People On the Move

United Bank announced that Joseph Kulig has joined the bank as Vice President of Commercial Lending in the Springfield Region. Kulig has more than 20 years of commercial banking experience, most recently as relationship manager with TDBank in Springfield. Previously, he served as a commercial loan review officer with SIS Bank in Springfield following six years as principle bank examiner with the Massachusetts Division of Banks in Boston. He holds an MBA from Western New England University, and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.Kulig has been an active member of the community serving on the board of Rebuilding Together Springfield since 1997 and the West Springfield Youth Soccer Club since 2012. He has coached youth baseball, soccer, and basketball in West Springfield.
•••••
American International College announced the following promotions:

• April Kearse, was named Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Advising. Prior to this new role, Kearse served as Director of Student Support Services (ACE Program) and Assistant Director of Multicultural Admissions. She has a master’s degree in Educational Psychology, and will graduate from AIC with her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership in May 2014,
• Esta Sobey, was named Associate Dean of the AIC Education Department. Previously, she served as chair of the department, Director of Field Experiences, and Director of Middle/Secondary Education. She earned bachelor’s degree from SUNY Stony Brook and two graduate degrees from Columbia University,
• Nick Young was named Dean of Low Residency Programs. He previously served as associated dean of the Ed.D. program at AIC. Young received his bachelor’s degree from Austin Peay State University, an MBA from Western New England University, an Ed.D. from AIC, and a Ph.D. from Union Institute and University. Young currently serves as superintendent of schools in South Hadley,
• Dina Ditmar was promoted to Learning Resource Center and Simulation Faculty Coordinator. Ditmar started at AIC in 2005, serving as an adjunct clinical faculty member, and was named Learning Lab Coordinator in the fall of 2010. She received her BSN at Elms College and her MSN at AIC,
• Dahimeli Mercado was named Student Accounts Analyst. A graduate of AIC, Mercado previously served as a Student Accounts Representative. She earned her bachelor’s degree at AIC and is currently enrolled in the MSAT program at AIC; and
• Danielle Wisniowski was promoted to Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions. Previously an admissions counselor at AIC, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Newbury College and a juris doctorate from WNEU School of Law.
•••••
Monson Savings Bank announced the following:

• Christina Bordeau has been named Branch Manager for the bank’s Hampden branch. She brings more than 15 years of retail banking experience to Monson Savings, having held previous management positions at Citizens Bank and Bank of America.
• Clare Ladue has named branch manager of the Ware branch, scheduled to open this spring. Previously, she managed the Hampden location.
•••••
The Springfield office of Boston-based Morrison Mahoney LLP announced that Attorney John Shea had joined the staff. Shea’s concentration in estate planning, wills, durable powers of attorney, health care proxies, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and related services, will be added to the firm’s trial and litigation and medical malpractice defense services. Shea was previously in private practice concentrating in all areas of estate planning and administration as well as business and real estate transactions, and has advised clients in the formation of small, family-owned and franchise businesses. Shea holds a Master of Laws with a concentration in estate planning and elder law, from the Western New England University School of Law, a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, a Master of Science in labor studies from UMass Amherst, and a Bachelor of Arts in government from Connecticut College.
•••••
Dr. Ronald Burkman, Jr., a board certified physician in obstetrics and gynecology with Baystate Wesson Women’s Group Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baystate Medical Center, was recently named by more than 1,100 Hampden District Medical Society peers as the district’s 2013 Community Clinician of the Year. The award was established in 1998 by the Massachusetts Medical Society to recognize a physician from each of the Society’s 20 district medical societies who has made significant contributions to patients and the community and who stands out as a leading advocate and caregiver. From 1995 to 2007, he was chairman of the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baystate Medical Center. Since 1995, he has been a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. Long active in the Massachusetts Medical Society, Burkman has served on its committees on professional liability, maternal and perinatal welfare, and managed care. The award will be presented at the district society’s annual meeting April 30 at the Delaney House in Holyoke.