People on the Move

People on the Move

Greenfield Savings Bank (GSB) recently announced six employee appointments and promotions.

Jocelyn Alvord

Jocelyn Alvord

Jocelyn Alvord was promoted to manager at the Shelburne Falls branch office. She will be responsible for overseeing the operations of the branch. She has been with GSB since 2015, starting as a teller and then quickly moving up to super banker in the new GSB office in Hadley. She was promoted to assistant manager in the Hadley branch before moving back to Shelburne Falls, where she has been serving as assistant branch manager. Alvord actively participates in civic and charitable events such as Moonlight Magic and the Bridge of Flowers Road Races in Shelburne Falls and Monte’s March for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. She has volunteered at the Shelburne Falls Visitor Center and helped coordinate the Giving Tree Program with the Mary Lyons Foundation to provide holiday gifts to local educators.

Sherie Lewis

Sherie Lewis

Sherie Lewis has been named vice president and Operations officer. In her new role, she oversees the Deposit and Loan Operations teams including deposit processing, operations administration and quality control, digital, and loan operations. She is leading a variety of projects to enhance the bank’s use of technology, improve automation, and increase efficiency. In addition, she works closely with other departments of the bank to ensure seamless operation and regulatory compliance. She joined GSB with more than 20 years of banking experience.

Lisa McKenna

Lisa McKenna

Lisa McKenna has been promoted to assistant vice president and Conway branch manager. She has worked at GSB for more than 30 years, starting as a teller in 1988 at the main office in Greenfield. She then worked in GSB’s Customer Service department and was previously manager of Greenfield and South Deerfield. She was most recently assistant vice president and the branch manager for South Deerfield and Conway before shifting exclusively to Conway’s branch manager. McKenna is very active in the local community, volunteering for the Franklin County chapter of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, the Greenfield Kiwanis Club, and the South Deerfield Women’s Club.

Josh Mozeleski

Josh Mozeleski

Josh Mozeleski has been named investment officer and Infinex investment executive. In his role as Infinex investment executive, he will be able to offer access to insurance and investment products through Infinex Investments. He joins GSB as a securities registered investment executive with more than nine years in the banking industry. He obtained a Massachusetts individual producer license as well as both the FINRA Series 6 and Series 63 registrations, plus a Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry license. He is also a Massachusetts notary public. An active volunteer in the community, he has previously helped organize a food drive at Open Pantry Community Services in Springfield. Most recently, he helped run his local Toys for Tots program.

Vyeluv “Mpress” Nembhard

Vyeluv “Mpress” Nembhard

Vyeluv “Mpress” Nembhard joined Greenfield Savings Bank (GSB) in May as a CRA analyst and Community Outreach officer. She assists the vice president of Compliance/CRA officer in creating and updating financial aid outreach presentations to a wide range of community partners, businesses, schools, and customers, focusing on low- to moderate-income applicants and minority/women-owned businesses. Nembhard is active in the local community, including being a commissioner of Greenfield’s Human Rights Commission, a member of the Greenfield Cultural Council, and CEO of her nonprofit, UACSAM. She also produces the “Moving Mountains Media” program on Greenfield Community Television. She most recently organized Greenfield’s first annual Juneteenth cultural and youth event celebration.

Kimberly Zabek

Kimberly Zabek

• Finally, Kimberly Zabek has been promoted to Greenfield Savings Bank’s South Deerfield branch manager and officer. In that role, she oversees the branch’s daily responsibilities, focusing on local business development. She has been in banking for more than 25 years and with Greenfield Savings Bank for more than 10 years, most recently serving as the assistant branch manager in Hadley. In addition to her managerial role, Zabek has been featured in many of the bank’s advertisements, including voicing certain radio spots, in GSB Teller Connect/ATMs and e-statement promotional videos, and on the Teller Connect/ATM welcome screens. Recently, she voiced animated videos for a GSB career fair. She also represents the bank at community events around the Pioneer Valley, such as the Northampton and Greenfield Pride events, the Hot Chocolate Run in Northampton, and Moonlight Magic in Shelburne Falls.

