BusinessWest

Kimberly Klimczuk: 32

Attorney and Partner, Royal & Klimczuk, LLC

Helping people is the motivation behind Kimberly Klimczuk’s professional and personal accomplishments.

She co-owns, with attorney Amy Royal, a Northampton law firm that specializes in labor and employment law. And although Klimczuk represents businesses, such as Troy Industries, which manufactures small-arms components, “there are people behind all of these companies who are trying to follow employment laws and want to do the right thing,” she said. “We develop ongoing relationships with our clients, and there is more of a human connection than people might think.”

As a child, Klimczuk loved the TV shows LA Law and Law & Order. She grew up in a blue-collar family, was the first in that family to graduate from a four-year college, and discovered she wanted to pursue labor and employment law after a stint with a law firm.

Today, Klimczuk uses her expertise on the job and for a number of organizations that benefit people. She has been has been a judge for the Mass. Bar Assoc. mock-trial competition for high-school students, and volunteers for the Dial a Lawyer program.

“I like to share the knowledge I have gained. It is of use to a lot of people,” she said. “Having legal knowledge opens a lot of doors, and I like to help people when I can.”

She has volunteered for the Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program since she was in law school, and is secretary of the board for the Gandara Center, a board member of the Hartford Penn Club, and a mentor for the Pioneer Valley Girl Scouts Lawyers of Tomorrow program.

Klimczuk serves on the board of the Hampden County Bar Assoc., helps organize the annual luncheon it sponsors for Open Pantry’s Loaves and Fishes Kitchen, and recently joined the board of Aditus Inc., which provides employment and residential support to people with developmental disabilities.

She is also proud to be part of a female-owned law firm. “Labor and employment law is something that affects everyone, and I really enjoy it.”—Kathleen Mitchell

<<Back

Mary Fallon: 26

Media Director, Garvey Communication Associates Inc.

As she talked with BusinessWest for this profile, Mary Fallon was thinking about what she might do on her first real outing with Lashanna, her first ‘little sister,’ whom she had just met through Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The list of options — which includes hiking, playing soccer or basketball, shopping, or dog-walking, among others — reveals just some of the things Fallon enjoys when she’s not working as media director for Springfield-based Garvey Communication Associates. Especially the dog-walking part.

Fallon counts her 95-pound weimaraner, Riley, as her best friend. “We do everything together,” she said, noting that the two walk her neighborhood in Springfield for at least an hour a day, more on weekends. Lashanna is apparently a dog lover, so the two should hit it off.

Her current involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters is the latest example of how Fallon mixes her job responsibilities — which include public relations, media buying, and social media — with civic involvement. A veteran Facebook user, she is also adept in applying Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn, among other vehicles, and is becoming well-known and regarded as a social-media expert. “I do a little bit of everything,” she said, “which makes each day different and my job challenging, but also fun.”

In the community, Fallon has donated time, energy, and expertise to several organizations and causes. She helped lead efforts to collect personal care and clothing items for the homeless for St. Francis Chapel, a downtown Springfield shelter. She recorded a radio public-service announcement, used social-media channels to build awareness of what the chapel was doing, and coordinated media coverage to further spread the word. Fallon is also a volunteer and presenter for Media and Marketing for Middle School, a vocational mentoring program at the Zanetti School in Springfield.

When asked where her career might take her, Fallon said she has yet to think that through. For now, she’s focused on what she and Lashanna might do next weekend, and what route the next walk with Riley might take.

—George O’Brien

<<Back

David Kutcher: 32

Owner and President, Confluent Forms LLC

When David Kutcher started his first business enterprise, a graphic-arts and Web-design firm, he looked at the strengths of two friends for inspiration.

“A confluence is when three or more rivers come together to form one stronger river,” he told BusinessWest about the inspiration for Confluent Forms. “The idea originally was that we were offering three services: usability and strategic consulting, design branding and graphic-design services, and custom software-development services.”

Since 2002, that company has taken off, and now counts everything from small nonprofit organizations to Fortune 100 firms as clients. But Kutcher is most pleased these days with the success of a Web site he created that’s certainly turning some heads.

After becoming involved in the Northampton Arts Council, he realized the importance of civic involvement. And like any good businessman, he saw an opportunity. The result is the RFP Database, where organizations post their requests for proposals. Interested parties join at little to no cost, and as a result, the site has upwards of 60,000 members, announcing more than 1,400 new RFPs every month, with a total value ranging anywhere from $600 million to $1 billion.

“Being able to push those business opportunities is really a rewarding thing to do,” he said. “And I do hope more people in Western Mass. take advantage of it. With the economy being what it is here, to be able to grab projects from other states and do them here, it’s great.”

