, including Orchard Medical Associates of Indian Orchard. She brings a wealth of experience through her work for Massachusetts General Hospital, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Baystate Medical Center, various senior centers, and as coordinator of the Franklin-Hampshire RSVP Osteoporosis Exercise/Nutrition Program. Epstein will begin her role immediately, seeking out partners in the medical community who can assist Homewatch CareGivers in building alliances to better serve Western Mass. residents in securing appropriate homecare options.

•••••

Berkshire Health Systems announced the appointment of Dr. Nina Molin, a board-certified internal-medicine practitioner, to the physician staff of Berkshire Osteopathic Health of BMC. A veteran of both private and academic practice in the Berkshires since 1995, Molin received her medical degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Medicine, and completed her residency in primary-care internal medicine from the University of Rochester. Molin is presently a fellow in the Integrative Medicine Fellowship of the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine, where she is the recipient of the Council for Responsible Nutrition scholarship. She has served as associate professor of Medicine at UMass Medical School. Molin served at Canyon Ranch in Lenox for 13 years as an integrative medicine specialist, lecturing and consulting in many areas, including integrative medicine, preventive medicine, women’s health, digestive wellness, inflammatory conditions, and Ayurveda. She has offered integrative-medicine consultations in her private practice, Ananda Health, and has offered primary care throughout the Berkshires since 1995, including as a volunteer physician at Berkshire Volunteers in Medicine.