PWC Names Jacqueline Charron Woman of the Year

SPRINGFIELD — The Professional Women’s Chamber (PWC) announced that Jacqueline Charron, chief risk officer and senior vice president of Operations and Information Technology for PeoplesBank in Holyoke, has been named the PWC 2017 Woman of the Year.

The Woman of the Year award is presented to a woman in the Western Mass. area who exemplifies outstanding leadership, professional accomplishment, and service to the community. This award has been given annually since 1954.

Liz Rappaport, secretary of the PWC board committee, said the selection committee was thoroughly impressed with Charron’s work-life balance, as evidenced by her pursuit of education while managing her career and being the mother of four children.

“The PWC recently had a work-life balance panel at a luncheon, and we loved how, through her application, Jackie personified work-life balance,” Rappaport said.

Charron earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at Mount Holyoke College while working as a teller at PeoplesBank. She went on to receive an MBA from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. She has done post-graduate work at Babson College (Mass. Bankers Assoc. School of Financial Studies), Villanova University (master certificate in Lean Six Sigma), and the Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business Leadership Program.

After 32 years, Jackie continues to build a successful career at PeoplesBank, where today she leads a team of 40 associates in deposit operations, information technology, electronic banking, and risk and compliance.

She has served at the leadership level of many community and business organizations, including the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Girls Inc., the South Hadley and Greater Holyoke chambers of commerce, and United Way of Pioneer Valley. She also enjoys volunteering at the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Road Race and at activities and fund-raisers that support her children’s academic and athletic interests. She can be found working the concession stand at a high-school girls’ soccer game or attending a gala for the Fine Arts Center or Bright Nights.

“We are so fortunate to have Jackie on the Food Bank board of directors and next in line to serve as board president,” said Andrew Morehouse, executive director of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. “Simply put, Jackie is committed to our mission. She takes her role very seriously and comes to meetings prepared, having reviewed all agenda materials, and, yes, ready with a boatload of penetrating questions.”

A celebration in Charron’s honor will be held on Thursday, June 1 at 5:30 p.m. at the Carriage House, Storrowton Tavern, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Reservations may be made online at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com or by contacting Jessica Hill at [email protected].

“I am extremely honored to have been named Woman of the Year by the PWC,” Charron said. “This award is meaningful to me because it recognizes so many of the things I value and enjoy in my life — family, friends, community, career, and personal accomplishments. I credit my success in managing work life integration to my mother, Priscilla (Brooks) Charron, who taught me that kindness, respect, hard work, and helping others are key cornerstones to strength, ambition, and achievements in the business world and in personal life. When I think of this award, I don’t believe it is based upon just what I have accomplished alone. Instead, I think of what we have accomplished. By working together with my family, friends, co-workers at PeoplesBank, and fellow board members through the years, we have been able to reach our goals, while enjoying the experience and the journey together.”