People on the Move
Sophie Miller
Catarina Sanches
Katherine Ferri
Pioneer Valley Financial Group (PV Financial) announced the addition of three new members to its growing team: Sophie Miller, Catarina Sanches, and Katherine Ferri. With their combined experience and fresh perspectives, these hires are expected to enhance the company’s ability to deliver exceptional service to clients and expand its community-outreach efforts. Miller joins PV Financial as an Operations Support specialist. A graduate of Boston University with a degree in economics, she brings experience from her previous role as a financial advisor at Equitable Advisors. Her background in financial services, combined with a passion for understanding markets, positions her well to support PV Financial’s operational goals. She is particularly looking forward to collaborating with the team to streamline processes and contribute to the firm’s growth. Sanches joins PV Financial as a Client Relationship manager. She previously worked at TD Bank, where she gained experience in various positions, ultimately serving as a store supervisor. With a degree in business management from Westfield State University and a focus on marketing, she brings a deep understanding of client services and financial management. Her experience will allow her to strengthen relationships with PV Financial’s clients and provide personalized support as they navigate their financial journeys. Ferri joins PV Financial as a Community Outreach manager. A recent graduate of Westfield State University with a degree in communication, she previously worked for the Springfield Thunderbirds hockey club in sales and customer relationship management. Her skills in communication and relationship building will be instrumental as she helps guide PV Financial’s efforts to engage with the local community and foster meaningful connections with clients and partners.
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John Page
John Page, a lifelong Amherst-area resident with experience in economic development, business advocacy, and event management, has been appointed the new executive director of the Amherst Business Improvement District (BID). Page departs from his role as assistant director for University Events at UMass Amherst, where he was instrumental in planning and executing major events such as commencement. He also played a key role in reimagining the 2024 UMass Founders Day celebration, expanding it to include more than 35 events across campus and opening it to the broader community. Prior to his role at UMass, Page worked for the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, leading marketing and events for the organization and focusing on economic-development issues, grant writing, and tourism initiatives. He worked collaboratively with local businesses, the BID, the town of Amherst, the state delegation, and other stakeholders on support for small business, beautification and placemaking efforts, and housing policy. Recently, he worked on a contract basis for the BID, spearheading its 2024 Summer Concert Series and the annual Block Party in September. An alumnus of Amherst-Pelham Regional High School and UMass Amherst, Page holds leadership roles on many community boards and committees, including as chair of the Pelham Cultural Council, a member of the Amherst Education Foundation, and an organizer of Amherst LGBTQ+ Pride events.
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Mary-Knight “MK” Bell Young
Bay Path University announced the appointment of Mary-Knight “MK” Bell Young to the position of vice president of Institutional Advancement. With more than 20 years of experience in securing philanthropic investments for prestigious academic, cultural, and healthcare institutions, Young brings a wealth of expertise and a proven track record of success to her new role. In this leadership position, she will oversee all aspects of Bay Path’s fundraising efforts, alumni relations, and strategic partnerships. Her role will be crucial in advancing the university’s mission and ensuring sustained growth and support for its programs and initiatives. Young joins Bay Path University after serving as chief Development officer and senior executive director at the UMass Amherst Foundation, where she led a comprehensive, $100 million fundraising campaign for the UMass College of Engineering, securing more than $60.7 million to date. Her career highlights include securing the college’s first eight-figure gift and achieving 100% participation in annual giving for two consecutive years from the Dean’s Advisory Council. Her previous roles include senior director of Development at Penn Medicine, where she was instrumental in securing more than $26 million during the Power of Penn campaign, and Major Gifts officer at Temple University Health System, where she played a key role in securing the naming gift for the Lewis Katz School of Heath. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history of art from the University of Pennsylvania.
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Amanda Sbriscia
Amanda Sbriscia, vice president of Institutional Advancement at Holyoke Community College (HCC) and executive director of the HCC Foundation, has been named to the Council of Foundation Leaders for the Assoc. of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB). Sbriscia is one of only two council members representing a community college, and the only one from Massachusetts. As vice president of the division of Institutional Advancement, Sbriscia oversees the offices of Development, Grants, Alumni Relations, and Marketing, and serves as executive director of the HCC Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising corporation for the college. The HCC Foundation manages assets of $25.3 million, including an endowment of $18.3 million, the largest community-college endowment in Massachusetts. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Cedar Crest College, a master’s degree in higher education from Drexel University, and a doctorate in education in educational leadership from Gwynedd Mercy University. Last year, she was selected for a fellowship for aspiring college presidents by the AGB Institute for Leadership & Governance in Higher Education, a collaborative venture of the Assoc. of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, Miami University, and AGB Search, a search firm for college and university administrators.
