Brian Thompson

Springfield College Director of Strength and Conditioning Brian Thompson has been named the National Strength and Conditioning Assoc. (NSCA) College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year as part of the 2021 NSCA awards announcement. Thompson was selected by his peers from a list of nominees that represented Division I, II, and III colleges and universities from throughout the country. The NSCA College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year Award is given to one outstanding certified strength and conditioning specialist, recognizing his or her dedication to improving athletic performance with safe and effective science-based programs. Since 1998, Thompson has served many roles at the college, including associate director of Strength and Conditioning, head Strength and Conditioning coach, professor of Exercise Science, and the graduate Strength and Conditioning program director. In addition to teaching in the Applied Exercise Science program, he is responsible for the Strength and Conditioning program design and implementation for 26 sport programs at Springfield College, as well as teaching and advising in the graduate Strength and Conditioning program. Thompson first started working in the field of strength and conditioning in 1987 and has trained athletes at the elementary-school, middle-school, high-school, collegiate, professional, Paralympic, and Olympic levels. He has presented and conducted strength-and-conditioning-related workshops in Australia, China, Mexico, Taiwan, and throughout the U.S. In 2016, Thompson received an official appointment as an expert technical consultant to the Chinese National Fitness Trainers Assoc. by the Chinese Sports Bureau, the only non-Chinese citizen ever to receive this status.

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Sara Rodrigues

Monson Savings Bank recently announced the promotion of Sara Rodrigues to Commercial Loan Operations officer. In her new role, she is responsible for managing the commercial-loan administrative team and servicing team at Monson Savings Bank, as well as planning, organizing, and directing all commercial-lending operations. Rodrigues has been with Monson Savings for eight years, previously serving in the role of Commercial Loan Operations manager. She has more than 20 years of experience in the banking industry, with 19 of those years within the commercial-lending sector. Prior to working with Monson Savings Bank, she worked with TD Bank, N.A. as a commercial-loan document supervisor. A believer in giving back to the communities she works and resides in, Rodrigues is a volunteer with Link to Libraries and the Monson Schools Read a Loud program. She reads to schoolchildren and helps the organization with its mission to distribute new books to the school and home libraries of children in need. She also serves on the Monson Savings Bank community reinvestment committee.

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Bacon Wilson announced that attorney David Lavenburg has joined the firm as of counsel and a member of the litigation team. He will practice primarily from Bacon Wilson’s Springfield location. Lavenburg represents creditors of all kinds, such as banks, credit unions, and debt purchasers, in loan-recovery and collection matters. He also litigates extensively for commercial property landlords and tenants, management companies, and large and small businesses. His legal work spans a variety of areas, including complex commercial litigation, lease disputes, commercial collections, real-estate foreclosure, and bankruptcy litigation. He is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of Massachusetts and Connecticut, appears regularly in the trial and appellate courts for both states, and has argued in the Connecticut Supreme Court. Prior to joining Bacon Wilson, Lavenburg was a partner with Kroll, McNamara, Evans & Delehanty, LLP, of West Hartford, Conn., preceded by his partnership with the Springfield law firm Gold & Vanaria, P.C. He received his juris doctor in 1990 from Capital Law School of Columbus, Ohio, having earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1987 at Ohio Wesleyan University. He also chairs Longmeadow’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

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Eleanor Williams

Eleanor Williams, a lawyer who now works for MassMutual, has been appointed to the Holyoke Community College (HCC) board of trustees by Gov. Charlie Baker. Her term will expire on March 1, 2024. She attended her first HCC board meeting on Nov. 24 over Zoom. Williams has worked for MassMutual since 2011, starting as assistant vice president and counsel in the company’s dispute-resolution group. From 2017 to 2019, she served as chief of staff to the executive vice president and was part of the senior leadership team. She is now the business leader working with the Product and Marketing business units to drive product development and efficiency. Prior to that, she worked at Choate Hall & Stewart LLP in Boston as an associate in the law firm’s finance and restructuring practice group. Williams holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University, a law degree from Boston College School of Law, and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

