People on the Move

Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. recently welcomed two new associates to the firm’s Audit and Accounting department: Briana Doyle and Matthew Ogrodowicz. Doyle comes to MBK following a tax internship at a public accounting firm in Westborough. As an accounting associate, she will focus on audit engagements across a variety of industries. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Nichols College. Ogrodowicz will also focus on audit engagements. Before joining MBK, he was a bookkeeper at a Holyoke business. He holds a bachelor of administration degree in psychology from Amherst College and received his master’s degree in accounting from UMass Amherst. He recently joined the Business Development Group at MBK and serves as the treasurer of the board of Historic Holyoke at Wistariahurst and the South Hadley Farmer’s Market. Doyle and Ogrodowicz are the latest in a new class of accounting associates at MBK. Over the course of the next several months, they will be trained extensively in audit, accounting, and taxation and will have an opportunity to bring their unique backgrounds and skill sets to bear in providing accounting work to clients.

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Emily Crafts has joined brand-development firm Six-Point Creative, where she assumes the newly created role of traffic manager/administrator. As such, she will be accountable for all workflow within the agency and will provide an information hub for agency projects. Her responsibilities include the scheduling of projects and allocation of resources, and she will also facilitate the internal communication of priorities, project details, and deadlines. Crafts worked most recently as a development, marketing, and communications coordinator for the Center for Human Development in Springfield. She earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Roger Williams University and is pursuing an MBA from Western New England University.

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The Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce board of directors announced that Barry Feingold has been named chamber president. He will also serve as president of the Greater Holyoke Chamber Centennial Foundation Inc. Feingold is a veteran chamber executive who previously served as the Milford Area Chamber of Commerce’s (MACC) president for 10 years, increasing its membership by 50% and revenue over 35%. Prior to arriving at the MACC, he served the American Chamber of Commerce in Lima, Peru, starting as the administrative and marketing manager and working his way up to executive director. After spending the last four years once again in Peru, where he successfully ran his own hospitality-management business, he decided to move back with his family to his native Massachusetts. Feingold, the chamber’s first bilingual president, replaces Kathleen Anderson, who served as chamber president for six years and recently joined the leadership at Holyoke Medical Center as director of Community Benefits.

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American International College (AIC) announced the promotion of Nicolle Cestero to senior vice president for Human Resources and chief of staff. Cestero joined AIC in July 2011 as the associate vice president for Human Resources. Since that time, she has assumed increasing levels of responsibility and scope of duties. In 2012, she was named vice president for Human Resources and Title IX coordinator, and was promoted to senior vice president for Human Resources and Title IX coordinator in 2016. In her new role, Cestero will continue to lead AIC’s Human Resources unit, where she has established best practices in all areas, including staff recruiting and hiring, employee relations, and succession planning. As chief of staff, she will serve as advisor to the president and will play an integral role in the implementation of AIC’s strategic plan. Cestero will oversee the college’s legal matters and support presidential and institutional initiatives to ensure project deadlines are met and targeted outcomes attained. She serves on the president’s cabinet and supports the board governance and nominating committee; the finance, pension, and insurance committee; and the compensation committee of the board of trustees. Earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s degree in industrial organizational psychology from the University of West Florida, Cestero received certification as a professional in human resources (PHR) and attained the designation of certified professional from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM-CP), which recognizes human-resource professionals who implement policies on strategies, serve as point of contact for staff and stakeholders, and perform operational human-resource duties.

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The Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst announced two new directors for the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship. Gregory Thomas, who brings diverse experience in corporate America, was named the center’s new executive director, while Stephen Brand, who has taught entrepreneurship at colleges and universities across the country, will serve as the new associate director. For the past 20 years, Thomas has held various senior-level global manufacturing, finance, and control roles with Corning Inc. During the last five years at Corning, he was a strategist in the Emerging Innovation Group, focusing on bringing new products, processes, and businesses to market. He has also served as the president of the UMass Amherst Alumni Assoc. board. He will begin his new duties Oct. 1. Thomas, whose experience includes work as a consultant to nonprofit organizations, is a prolific volunteer and an accomplished fundraiser. A 1991 alumnus of UMass Amherst, Thomas earned an MBA in finance and operations management at Clark Atlanta University. In his new role as executive director, he will have overall responsibility for the Berthiaume Center, and will work with external constituents on campus and throughout the region to develop and execute value-adding partnerships in service of the center’s mission. Brand comes well-prepared for this ‘student-facing’ role, having taught entrepreneurship and worked closely with student entrepreneurs at Babson College, Case Western Reserve University, Olin College of Engineering, and others. At Babson, he was co-director of the Summer Venture Program and collaborated with emerging entrepreneurs in Kuwait, Egypt, and Saudia Arabia. Most recently, he was executive director of Global Learning and Development at Bay Path University. Brand holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University, a master’s degree in interactive technology in education from Harvard University, and a doctorate in management from Case Western Reserve University.

