Director of Community Engagement, WGBY-TV, age 38

Like most of those who work in public broadcasting, Vanessa Pabon has been caught up in the phenomenon that is Downton Abbey. She took a behind-the-scenes role in helping to stage an elaborate ball themed after the show in January, and, like everyone else, is eagerly awaiting season four.
But her work with WGBY-TV is far more focused on the here — meaning Greater Springfield — and now, as opposed to the 1920s. As her title, director of Community Engagement, suggests, she’s responsible for engaging people in communities within WGBY’s service area who are underrepresented in its audience and membership. And she does this by developing new engagement strategies and also overseeing and expanding existing programs, such as the Latino Youth Media Institute and something called TOLD (Telling Our Legacies Digitally).
“People get to share a personal story about themselves that they ultimately feel may make an impact within the community,” Pabon said of TOLD, adding that the five-minute videos have involved individuals primarily from Springfield’s North End, and of all ages. “It’s not just sharing, but something that becomes public, and the stories range from overcoming battles, like finding out they have HIV, to happy moments, such as someone who didn’t think they’d be going to the prom ultimately going and being named prom queen.
“They get to produce these pieces and then either share them with their family or in a public forum, as conversation starters,” she went on. “And for me, the power isn’t just the video you watch at the end of the workshop, but what happens within the process — the community building, relationships, and the healing that happens when people share stories.” Other job responsibilities include everything from recruiting interns to providing media training to researching and writing grants.
In addition to her work with the station, Pabon is very involved in civic life, through work with the North End Campus Coalition; the Greater Springfield YMCA, which she serves as a member of its Community Services Branch, Charter School Committee, and Hispanic/Latino National Health Initiative; the Springfield Promise Neighborhood; and the Stay in School Campaign, which she serves as head of its youth committee.
In other words, she emphasizes community engagement both on and off the job.

— George O’Brien

Vice President of Marketing, Excel Dryer Inc., age 36

William Gagnon was schooled in professional and personal values by his father, Denis Gagnon. “We have a family business, and he taught me to have strong business morals and ethics, do the right thing, be honorable, and be a person of my word, not only in business but in life,” he said, adding, “I have a strong belief that it’s important to be involved in the community and give back once you become successful.”
Which is exactly what he does in both arenas. Gagnon was involved in the development and marketing of the XLERATOR hand dryer, which has had a positive impact on the environment in addition to leading to a large expansion of Excel Dryer, allowing it to double its staff. “It uses 80% less energy than conventional hand dryers and lowers the carbon footprint of hand drying by 70%, versus even 100% recycled paper towels,” he said.
He is working with the U.S. Building Council on its Green Apple Program through its Center for Green Schools, an initiative to help build healthy and environmentally friendly learning environments for the nation’s students. “I have a passion for sustainability,” Gagnon said.
He is also involved in the local community and is a member of the board of directors for the Children’s Study Home. “It’s a great program that gives children in troubled families an opportunity to succeed in life and school and move on,” he explained. He is also a member of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield and coaches football and basketball teams at Minnechaug Regional High School.
Gagnon also helped organize and market a golf tournament sponsored by the Anero Sports Agency to benefit victims of 9/11. Closer to home, he helped the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation raise money for families in Western Mass. after the June 2011 tornado. “I wanted to get involved,” he said. “We have family members who lived on the streets of Springfield that were most affected, so it really hit home, and I wanted to help in any way I could.”