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Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. announced that attorney Mark Esposito has taken on an expanded role within the firm, now serving of counsel. Esposito joined the firm in 2017 and has a wide-ranging, litigation-focused practice. He represents clients in general, commercial, and probate litigation; labor and employment matters; administrative law; and criminal cases. After graduating magna cum laude from Williams College, Esposito graduated summa cum laude from Boston University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the U.S. District Court, the District of Massachusetts, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

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The Executive Office of Health and Human Services announced that Glen Hevy will join the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home as its new, permanent deputy superintendent on Dec. 21. Hevy, a retired U.S. Army Infantry Officer, joins Holyoke from the Bedford VA Medical Center, where he was the senior operations official for Patient Care Services at the 400-bed VA hospital. Also at the Bedford VA Medical Center, he held the roles of chief of the Sensory and Physical Rehabilitation Service and an investigator for Equal Opportunity Employer policies in the Office of Resolution Management. Before his time at the Bedford VA, Hevy held other public-service positions, including unit manager at the North Central Correctional Institute, program director at the Department of Youth Services, and as program director at human-services agencies in the Commonwealth. Hevy served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. During his 10 years in the Army, he was a rifle platoon leader, senior instructor, company commander, and academic chairperson. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Troy State University.

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Six campus researchers in the College of Natural Sciences (CNS) at UMass Amherst have been recognized among the world’s most highly cited researchers in 2020 by London-based Clarivate Analytics, owner of the Web of Science. They have consistently had high citation counts over a decade. Now in its seventh year, the citation analysis identifies influential researchers as determined by their peers around the world. They are judged to be influential, and their citation records are seen as “a mark of exceptional impact,” the company says. The six from UMass Amherst are environmental chemist Baoshan Xing in CNS’s Stockbridge School of Agriculture, Distinguished Professor of Food Science David McClements and food scientist Hang Xiao, microbiologist Kelly Nevin Lovley, materials scientist Thomas Russell, and Vincent Rotello, the Charles A. Goessmann Professor of Chemistry and a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. All are repeat members of the list. McClements is internationally known for his cutting-edge work in food design and nanotechnology, including encapsulating nutraceuticals in nanoparticles to preserve nutrients. Xiao’s lab focuses on molecular mechanisms and interactions of possible disease-preventing nutraceuticals to enhance nutrient bioavailability through food processing and nanotechnology, among other topics. Nevin Lovley’s lab, part of the Geobacter Project, works to determine the electron transport chain in these bacteria with a goal to develop techniques to optimize the cells’ electrical production for better fuel-cell performance, among other goals. The Rotello lab takes a multi-disciplinary approach, bringing chemistry, biology, and biomedical engineering to tailor nanomaterials to develop new biological applications. Russell, internationally known as an inventor, names his lab’s research interests in polymer phase transition, polymers’ surface and interfacial properties, directed self-assembly processes, and using polymers as scaffolds and templates to generate nanoscopic structures. Environmental scientist Xing’s lab focuses on protecting the environment by maintaining and improving soil and water quality. This includes investigating the behavior and agricultural application of engineered nanomaterials and using spectroscopic and analytical instruments to study interactions among organic compounds, natural organic matter, and mineral particles. Two years ago, Highly Cited Researchers introduced a new cross-field category to identify researchers with substantial influence across several fields during the data census period. At UMass Amherst, Nevin Lovley and Rotello appear in this category for 2020.

Stephen Creed

Big Y Foods Inc. announced the appointment of Stephen Creed to the new position of senior director of Distribution and Logistics. Creed is responsible for leading Big Y’s distribution teams as they transition into their newly expanded, 430,000-square-foot space. He reports to Michael D’Amour, executive vice president and chief operating officer. Creed has more than 40 years of experience in the distribution industry, mostly within the supermarket realm. He began his career in 1979 with Stop & Shop Inc., where he held various positions, including produce and grocery receiving and operations. Throughout his career, he’s held positions of increasing responsibility at companies such as Spartan Stores in Michigan, where he was the assistant warehouse manager. At C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc. in Massachusetts and Vermont, Creed started as facility manager and then became director of Perishables Distribution. In 1997, he was appointed director of operations for Quality King Distributors Inc. in New York, where he managed nationwide distribution from five separate warehouses consisting of food, pharmaceuticals, health and beauty care, fragrances, and general merchandise. He later became director of distribution for Supervalu in Suffield, Conn., before being promoted to project director for Corporate Distribution at its headquarters in Minnesota and later promoted to general manager, Logistics Services in its Midwest Regional Headquarters Distribution Center in Kenosha, Wis. Returning to his roots in New England from 2005 to 2019, Creed joined Associated Grocers of New England in Pembroke, N.H. He started as vice president, Warehousing and Transportation, and became senior vice president, Warehousing and Transportation until his most recent position there as senior vice president, Supply Chain Management. Creed has served on the New Hampshire Motor Transport Assoc. and the Ryder National Food & Beverage Advisory Board. His professional training includes the Cornell University Executive Food Management Program along with Dale Carnegie Executive Management and Zenger-Miller Quest Training.

