People on the Move

Dr. Lynnette Watkins, an ophthalmologist and healthcare administrator and leader, has been named president and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Health Care. Currently the group chief medical officer for the Baptist Health System/Tenet Healthcare – Texas Group, she will begin her new role at Cooley Dickinson on Sept. 27. Since joining Baptist Health System/Tenet Healthcare in 2017, she has been a member of a team that has provided executive oversight for the multi-hospital system that stretches across the state, with more than 3,600 beds and $3.45 billion in patient revenue. She also has significant leadership experience in community-hospital settings. In addition, Watkins has ties to Massachusetts and the Mass General Brigham system, having completed her residency at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, where she began her clinical career in ophthalmology and oculoplastic surgery and served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School. Before joining the Baptist Health System, Watkins held the position of chief medical officer and chief operating officer at Paris Regional Medical Center in Paris, Texas. She has also served as chief medical officer in Tenet’s Abrazo Community Health Network in Arizona. Her career as a healthcare executive began in Mishawaka, Ind., where she was vice president and chief medical officer for the Saint Joseph Health System/Trinity Health. Watkins earned her undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and completed her internship in internal medicine at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City before coming to Boston in 1995 as a resident in ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. After residency, she completed a fellowship in oculoplastic surgery at the University of Iowa, then returned to Massachusetts Eye and Ear, where from 1999 to 2004 she directed the emergency ophthalmology service and walk-in clinic and was an attending physician in the Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery Service.

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Bacon Wilson announced that Brian Rucki and Amanda Carpe have joined the firm as associate attorneys. Rucki is a member of the real-estate team, and Carpe has joined the probate and estate-planning department. Prior to joining Bacon Wilson, Rucki spent five years practicing law in Westfield, where he worked on all aspects of real-estate transactions including purchases, sales, refinances, and title work, as well as estate-planning matters. Previously, he also served as a clerk in the solicitor’s office for the town of Agawam, where his work focused on municipal law. He attended Western New England University School of Law, earning his juris doctor laude in 2016. He earned a bachelor’s degree from UMass Amherst in 2013. Carpe comes to Bacon Wilson with five years of experience in estate planning, estate administration, guardianship, conservatorship, and residential real estate. She previously practiced in Ludlow and Worcester. In addition to her work in estates and probate, she clerked for the Hampden County Juvenile Court and interned with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, where her work focused on juvenile and child-welfare law. She earned her juris doctor in 2016 from Western New England University School of Law, and a bachelor’s degree from Wilkes University in 2013.

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North Brookfield Savings Bank announced the promotions of Joseph Deady and Kaitlyn Malin within the Operations department. Deady has been promoted to Digital Services manager/fraud analyst. He will be responsible for ensuring the bank is using all possible digital products to align with its strategic goals and the needs of our customers, while overseeing account fraud. He joined the bank as a teller in 2011 and has held various roles, including supervisor and management roles and finally fraud analyst in the Operations department in 2015. Most recently, he held the title of Operations specialist and fraud analyst, handling debit-card fraud claims and account compromises and processing and reviewing international wires. Deady has more than 10 years of professional banking experience and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. He is also ACH-certified. He supports his local communities by volunteering his time and attending fundraising events for local, community-focused organizations like Camp Putnam in New Braintree. Malin has been promoted to Operations specialist. She holds an associate degree from Mount Wachusett Community College. She previously held the position of Operations customer service representative, where she was tasked with answering customer calls and connecting customers and non-customers with appropriate staff to assist them. She also was responsible for reviewing all daily Operations reports. Before coming to the bank in November 2020, she worked as a teller at Athol Savings Bank. In her three years, there she assisted customers with transactions, concerns, and other inquiries. In her new role, Malin will be responsible for reviewing reports to mitigate fraud and risk for both the bank and customers as well as servicing customers’ online banking needs and completing account modifications such as travel notifications.

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J. Williar Dunleavy, chairman of Berkshire Bank and its parent company, will retire in September, the bank announced. He will be succeeded on the board of both the bank and Berkshire Hills Bancorp by David Brunelle, currently vice chairman. Brunelle is co-founder of Northe Pointe Wealth Management in Worcester. He has been on the board since 2017. Dunleavy took over as chair of the board in late 2019, when Bill Ryan, formerly the chief exective of Banknorth, gave up the position for health reasons.