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Brett Carroll
Elms College has named higher-education executive Brett Carroll the college’s new vice president of Finance and Administration. Reporting directly to the president, Carroll is responsible for the strategic oversight and management of the college’s finance and administrative office. Carroll joins Elms from Mercy University in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., where he recently served as vice president for Finance and chief financial officer, overseeing all financial operations of the university. Prior to that, he was associate vice president and treasurer at the University of Hartford. In his new position, Carroll is responsible for providing leadership, management, and supervision to the Business, Facilities, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Public Safety departments. He is also a member of the president’s cabinet. Carroll has more than 25 years of professional experience, 14 of which have been in higher education. In addition to being a certified public accountant, he holds a master’s degree in management from the University of Hartford and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Connecticut.
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Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., a labor and employment law firm serving employers in the Greater Springfield and Worcester areas, announced that one of its partners, attorney Timothy Murphy, has been recognized once again by his peers as the 2025 Lawyer of the Year in Springfield for his work in Litigation – Labor and Employment in the Best Lawyers in America list for 2025. Only a single lawyer in each practice area in each community is honored with this award. Focusing his practice on labor relations, union avoidance, collective bargaining and arbitration, employment litigation, and employment counseling, Murphy has been included in Best Lawyers in America every year since 2013 and was Lawyer of the Year in 2015, 2018, 2020, and 2022. Very active within the local community, Murphy sits on boards of directors for several area organizations, such as the Human Service Forum and Community Legal Aid, and is also a member of the World Affairs Council.
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Shanni Smith-Arsenault
Shelley Errington Nicholson
Greenfield Community College (GCC) announced two new members of its leadership team, Shanni Smith-Arsenault and Shelley Errington Nicholson. Smith-Arsenault joined GCC in July in the new position of vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Success, a division that includes Marketing and Communications, Student Financial Services, Admission, Testing and Assessment, Dual Enrollment, Academic Advising, Career and Transfer Services, Registrar’s Office, and Student Affairs. She brings more than 20 years experience in enrollment management and student affairs, including as director of Transfer Admission and Dual Enrollment at Anna Maria College, senior associate director of Admissions at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Services, and director of Advising at Mount Wachusett Community College. She is deeply committed to bridging departments within the GCC community and to building diversity, equity, inclusion, and a sense of belonging for everyone who is part of the GCC community. Errington Nicholson began her position of dean of students at GCC also in July. She brings more than 20 years of higher-education leadership experience at institutions including Mount Wachusett Community College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Rice University, and the University of Edinburgh. In her new role, she oversees and provides strategic direction for all student services, including Student Engagement and Leadership, the Veterans Center, the Women’s Resource Center, the Corner Market Food Pantry, Peer Tutoring, the Recreation Center, and the Wellness Center. In addition, she meets daily with students who have concerns or need guidance in many different areas.
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Michelle Cayo
Monson Savings Bank announced the hire of Michelle Cayo as vice president and Credit Risk officer. She is responsible for managing Monson Savings Bank’s Commercial Credit department. She will be training the bank’s credit analysts while overseeing the department to ensure it is functioning efficiently and effectively. She will also assist in the creation of commercial loan policy as needed, and she serves as a committee member on the bank’s loan review committee. Cayo, a BusinessWest 40 Under Forty alumna, comes to Monson Savings Bank with more than 26 years of experience in banking. She previously worked as Florence Bank’s vice president and Credit Risk officer. She also previously worked in the Credit department at Hampden Bank and managed Country Bank’s Credit department. In addition to her extensive banking experience, Cayo will draw on her numerous educational accomplishments in her new role at Monson Savings Bank. She is a Bay Path University alumna, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in communications and information management. She is also a graduate of the Massachusetts Bankers Assoc. School of Financial Studies and the American Bankers Assoc. Stonier Graduate School of Banking. She is a board member of Cancer Connection and a wish granter at Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Her efforts to enrich the community she works and lives in was recognized by Western Mass Women magazine, which named her Volunteer of the Year in 2013.
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Rania Kfuri
Glenmeadow Inc., a provider of senior retirement lifestyle options, recently named Rania Kfuri vice president for Philanthropy, Sales, and Marketing. In this new role, she will provide leadership and direction to key revenue-producing areas, developing strategies to secure annual giving, planned giving, and donor-directed gifts, as well as pursuing partnerships with other local organizations. She will also shape Glenmeadow’s marketing approach and philosophy to ensure organization’s brand remains strong. Kfuri most recently served the Baystate Health Foundation as Philanthropy officer and previously worked with the Smith Fund at Smith College. She is also active in a wide variety of community initiatives, including serving on the boards of the Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services, the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, and Revitalize CDC.
