People on the Move

Local news hires, promotions, awards, and appointments

The O’Connell Companies announced the promotion of Joanne Beauregard to financial vice president. Beauregard fills the position vacated by Martin Schoenemann, who retired this spring after 38 years at O’Connell’s. As financial VP, she is responsible for management of the financial, accounting, and tax matters of the company’s real estate, construction, property-management, and biosolids businesses. She moves to this position after 34 years of successive positions of increased responsibility and leadership, most recently as controller for O’Connell Development Group. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Hartford and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Western New England College. Beauregard is currently a board member of Providence Ministries Service Network and previously served as the chair of the board of the Sisters of Providence Health System. She also served as the treasurer of the Holyoke Children’s Museum. The O’Connell Companies is the parent company of O’Connell Development Group, New England Fertilizer Company, Appleton Corp., Western Builders, and Daniel O’Connell’s Sons.

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Jessica Dupont has been named the new president of the board of Dress for Success Western Massachusetts. Dupont, director of Risk Adjustment for Health New England, joined HNE in 2008 to help launch its Medicare Advantage plan. During her tenure there, she has held several roles within the organization and was promoted to her most recent position in February 2017. Dupont received a bachelor’a degree in sociology from Mount Holyoke College and an MBA with a concentration in healthcare leadership from Elms College in 2016. She is active in both the business and nonprofit communities in the area. In 2015, she began volunteering with Dress for Success Western Massachusetts and was later asked to become a member of the board of directors. In July 2017, she assumed the role of vice president of the board. That same year, she was profiled in BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty, earning the highest score among the 150-plus nominees. Dupont is also chairperson of the local Catholic Campaign for Human Development advisory board, a member of the Elms College MBA executive advisory council, and a member of the board of directors for Square One.

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Providence Ministries for the Needy Inc. recently announced four new board members: Lew Rudolph, the Rev. Marisa Egerstrom, Jeannie Filomeno, and Marvin Gonzalez. Rudolph is currently the director of Government and Foundation Grants and Contracts for Trinity Health in Springfield. His past experience includes roles as program director and psychotherapist for ServiceNet Inc. in Northampton, and president and CEO of Hampshire Community United Way. Egerstrom is currently the priest-in-charge at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Holyoke. Her past experience includes serving as Christian education coordinator at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Boston, as a chaplain in hospital and street settings, and as a spiritual director for young adults. She is completing a Ph.D. in American studies at Harvard University. Filomeno currently serves as the Human Resource manager at her family-operated business, Marcotte Ford. With her family, she has dedicated years of support to Providence Ministries, including preparing and serving monthly at Kate’s Kitchen, organizing clothing, food, and school-supply drives distributed to the community through Margaret’s Pantry; and donating more than 100 holiday gifts and Easter baskets. Outside of working at Marcotte Ford, Jeannie serves on the board of the Professional Women’s Chamber. Gonzalez currently serves as an outreach specialist with Eliot Community Human Services. As part of his role, he performs daily street outreach in Holyoke and Chicopee. At Kate’s Kitchen, he not only greets guests and records vital daily census data, but also serves as an advisor and troubleshooter on topics including access and information related to housing, detox, mental health, and food support. He has dedicated more than 30 years to working in human services as an advocate for the most vulnerable.

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United Personnel announced the expansion of its Connecticut-based team. Nancy Scirocco Nesbitt has joined the company as its new vice president of Business Development for the Connecticut region, while Brandon Houston, United Personnel’s new director of Client Services, is leading the expansion of the firm’s Information Technology Division. Scirocco Nesbitt, most recently vice president for Government and Not-for-Profit Banking for Webster Bank, brings more than 20 years of management, client-support, and economic-development experience to her position with United. Past positions include vice president of at the Metro Hartford Alliance, adjunct professor at Central Connecticut State University, and contract administrator at Otis Elevator. She has an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut. She serves on the Governor’s Task Force for Abused Children and is a former board member of Internhere.com and the Special Olympics of Connecticut. Houston has more than 10 years of human-resources experience, with a specialty in recruiting and placing software engineers, developers, architects, project managers, infrastructure, and security personnel. He most recently worked as a senior account manager for Prestige Staffing in Atlanta. Other prior positions include recruitment management roles at Latitude Inc. and Maxim Healthcare. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Tennessee and is involved with the Metro Hartford Alliance and HYPE.

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Local author and business owner Carleen Eve Fischer Hoffman is featured in the new book The Waiting Room: Invisible Voices of Lyme. The book is a compilation of 27 real-life stories released to help raise Lyme disease awareness, to encourage sufferers to keep fighting, and to help caregivers and doctors understand how to better support those with Lyme disease. Compiled by author Vickie Gould, the book outlines the struggles that sufferers go through on a daily basis, and aims to raise awareness and understanding of the disease. “It was difficult for me to write my story, and I was hesitant to release it for fear of what my family, friends, and colleagues would think — and, in fact, I had missed the deadline while contemplating my decision,” said Fischer Hoffmann, owner of the Clutter Doctor Inc. “But then I thought to myself, what if, by sharing my story, someone reading it got inspired to speak up and get help? Of course I would be happy with that.” The book is available for purchase on Amazon, and all profits will be donated to the Lyme documentary The Monster Inside Me.