— Kathleen Mitchell

Assistant Director of Communication, Commonwealth Honors College, UMass Amherst, age 38

Shonda Pettiford believes everyone has potential, and she takes pride in using her writing skills to tell the stories of students at Commonwealth Honors College. “I really enjoy being in the educational environment,” she noted. “It’s amazing to see students grow and develop over the years, and I enjoy giving voice to other people’s stories and accomplishments in the Honors College.”
But the mother of two daughters is especially vested in helping women realize their potential. “I think everyone should be treated equally and have equal access to opportunities,” she said. “And I’m passionate about supporting women and helping them to build their leadership skills, because historically, culturally, and socially, women have not always been valued for their gifts. So I do everything I can to make sure that every girl and woman recognizes exactly how powerful she is.”
Pettiford funnels much of that effort through the Women’s Fund of Western Mass. She has been involved with the organization since 2001 and has served in many roles there, including board member, vice president, and president. In fact, when her two-year tenure as president ended, she was asked to serve an additional year. “It’s been a significant part of my life,” she said.
Pettiford was recognized as the youngest board president in the organization’s international network, and says the fund offers grants and strategic initiatives that help girls and women, such as programs aimed at developing leadership skills.
She was one of 20 women selected for membership in the international Women’s Funding Network Bridge Builders Cohort, and was chosen to be the group’s spokesperson at one of the plenary sessions during its international conference in New York.
Pettiford has also served on the statewide advisory board for the Massachusetts Women’s Pipeline for Change. In addition, she was selected to be part of the Women’s Professional Fellowship Program, funded by the U.S. State Department, that focuses on women’s health and leadership.
As part of the exchange, she went to Brazil in January, and plans to continue her personal mission of helping women to succeed, because, as she said, “everyone deserves a voice.”

— Kathleen Mitchell

Certified Public Accountant, age 33

One of those who nominated Shannon Reichelt for this year’s 40 Under Forty competition described her as a “new-age CPA.”
It’s a portrayal she didn’t disagree with. In fact, when presented with that phrase, she took the ball and ran with it.
“With the new-age CPA, it’s not just about doing the tax return — send me in your stuff, and we get it out like a factory type of thing. I like to help people be successful,” she said.
“I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty — I’ll go into people’s businesses and help them on the ground level,” she continued when pressed for a deeper explanation. “And I think that stems from the fact that I started as a bookkeeper, and I also run my own firm, so I know the pain points that business owners go through with their finances, their accounting, and their record keeping.”
Reichelt, whose company — S. Reichelt & Company LLC — has offices in West Springfield and Greenfield, describes herself as an entrepreneur first and a CPA second. That’s because she’s proud of the risk she took in 2006, when she left Springfield-based J.M. O’Brien and put her own name over the door and on the letterhead.
“I had reached a point eight or nine years into my career … and I just knew,” she said of her desire to go out on her own. “I wanted to be able to sit down and work with business owners at the ground level and have that be OK. I like big firms, but I had a different vision of how I wanted to help people.”
It was after she considered her business venture firmly established — and when it no longer consumed nearly all of her time — that Reichelt made a firm commitment to get involved in the community. This has been manifested by work with the Community Foundation, but especially her many contributions to the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society.
A self-described animal lover (she has an English bulldog named Daisy, pictured, and a boxer named Katie), she now sits on the Dakin board of directors and stages a fund-raiser for the organization each tax season — just another way that passion for helping others shines through.