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Max Scherff

Max Scherff has been appointed general manager at the Red Lion Inn. He will oversee the historic hotel’s operational strategy to ensure execution of Main Street Hospitality’s quality standards of service and hospitality. As general manager, Scherff will be responsible for creating and maintaining a customer-driven hotel. He will also oversee and inspire employees to meet and exceed guest expectations by consistent delivery of both product quality and service excellence. Additional responsibilities include collaborating with Main Street’s vice president of Operations and director of Finance on budget concepts for the entire property. Prior to his new role at the Red Lion Inn, Scherff worked at Canyon Ranch in Lenox. While there, he served as hotel director and, before that, food and beverage director. Additional experience includes roles as assistant food and beverage director/director of banquets at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C., and assistant food and beverage director at the Omni William Penn in Pittsburgh. Before heading to the East Coast, Scherff worked in San Francisco, holding leadership roles at the Palace Hotel and the Fairmont, where he was named employee of the year in 2011.

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Daniel Bradbury

Associated Builders recently welcomed Daniel Bradbury into the newly created position of director of Sales and Marketing for Massachusetts Operations. Sales Associate Scott Downie will remain with Associated Builders and focus on sales and business development in the Connecticut market. Bradbury comes to Associated Builders with 20 years of experience working in the construction industry, having previously worked with several premier custom home builders and remodeling companies in Western Mass. “Despite the challenges of starting a new sales position during a global pandemic, I am excited to join the strong team at Associated Builders and hit the ground running,” he said. “It is my belief that clear communication and follow-through are the keys to building a trusting business relationship, and my goal is to provide exceptional customer service. In my new role, I hope to facilitate our customers’ business growth by helping them realize the full potential of their existing work environment or paving the way for expansion into a new, purpose-built facility.”

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Keith Fairey

Way Finders’ board of directors announced that Keith Fairey will serve as its next president and CEO, succeeding Peter Gagliardi, who will retire on June 30 after nearly 30 years of service with the organization. Way Finders began a national search for its new CEO following Gagliardi’s retirement announcement in December. The search process was led by six members of Way Finders’ board of directors in partnership with consultants from Marcum LLP. Fairey most recently served as senior vice president at Enterprise Community Partners Inc., where he led the management, oversight, and strategic guidance of Enterprise’s 11 regional market teams across the U.S. Fairey has extensive experience in community development and real-estate finance, organizational development, and strategic planning. Enterprise Community Partners is a national nonprofit organization that brings leaders in policy and investment together to advance local affordable-housing development. Since its inception 35 years ago, Enterprise has created more than 660,000 homes nationwide with more than $50 billion in investment. Prior to joining Enterprise, Keith was chief operating officer of Mount Hope Housing Co. in the Bronx, N.Y. He has also served as the assistant director of Community Pride, the community-building program of the Harlem Children’s Zone. Fairey has a master of public administration degree with a concentration in public finance and financial management from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and a bachelor’s degree in history education from the University of Delaware.

