People on the Move

Greenfield Savings Bank (GSB) promoted Shandra Richardson to chief operating officer and senior vice president. She will direct all aspects of the bank’s operations, which include compliance, retail banking, marketing, deposit, electronic, and consumer loan operations, as well as developing and implementing new policies and procedures for the organizational systems management. Richardson has worked in the banking industry for more than 17 years. A UMass Amherst graduate, she received a bachelor’s degree in marketing and then went on to earn an MBA along with completing leadership and lean methodology executive education courses. She prides herself on being a lifetime learner and is continuously looking for ways to enhance her skills and those of the teams that she leads. Since joining GSB and moving to Western Mass. from Boston, Richardson has volunteered in numerous local causes, and in October, she joined the board of directors of Safe Passage. She also serves as a member of the Harvard Business Review advisory council, an opt-in research community of business professionals.

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The Royal Law Firm recently welcomed four new additions to its team: attorneys Kylie Brown and Jessica Rodger Yim and paralegals Marcia Macklin and Quincy Ryans. Brown is a litigator who focuses her practice on employment and other commercial litigation. She has successfully tried several cases to verdict and is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Yim has many years of experience in bankruptcy, commercial lending, banking, and commercial real-estate matters, and will work out of Boston. She is a graduate of Tufts University and Boston College Law School, and is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Macklin and Ryans also recently joined the Royal Law team as paralegals. They both have extensive experience in the court system.

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Kuhn Riddle Architects (KRA) recently welcomed Mallory Nurse to the firm as a member of its interior-design team. Having previously designed corporate workplace interiors and larger-scale projects, Nurse was interested in the slightly more intimate type of design at KRA. She loves projects that have a beneficial impact through education, community-oriented organizations, and residential buildings of all types. Nurse chose to study interior design in college and has never looked back. She is a graduate of Suffolk University with a bachelor’s degree in interior design and was awarded the Design Excellence commendation for her senior thesis project. She loves to pay close attention to the details of a project: lighting, scale, texture, and color. Her holistic approach to design focuses on fostering connection between people and the spaces in which they thrive.

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Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) appointed Karen-Louise Walker as assistant vice president of Advancement and executive director to the STCC Foundation. Walker began her appointment at STCC on Dec. 4. She will be responsible for managing all aspects of STCC’s fundraising, philanthropy, alumni relations, and foundation-supported work, including overseeing communications and branding functions. She will work with President John Cook, administrators, and faculty to support the mission of STCC. Walker most recently served as vice president for Advancement at Alliance University in New York City. She previously served as vice president of Development at Ascentria Care Alliance, a nonprofit agency serving Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut. Prior to that, she served as executive director of Advancement at Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) in Worcester, where she was responsible for the management and oversight of all aspects of institutional advancement. During her tenure at QCC, she secured more than $45 million in grants, increased private giving by 30%, and tripled the QCC Foundation revenue. Her professional experience also includes serving as vice president of Programs for MLK Jr. Family Services, a nonprofit social-service agency supporting families and children throughout Western Mass.; executive director of the Council of Churches of Greater Springfield; and assistant EEO administrator for the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services. She serves on various boards in Western and Central Mass.

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Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. announced the addition of attorney Brett Smith to its team of lawyers. Smith concentrates his practice on commercial finance and real estate, business organizations and planning, and land-use regulation. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Bentley University in 2019 and his juris doctorate from Western New England University School of Law in 2023. He previously served as a legal intern at New Mexico Local Government Law LLC in Albuquerque. In 2022, Smith received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in corporate finance law. He co-founded and served as treasurer of the Sports and Entertainment Law Assoc. at Western New England University School of Law.

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Conval, a global manufacturer of high-performance severe service valves, recently announced the appointment of Andrea Bedard as HR manager and Mike Mikaelian as inside sales engineer. Bedard graduated from Central Connecticut State University in New Britain. She has enjoyed a solid career in human resources, including stints at TTM Technologies in Stafford Springs, Conn., as well as Health New England, E Ink Corp., KBE Building Corp., and Paychex. Mikaelian holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Western New England University and earned a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification from Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I. He previously served as design engineer at Judd Wire in Turners Falls, senior sales engineer and production manager at Dipwell Techware in Northampton, route service representative at Quest Diagnostics in Marlborough, and in various engineering and sales positions at BETE Fog Nozzle in Greenfield.