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Molly Gray, president and chief administrative officer of the Baystate Health Eastern Region, has announced her retirement, effective Oct. 9. Ronald Bryant, president of Baystate Noble Hospital and Baystate Franklin Medical Center – Northern Region, will extend his role to become president of Baystate Health Regional Hospitals, which also includes Baystate Wing Hospital in Palmer, which Gray currently serves as president and chief administrative officer of the Baystate Health Eastern Region. Gray has served Baystate Health and the community for 34 years. She has held seven roles with progressive responsibility, culminating in her role as president and chief administrative officer for the Baystate Health Eastern Region, including Baystate Wing Hospital and Baystate Mary Lane Outpatient Center. She joined Baystate Health in 1988 as a professional nurse and transitioned to a managerial role as a level IV nurse manager, a unit manager, and then Women and Infants’ manager. An advocate for children’s health issues, Gray assumed the role of director of Women’s Services and Baystate Children’s Hospital in 2003. In 2013, she was promoted to vice president of Baystate Health Children’s Hospital, Women’s Services, Behavioral Health, Observation and Emergency Services. In 2016, she assumed the role of vice president and chief Nursing officer for the Baystate Health Eastern Region and was promoted in 2019 to her current role. Bryant joined Baystate Health in 2015 as president of Baystate Noble Hospital. Previously, he was executive vice president and CEO for the Noble Hospital Health System. In 2018, he was promoted to president of both Baystate Noble Hospital and Baystate Franklin Medical Center. He brings a wealth of leadership experience and a passion for positive change within the Western Mass. healthcare community. During his time as president of Baystate Noble Hospital in Westfield and Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, he successfully developed the strategic and operational plans for the two hospitals, comprised of 200 combined beds and nearly 1,800 team members. He will now oversee three hospitals with nearly 300 combined beds and more than 2,300 Baystate team members.

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Christina Royal

Christina Royal

Holyoke Community College (HCC) President Christina Royal will retire from the college after the 2022-23 academic year, she announced today. Her last day will be July 14, 2023. Royal, 50, said she is not leaving HCC for another job and has no specific plans. Royal started at HCC in January 2017. She is the fourth president in the 75-year history of HCC and not only the first woman to hold the position, but the first openly gay and first bi-racial person to serve HCC as president. Presidential search plans will begin immediately. Before coming to HCC, Royal served as provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at Inver Hills Community College in Inver Grove Heights, Minn. Prior to that, she was associate vice president for E-learning and Innovation at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland and director of technology-assisted learning for the School of Graduate and Continuing Education at Marist College. She holds a PhD in education from Capella University and a master’s degree in educational psychology and a bachelor’s degree in math from Marist. In her announcement, Royal cited some of the milestones of her tenure: working collaboratively to develop HCC’s first strategic plan, advancing equity across the institution, and investing in programs to support students’ basic needs, such as creating the President’s Student Emergency Fund (to provide grants to student facing immediate financial needs), opening Homestead Market (the first campus store in Massachusetts to accept SNAP benefits), partnering with Holyoke Housing Authority (to help students find affordable housing), and launching the Itsy Bitsy Child Watch Program (to provide HCC student-parents access to free, short-term care for their children). Other highlights include opening the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute on Race Street; reopening the HCC Campus Center after a two-year, $43.5 million renovation; establishing El Centro, a bilingual center dedicated to the needs of Latinx students; weathering a global pandemic; and celebrating HCC’s 75th anniversary as the oldest two-year college in Massachusetts.