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Nearly 100 colleagues recently joined an online celebration to honor Professor Hava Siegelmann of the UMass Amherst College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS), as she received the rarely awarded Meritorious Public Service Medal from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense. It is the third-highest honor the Department of the Army can bestow on a private citizen. Siegelmann’s citation noted that “she created and managed some of DARPA’s largest and most advanced AI programs, including L2M — developing next-generation advanced AI systems capable of learning in real time and applying learning to environments and circumstances not specifically trained for.” Siegelmann, whose career is characterized by thinking outside the box, created a different atmosphere for the L2M project than is usual at DARPA. With its support, she insisted that the large, diverse teams of scientists she chose from the nation’s top university and industry research organizations must actively collaborate. The medal cites another major DARPA program Siegelmann created called GARD (Guaranteeing AI Robustness Against Deception), which aims to establish the theoretical machine-learning system vulnerabilities, characterize properties that will enhance system robustness, and encourage the creation of effective defenses. As systems become more advanced, these advancements open new avenues by which they can be attacked. GARD identifies often-obscure, technically complex vulnerabilities and builds new-generation defenses for them. DARPA also points out that Siegelmann’s “exceptionally productive” term included developing a system that administers insulin plus dextrose to maintain glucose at safe levels for patients in critical care and those with diabetes; sensors to identify dangerous chemicals from a safe distance; collaborative, secure learning systems that allow group collaboration without revealing sensitive data; and methods to identify attacks by reverse engineering to secure the system and find the attacker.

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Mark Dunn

Holyoke Medical Center announced the appointment of Mark Dunn as director of Health Information Management (HIM), a role in which he will ensure efficient and compliant handling of all patient records and related documents. In addition to his role at Holyoke Medical Center, Dunn is also an adjunct instructor of Health Information Management at both Manchester Community College and Charter Oak State College in Connecticut. Most recently, Dunn served as corporate director of HIM and privacy officer at Masonicare, a senior-health and retirement-living organization in Connecticut. His prior experience included information-management positions with Cornell-Scott Hill Health Corp., Yale New Haven Hospital, and Smart Document Solutions, all in New Haven, Conn.; Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y.; and Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. Dunn is a registered health information administrator. He received his bachelor’s degree in administration from SUNY University at Stony Brook, N.Y., and his master’s degree in health services administration from Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y. He also holds a post-master’s certificate in long-term post-acute care, and a post-baccalaureate certificate in health information administration.

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Western New England University’s board of trustees announced the unanimous appointment of Robert Johnson as the institution’s sixth president, according to Kenneth Rickson, board chair. Johnson succeeds Anthony Caprio, who has served as WNEU’s president for more than 24 years — the longest presidential tenure in the history of the university.

Johnson currently serves as chancellor of UMass Dartmouth. He will begin his new role as president of WNEU on Aug. 15.

Johnson’s 30-year leadership career spans nonprofit colleges and universities in the Northeast and Midwest, including public, private, urban, rural, small, and large institutions with enrollments from 2,000 to more than 25,000 students. Prior to becoming chancellor at UMass Dartmouth, he served as president of Becker College in Worcester from 2010 to 2017. He has held leadership positions with Sinclair College, the University of Dayton, Oakland University, and Central State University in Ohio. His career reflects several firsts — not only as an African-American leader, but also as the youngest person to hold senior administrative roles.

Johnson’s tenure at UMass Dartmouth resulted in a number of significant accomplishments, including leading the region to create a framework for the blue economy, which will be an ecosystem to drive job creation, economic development, and entrepreneurship; launching a $188 million construction and renovation project for new housing and dining; the renovation of its Science and Engineering building; and securing the largest single research grant in the history of the university, $4.6 million from the Office of Naval Research.

As President of Becker College from 2010 to 2017, Johnson led enrollment growth for seven consecutive years by 23%, increased degrees awarded by 53%, and boosted the graduation rate by 29%. His innovative leadership elevated the reputation of the digital games program, ranked third in the world, and first in New England, by the Princeton Review. He also helped create the first bachelor’s degree in the U.S. in global citizenship. The U.S. Department of Economic Development designated the college as one of 60 schools as a University Center. Creating the Agile Mindset positioned its curriculum with a unique niche in the higher-education landscape.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick appointed Johnson to the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, and Gov. Charlie Baker appointed him to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and the Hate Crimes Task Force and the Black Advisory Council.