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Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) recently welcomed three new vice presidents to its executive team: Joseph DaSilva, vice president of Administration and Finance; Richard Glejzer, vice president of Academic Affairs; and Jeannette Smith, vice president of Student Affairs. DaSilva has worked in public higher education for more than 28 years, the last 21 at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC). During his tenure as vice president of Administration and chief financial officer, he provided executive-level vision, leadership, planning, and direction, and managed all aspects of fiscal operations, facilities management, Campus Police, Information Technology, Student Financial Services, and Human Resources/Employee Benefits and Operations Center. Glejzer was most recently the interim dean of Graduate Studies at Muhlenberg College, and previously served as provost and dean of Faculty at Marlboro College for 10 years. Prior to joining Marlboro, he served as professor and chair of English at North Central College and as chair of the college’s academic programs and policy committee. Among his other institutional duties, he served on the college’s steering committee and the dean’s academic advisory committee. He was a faculty liaison to the board of trustees. Earlier in his career at North Central, Glejzer revised the composition program as the director of Writing. Smith is a scholar-practitioner with 16 years of work experience in higher education, having worked most recently as the associate dean of Student Affairs and Engagement at Evergreen State College. She was previously employed at Truckee Meadows Community College, the University of Nevada Reno, and Elmhurst College. Her practice areas of experience include student unions, residence life and dining, academic advising, financial aid, shared governance, and student employment. Her scholarship areas of interests include policy, equity, financial aid, and student development.

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UMassFive College Federal Credit Union recently introduced Sam Einzig as the newest member of UMassFive’s Retirement Planning and Investments team available through CUSO Financial Services, L.P. He supports the credit union’s team of CFS financial advisors by scheduling appointments, sending appointment reminders, and helping with advisor administrative duties and service work. As an advisor assistant, he is also now the primary contact for current and prospective clients looking to work with the credit union’s trio of financial advisors. Einzig has worked at UMassFive as a member service specialist since September 2018, prior to taking on his latest role with the Retirement Planning and Investments team. He is licensed as a producer of life insurance and accident and health or sickness insurance in Massachusetts, and is currently pursuing his FINRA Series 7 and 66 securities licenses. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston, where course studies in music business and taxation in the music industry kindled his interest in the financial world, as well as helping people.

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Country Bank announced several recent staff promotions. Julie Yi has been promoted to senior vice president, controller and Operations. She has extensive experience in finance and operations and serves on Country Bank’s senior management team. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and is a certified public accountant. Justin Calheno has been promoted to assistant vice president, Retail Lending. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Westfield State University and is a graduate of the New England School for Financial Studies. He serves as a board member for the Ludlow Boys and Girls Club. Lisa Saletnik has been promoted to assistant vice president, Business Systems. She holds an associate degree in health science from Bay Path University and is a graduate of the New England School for Financial Studies. Mackenna Hogan has been promoted to Commercial Banking Administration officer. She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from UMass Amherst. Antonio Palano has been promoted to assistant vice president, Retail Lending. He holds an associate degree in business administration from Springfield Technical Community College. Newly appointed officers include Sam Pursey, Erin Skoczylas, Ashley Swett, and Sarah Yurkunas. Pursey has been promoted to Relationship Management officer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from UMass Amherst. Skoczylas has been promoted to assistant controller. Erin holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western New England University, an associate degree in business administration from Springfield Technical Community College, and is a graduate of the New England School for Financial Studies. Swett has been promoted to Customer Care Center officer. She is a graduate of the New England School for Financial Studies. Yurkunas has been promoted to Relationship Management officer. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Bay Path University, a certificate from the Massachusetts Bankers Assoc. in Fundamentals of Credit Analysis: Intro to Commercial Lending, and is currently enrolled in the New England School for Financial Studies.

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Garvey Communication Associates Inc. (GCAi) announced that veteran ABC News affiliate reporter and anchor Mary Cate Mannion has joined the team as a digital PR analyst and will be responsible for planning, producing, and editing video content; photo supervision; and writing posts for digital dissemination on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and the Google Ads Display Network, but not Tik Tok, as well as working directly with media publications. She is working in GCAi’s Springfield edit suite with award-winning video producer Darcy Young and planning digital campaigns with award-winning digital marketer James Garvey, who is based in GCAi’s Marina del Rey, Calif. office. Mannion is an award winner in her own right, receiving a Broadcasters Award and two Emmy nominations during her tenure as an anchor and energy-news reporter with NBC News affiliate KFYR-TV. Her reporting was also used in an investigative segment by John Oliver on HBO’s Last Week Tonight, and she has served as a correspondent for Headline News. She earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Emerson College. She crossed paths with Young during her time at Western Mass News, when she emceed the Springfield Colleen Contest, for which Young is a long-time volunteer. Mannion also her singing skills during an American Idol audition in Boston and was successful for six rounds. Mannion has also achieved considerable success as a competitive Irish dancer, something she is still enthusiastic about today as a member of Springfield’s Claddagh School.

