Home 2023 April 27 (Page 2)

Day: April 27, 2023

Ciara Speller

By
Ciara Speller
40 Under 40 Class of 2023

Evening Anchor, WWLP-22 News: Age 30

Ciara SpellerCiara Speller says she’s always been a storyteller.

At first, and for many years, she told stories through dance, something’s she’s still passionate about today.

“Through the arts, I was always able to tell a story,” she said, but along the way, she found there were other ways to communicate stories — through poetry, the student newspaper in high school, and other vehicles.

“I was moved to see that my words could touch other people and bring their stories to light,” she said, adding that this passion for telling stories, coupled with a long-held interest in watching the news, often with her grandmother, put her on path to broadcast journalism and, eventually, WWLP-22 News, where she currently serves as evening anchor.

She started as a reporter in 2017, arriving in Springfield soon before the story of serial killer Stewart Weldon broke, a case that brought national media to the area and provided Speller with both exposure and learning experiences on many levels.

She joined the anchor desk less than a year later, and there were other big stories to follow — COVID-19, the tragedy at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, Jan. 6, and many others. But it’s the day-to-day work of keeping area residents informed that Speller likes most about her work.

She told BusinessWest that she always pictured herself on the anchor desk, noting that there are many responsibilities there beyond reading the news, including writing, editing, deploying crews, proofreading, answering calls, making beat calls to police and fire departments, and, in general, setting the tone for that night’s broadcasts.

“I want to make sure that I’m delivering stories that are important to our community … I don’t want to let my community down,” she said. “They welcome me into their homes at night, and I always want to give it my best.

“I want to be like a conversation,” she went on. “I want it to come off as just having a chat — what’s going on — with my friends.”

Speller’s ultimate goal is to sit behind the anchor desk in a much larger market, but while she’s working in Greater Springfield, she has committed herself to getting involved in the community and making a difference there.

Indeed, she currently serves on the board of directors for Girls Inc. of the Valley, is a corporator for Monson Savings Bank, and has volunteered with the nonprofit I Found Light Against All Odds, which assists at-risk youths and their families through numerous charitable events.

 

—George O’Brien

Andrea St. Louis

By
Andrea St. Louis
40 Under 40 Class of 2023

Owner, The Tatted Professionals; Director, Jill Ker Conway Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center, Smith College: Age 36

Andrea St. LouisAndrea St. Louis has a number of titles and many different … let’s call them jobs, although some of them are more like passions.

She was just named director of the Jill Ker Conway Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center at Smith College. She is also the owner of a business called the Tatted Professionals, through which she takes many different titles — executive coach, writer, business coach, educator, and public speaker.

She’s also the author of the book 40 Days Lighter: A Devotional Journey for Women Determined to Live Free, an adjunct professor, book-club host, and TEDxSpringfield speech coach and emcee. She’s also an ordained minister at the All Nations Church in Springfield, as well as a youth leader and board member at the church. She has also been a board member for the Children’s Chorus of Springfield and a mentor with the Pass the Torch for Women Foundation. She’s also a mother of two.

That’s a lot of ‘alsos.’

But we need them to accurately convey all that St. Louis does professionally and in her community.

In her role at Smith, which recently expanded from entrepreneur in residence to director, she has developed and taught courses on entrepreneurship and facilitated workshops on entrepreneurship, innovation, ideation, effective pitching, and more.

And through her business, the Tatted Professionals, she is an executive coach, writer, business consultant, educator, and speaker who is committed to helping women leaders own their gifts and effectively tell their story.

She is a frequent speaker, having given a talk at the recent Women in Business Summit in Springfield, and also at the Women Business Owners Alliance Social Media Bootcamp, the On the Move Forum for Women Intergenerational Panel, and the 2021 Wellness for the Culture Saturday Wellness Workshop.

St. Louis said there is general theme or tone to her talks.

“I’m often talking about authenticity, what it means to show up authentically, and professionalism,” she explained, adding that these talking points refer back to the name she has given her business. “For me, tattoos are a symbol of how we bring ourselves to wherever we’re going. Tattoos are permanent; I know some people get them removed, but to me they are a permanent reminder to bring all of myself to the work that I do.”

She said she also helps clients, mostly women of color, tell their stories, step out of their comfort zone, and work through challenges. She’s speaking from personal experience, having done all that herself, and that’s why her voice, and her message, resonates.