David Cisek

Florence Bank announced that David Cisek was recently selected as a recipient of its President’s Award. The President’s Award was established by the bank in 1995, affording employees the annual opportunity to nominate their peers for this prestigious honor that recognizes outstanding performance, customer service, and overall contribution to Florence Bank. Cisek was nominated by numerous colleagues. Cisek, a senior accounting associate in Florence Bank’s main office, has been with the bank for five years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in ethnic and gender studies and a master’s degree from Westfield State University. In addition, he also serves as an adjunct professor at Westfield State’s Department of Ethnic & Gender Studies. “The long list of comments we received about David tells the story — from ‘he consistently goes above and beyond’ to ‘his enthusiasm and commitment to his job puts everyone in a positive, happy mood,’” said Kevin Day, president of Florence Bank. “David is a true asset to the bank, and the President’s Award is well-deserved.”

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Berkshire Money Management (BMM) recently welcomed Tammy Gaherty to its fast-growing team. Gaherty is the second hire for 2020 and will be handling scheduling for advisors, managing content distribution, and helping with the flow of operations throughout the firm. Prior to joining BMM, she worked for nearly two decades as an administrative assistant with the Dalton Housing Authority. “Everyone is going through a difficult time right now,” BMM president Barbara Schmick said. “We are hiring in order to better service our clients now and in the future. We are getting far more requests and questions during this pandemic. At this time, our clients need more services than ever, and Tammy is our answer to that growing need.” Gaherty is a Berkshire native and graduate of Monument Mountain Regional High School. She has been the volunteer secretary and president of the Friends of the Lanesborough Public Library, and an active participant there for fundraisers to support library programming.

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The Springfield Thunderbirds announced that Paul Thompson has been named the team’s winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Springfield community during the 2019-20 season. In his third season as a Thunderbird and his second as team captain, the New England native has continued to show his commitment to the community beyond the ice surface. Before the 2019-20 season began, Thompson was a regular sight at a number of offseason functions, including the Thunderbirds’ Street Hockey Tournament, which was born following the untimely passing of a young local hockey player, Alex Blais, two summers ago. Thompson also gave back to the youth-hockey community of Western Mass., starting and running the Paul Thompson Hockey Camp out of MassConn United for beginning hockey players. In November, in advance of the club’s second annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night, Thompson lent his hand to share a deeply personal story to aid a cause near and dear to his family — his cousin Angela’s cancer battle and #AngelasArmy initiative. Angela’s Army makes ‘care packages’ for patients undergoing cancer treatment, and was born out of Angela’s desire to assist other patients, providing comfort to them even as she was going through her own battle. In addition to participating in a number of team events, one that shined through the most was during the holiday season. Along with teammates Ethan Prow, Rob O’Gara, and Tommy Cross, Thompson led a selfless journey to brighten the lives of a mother and two young children who suddenly had to endure the passing of their father just weeks before the Christmas holiday. The captain and his teammates spent hundreds of dollars on toys and essential items to make the family feel special during their most trying time. Thompson is now one of 31 finalists for the AHL’s 2019-20 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, honoring the overall IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the AHL at a later date.

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In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kellie Welch has found that writing is a way to help. Welch has taken pen to paper for a project she founded called Write Aid. Her mission is to write for people in return for donations to GetUsPPE (getusppe.org), a new website founded by a group of medical professionals on the front lines of the pandemic. GetUsPPE coordinates donations of needed masks, gloves, and gowns to hospitals and healthcare professionals. Since the launch of Write Aid on Instagram (@welchkell), Welch has written sonnets about dogs and cats, poetry about sourdough and happiness, a fictional Twitter thread, and a play about birds. Requests have come from friends locally, as well as from Boston, New York City, and Texas. “Words are my reliable outlet and really all I have to offer while at home, but even they have felt empty lately,” Welch said. “Let’s work together to raise money and use storytelling to uplift each other. I will write you anything — a letter to a friend, a sonnet about your labradoodle, a eulogy for someone you’ve lost, a Dear John letter to that person you were sort of seeing before this happened. The sky’s the limit. Tell your friends! The more random things I write, the more money we raise.” After having lived in New York City for nearly 10 years, Welch moved back to Western Mass. last fall. She is a graduate of Columbia University’s School of General Studies, where she studied anthropology and was part of the university’s Honor Society. She is a singer and songwriter whose lyrics have won awards in international songwriting competitions, including American Songwriter and Songdoor International. She currently works as a writer for an educational nonprofit organization.