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Mercedes Maskalik, formerly the director of Marketing at CUE Inc., a membership and professional-development nonprofit organization, has been appointed assistant vice president for Marketing and Communication at Western New England University. In her new role, Maskalik will oversee the university’s Division of Marketing and External Affairs, whose mission and purpose is to broadly and creatively share the story of Western New England University regionally, nationally, and internationally. In her previous position as director of Marketing at CUE, Maskalik was responsible for the development, coordination, and management of all marketing and communications efforts to promote the CUE brand, the professional learning community, and the professional learning events. She received her master’s degree in organizational communications from Central Connecticut State University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Southern Connecticut State University. An active member of a number of international associations, Maskalik’s professional affiliations include the American Marketing Assoc., the Public Relations Society of America, and the European Assoc. of Communications Directors. She is the co-author of Social Marketing Environmental Issues, a theoretically grounded text on social-marketing strategies for influencing environmental behaviors.

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Market Mentors, a marketing, advertising, and public-relations agency, announced the addition of Bryan Czajkowski as director of Production and Technology. He brings more than 25 years of experience to the newly created position, in which he oversees the agency’s web, design, video, and production operations. Czajkowski most recently served as chief technology officer for Rebel Interactive Group in Southington, Conn. Through this and previous positions, he has gained extensive experience working with international and national organizations across diverse industries, from finance and insurance to automotive and aerospace. The opportunity to integrate his various professional skills and interests is something that drew Czajkowski to the Market Mentors position.

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Bulkley Richardson announced that Mike Sweet has joined the firm as a partner in the Business and Finance department. Sweet started his career at a Wall Street-based law firm and has been practicing in Springfield for the past 25 years. His practice focuses on representing businesses and the people that own and manage those businesses through all stages of their business cycle, as well as in their personal lives. “This is an exciting development for the firm and furthers our goals for continued growth and talent acquisition,” said Dan Finnegan, managing partner. “Mike has established longtime relationships with his clients and continues to achieve successful results for them. He has earned the reputation of a great lawyer, and we feel honored to have him on our team.”

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Vanessa Smith, senior vice president and chief legal officer for Baystate Health, has been appointed to the Holyoke Community College (HCC) board of trustees by Gov. Charlie Baker. The term will run until March 1, 2025. “I am passionate about education and its ability to empower, inspire, break down barriers, and create pathways to opportunity,” Smith said. “I am honored to begin my service as trustee during Holyoke Community College’s celebration of its 75th anniversary, and I look forward to helping shape its bright future.” Smith has worked for Baystate Health since 2016 as associate general counsel, vice president, chief general counsel, and now senior vice president and chief legal officer. Prior to that, she was a partner in the law firm Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP in Springfield. She has also worked as an assistant attorney general in the New York Attorney General’s Office in Syracuse and as a court attorney for the New York State Court of Appeals. She holds a law degree from Syracuse University College of Law and a bachelor’s degree in French from Wells College.

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Bulkley Richardson partners Michael Burke and Mark Cress were named 2022 Lawyer of the Year in their respective practice areas by Best Lawyers in partnership with U.S. News Media Group. Burke was recognized for his work in personal-injury litigation, and Cress was recognized for his work in corporate law. Burke and Cress have been named by Best Lawyers since 2001 and 2003, respectively. Lawyer of the Year rankings are awarded to one lawyer per practice area in each region, making it a distinguished accolade. Honorees receive this award based on their extremely high overall peer feedback within specific practice areas and metropolitan regions.

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Attorney Michael Cardaropoli, a partner in the law firm Pellegrini, Seeley, Ryan and Blakesley, has been appointed to serve on the board of directors of Springfield Habitat for Humanity. “I’m proud of the opportunity to serve on the board of this incredible organization,” he said. “We have a rich history as a firm of charitable connections to the community. I had first-hand experience with the Habitat for Humanity team as we worked on the SGT Sullivan house, and I am so pleased to now be a part of their ongoing efforts.” Twelve staff members from Pellegrini Seeley, Ryan and Blakesley donated a total of nearly 100 man hours to kick off the Gunnery Sgt. Thomas J. Sullivan project on the first build day in 2018. The firm also contributed $2,500 to the effort. “As a firm, we are committed each day to help make the lives better for the residents of Springfield,” Cardaropoli said.

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Bacon Wilson announced that eight of the firm’s attorneys have been named to Best Lawyers in America 2022. Kenneth Albano, the firm’s managing partner, was recognized in Best Lawyers 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; Gina Barry for elder law; Mark Tanner for real-estate litigation; and Peter MacConnell for real-estate law. In addition, MacConnell was named 2022 Lawyer of the Year for real-estate law in Springfield, a designation presented to a single outstanding lawyer in each practice area for each region. Bacon Wilson, P.C. is one of the largest Pioneer Valley firms, with 43 attorneys and approximately 80 paralegals, administrative assistants, and support staff. The firm has five locations, in Springfield, Amherst, Hadley, Northampton, and Westfield. First published in 1983, Best Lawyers is regarded as one of the definitive guides to legal excellence. There is no opportunity to pay for a listing; rather, lists are based entirely on peer review.