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Rick Sawicki of Sawicki Real Estate in Amherst was named the 2018 Realtor of the Year by the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley (RAPV). The announcement was made at the association’s annual awards dinner held on June 14 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. Realtor of the Year is the highest honor given to a member of the association and is bestowed upon a single individual who demonstrated outstanding service and devotion to the 1,700-member organization during the past 17 months in the areas of association activity, community service, and business activity. A Realtor since 2005, Sawicki served as president of the association in
2017. He is currently the immediate past president and serves on the
building, executive, finance, government affairs, president’s award,
professional development, and strategic planning committees, as well as the
candidate endorsement work group. He has participated in the Massachusetts Assoc. of Realtors (MAR) annual Realtor Day on Beacon Hill and is a major investor in the Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC). He has been featured on the “Real Estate Minute” segment of WWLP’s Mass Appeal program. Sawicki has given back to the community through activity with the Rotary Club of Amherst and the Turners Falls High School logo task force and is a member of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce. He is actively involved in state initiatives and activities such as MAR professional standards training and Realtor party training, along with being a MAR RPAC trustee. He is also a member of the National Assoc. of Realtors (NAR) public policy coordinating committee.

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Kathleen Sawtelle, a clinical and lab instructor in the Surgical Technology program at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC), received the Clinical Educator of the Year Award during the Assoc. of Surgical Technologists 2018 conference in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on May 31. She was at the conference as a delegate for the organization. The award recognizes one clinical educator who has gone above and beyond the call of duty for students. Sawtelle received a $500 award, a trophy, and recognition at the annual conference. A 1976 graduate of STCC’s Surgical Technology program, Sawtelle has worked in the field for 42 years. She has been coordinator of clinical education for the program at STCC for the past three years, and has taught at the college for 11 years. She has worked as a certified surgical technologist at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for 28 years and on a per diem basis for 10 years. She previously received the designation of Fellow of the Assoc. of Surgical Technologists, which recognizes surgical technologists who have upheld the highest professional, ethical, and moral standards and traditions of the profession.

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Lamont Clemons, President of the Rotary Club of Springfield, recently presented Rotarians Jack Toner and Rick Lee with Rotary pins to acknowledge their donations to the Rotary Foundation. The Rotary Foundation supports clean-water projects, maternal and child health, education, and the promotion of peace throughout the world. Toner’s pin has one blue sapphire stone for his $2,000 to the foundation, and Lee’s has three sapphire stones for his $4,000 donation made over a period of time. “The global impact of the Rotary Foundation is extraordinary,” Toner said. “My small monthly gift pays itself forward over and over again. Each dollar given is multiplied through grants and various partnerships, mostly notably with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Rotary’s effort to eradicate polio worldwide. I feel privileged to wear a different lapel pin each day to represent the various and diverse ongoing activities Rotary initiatives are involved with around the globe.” Lee also feels strongly about the Rotary and its foundation. “When I served as club president in 2014, I became acutely aware of the important work done worldwide through the Rotary Foundation,” he said. “I am convinced that supporting these efforts should be job one for any Rotarian. For me, Rotary’s unique blend of local fellowship and service, coupled with its global reach, makes the experience truly special.”

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Springfield College President Mary-Beth Cooper announced the appointment of Kathleen Martin of to the position of executive director of the Capital Campaign and Campus Strategy. The appointment marks Martin’s return to Springfield College, where she received both her doctorate in physical education with a specialization in sport psychology and her master’s degree in physical education (athletics administration concentration). She also began her teaching career at Springfield College. Martin will be responsible for coordinating the overall strategic direction of the college’s capital campaign, strategic plan, and campus master plan. Through the development of strong collaborative relationships with the office of the president, the college’s senior leadership team, and key stakeholders, she will serve as the primary lead, strategist, and coordinator of strategic initiatives. Most recently, Martin served as vice provost and chief educational compliance officer and Title IX coordinator at Bay Path University. She also held the positions of director of Institutional Research and Special Projects, and assistant provost for Academic Affairs.

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The Center for Human Development (CHD) has named Ben Craft its vice president of Community Engagement.In the newly restructured position, Craft has been charged with deepening the nonprofit human services agency’s relationships in the communities it serves in Massachusetts and Connecticut. In the role, he will oversee strategic communications, marketing, and development, as well as community, government, and provider relations.Craft brings a strong background in communications, engagement, and advocacy to CHD, coupled with almost 10 years of experience in healthcare and public policy, at a critical point in CHD’s growth and development. “We are excited to have Ben join us at a time when CHD is not only expanding our network of human services into more communities, but also at a time when we are playing a critical and growing role in the new model of care management, and connecting people with complex needs to more preventive and supportive services,” said Jim Goodwin, president and CEO of CHD. Craft, who grew up in East Longmeadow, started his career in New York at the Wall Street Journal and worked at the United Nations as a communications officer before returning home to Western Mass. in 2008 to work for Baystate Health, most recently as senior director of Government and Public Affairs. He is a 1996 graduate of UMass Amherst.