Investment in his community is something that has always been important to Kutcher. And as he and his wife, Nicole, expect their first child (besides their dog, Rita) at the end of this month, that means he’ll be more invested than ever. “People used to tell me all the time that, when you have a kid you’re a bigger part of the community,” he said. “It’s exciting to be expecting our firstborn, but also to be more involved than I already am.” —Dan Chase

<<Back

James Leahy: 36

Pharmaceutical Sales Representative, Alcon Laboratories; Holyoke City Councilor

James Michael Leahy’s father emigrated from Ireland to South Boston and married the daughter of two Irish immigrants.

“Nothing was handed to them. I saw how hard they worked, and that’s been ingrained in me,” said Leahy, adding that his father admired former Boston Mayor James Michael Curley — so much that he named his son after him. “He told me stories about how this mayor helped immigrant people who were struggling. And I’ve been given so much in life that I feel I should give back.”

Over the years, Leahy has served the community with financial philanthropy and volunteer work for organizations including the YMCA, the Holyoke Children’s Museum, the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round, and the Holyoke Boys Club, as well as overseeing the very well-attended 2010 St. Patrick’s parade and road race. Then there’s the Holyoke City Council; he was first elected at age 24 and is now serving his sixth term.

“I work on quality-of-life issues, safe streets, keeping Holyoke affordable, bringing new business into the city,” he said. He helped the Police Department procure financing for bulletproof vests and is working to get them tasers as well, and he received a proclamation from former Mayor Michael Sullivan for testimony in a notable rape case.

Leahy balances all this with about 50 hours of work each week at Alcon Laboratories, a worldwide leader in vision products. There, he trains new employees and sits on a human-resources diversity board among his everyday responsibilities, which focus on products for glaucoma, allergies, and dry eye.

Considering all those roles, it’s no wonder that he makes family time count. A member of Springfield Country Club, he takes turns bringing his kids (ages 9, 8, and 4) to play a few holes of golf in the evening and then shares some one-on-one time over ice cream.

“That’s my quality time with my children,” he said. But it sounds like Leahy strives for quality with all his time.

—Joseph Bednar

<<Back

Kristin Leutz: 37

Vice President of Philanthropic Services, the Community Foundation of Western Mass.; Founder and Owner, Home Yoga

Kristin Leutz is a certified Kripalu yoga instructor who practices its tenets on and off the mat, using her talents to serve others and make the world a better place.

“Women and wellness are my passion; I focus all of my philanthrophic and volunteer time on them,” she said. “The health of women is key in making a community thrive, and I believe there is an inherent connection between them.”

Since women do the majority of caretaking for children and families, it’s critical for them to also care for themselves, Leutz says, because what they do has a ripple effect on the community, which eventually extends to the world at large. “So I focus on supporting women, health, and wellness in any way I can.”

To that end, Leutz is a board member of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, and was an advisory board member for Fit Together of Hadley. She is a pro-bono advisor for the Women’s Fund and a volunteer for Motherwoman, the Women’s Leadership and Policy Institute, and the White House Project.

She was the recipient of a MassMutual Financial Group Human Resources Excellence Award, is a certified conflict mediator, and created a highly successful job-share team at the Community Foundation, which is responsible for a $7 million annual fund-raising program. In her capacity there, Leutz and her team help people provide funds to charitable organizations in the Pioneer Valley.

The ability to share a job allows her to operate her business, Home Yoga, and teach the discipline to individuals in their homes as well as at local businesses.

It’s that balance that allows Leutz to succeed on and off the job. The mother of two is frequently asked to speak at professional conferences, and uses her background in organizational development and psychology to inspire others.

“The work that I do,” she said, “helps me meet my responsibility as a citizen of the world.”—Kathleen Mitchell

<<Back

Peter Zurlino: 35

Web Master, Springfield Public Schools; Owner, Atlantico Designs

Peter Zurlino says that his goal when he started out in business was rather simple: “I didn’t want to dread going to work every day.”

But sometimes the best ideas are the most simple, and Zurlino said that, for him, the differentiating factor in his life was to move into a career that provided something interesting that he also loves doing. “I love to design Web sites,” he explained, “and I love knowing that what I’m doing is helping people’s businesses. It also happens to be that I can make a profit doing that.”

Since 1999 he has owned and operated Atlantico Designs, working with and for a growing client base of businesses and organizations. But what Zurlino considers his primary role is as the first-ever Web master for the Springfield Public Schools. Officials there cite his enormous commitment in overseeing a complete Web presence for the school system. For Zurlino, with such responsibility comes a true enjoyment for a job that has him interacting with all facets of the organization.

“I came in with a commercial background,” he explained of his first days on the job. “And I said, ‘I understand what you folks want to do, but we’re going to need to do it a different way.’ I was able to bring my business experience to the School Department and have them see their needs through a different set of glasses.”

And for this Springfield native, becoming one of the first board members of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield allowed him to be a catalyst for further involvement in the community. “YPS was a shining star for me. It was an opportunity to get involved with something on the ground floor. And I’m proud of where the group has gone; we’ve done so much.”

Zurlino said that giving back to his hometown is rewarding, but also fulfills that important role of being able to love going to work every day. —Dan Chase

<<Back