— George O’Brien

Manager of Community Relations and Community Benefits, Baystate Health, age 32

It’s called the Pioneer Valley Community Health Needs Assessment Coalition.
That’s the name given to an initiative involving a number of area hospitals — Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Baystate Mary Lane Hospital, Baystate Medical Center, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Holyoke Medical Center, Mercy Medical Center, and Shriners Hospital for Children — that constitutes an imaginative response to state and federal directives requiring such facilities to compile comprehensive needs assessments involving the cities and towns they serve every three years.
And it was Annamarie Golden, in her capacity as manager of Community Relations and Community Benefits at Baystate Health, who saw the need for, and the benefits to be derived from, such a coalition, and actively engaged administrators at partnering institutions to make it reality.
“Many hospitals do not have dedicated community-benefits staff, and we don’t have a lot of resources lying around for this,” she said. “I looked at the region as a whole and said, ‘we have a lot of hospitals, and our service areas overlap, so let’s come together for the benefit of the community and the patients we serve and do a regional needs assessment.’”
Creation of the coalition is one of many undertakings Golden has led in her position at Baystate, which involves ensuring that federal and state community-benefit regulations and guidelines are met, and that community members are engaged and included in such efforts.
In addition to her professional duties, Golden is also involved in the community through work with the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield, which she serves as clerk and executive committee member, and as a strong supporter of the Western Mass. transgender and gay community.
And she’s passionate about another issue — the matter of work/life balance.
As the mother of two, including a 6-month-old, she said she’s keenly aware of the challenges facing people as they try to manage both a family and a career. At Baystate, she’s one of a group of employees working to create a support network that would assist such individuals.
“I’m working with HR to start a group right now, and hopefully we can create a model that can be replicated throughout the organization,” she explained. “There is a definite need for such a program — there are many working mothers who need some support.”

— George O’Brien

President, Burgess, Schultz & Robb, P.C., age 39

Andy Robb can almost understand why some people would consider accounting work to be monotonous and perhaps not as rewarding as some other lines of work.
That’s almost understand.
He told BusinessWest that many of those not in his profession are of the mistaken belief that accounting is about numbers and taxes. Instead, it’s about people, Robb said, and because each individual and each company is different, there is a great amount of variety in this field — and rewards as well.
At a recent presentation he gave before the Berkshire Brewing Co. stockholders meeting, the rewards were immediate and refreshing. “At what other job can you get a draught beer, any type you want, and talk financials?” he joked, adding that his goals are usually far more substantial and involve helping business owners achieve their ambitions, aim higher, and, overall, take their businesses where they want them to go.
He’s been reaping such rewards since joining the profession after graduating from Quinnipiac College with a degree in Accounting, and especially since forming what has become Burgess, Schultz & Robb, an East Longmeadow-based firm that specializes in corporate tax work.
Robb also strives to create a balance between his business, his family (his wife, Amy, and four children), his multi-faceted work within the community, and, yes, his golf game. And sometimes he gets to mix these passions — using time on the course to talk with clients and network with potential new ones, and work as a member of the Ronald McDonald House Golf Committee.
He is also a member of the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce and the Chicopee Rotary Club, serves as treasurer for the Chicopee Visiting Nurses Assoc., and holds that same post with the Chicopee Fest of All Inc.
Doing all that wouldn’t be possible, he said, without considerable support from Amy, a stay-at-home mother.
“Amy allows me to do what I need to do to be out there networking, marketing, growing the firm the way I need to,” Robb said. “Thanks to her for all that she does, because she helps make me what I am.”

— Elizabeth Taras

Certified Financial Planner and Owner, the DiStefano Group

When asked what he does for work, Christopher DiStefano modestly sums it up: “I specialize in helping people plan for retirement.”
Over his 16 years in that field, he’s not only been actively managing his clients’ futures, but also led the way in educating people on the changing nature of retirement and how they need to prepare. He started with classes at local colleges, preparing thousands of imminent retirees on their specific financial needs.
“Education is an integral part of the planning process,” he explained, “because the most important thing people lack when they’re approaching retirement is the knowledge of what to do. They’re crippled by taking no action because they’re afraid of making a mistake.”
“It’s becoming increasingly important for people my age that we’re investing properly, doing what we need to do now, and knowing how much to save,” he continued, adding that one of the main reasons for this is that traditional pension plans from an employer-based fund are “going the way of the dodo.”
The financial-services industry has taken notice of DiStefano’s accomplishments. The winner of numerous awards for his financial acumen, he said such recognition is flattering, and it’s gratifying to work with adults on preparation for retirement. But even more rewarding is the work he does on behalf of children, and it comes in many forms.
He’s a soccer coach in a league for youngsters, including his two children. Meanwhile, he’s an active supporter of the Mass. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the Children’s Miracle Network, and the YWCA. “I like to think that childhood is a special time,” he said. “There are children in broken homes and abusive situations, and agencies like the YWCA do such a good job to support them. Anything you can do for children is important.”
Taking care of the youngest to the oldest, DiStefano said there are common denominators. “A lot stems back to relationships I had with some teachers growing up. It’s so important to have a good teacher, and also to recognize in students the potential of what they can and should be doing.”
— Dan Chase

