People on the Move

Holyoke Mall recently welcomed Lynn Gray back to the shopping center as its new general manager. She brings more than 25 years of experience in the shopping-center industry. She has held various roles over her combined tenure with Pyramid Management Group, including customer service representative, receptionist, Marketing assistant, assistant Marketing director, Marketing director, and, most recently, general manager of Hampshire Mall. In addition to her numerous years of experience with Pyramid Management Group, Gray held various roles over the span of 10 years with General Growth Properties, now Brookfield Properties, including director of Field Marketing for the East Region. Gray is a graduate of Holyoke Community College with an associate degree in business administration. A lifelong resident of Western Mass., she is actively involved with several community and nonprofit organizations. She serves as president of the board of directors for the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce and the board of directors for the Amherst Boys and Girls Club. She is also a CDH International Massachusetts ambassador and volunteers for CHERUBS, the support division of CDHi. Bill Rogalski, outgoing general manager of Holyoke Mall, retired on June 30 after 19 years in the position.

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Increasing diversity in the construction workforce is an important topic and has become a measure of each project’s success, just like schedule, budget, and safety. To that end, Fontaine Bros. Inc. has named Elizabeth Wambui to serve as the company’s director of Diversity, Inclusion & Impact. Wambui will play a critical role in leading the company’s projects and project teams to maximize opportunities for minority- and women-owned business enterprises as well as attracting a more diverse workforce. Fontaine Bros. will be partnering with unions, trade schools, and other community partners to more actively promote and provide opportunities for diverse and local residents. She will immediately step in and support Fontaine’s work across the Commonwealth, including the new $242 million Doherty Memorial High School project and the new $75 million DeBerry-Homer Elementary School in Springfield. Before joining Fontaine, Wambui served as director of Advancement at Nativity School of Worcester (a longtime Fontaine community partner). A graduate of North High School and the College of the Holy Cross, she is passionate about engaging with the community. She currently serves as a board member at the Bancroft School, Shine Initiative, Women in Development of Central Massachusetts, Worcester Historical Museum, and YWCA. She is also a Mechanics Hall Modern Mechanics Guild member, a Worcester Art Museum corporator, and has served as a Greater Worcester Community Foundation early childhood committee member and scholarship community reviewer. She was part of the Leadership Worcester class of 2016-17 and has been recognized in the Worcester Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty.

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Bay Path University announced that Dr. Ann Errichetti has been appointed associate provost and dean of the School of Education, Human and Health Services, and will begin her role on Aug. 23. Errichetti returned to New England in the summer of 2018 after successful careers in healthcare management and in cardiology. Most recently, she served as the chief operations and academic officer at Presence Health, a $2.6 billion Catholic health system in Chicago with 12 acute-care hospitals, more than 25 senior-living facilities, and 16,000 employees. She was a core member of the turnaround team that improved operating performance by $200 million and led to a successful acquisition by Ascension Health in 2018. Prior to joining Presence Health, Errichetti served as CEO of St. Peter’s Hospital and Albany Memorial Hospital in Albany, N.Y.; president of Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Ill.; and president of Advocate South Suburban in Hazel Crest, Ill. In addition to her role as president, she held the position of chief academic officer for Advocate Health Care, serving as the liaison between three medical-school affiliates and more than 600 medical residents and fellows. She was also an associate dean at Rosalind Franklin University, Chicago Medical School. Errichetti graduated from Fordham University, received her M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School, and earned an MBA from Clark University. Her husband, Dr. Mark Keroack, was a medical-school classmate and currently serves as president and CEO of Baystate Health in Springfield.

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Holyoke Community College has named Harmony Cross its first dean of Student Development, Engagement and Inclusion. This new position combines the responsibilities of two previous jobs at the college — dean of students and director of Retention and Student Success — with an increased emphasis on education equity. Before coming to HCC, Cross served as director of the New York State Education Department’s Higher Education Opportunity Program at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, where she managed and developed holistic services and high-impact practices for students who might not have considered attending college because of their academic and economic backgrounds. Prior to that, she worked as program director for the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx and area coordinator for 15 coed residential facilities at Widener University in Chester, Pa. She has also taught college-level, first-year transition courses and leadership classes and coached students on conflict resolution and mediation techniques. Cross earned her master’s degree in educational leadership with a concentration in higher education at Temple University and holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration from North Carolina Central University, where she was a Division I collegiate athlete in track and field. She is currently working on her Ed.D. in higher education administration at Bradley University.

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Excel Dryer Inc., manufacturer of the XLERATOR Hand Dryer, has added a new director of Marketing to the team. A seasoned professional with 24 years of experience, Tony Ieraci will be responsible for helping Excel Dryer create and execute long-term marketing strategies that will help grow the brand. Ieraci has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in marketing from Western New England University. He has spent the last two decades working in marketing and communications for leading manufacturers like Scapa North America and Dymax Corp. Ieraci will now head up the marketing team at Excel Dryer to develop and implement effective global communication plans that advance the company’s business goals and objectives.

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Arrha Credit Union announced the Adam Baldwin has been named Springfield branch manager. Baldwin has more than seven years of banking experience and been recognized throughout his banking-industry career as a rising star with superior service awards. He is also a Rotarian with the Springfield Rotary Club. “I am excited to be part of the Arrha Credit Union family and serving the Springfield community and its members,” Baldwin said. “I look forward to providing caring service, offering rewarding membership benefits to existing and new members, and growing these relationships.”

