People on the Move

Steve Lowell, who has served as president of Monson Savings Bank (MSB) for the last nine years, announced his retirement effective February 2021. He is looking forward to continuing to serve with the bank as chairman of the board. The bank’s board of directors announced that Daniel Moriarty Sr. has been named the bank’s president effective February 2021. Moriarty has been with MSB for 22 years, serving as senior vice president and chief financial officer since 2011. He joined the bank in 1998 as an accounting manager, became controller in 2002, assistant vice president in 2004, vice president-controller in 2006, and was promoted to vice president-chief financial officer in 2009. An alumni of Monson High School, Moriarty went on to graduate with honors from both Providence College and the National School of Banking at Fairfield University. The board of directors also announced that Michael Rouette has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer, a newly created position. Rouette has been with MSB for more than 30 years, serving as senior vice president and chief loan officer since 2016. He began his career there in 1987 as a teller. He became loan officer in 1989, assistant vice president-loan officer in 1996, vice president-loan officer in 1996, and senior vice president-loan officer in 2011. He is a graduate of Monson High School, as well as Old Dominion University, the Massachusetts School for Financial Studies at Babson College, and the Graduate School of Banking in Colorado.

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The directors of the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation announced the retirement of Executive Director Mary Walachy, who has been associated with the foundation for the past 23 years. Upon her formal retirement in June, Walachy will continue to represent the Davis Foundation in its role as philanthropic lead for the new Educare Springfield early-education center, which is the 24th Educare in the country and the first in Massachusetts. Hired in 1997 as the first executive director of the foundation, Walachy’s responsibilities have included development of the organization’s strategic direction, general oversight of its administration, and developing new and proactive funding initiatives. Under Walachy’s leadership, the foundation established several signature initiatives, including Cherish Every Child, the nationally recognized Reading Success by 4th Grade initiative, the Funder Collaborative for Reading Success, the establishment of Springfield Business Leaders for Education, and the launch of Educare Springfield. Walachy was named a Woman of Distinction by the Pioneer Valley Girl Scout Council in 2005. She received an honorary degree from Springfield Technical Community College and was awarded the 2015 Humanics Achievement Award from Springfield College. Walachy currently serves as vice chair of the board of directors of the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. She is also a member of the board of directors of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, a member of the board of directors of Libertas Academy Charter School, former board member of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, and on the steering committee of the Massachusetts Early Education for All Campaign.

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Square One, a provider of early-learning and family-support services, announced the promotion of two senior-level executives. Dawn Forbes DiStefano has been named executive vice president, and Heather Barrett has been named vice president of Finance. Following a 25-year career with the YWCA of Western Massachusetts, DiStefano joined the Square One team in January 2016 to lead the agency’s grant-research, grant-writing, and program-compliance efforts. She was quickly promoted to chief Development and Grants officer, where she added oversight of the agency’s financial team to her list of responsibilities. In her new role, DiStefano will continue with her responsibilities for grants and foundations, as well as program compliance. She will also oversee the early-education and care programs and family-support services, and will manage many areas of operations, including transportation, food service, and IT. She received her bachelor’s degree from UMass Amherst and her master’s degree in public administration and nonprofit management from Westfield State University. She serves on the boards of directors for the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling, Dress for Success Western Massachusetts, the Springfield Regional Chamber, the Baystate Community Benefits advisory committee, and Businesses to End Human Trafficking. She is the vice president of Community Relations at Westover Job Corps and chair of the Hampden County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Barrett joined Square One in June 2017 as a senior accountant, managing the agency’s payables, receivables, and employee payroll. In her new role, she is responsible for building and tracking the agency’s annual budget, as well as managing the agency’s facility needs, procurement, and human resources. She earned her master’s degree in accounting at Bay Path University and a bachelor’s degree at Earlham College. She has an extensive background in nonprofit administration, strategic planning, and fiscal management.

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Florence Bank has hired Andre Motulski as assistant vice president and controller in the Finance department. Prior to joining Florence Bank, Motulski had served as a financial-institution examiner at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. He studied at Central Connecticut State University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in accounting. Additionally, he earned a designation as a commissioned risk management examiner.

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PeoplesBank has announced the promotions of several key associates. Alexander Hoyo has been promoted to data management and analytics officer. He has more than seven years of analytics and banking experience. In his new position, he will oversee and participate in the construction and maintenance of reliable, secure, and innovative information systems to support the organization’s data needs. He is responsible for the day-to-day management of the analytics team as it facilitates the acquisition of information from multiple sources and manages the custodianship and distribution of information to business units. Clare Ladue has been promoted to assistant vice president, banking center regional manager in the Holyoke region. She has more than 25 years of financial-services and banking experience. In her new position, she will oversee the growth and development of banking-center associates and customer relationships. Amos McLeod III has been promoted to assistant vice president, commercial credit officer. He has more than 18 years of financial-services and banking experience. In his new position, he will underwrite new loan requests, review existing borrowing relationships, and assist with training junior credit analysts. Jeanna Misischia has been promoted to customer solutions officer. She has more than 20 years of financial-services and banking experience. In her new position, she will have oversight of the bank’s call center and VideoBanker staff as well as day-to-day operations of both departments. Patricia O’Brien has been promoted to assistant vice president, consumer lending. She has more than 21 years of financial-services and banking experience. In her new position, she will assist in running the daily operations of the residential underwriting department, as well as analyzing residential and consumer applications. Cassandra Pierce has been promoted to vice president, data management and analytics. She has more than 18 years of data-management and banking experience. In her new position, she will lead the data management and analytics team in constructing and maintaining effective, reliable, secure, and innovative information systems to support the organization’s data needs. She will also provide leadership for effective strategic and tactical planning in the use of information, and will oversee the acquisition of information from one or more sources and manage the custodianship and the distribution of that information to those who need it. Mike Raposo has been promoted to digital marketing officer. He has more than seven years of financial-services and banking experience. In his new position, he is responsible for end-to-end management of all digital platforms, including website content and improvements, outbound e-mail marketing, digital message boards, online banking advertising, as well as related analytics and analysis. Christopher Scott has been promoted to assistant vice president, portfolio manager. He has more than eight years of financial-services and banking experience. In his new position, he will continue to support relationship managers in addition to managing his own commercial portfolio. Tracy Sicbaldi has been promoted to vice president, commercial and institutional banking. She has more than 30 years of financial-services and banking experience. In her new position, she will identify, develop, and manage new municipal, commercial, and institutional deposit relationships. Karen Sinopoli has been promoted to first vice president, controller. She has more than 15 years of financial-services and banking experience. In her new position, she will maintain the financial records of the bank, supervise all accounting and financial-reporting functions of the bank and its subsidiaries, and prepare all requisite corporate tax filings to conform with federal and state law. Aaron Sundberg has been promoted to assistant vice president, portfolio manager. He has more than 10 years of financial-services and banking experience.