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Anne Griffin, founder and CEO of Charge Ahead LLC, announced she will soon begin manufacturing her first product, the Solar Foldy, designed to provide portable light and a charge fueled by solar energy to cell phones and tablets. To raise money for the first production run of Solar Foldys, based on the prototype Griffin has developed, Charge Ahead will launch a $150,000 Kickstarter campaign on Sept. 10. Griffin hopes to bring the product to market in the U.S. by the end of the year. A Florence-based business founded in 2013, Charge Ahead has a mission to encourage people to integrate solar power into their daily lives. While working on her prototype, Griffin sought advice and direction from Valley Venture Mentors of Springfield, the Small Business Development Center of Springfield, and SCORE, a nonprofit organization offering small-business advice. The Solar Foldy is pocket-sized and offers a USB input for charging devices as well as four modes of light — bright light, super bright light that is two times stronger, a night-light setting, and a flashing SOS mode. The Solar Foldy provides up to 200 hours of light on a single eight- to 12-hour solar charge. It can also be charged in an outlet, if necessary. In the future, Griffin hopes to introduce a companion product that will provide four modes of light only, with colored LED settings.

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Local law firm Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. announced that eight of its attorneys were listed in The Best Lawyers in America for 2019. They include:

• Shareholder Michele Feinstein, in the fields of elder law and trusts and estates;

• Shareholder Gary Fentin, banking and finance law and commercial transactions/Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) law;

• Shareholder Carol Cioe Klyman, elder law;

• Managing Partner Timothy Mulhern, corporate law and tax law;

• Shareholder Steven Schwartz, business organizations (including LLCs and partnerships), closely held companies, and family business law, as well as corporate law;

• Shareholder James Sheils, commercial transactions/Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) law;

• Shareholder Ann Weber, elder law; and

• Shareholder Steven Weiss, bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization law.

In addition, Weiss and Mulhern were both recognized as 2019 Lawyers of the Year — Weiss for his work in the field of bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization law, and Mulhern for his work in the field of corporate law.

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The Law Office of Christopher B. Myhrum announced that Chris Myhrum was selected for the 2018 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the practice areas of environmental and environmental litigation. This is the 27th year Myhrum has been selected for this honor. He has also been recognized by his peers for the highest level of professional excellence as AV Preeminent (2002 to present) and as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer (2001 to present).

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Brand-development firm Six-Point Creative has added MJ Hyndman-Benander as director of Client Services. In her new position, she oversees all client services for the agency, providing new client onboarding, client budget and planning oversight, key-account service, and oversight of Six-Point’s team of client advocates. Hyndman-Benander brings to Six-Point 20 years of marketing experience working with global institutions in Manila, Philippines, for which she spearheaded high-profile events, managed international licensing agreements, and forged international alliances with blue-chip companies and entertainment giants such as Disney, Nickelodeon, and Warner Brothers. She has held marketing positions in the Philippines at BDO, Unibank Inc., Globe Telecom, SM Supermalls, and Citibank, N.A., where she received two Chairman’s Awards for programs leading to innovation and revenue contribution. Most recently, she worked for Bay Path University in Longmeadow as a recruitment and enrollment specialist for the International Graduate Admissions and Multicultural Affairs department. Hyndman-Benander holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations from Assumption College, Makati City, Philippines, where she received a College Leadership Award.

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William O’Neil and Gayle Rae, owners and founding partners of Industrial Steel & Boiler Services Inc., announced a change in company management, as Alex Korobkov has become sole owner and president of ISB. Korobkov has been employed by ISB for 17 years, beginning his career as a welder/boilermaker. He has steadily increased his responsibilities and expertise to become the operations manager for the last several years. Korobkov has appointed Debbie Salamon, who has been with the company since its beginning, and has been in the office manager position for 27 years, to serve as treasurer. ISB was incorporated in 1991 and is engaged in industrial power-plant services throughout the Northeast. The company is well-known in the industry for its work in boiler repair, valve repair, steel fabrication, pressure vessel fabrication, and code repairs to ASME vessels. ISB also holds many ASME and NBIC stamps.

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Catherine Iannucci has taken over as member advocate at Click Workspace, a co-working space in downtown Northampton. Iannucci, an Emerson College graduate, moved to Northampton this summer. She has worked at nonprofit organizations since her senior year at college and comes to Click with hopes to play an active role in her new community. “I try to be an enthusiastic participant in any community I am living in,” she said. “There is no feeling more gratifying than enhancing your community and being an asset to those around you. Being a part of Click is a great way to do that for me. I get to meet and interact with local entrepreneurs, artists, and other nonprofits.” Click is a nonprofit that brings together creative professionals, space, and resources while producing artistic, cultural, and educational programming that enriches the region. Iannucci can help anyone become a member at Click, and can be reached by e-mailing [email protected]. More information about becoming a member can be found at www.clickworkspace.org.