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With 22 years of experience as a certified safety professional (CSP), Scott Smith has joined Tighe & Bond as director of Safety and Health. Smith has worked on a global scale facilitating hazard analysis, reducing costs, risks, and recordable injuries for companies across North America, Canada, and Asia. As director of Health and Safety for Tighe & Bond, Smith will develop and maintain programs, procedures, policies, and training to mitigate safety and health hazards and risks to personnel. He will work closely with the firm’s safety steering committee and lead a team of safety representatives across Tighe & Bond’s business lines and 12 offices. Smith has an advanced education in environmental health and safety, receiving a master’d degree in industrial hygiene from UMass Lowell and a doctor of law and policy degree in occupational safety from Northeastern University. Additionally, he continues his education on the latest policies and practices by active involvement in the American Society of Safety Professionals, the American Industrial Hygiene Assoc., and the National Safety Council. Smith has been an active participant and change leader on corporate boards and worked with global industry groups to develop integrated safety and health-management frameworks. He has published multiple peer-reviewed articles addressing safety integration, adult education, and hazards assessment, and continues to perform original research.

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John Sieracki

John Sieracki

The office of Institutional Advancement at Holyoke Community College (HCC) recently welcomed John Sieracki as its first leadership gift officer and manager of campaign initiatives. Sieracki joins HCC after nearly 19 years at Mass Humanities, where he started in 2003 as director of Development. In that role, he built a multi-faceted Development office from scratch that now has a thriving major donor program, a robust and engaged volunteer group, a prestigious awards dinner, and multi-platform annual appeals. He also managed a portfolio of major gift prospects resulting in five- and six-figure donations and oversaw capital campaign planning. Prior to that, he served as director of Development for the Northern Forest Center and Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust. His 30-year career also includes stints in development at Landmark College, New York Law School, New York Academy of Sciences, and Children of Alcoholics Foundation. He has also been active in the Western Mass. community as a volunteer, serving as a board member and president of the Amherst Committee for a Better Chance program, and treasurer of Blues to Green, producer of the annual Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival. In his new role, Sieracki will manage a portfolio of donors and prospects and seek new major gifts and deeper philanthropic relationships. He will also manage and support the efforts of HCC’s capital-campaign steering committee, work closely with the college’s board of trustees and HCC Foundation’s board of directors on fundraising involvement, and organize and lead other campaign-related initiatives. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Delaware and a master’s degree in fine arts in creative writing and poetry from UMass Amherst, where he received the Best New Poets Award from the Department of English.

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Bacon Wilson, P.C. announced that eight of its attorneys have been named to Best Lawyers in America for 2023. They are: Kenneth Albano, recognized in the category of business organizations (including LLCs and partnerships); Gary Breton, banking and finance law; Gina Barry, elder law; Hyman Darling, elder law; Mark Tanner, litigation – real estate; Michael Katz, bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization law; Peter MacConnell, real-estate law; and Stephen Krevalin, family law. Daniel McKellick was also recognized in Best Lawyers’ Ones to Watch in America for his work in real-estate law. The firm was also recognized in Best Lawyers’ Best Law Firms in U.S. News & World Report. The firm is regionally ranked in tier 1 in banking and finance law, tier 2 in business organizations (including LLCs and partnerships), tier 2 in elder law, and tier 2 in family law.

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Bulkley Richardson partners Mark Cress and John Pucci were named 2023 Lawyer of the Year in their respective practice areas by Best Lawyers, in partnership with U.S. News Media Group. Cress was named the 2023 Lawyer of the Year for bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization law and was also recognized in 2022 as Lawyer of the Year for his work in the area of corporate law. He leads the firm’s banking, finance, and bankruptcy practice group and has significant experience representing banks and other financial institutions, for-profit and not-for-profit entities, and individual clients in connection with all forms of financing and business transactions. He also represents parties in creditor-debtor relationships and appears on behalf of creditor parties in proceedings before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Pucci was named the 2023 Lawyer of the Year for white-collar criminal defense and has held that title for 10 of the past 13 years for his success as a litigator. He co-chairs the firm’s independent investigations practice and represents individuals and companies in complex civil and criminal litigation of all kinds in both state and federal court, as well as in responding to government investigations and in conducting corporate internal investigations. He has particular experience in the areas of white-collar criminal defense and state and federal regulatory agency matters. Lawyer of the Year rankings are awarded to one lawyer per practice area and region. Honorees receive this award based on their high overall peer feedback within specific practice areas and metropolitan regions.