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Jeffrey Fialky
Bacon Wilson announced that Managing Shareholder Jeffrey Fialky has been named to the 2024 Super Lawyers list for Business and Corporate Law. Being recognized in the 2024 Super Lawyers list is a prestigious accolade for attorneys. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Lawyers are selected through a multi-phase process that includes nominations, independent research, peer evaluation, and a rigorous final selection process.
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Berkshire United Way (BUW) recently welcomed seven new members to the board of directors. Arthur Milano is principal consultant at Milano HR Consulting. He served on the BUW board from 2012 to 2018, as well as on several committees, and in his consulting role, he assisted BUW with the president and CEO search in 2018 and 2021. Beth Mitchell is senior director of Integration at General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS). She is a former member of the BUW community impact committee, was a member of the Face the Facts: Reduce Teen Pregnancy initiative workgroup, and, in 2021, joined the Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education. Tiffany Moreno is instructional program manager for Health and Social Assistance at Berkshire Community College. She volunteers with Latinas413 as a mentor to connect with younger Latinas in the community. As chief Diversity officer for the city of Pittsfield, Michael Obasohan pioneered the integration and development of the city’s first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department. He also serves on the boards and commissions of Multicultural BRIDGE, Roots Teen Center, MASSMoCA Commission, and Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. Timothy O’Donnell is head of Distribution Sales Compensation Administration for the Individual Markets division at Guardian Life. He served twice as BUW’s employee campaign coordinator for Guardian Life’s giving campaign and previously served on the Downtown Pittsfield Inc. board. Kristin Pedrotti is senior vice president and controller at Berkshire Bank and a certified public accountant. She has participated in Xtraordinary Day, the bank’s annual day of service. Stephanie Storie is a library associate at Lenox Library and previously held engineering positions at GDMS. She is a 2018 graduate of the Berkshire Leadership Program and currently serves on the Pittsfield Conservation Commission.
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Christina Hager
Market Mentors LLC, a fully integrated marketing, advertising, and public-relations agency, recently welcomed Christina Hager to its team as a public relations account executive. The two-time New England Emmy Award-winning television journalist recently wrapped a 25-year career with WBZ-TV (CBS Boston). In her new role at Market Mentors, she works with the marketing team to plan and execute communications strategies with a focus on media relations. This includes writing and distributing news releases, pitching story ideas, responding to media queries, preparing statements, and developing content across various media platforms. Hager earned her bachelor’s degree from Colby College in Maine and her master’s degree from Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism, in Illinois. She is a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors.
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Tim L’Italien
PDC Inc., a leading wall and ceiling contractor with offices in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, announced the promotion of Tim L’Italien to director of Estimating. The change comes after he was hired as assistant chief estimator in July. He joined PDC with 24 years of experience, including eight years leading a team of estimators. His department is responsible for reviewing plans and specifications and creating comprehensive estimates for major projects. L’Italien graduated from Worcester State University with a degree in urban studies, and from Northeastern University with a degree in construction management.
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Matt Donovan
Greenfield Cooperative Bank announced the promotion of Matt Donovan to commercial associate lender. He brings a wealth of experience to this newly created role. In this position, Donovan will work closely with experienced commercial lenders to gain valuable skills in deal origination, structuring, negotiation, and underwriting. Through mentorship and hands-on experience, he will develop the expertise necessary to support commercial-lending activities and contribute to the growth of the bank.
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After an extensive search, the Sisters of Providence Ministry Corp. (SPMC) board announced the selection of Kim Davis as its new president and CEO. She begins her new role on Sept. 9. With a career spanning more than three decades, Davis brings vast knowledge and experience in finance, treasury, and accounting, having held leadership positions at prominent financial institutions, including MassMutual, Charles Schwab, and several large commercial banks in locations across the country. Her impressive career journey reflects a strong foundation in financial stewardship and strategic leadership. Davis received her bachelor of business administration degree in finance and accounting from Texas A&M University and her master’s degree in finance from the University of Houston-Clear Lake in Texas. In addition, she is a certified treasury professional and certified professional controller. Choosing to transition to nonprofit leadership, she most recently served at Wilbraham & Monson Academy for 10 years as chief financial officer.
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Berkshire Bank announced that Shane Rauh has been promoted to senior vice president, Business Banking team leader. In this role, he will lead the sales team for Business Banking in New York, Berkshire County, and Southern Vermont. Rauh has more than 20 years of experience in the financial-services industry, with a special emphasis in business banking and commercial lending. Before joining Berkshire Bank in March, Rauh was vice president, commercial relationship manager at Pioneer Bank. Prior to that role, he served as director of Business Banking at Broadview Federal Credit Union.