Supportive Housing Program Site Director, Springfield YWCA

Michele Crochetiere said that a famous quote from Madeleine Albright has stuck with her over the last several years: “there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”
Her jobs over the past decade have been in property management, but there was always something within that drove her to a higher purpose. Moving back to Western Mass. after a successful stint with a nationwide real-estate-management company, she said that she immediately joined the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield and sat on the board for Dress for Success. From there, she said, her involvement in the area “just blossomed.”
At the YWCA, she runs the residential-apartment communities for survivors of domestic violence, and much of her volunteer work is focused on areas of social justice — from her board position at Zonta, helping disenfranchised women, to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission’s strategic-planning commission for the Knowledge Corridor Project on Fair Housing, to the Rental Housing Assoc. of Greater Springfield, the AIDS Foundation of Western Mass., and many, many others.
“But ‘social justice’ is such a buzzword,” she said. “Everyone has rights, and everyone has needs. What it takes is figuring out what those are. Everyone needs help at some point; sometimes it’s the need for a place to stay, and sometimes it’s a network connection for a job.”
Her colleagues across the board praise Crochetiere as someone motivated to volunteer not for her own professional advancement, but as a genuinely driven participant in making the area a better place for all.  “For me, it’s pretty simple,” she acknowledged. “I do this because I like it. I could come up with some abstract notion about the importance of donating one’s time — but it’s a selfish thing. I meet awesome people, and I always take away great experiences from those people I meet.”
In recognition for her efforts, Crochetiere has been named among the Women Business Owners Alliance 2011 Top 10 Business Women in the Pioneer Valley, and earned the 2012 Western Mass. Women magazine’s Volunteer of the Year Award. And now, she’s one of this year’s 40 Under Forty.
— Dan Chase

Director of Public Relations, Yankee Candle Co.

In her nine years at Yankee Candle, Karen Woods has worked in a number of capacities, from human resources to wholesale to public relations. It’s that current role, she said, that most lights her fire.
“I have the opportunity to share the company’s history and products, and create campaigns that resonate with consumers,” Woods said, adding that she also oversees Yankee Candle’s charitable and philanthropic efforts.
“I truly believe I represent a product that evokes memories; it’s an emotional product that makes people feel good. Candles bring light and fragrance, and so many consumers say Yankee Candle fragrances hold real meaning for them. It’s not just a product on the shelf, but it actually brings happiness to people.”
Woods brings that same spirit to her civic involvement, particularly in her extensive work for the American Heart Assoc., including leadership in the annual Go Red for Women luncheon.
“Although I sit on the executive leadership team, I’m more than just a person sitting there,” she said. “It’s not just something for my résumé; it certainly has meaning to me, and I take pride in it.”
That’s because heart disease runs in her immediate family, and that of her husband. “A lot of people have been touched by heart disease in my family. And, although I can’t change my genetic makeup, I can make changes in myself,” she said, which is why she makes an effort to promote a healthy lifestyle both through the AHA and in her own life. “Most people don’t know that heart disease is the number-one killer of women, and they don’t know their numbers and their risks.”
She’s also involved in Link to Libraries, promoting early literacy, and autism-awareness efforts, among other activities.
“Giving back to the community is who we are as a family,” said Woods, who welcomed her first child with her husband, James, earlier this year. “If I can make a difference in one person’s life, it’s worth all the time and effort. It’s not a job, or just a meeting I have to go to; it’s part of my lifestyle.”
— Joseph Bednar