 

—George O’Brien

Brian Sullivan

By Contributor
Brian Sullivan
40 Under 40 Class of 2023

Vice President, Northeast IT Systems Inc.: Age 35

Brian SullivanYou might say Northeast IT Systems was on a roll right from the start.

“I met my business partner while we were both in a bowling league,” said Brian Sullivan, the company’s co-founder, with Joel Mollison, and vice president. “We had a shared vision of what Northeast IT could be, and we opened the company in 2012.”

With a computer information systems degree from Holyoke Community College, Sullivan knew he had to convince people he was up to the challenge of making his business a success.

“My mom and dad have a hard work ethic, and that rubbed off on me,” he said, adding that he’s also benefited from a number of mentors through the years.

The company handles business-to-business technology needs, from simple help-desk requests to large projects, such as installing servers and network equipment. Sullivan sees Northeast as a partner for its customers.

“We will even assist companies in developing IT budgets to help them get the most out of their technology,” he said. “We treat every customer network and IT budget like it’s our own.”

He is most proud of partnering with the nonprofit technology training center Tech Foundry to bring interns to Northeast so they can experience what it’s like to work in the field. “It’s a great program to be part of because there was nothing before it that is geared to what we do.”

Sullivan and his colleagues put a priority on mentoring younger team members. “Whether they stay with us long term or not, it’s satisfying to see our team members grow personally and professionally,” he said.

He credits his wife, Shawna, for always supporting his “crazy” ideas. Last year, she suggested a community event to benefit people suffering from Crohn’s disease after she had successfully been treated for it. Sullivan pitched in and applied his experience organizing golf tournaments and other events. The result was the first running of the Movement 5K, raising more than $6,000 for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

Whether in his professional or personal life, Sullivan always tries to live up to the principles of treating others how he’d want to be treated, valuing communication, and delivering on promises. That philosophy seems to be paying off in the reputation of a firm that aims to … well, bowl clients over.

“Integrity is my number-one priority,” he said. “I’m a handshake guy, so your word is everything.”

 

—Mark Morris

Erica Swallow

By Contributor
Erica Swallow
40 Under 40 Class of 2023

Realtor, Turnberg & Swallow Team, Coldwell Banker Realty: Age 36

Erica SwallowErica Swallow’s résumé confuses people because she has worked in journalism, high-tech, and, currently, real estate.

“I have a broad range of interests, but the string that connects them all is feeling rooted to what I’m working on,” she said.

In 2019, she decided to put down roots in Western Mass. because of the high cost of housing in the Boston area. As a remote worker for a Boston-area tech company, Swallow researched houses within a 90-minute driving distance from work and fell in love with Springfield’s Forest Park district.

“I was blown away by the historic homes and having the 735-acre Forest Park next door,” she said.

When her company pulled all its remote workers back to headquarters, Swallow chose to stay in Springfield. After helping her mom sell the family home in Arkansas, then buy one for her in West Virginia, Swallow knew she had her next career.

“I’ve always known real estate was a powerful way for families to build equity and generational wealth,” she said. “I thought if I could help other families, this is where I want to be.”

Though she launched her real-estate career in 2020, her sales production last year led to inclusion in the Coldwell Banker International Diamond Society, placing her among the top 10% of Coldwell Banker agents worldwide.

As president of the Springfield Preservation Trust, Swallow is excited about taking part in her first large-scale building-rehab project at 7-9 Stockbridge St., the third-oldest building in the city’s downtown.

“When I came here, I wanted to build off the history that Springfield has, and this is exactly the kind of project I was hoping for,” she said. Once complete, the trust office will occupy the ground floor and lease the upper floors.

Swallow appreciates how much her life has changed from the days of growing up in poverty, and shared that her personal mantra is a quote by 13th-century poet Rumi, who encouraged people to “live life as if everything is rigged in your favor.”

“When you live from a place of empowerment, anything is possible,” she said.

Swallow used to think that making meaningful change in the world could only happen at the national level, but has since had a change of heart.

“I’ve learned that change gets made when you get involved locally,” she said. “I’ve made more change in my life in Western Mass. than I feel I’ve made in my whole career, and I’m still writing this part.”

 

—Mark Morris

Ashley Tresoline

By Contributor
Ashley Tresoline
40 Under 40 Class of 2023

Owner, Bella Foodie: Age 39

Ashley Tresoline

Personal chef and food educator Ashley Tresoline lives her company’s motto: “healthy starts from the inside out.”