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Flying Cloud Institute (FCI) has hired Angela Parker as a science and art educator. In this role, she will lead the summer program, vacation camps, classroom residencies, and family STEAM challenge events, and work with the FCI team to inspire the next generation of artists and engineers. She brings multifaceted K-12 educational experiences to the organization as it continues to partner with local school districts to bring meaningful experiences to students. Parker’s past experience includes initiating a multi-site STEAM museum program for the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in collaboration with the Connecticut Science Center. She also launched a tour titled “STEAM: Sketch Like a Scientist!” that drew connections between the skills used by artists and scientists. While at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Va., she worked with teaching artists to plan school tours that incorporated studio art activities, ranging from bookmaking to ceramics. As a classroom teacher at St. Ignatius Loyola Academy, she created interdisciplinary learning experiences for K-12 students, and at Capital and Asnuntuck community colleges, she trained and supported adult students.

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Nicole Skelly

Nicole Skelly

Berkshire Bank announced the promotion of Nicole Skelly to first vice president, regional financial center manager for the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts. She will manage the daily operations of financial centers in the Pioneer Valley, which includes Springfield and surrounding towns. Skelly brings more than 25 years of banking experience to her new role at Berkshire Bank. Most recently, she was vice president and senior branch officer of the Springfield offices, which include multiple sites at Berkshire Bank. Before joining Berkshire, she was a personal banker for United Bank. Outside of work, Skelly is a 2014 Graduate of Leadership Pioneer Valley, where she learned how to address the challenges and opportunities of this region. She also volunteers at events such as the Springfield Pride Parade, the Springfield Boys and Girls Club, and the Irish Cultural Center of New England.

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Jeremy Payson

Jeremy Payson

Tony Worden, president and CEO of Greenfield Cooperative Bank and its Northampton Cooperative Bank division, announced that Jeremy Payson has joined the bank as the new senior vice president – controller, based out of its King Street, Northampton location. Payson comes to Greenfield Cooperative Bank with many years of financial-planning and analysis experience, most recently with Northern Bank and Berkshire Bank, and was previously the treasurer for Big Y Foods Inc. He holds an MBA from Western New England University.

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The Peace Development Fund announced the addition of two new foundation associates, Sophia Trifone and Sonya Epstein, in its Amherst office. Trifone will oversee the organization’s communication work, including social media, newsletters, press outreach, and annual publications. Epstein will be focused on donor data management, ensuring accurate accounting of donations, grant requests, and support for fiscally sponsored organizations. After earning her associate degree from Holyoke Community College, Trifone began her career with a prominent local nonprofit focusing on arts and culture in Holyoke’s Puerto Rican cultural district. In her time there, she notably fundraised for signature events and projects, hosted walking tours of the city’s artwork, collaborated with other community organizations, and aided in weekly food distribution. Epstein is a community organizer who has been deeply involved with student activism around restorative justice, free public higher education, and LGBTQ liberation for many years. They are an immigrant from Belarus and studied social thought & political economy and sociology at UMass Amherst.

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John Bechtold

John Bechtold

Eggtooth Productions announced that board member and frequent collaborator John Bechtold has been appointed to the role of creative director for the company. Working closely with founder and Artistic Director Linda McInerney, Bechtold’s role will be to help guide the creative vision for Eggtooth’s original works. Following award-winning experiences at Eggtooth’s Double Take Fringe Festivals in 2011-2013, Bechtold’s first full-length production with Eggtooth came in 2016 with an immersive version of William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, taking over the entirety of the then-vacant Arts Block (now Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center) in downtown Greenfield. With an emphasis on site-inspired design, he has been dubbed the “Valley’s genius of immersive theater” by the Valley Advocate, with a list of immersive works including Sam’s Place (Shea Theater), Stagehand (Shea Theater and Academy of Music), Before You Became Improbable (Emily Dickinson Museum), and Gem of the Valley (Chester Theatre).