Owner and Principal, RMC Strategies; Marketing Consultant, Get Set Marketing

Ryan McCollum wants to make the world a better place, and uses much of his time to that end. “It is the driving force behind everything I do,” he said.
He said he’s been inspired by strong leaders since he was a child, which led him to the political arena. “I want to help people get elected who will make our lives better and make our communities a better place to live.”
After working on a number of political campaigns in Boston and serving as legislative director for the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, he returned to Springfield and established his own full-service consulting and government-relations firm.
However, when he discovered many young professionals were leaving the city, he became a founding member of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield. “In order to retain and attract young people, you need to have social things for them to do and a place where they can network, whether they’re looking for a job, starting a business, or want to move up the career ladder,” he explained. “Plus, having the society here is a great tool for companies looking to attract and retain young professionals.”
He believes in synergy and collaboration, and his involvement in YPS led to a second job as marketing consultant for Get Set Marketing.
McCollum also serves on the board of the Boston-based Irish International Immigration Center and is on the advisory board for Best Buddies of Western Massachusetts, established to create lifelong partnerships between people with and without intellectual disabilities. “I like to be able to help people at the board level,” he said, adding that his parents always stressed the importance of public service.
That passion extends into his online presence. He has almost 3,000 friends on Facebook and uses the social medium to put forth messages about issues he believes in.
And he spends his days — and nights — working to make a difference behind the scenes. “I want to leave the world I better place than I found it.”
— Kathleen Mitchell

Vice President of Marketing, Member Services, Pioneer Valley Federal Credit Union

“Empowerment” is the word that best describes the driving force behind Trecia Marchand’s personal and professional accomplishments. Her 12-year-old son, Tremar, is her priority, and she wants to empower him so he knows he can achieve anything he is willing to work for.
Marchand has achieved a great deal herself, and takes pride in helping others succeed. She dispenses knowledge gained in her profession by speaking about financial literacy at venues that have included Bay Path College, Westover Air Reserve Base, and Holy Tabernacle Church in Hartford, where she is a member. Faith is key to Marchand, and she is on the board and organizational development committee there. “The church provides my spiritual compass, and it is very important to me to be able to give back to it,” she said. “I enjoy working with organizations that try to meet the greater good of society and empower people.”
Marchand has worked in credit unions for more than 13 years, and is proud to be employed “at a place that gives so much and helps people put their best financial foot forward.” She graduated from the One Day program at Bay Path College while fulfilling her duties as a full-time employee and single mother. “I think Bay Path is amazing; it changed my life and is such a supportive environment.”
Marchand serves on the college’s Board of Trustees, Audit Committee, Student Life Committee, and Alumni Association Council. In turn, Bay Path has recognized Marchand in various ways; she was selected to represent graduate-student alumni in 2011, was highlighted as a success story, represented One Day and graduate students on the Search Committee for the College Provost in 2010, was selected to represent the One Day alumni via a special address to the board in 2009, and was named an Innovation Award winner in 2008 as well as being recognized for her service excellence.
She believes everyone has a purpose in life, and she has clearly found hers. “Your authenticity comes across to others,” she said, “when they see you truly excited about what you can offer the world.”
— Kathleen Mitchell