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Bulkley Richardson recently welcomed Dr. Lisa Harty as an associate in the firm’s litigation and professional malpractice groups. Harty earned a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College in 2001, an M.D. degree from St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine in 2009, and a juris doctor degree from Western New England University School of Law in 2020. “As an attorney who has earned degrees in both medicine and law, Lisa brings a unique perspective to our healthcare and medical professional clients,” said Mike Burke, chair of Bulkley Richardson’s professional malpractice group. “She will add tremendous value to our team.”

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Holyoke Community College (HCC) recently welcomed Sharale Mathis as its vice president of Academic and Student Affairs. Mathis was most recently the dean of Academic and Student Affairs at Middlesex Community College in Connecticut, where she was previously a tenured professor of Biology, course coordinator, department chair, and STEM Division director. At Middlesex, she taught both lab and non-lab science classes on campus, online, and in hybrid formats. She was an early adopter of open educational resources, utilizing online resources for supplemental instruction, designating that course as no cost to students. Mathis earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Eastern Connecticut State University, a master’s degree in biomedical sciences from Quinnipiac University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Hartford.

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The Hitchcock Center for the Environment announced William “Billy” Spitzer as its new executive director. He brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership experience in the areas of science education, climate communication, and network building along with a vast network of national and international connections. Spitzer will be influential in the continued growth and impact that the center has seen in recent years as it continues on its mission to educate and inspire action for a healthy planet. Spitzer comes to the center as the former vice president for Learning and Community at the New England Aquarium, where he was responsible for applying learning and social-science research across education programs, exhibits, visitor experience, and community outreach for more than 20 years. Working with organizations such as the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation, Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network, and North American Assoc. for Environmental Education, he has been involved in many successful collaborative projects with a focus on environmental education and awareness along with the promotion of public engagement in climate change. In 2014, Spitzer was recognized by the White House as a Champion of Change for Engaging the Next Generation of Conservation Leaders. In 2016, he received a Visionary Award from the Gulf of Maine Council for innovation, creativity, and commitment to marine protection. He holds a Ph.D. in oceanography from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

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Matthew Sosik was recently elected to the 20-member board of directors of the Massachusetts Bankers Assoc., the only association representing FDIC-insured community, regional, and nationwide banks serving consumer and business clients across the Commonwealth. Sosik is the CEO of Hometown Financial Group Inc., a $3.4 billion mutual multi-bank holding company based in Easthampton. He also serves as president and CEO of bankESB, a subsidiary of Hometown Financial Group. Sosik joined Hometown Bank, now bankHometown, in 1996 after five years as a bank examiner with the FDIC. In 2013, he became the president and CEO at bankESB and began to build Hometown Financial Group through a combination of organic growth strategies and merger-and-acquisition transactions. He is also a board member for the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, whose mission is to work with communities to create innovative policy and financing solutions that provide affordable homes and better lives for the people of Massachusetts. He also serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council and is a member of the board of directors of COCC Inc., a technology company headquartered in Southington, Conn., that serves the financial industry.

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Daniel Burger has joined OMG Roofing Products as a product engineer for the company’s solar business. In his newly created position, Burger is responsible for creating and managing technical support for rooftop solar and pipe-support products, including product design, testing, and voice-of-customer feedback. He will also support product-certification efforts with the International Code Council, Factory Mutual Global, and others, as well as support application engineering at engineering, procurement, and construction firms. Burger brings solid environmental-related engineering experience to OMG. For the past few years, he was with the Dennis Group as a site civil engineer. He holds an engineering degree from the University of Hartford. Meanwhile, OMG Roofing Products also announced it has hired Christina Gonzalez as a product manager. She is responsible for developing sales and marketing opportunities for new and existing OMG discretionary products throughout the company’s extensive network of independent roofing distributors across the U.S. For the past four years, Gonzalez has been an associate product manager with the FastenMaster Division of OMG Inc., where she led cross-functional teams to help commercialize several new products annually. Earlier, she was in a management-training program with Sherwin Williams. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Eastern Connecticut State University.

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East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce recently welcomed Grace Barone as its executive director. Barone is an experienced business-development leader in senior living as well as a past small business owner of a successful bridal boutique for 17 years. She said she is always struck by the power of community and what can be achieved when working together, and she looks forward to unlocking opportunities to bring people together, share ideas, and learn from one another to promote business environments that foster economic growth. The chamber serves the communities of East Longmeadow, Hampden, Longmeadow, Ludlow, and Wilbraham.

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Country Bank recently announced the recipients of the 2020 President’s Platinum Award. The bank’s recognition program, CB Shines, encourages staff members to be on the lookout for co-workers who embody the bank’s corporate values of integrity, service, teamwork, excellence, and prosperity. Within this program, an employee can receive different levels of recognition: Silver Spotlight (awarded anytime), Gold Star (awarded quarterly), and President’s Platinum (awarded annually). The 2020 President’s Platinum award was presented to both Dianna Lussier, Risk Management officer, and Nicholas Thompson, assistant manager, Customer Care Center.