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bankESB recently promoted Tiffany Raines to vice president, retail administration. Raines joined bankESB in 2018 as assistant vice president, branch officer of the Holyoke branch and was promoted to vice president, branch officer in 2021. She has nearly 25 years of banking experience, including her previous roles as assistant vice president and banking center manager at PeoplesBank in West Springfield and Amherst. Raines brings extensive management and supervisory experience to her new role, with a focus on forging new customer relationships, customer service, training, and compliance. In this role, she will serve as the liaison between the bank’s branch network and as other departments across bankESB and its parent company, Hometown Financial Group, in order to foster communication, develop organizational awareness, and achieve operational excellence. She will also be responsible for managing the bank’s suite of deposit products. Raines currently serves on the board of the Care Center of Holyoke.

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Dr. Seth Gemme has been named the new chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Baystate Health. Upon approval by the provost and dean, he will also chair the Department of Emergency Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School-Baystate. He most recently served as vice chair of Clinical Operations for the Baystate Health Department of Emergency Medicine. Gemme earned his MD degree from the University of Buffalo prior to completing his residency training in emergency medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, R.I. He joined the Department of Emergency Medicine at Baystate Health in 2017 and has held progressive leadership positions since that time, including associate chief and Education director, Emergency Department, Baystate Noble Hospital; chief, Emergency Department, Baystate Wing Hospital; system vice chair of Clinical Operations for Emergency Medicine, Baystate Health; and as board member of Baystate Medical Practices. Gemme has earned several scholastic and teaching awards in his career to date, including the prestigious President’s Excellence Award in 2022 at Baystate Health. He has continued to serve for more than a decade as a member of the clinical policy committee of the American College of Emergency Physicians, contributing to the development of national consensus guidelines in emergency medicine. Most recently, he led the design and successful implementation of the ‘vertical model’ of care at Baystate Medical Center. This model of care utilizes oversized leather recliners for patients who can sit upright during their care while in the Emergency Department. Gemme will start in this new role in early January 2024. Dr. Niels Rathlev, who has held the position of chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Baystate Health for the past 15 years, will be staying on as a faculty member.

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Robert Gilbert Jr. has banged his last gavel as chair of the Holyoke Community College (HCC) board of trustees. After serving as a trustee for 12 years, including the last eight as chair, the retired chairman of Dowd Insurance Agencies of Holyoke retired after presiding over his last board meeting on Nov. 28. Gilbert was first appointed to the board in April 2011 by Gov. Deval Patrick, serving in various capacities, including chair of the audit committee and member of the finance committee. In October 2015, Gov. Charlie Baker named him board chair, succeeding Helen Caulton-Harris, commissioner of the Springfield Department of Health and Human Services. In his eight years as chair, Gilbert served alongside three HCC presidents: William Messner, who retired in 2016, Christina Royal, who retired in July, and George Timmons, HCC’s fifth and current president. Until Gov. Maura Healey names a successor, HCC trustee Vanessa Smith will serve as interim chair.

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Lathrop Community announced the appointment of Patrick Arguin as its new CEO. Arguin brings nearly 20 years of professional experience, starting his career as a physical therapist and then working for many years as a nursing-home administrator (NHA). His most recent position was NHA for Mary’s Meadow at Providence Place in Holyoke, which provides both short-term rehabilitation and long-term skilled nursing. Under Arguin’s leadership, that community achieved high-performing recognition in support categories, effective staffing, and best practices in resident safety. He was responsible for various aspects of the community, including managing staff, organizational finances and budgets, reporting to the board, and upholding the quality of service and attention to residents. Arguin, who has a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy and an MBA from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, officially joined the community on Nov. 27.

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The board of directors of Big Y Foods Inc. announced the appointment of Christian D’Amour as district director for 16 markets throughout Connecticut. In his new role, his focus will be to provide a best-in-class customer shopping experience and to create an environment in which Big Y employees grow and develop. His responsibilities include staffing, training and development, operational execution, sales strategies, and results. D’Amour began his career at Big Y at the age of 14 as a part time service clerk. After college, he was a sales and marketing representative for an insurance company based in Providence, R.I. He re-joined Big Y as a store director trainee in 2014. One year later, he was appointed assistant store director in Wilbraham. In 2016, he was promoted to store director in Southampton. He next went on to manage the Wilbraham market before being tapped as store manager at Table & Vine’s flagship location in West Springfield. In 2019, he was appointed a district sales and merchandising mentor for Big Y’s supermarket 15-store district throughout Western Mass. In this role, he was responsible for all sales, merchandising, and store team development across all departments. He also continued to oversee the operations of the company’s Table & Vine flagship, and most recently directed the company’s e-commerce platform.