Project Manager, R & R Windows

Jason Tsitso has worked on countless projects large and small during his decade-long tenure with R & R Windows, but there was noting quite like the work undertaken at Springfield College last year in the weeks after the June 1 tornado roared through the campus.
Facing tight and extremely challenging deadlines, the Easthampton-based company, with Tsitso acting as project manager, played a critical role in enabling International Hall, a 12-story dormitory damaged extensively by the twister, to reopen on time for the fall semester.
The International Hall project, as well as Tsitso’s ongoing contributions to the company’s recovery from several years of struggle in the wake of the Great Recession, help explain why he is a member of this 40 Under Forty class and now part of several teams of spouses to earn the distinction (his wife, Sarah, was a member of the first class in 2007). But his exploits in business tell only part of the story.
Another intriguing chapter — one still being written — is his extensive work within the community. Perhaps the best example is his work to take his passion for bicycling and shape it into a successful fund-raiser he created and managed for Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity. Called Trails for Nails, the initiative, started in 2009, involves a mountain bike ride through Robinson State Park, with riders securing pledges for the miles they ride.
Through Tsitso’s leadership, the event has grown tremendously in each subsequent year, in terms of both ridership and dollars raised. In 2011, he took it to another level, creating a series of family-friendly activities known as Fitness for Families. These include the Hike for Habitat (to the top of Mount Tom); Trails for Nails, which now includes a 5K run as well as the 20-mile bike ride; and the Tour de Habitat, a 25-, 50-, and 100-mile road bike race. For all of this, Tsitso, now a board member for Habitat, was named the organization’s Volunteer of the Year for 2011.
Given the line of work he’s in, you could call all this a reflection of his strong commitment to the community.
— George O’Brien

Director of Public Relations and Social Media, Winstanley Partners

Jaclyn Stevenson knew she would be a writer when she grew up.
“As soon as I was old enough to put sentences together, that’s what I wanted to do,” she said. “I had a little typewriter, and I was always making storybooks and newsletters. I had my mom take me to the store to make copies so I could deliver them to all my relatives.”
Indeed, the press passes she has collected over her career testify to one adventure in writing after another, whether covering Lebowskifest in Kentucky, chronicling Boston College’s first Frozen Four hockey title since 1952, or interviewing the likes of chef Anthony Bourdain or legendary hoops coach C. Vivian Stringer. Last year, the Mass. Council on Compulsive Gambling tapped Stevenson as a blogger for the National Conference on Problem Gambling, held in Boston at the peak of the casino debate.
As an English major, she heard all the warnings that writing wasn’t the best path to a secure career. “But it’s completely different now,” she said. “People with communication skills are in higher demand than ever before. I was able to become a writer, and even though my current position title isn’t specifically writer anymore, it’s still a huge part of what I do.”
A frequent speaker on blogging, social media, and other topics, Stevenson calls herself an early adopter of social-networking tools like blogging, Twitter, and Flickr, and they’re a big part of her work for Winstanley Partners, where she increased public-relations business for the firm by 117% from 2009 to 2010.
She also co-founded and organizes PodCamp Western Mass., a yearly conference that attracts the brightest lights on the new-media scene, and hosts Social Media Circuit, a biweekly Web broadcast on the Businews Channel.
In short, Stevenson — whose creative journey also included a stint as vocalist, violinist, and songwriter for the Cape Cod band Singer Bad Dancer — continues to find plenty of outlets for her boundless energy.
“As a kid,” she said, “I was a dreamer. I daydreamed and imagined things, and whatever was in my brain, I’d put on paper. And I still do that.”
— Joseph Bednar

Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator, Reliable Temps Inc.

Erin Corriveau says she likes to “connect the dots” — to make connections between businesses and individuals. And she has found plenty of ways to do so over the years.
Early on, she worked as a customer-service representative in the MassMutual call center and then at Baystate Health in administrative support and community relations, giving her a firsthand look at two of the region’s largest employers. At Baystate, the man she calls a mentor, Steven Bradley, who handles government relations and public affairs for the health system, cultivated in her a dual passion for business and the community.
As if to prove it, Corriveau moved from there into the director’s chair of the West of the River Chamber of Commerce. “I truly loved it, and I got to meet so many business people, and helped make those connections. I was able to be a resource to businesses while fostering my commitment to the community.”
These days, she’s making such connections in a different way, working for Reliable Temps. “I honestly think I’m in the best place possible for me,” she said. “We help connect companies that need a workforce with people who need jobs. Seeing both sides be completely satisfied is absolutely thrilling.”
She also writes a monthly column for Lioness magazine and hosts the local Businews Connect show online — two more ways of forging relationships and creating awareness of the local business scene.
The passion for community manifests itself in many ways outside of work as well; Corriveau is a board member of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield, as well as a board member for the Western Mass. chapter of Best Buddies and an executive council member of the Jimmy Fund.
Of the latter two groups, she said being a parent has given her a heart for organizations that help young people. “I’m lucky to have two very healthy children, but a lot of parents aren’t as lucky. For kids with cancer or kids with developmental disabilities, as a parent myself, I want to be as helpful in any way as I can be.”
— Joseph Bednar