“The idea is to help people live their best lives by using food to be healthy,” she said. “We also teach kids and adults how to make healthy food taste good.”

Tresoline grew up eating a normal, healthy diet influenced by her Italian grandparents. Then, about 10 years ago, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). “That turned my life upside down,” she recalled.

As she became more ill, Tresoline learned to focus on her diet and what foods can help with MS as well as other conditions. She became educated about the combinations of grains and vegetables that can lessen digestive issues and how it even matters what types of spices we put in our food.

“I studied all this and learned how to use my diet to help me be healthy every day, so when things are bad for me, my body is already in a state of being healthy,” she said.

Using her degree in business management and marketing from Springfield College, Tresoline started Bella Foodie to share her knowledge with others.

“I help my clients live their best lives,” she said. “That can range from supporting them through a health problem or working with someone who wants to be healthier and make their body function at the highest level possible.”

She also brings her message of good health into the community through the Boys and Girls Club of West Springfield and Girls Inc. of the Valley. “I love teaching cooking classes to these kids, because they become so engaged.”

During the pandemic, when in-person sessions weren’t possible, Tresoline hosted classes and connected with clients over Zoom, which helped extend her reach. That reach went worldwide with Food for Life, a show she developed for e360tv, an online streaming network.

“The show is about all things health and wellness,” she explained. “Our guests range from local to international people who share their expertise on a wide range of topics that affect health, food, and everything in between.”

To emphasize the importance of what we eat, Tresoline discussed the example of the seemingly healthy person who suddenly dies.

“We’ve all heard the story of someone who was really active in sports who died of a heart attack,” she said. “Chances are they had a terrible diet. No matter how good you look on the outside, you still need to be healthy on the inside.”

 

—Mark Morris

Saluting the Region’s Rising Stars

By
Opinion

Editorial

 

Inspiring.

There are many adjectives one can use to describe the members of the 40 Under Forty class of 2023 and their many — and varied — accomplishments. But ‘inspiring’ probably works best, and for a reason.

This was one of the main motivations for BusinessWest to start this recognition program in 2007. The goal was not to simply identify 40 rising stars each spring, but to inspire others by telling their stories, which are all different, but similar in that they chronicle success in the honorees’ chosen fields, but also strong involvement in the community.

These stories are impressive, but it is our hope, and our expectation, that they will inspire others to want to follow suit.

Let’s look at a few of these stories so you can see what we mean:

There’s Ashley LeBlanc, who told BusinessWest that it seems strange to be happy when someone is diagnosed with lung cancer. But she is, in some ways, because that diagnosis, especially if it comes early, can be one that saves a life. And helping to save and prolong life has become a kind of unofficial job description for her as nurse practice manager of Thoracic Surgery and nursing director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield.

There’s Dave Fontaine Jr., who has not only taken his family’s business, the construction firm Fontaine Bros. Inc., to new and much higher levels in terms of sales, staff, and even a ranking as one of the Boston Globe’s “Top Places to Work.” He has also become a serial entrepreneur of note as president of F2 Ventures, and taken his company and his family to a new level of involvement in the community. Indeed, collectively, they support everything from Link to Libraries to the Forest Park Zoo to the Sr. Mary Caritas Cancer Center.

There’s also Chelsea Russell, manager and CPA at Meyers Brothers Kalicka. She has quickly become a leader and mentor at the company, and has also developed its Community Outreach program, which coordinates drives, awareness campaigns, and services for organizations that include Square One, the United Way of Pioneer Valley, Christina’s House, Rachel’s Table, and many others.

There’s Andrew Brow, the restaurateur who has grown his portfolio to three eateries in Western Mass. — HighBrow Woodfired Kitchen and Bar, the Kitchen by HighBrow at White Lion Brewing Co., and Jackalope Restaurant — while also becoming quite active in the community, serving on boards at Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School and Holyoke Community College, and using his talents in the kitchen to support a number of area nonprofits.

Then there’s Delmarina Lopez, who started a career in law and still uses her legal talents to help small business owners as a consultant. But she wanted to do something more meaningful with her time and energy, so she ran for, and won, a seat on Chicopee’s City Council as its Ward 3 representative.

There are 35 more stories like this, starting on page A8. Each is one is different, inspiring, and uplifting.

This is what we had in mind 16 years ago when we took an idea — to shine a bright light on the young talent in this region — and made it reality.

Like the 680 stories we’ve told, including the 40 this year, this program, and the way it has inspired others, is something worth celebrating.