People on the Move

Robinson Donovan, P.C. announced seven attorneys were listed in Best Lawyers in America 2020. Jeffrey Roberts, managing partner, practices corporate and business counseling and estate planning, and was named in the practice areas of Corporate Law and Trusts and Estates. He has received the Best Lawyers recognition for 28 consecutive years. Jeffrey McCormick, partner, was listed in the fields of Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants and Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs. A member of Robinson Donovan’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Group, he practices complex litigation, arbitration, and mediation. He has received the Best Lawyers recognition for 20 consecutive years. James Martin, partner, was listed in the practice areas of Franchise Law and Real Estate Law. He concentrates his practice on corporate and business counseling, litigation, and commercial real-estate law, and is a member of Robinson Donovan’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Group. He has received the Best Lawyers recognition for 20 consecutive years. Nancy Frankel Pelletier, partner, was listed in the practice area of Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants. A member of Robinson Donovan’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Group, she concentrates her practice in the areas of litigation and insurance defense. She has received the Best Lawyers recognition for 15 consecutive years. Patricia Rapinchuk, partner, was listed in the fields of Employment Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment. She was also named Lawyer of the Year in the field of Litigation – Labor and Employment. She practices employment law and litigation and has received the Best Lawyers recognition for 11 consecutive years. Carla Newton, partner, was named in the field of Family Law. She focuses her practice on divorce and family law, litigation, corporate and business counseling, and commercial real estate, and is a member of Robinson Donovan’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Group. She has received the Best Lawyers recognition for eight consecutive years. Richard Gaberman was named in the fields of Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates. He focuses his practice on corporate and business counseling, commercial real estate, and estate and tax-planning law. He has received the Best Lawyers recognition for 28 consecutive years. Robinson Donovan also announced that Jeffrey Trapani, partner, will receive the Massachusetts Bar Assoc. (MBA) Community Service Award during the Hampshire County Bar Assoc. (HCBA) annual meeting on Thursday, Sept. 26, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Garden House at Look Park in Florence. Trapani concentrates his practice in civil litigation, including insurance defense, employment law, municipal liability, business litigation, and professional malpractice. He also represents landlords in summary process action and housing-discrimination claims, and insurance companies in unfair-settlement claims and coverage issues.

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Bacon Wilson, P.C. announced that eight of its attorneys have been selected by their peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America 2020. The firm’s managing partner, Kenneth Albano, was selected for business organizations including LLCs and partnerships; Michael Katz for bankruptcy and reorganization; Stephen Krevalin for family law; Hyman Darling for elder law; Gary Breton for banking/finance law and business organizations; Jeffrey Fialky for commercial finance; Gina Barry for elder law; and Paul Rothschild for litigation. Best Lawyers compiles data from confidential evaluations. More than 8 million attorneys participated in the peer-review survey for the 2020 edition. There is no opportunity to pay for a listing.

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The nation’s 24th Educare early-education center will be led by Springfield native Bernitta “Nikki” Burnett, who has been hired as Educare Springfield’s first executive director. Burnett was raised in the nearby Mason Square neighborhood, attended neighborhood public schools, and earned her undergraduate degree in leadership and organizational science from Bay Path University. She will be completing her master’s degree in leadership and negotiation from Bay Path in 2020. Most recently, Burnett served as regional vice president of Multicultural Initiatives for the American Heart Assoc., where she worked throughout the New England region to build capacity and support revenue generation around community health and education initiatives. She has more than a decade of leadership experience and, prior to her position with the American Heart Assoc., worked at Baystate Health as education coordinator of Cardiopulmonary Services. At Baystate, she managed three cardiology fellowship programs. Burnett also has been actively involved in community organizations in Springfield and in the region, having served on the board of the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, the Baystate Health community benefits advisory board, and Live Well Springfield, an organization that promotes a culture of health in Springfield. Her duties as executive director of Educare Springfield will include oversight of strategic leadership, operational execution, and ensuring the effective implementation of the Educare model to the highest standards of excellence. Burnett will also be responsible for community engagement, fundraising, and resource development.