Chiropractor and Owner, Laprise Chiropractic & Wellness

Dr. Ronald Laprise was raised with strong moral values and believes that, if everyone did the right thing, the world would be a better place. He became an Eagle Scout at age 15, and his mission is to help people live healthier lives.
Laprise enjoyed watching James Bond and Indiana Jones flicks when he was younger. “The good guys always win, and when you do the things that are right and noble, the Hollywood ending can occur, and life can be happy,” he said.
He has a logical mind, graduated 10th in his high-school class, and decided to become a chiropractor at age 16, which he considers “the best decision of my life.” Laprise is in the process of becoming a board-certified wellness practitioner, and is passionate about health and wellness. “Chiropractic is a holistic profession, and I talk to people about their entire body and how the choices they make influence its function,” he said.
He is also dedicated to civic and charitable endeavors. Laprise is a second-term board member of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield. He serves on its Ambassador’s Committee and financial task force, and is the co-creator, organizer, and an event sponsor of the group’s annual dodgeball tournament, which raised more than $4,000 last year for nonprofits.
He is an active member of the Business Networking International Profit Partners Chapter, received several of its Notable Networker Awards, and has numerous professional affiliations. He serves on the Rotary Club, has volunteered at the Friends of the Homeless shelter, and is on the Trails for Nails committee of Habitat for Humanity, where he was the top fund-raiser in 2010 and 2011.
His newest venture came after his son, Massimo, was born with Down syndrome. He organized a team that raised more than $2,200 for the Down Syndrome Resources Group of Western Mass. during its 2011 Buddy Walk.
It’s a cause that Laprise, who is married with twin 4-year-old daughters, knows he will be involved with into the future. But today, like every other day, he is “doing my part to help others in a way that is right and noble.”
— Kathleen Mitchell

Medical Director, Center for Human Development

Since being board-certified in both general adult psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry, Dr. Nate Somers has worked at some of the area’s most noted mental-health hot spots, from Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke to the Carson Center in Westfield.
But his role as medical director of the Center for Human Development, which offers a variety of social and health services at numerous locations across Western Mass., has been his most challenging assignment yet — and one he has relished since accepting the job last fall.
As a doctor, he deals with patients — mostly young people, but adults as well — struggling with a variety of issues, from mental illness to substance abuse. “But, in terms of my administrative role, I’m trying to take this big agency and help everyone communicate internally better so we can coordinate services and serve people more effectively,” he said.
“What I find gratifying about this work is that we’re able to help people who have significant needs find a way to get through their lives in the face of very significant challenges,” Somers added. “It’s a good feeling when someone comes into my office and they’re clearly struggling, in tears, and they talk to me about the whole litany of difficult goings-on in their life, and I’m able to listen and get them some support and help them think through some ways they can make things better.”
Somers also stays busy with four children of his own, as well as teaching Sunday school at his church and coaching first- and second-grade basketball and teeball teams in West Springfield — in other words, impacting lives in a positive way outside of work as well.
Meanwhile, he takes a hopeful view of his job. “Many times, people leave my office feeling they can get through the next day, the next two days, the next week … they leave with some hope that things will get better for them over time.”
If he didn’t have the optimism to expect such outcomes, “I wouldn’t be able to do this every day,” he said. “It’s a very difficult job.”
— Joseph Bednar