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

Senior Vice President, St. Germain Investment Management

When Brendon Hutchins considers the view from the window of his office on the 25th floor of Tower Square in downtown Springfield, he is inspired to change the landscape.
He dedicates countless hours of professional and personal time working to make a difference, because he is concerned about the number of businesses that have left Springfield over the past 25 years due to the economic environment. “I have sought out projects to help Springfield change that trend,” said the father of three. “My wife and I grew up in Longmeadow, and we love the people and everything about the area. So, I have structured my career and charity work around causes I feel are most important to Springfield.”
He is a board member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, which he believes is the “cornerstone” of Springfield. He is also active on the board of Springfield School Volunteers, recently joined the board of the YMCA of Greater Springfield, and serves on the board of the March of Dimes. “Since I have joined, about a dozen people I know with premature babies have benefited from the organization,” Hutchins said.
He takes great pride in his work at St. Germain Investment Management as a certified financial planner and senior vice president, and is proud that the company focuses on doing business in the area. “I love helping people, and one of the greatest feelings I have is watching people learn about their finances. It is a very difficult concept that can overwhelm people.”
Hutchins is also grateful to his employer for encouraging his charitable endeavors. “They have created an environment,” he said, “where giving back to the community is fostered.”
The Longmeadow native lived in Cincinnati, Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles before choosing to move back to Western Mass. “I could work anywhere, but this community is special,” he said. “When there is a tragedy, like last year’s tornado, everyone stands together. It’s something I have never seen anywhere else, and I would hate to lose that, so I am working to help the area thrive.”
— Kathleen Mitchell

Principal, Elias Brookings Museum Magnet School

The signature statement on Terry Powe’s e-mail is “teamwork makes the dream work.” It’s a principle she believes in and one she heard frequently from her father as a child.
Powe employs the concept in every aspect of her life, which is devoted to helping children succeed.
The decision to leave her job as a literacy coach for the Springfield school system in its reading program and become principal of Elias Brookings Museum Magnet School in 2009 was difficult due to its history and the challenges she knew she would encounter. When she took the job, the school was deemed underperforming by state standards. But this year, double-digit gains in math as well as significant gains in English-language arts raised its status to ‘adequate’ for the first time in eight years.
It has not been an easy task, and Powe’s days are filled with difficult decisions. “But everyone who knows me knows that I get my strength from the Lord Jesus Christ,” she said, explaining that her father was a minister and she grew up in the church.
Her strong spiritual core has helped make her an “adventurous and multi-dimensional person,” evidenced in the variety of civic and volunteer activities she has engaged in.
Powe is a basketball coach for the Longmeadow Parks and Recreation Department, and was director of a Better Chance program in Longmeadow. In that capacity, she and her family — her husband, Maurice (a 40 Under Forty honoree in 2011), and children Tamira, Maurice Jr., and Maya — joined other members in giving young inner-city youths from New York and New Jersey a home while they went to school in Longmeadow.
She has also been involved in the Leadership Emergence and Development Program in Springfield that connects professionals with nonprofit volunteer opportunities, was a Cornerstone Coach, and has conducted school reviews across the nation.
“I dedicate a lot of my time and energy to helping children,” she said. ”It’s been a passion from the time I was little. I’ve always loved to help little people.”
— Kathleen Mitchell

Executive Director, Rockridge Retirement Community

Beth Vettori

Beth Vettori didn’t always plan to work in senior living. But her perspective changed while on vacation.
“My graduation gift from my parents was a trip to Switzerland with my grandmother, on a tour bus with other retirees,” she said. “Everyone was in their upper 60s, 70s, and 80s, and we toured Switzerland, Italy, and France. I bonded with the seniors without realizing it.”
After college, she went to work for Orchard Valley at Wilbraham and started up its Harbor program, an assisted-living neighborhood for elders with various types of memory impairment. “It was very challenging and a great experience to put that together,” she said. “It’s a great, caring atmosphere.”
She was later hired by Rockridge Retirement Community in Northampton and was promoted to executive director at age 27. At the time, the community had an operating deficit of nearly $1 million, but she led a restructuring effort to bring it to profitability within two years.
“My task is running the campus, so I oversee all the operations,” she said, noting that she especially enjoys the contact with both employees and residents. “It’s challenging, but it’s exciting. There are some great, great people who live here and work here with me.”
For her work at Rockridge — including opening its 42-unit assisted-living community and its memory-support neighborhood before being named executive director — Vettori earned the Emerging Leader Award from MassAging in 2010.
“While the [restructuring] task was difficult, especially for a young, new executive director,” said Paul Hollings, chairman of the MassAging board, “Beth pulled it off with grace and dignity and made everyone feel positive about the changes.”
In her spare time, she stays active with several nonprofits, including Steph’s Wild Ride, an organization launched five years ago to assist children with cancer; it was named after Vettori’s cousin, who died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 21. “I want to help other local families by providing children with funds and gift cards, things that can really help them out,” she said.
It’s just one more way Vettori is helping to improve lives — both young and old.
— Joseph Bednar

Manager, Stop & Shop

Joan Maylor

Program Director, Center for Human Development

Sean Hemingway

Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager, PeoplesBank

Lauren Tabin

Vice President of Commercial Banking, People’s United Bank

Jaimye Hebert

President, left-click Corp.

Kelly Albrecht

Value Based Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, ITT Power Solutions

Lisa Totz

President and Chief Marketing Officer, LogicTrail, LLC

Alexander Simon