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Sharianne Walker has been named interim dean of the Western New England University (WNEU) College of Business. Walker joined the College of Business faculty in 1996, most recently serving as chair and professor of Sport Management, as well as co-director of the Sport Leadership and Coaching graduate program. She is the co-author of the texts “Managing Intercollegiate Athletics,” “Managing Sport Organizations: Responsibility for Performance,” and “Strategic Management in International Sport Management.” She has presented her research in leadership development, business operations, and revenue generation at various international, national, and regional conferences. She has also spearheaded accreditation, strategic-planning, and assessment projects at the university. An influential figure in the growth of the university’s athletics program, Walker has served as a faculty fellow, an NCAA faculty representative, and chair of the Western New England Athletics Council, and was inducted into the university’s Downes Athletic Hall of Fame. She was named Career Woman of the Year by the Massachusetts Business and Professional Women’s Assoc. and served as director of the Springfield Leadership Institute. She currently chairs the board of trustees of Frank Newhall Look Memorial Park in Florence. Walker earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Smith College and her master’s and Ph.D. degrees in sport management from UMass.

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MassHire Holyoke Career Center announced the appointment of Shawn Teece as its new vice president of Finance. He has several years of successful leadership in nonprofit financial and accounting operations. He assumed the vice presidency of MassHire Holyoke on Aug. 29 and is responsible for strategically overseeing all aspects of the career center’s financial and accounting systems.

Prior to this appointment, Teece was an accounting manager for Head Start Inc. and an account/auditor for the Holyoke Health Center and Lester Halpern, P.C. He has a master of accountancy degree from Westfield State University.

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Holyoke Community College (HCC) recently welcomed Jiulie Phillps as its coordinator of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving. Phillips comes to HCC from Westfield State University, where she held positions in Institutional Advancement as associate director of Advancement Services and coordinator of Donor Relations and Annual Giving. At HCC, Phillips completes an Institutional Advancement team that also includes Director Patrick Carpenter and Vice President Amanda Sbriscia. Phillips’s primary responsibilities at HCC will be engaging with alumni and building the college’s annual fund. Phillips holds a bachelor’s degree from Western New England University in communications and is working toward her master’s degree in public administration (concentration in nonprofit management) from Westfield State.

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OTELCO recently welcomed back David Chaplin as a senior ISP engineer in the company’s Granby office. Chaplin has an associate degree in telecommunications from Springfield Technical Community College and a bachelor’s degree in church leadership from Southeastern University. He spent 31 years with Verizon as an OSP technician and staff management assistant, and has additional experience working as an engineering project manager for Verizon and as an electronics and communications specialist for ISO New England.

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TD Bank named Steve Webb regional president for Southern New England. In this role, Webb will lead commercial and retail banking teams in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Upstate New York, and Connecticut. Webb has more than 30 years of banking experience and has worked across several businesses at TD Bank. He most recently served as New Hampshire market president – Commercial, where he was responsible for the growth and expansion of commercial and small-business lending, cash management, and government banking in the state. Prior to assuming this role, Webb was responsible for the Commercial Division of TD Banknorth in New Hampshire, including credit risk management, cash management, commercial lending, commercial real estate, leasing, and healthcare. Webb also brings a wealth of retail experience to this role, having previously helped to optimize store operations.

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Judge Mary-Lou Rup, a retired Massachusetts Superior Court judge, has completed a workshop and received certification in civil mediation in conformity with Supreme Judicial Court Rules, Rule 1:18 Dispute Resolution, Rule 8. Administered by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education Inc., the course covered principles of positional and interest-based negotiation, mediation procedures and techniques, settlement agreements, confidentiality, and ethics. Rup recently returned to private practice at Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP, where her mediation experience adds value to the firm’s Alternative Dispute Resolution practice.