Departments People on the Move

Peoples on the Move

Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. announced the following:
• Kayla Helitzer, MSA, has been hired as an Associate. Helitzer began her career at MBK as an intern before acquiring her current position. She holds a master’s degree in accounting from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. In her free time, she participates in the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield, volunteers at the Knesset Israel synagogue, and enjoys skiing and snowboarding;
• Joseph Vreedenburgh, MSA, has been hired as an Associate. Vreedenburgh comes to MBK with a background as a corporate accountant and experience with small to medium-sized businesses, as well as government entities. This experience provides him with a unique perspective as an auditor at the firm. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Washington and a master’s degree in accounting from UMass Amherst. He is a member of Northampton Area Young Professionals and enjoys hiking and mountain biking; and
• Brandon Mitchell, MSA, CPA, has been hired as an Associate. Mitchell specializes in audits of commercial and not-for-profit entities, reviews and compilations of financial statements for small businesses and individuals, and tax-return preparations. Before joining the firm, he worked as a business manager for a locally owned business. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s degree in accountancy from Westfield State University and devotes much of his spare time to his alma mater’s Mentoring Program.
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Christine Phillips

Christine Phillips

PeoplesBank announced the appointment of Christine Phillips as vice president, Human Resources. In her new position, Phillips will monitor and administer the bank’s human-resources policies and recruitment plan, oversee employee relations, administer employee benefits, and serve as the bank’s EEO/AAP officer. Phillips brings more than 15 years of human-resources experience including recruiting, performance analysis, and compliance. She not only helped a variety of organizations recruit top talent, she also helped operate a successful human-resources company. A member of the AIM Human Resources Group, Phillips holds a bachelor’s degree from UMass Amherst. She is a member of the South Hadley School Committee, the PTA president of Plains School, and a board member of St. Patrick’s CYO Basketball.
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Elizabeth Hukowicz

Elizabeth Hukowicz

Elms College has appointed Elizabeth Hukowicz dean of the newly established School of Graduate and Professional Studies. Hukowicz has been the associate academic dean of the Division of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education since 2005. Under her leadership, the number, scope, and complexity of programs in her department has increased tremendously. In recognition of this growth, the division has been restructured into a school, with Hukowicz appointed as the first dean. “The new school will serve our non-traditional and adult learners, and also highlight the importance of these programs to the strength and vitality of the institution,” said Walter Breau, vice president of academic affairs. Added Hukowicz, “this restructuring will allow the school to offer a broader array of degree options and services for adult learners on and off campus. The adult learner is at the core of what we do, and we will provide increased opportunities to better serve the adult learner in and out of the classroom, wherever and however that may be. We will continue to find new and better ways to make students successful.” Elms College offers graduate-degree programs in accounting, applied theology, autism-spectrum disorders, education, healthcare leadership, management, and nursing. The college also offers certificates of advanced graduate study in autism-spectrum disorders, communication sciences and disorders, and education.
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Mike Harsh

Mike Harsh

FloDesign Sonics Inc. announced it has added Mike Harsh to its board of directors. Harsh served as vice president and chief technology officer for GE Healthcare until December 2014 and led its Global Science and Technology Organization. “The addition of Mike to our board will have a profound impact on our company,” said founder and CEO Stanley Kowalski III. “Mike has personally been involved with the research and development of acoustic-based products in life sciences. He has the ability to get into the details while envisioning our global strategy. We are delighted to have him join our team.” Added Harsh, “I am really excited to be part of FloDesign Sonics. Their entrepreneurial sprit is contagious, and the convergence of this unique and innovative application of acoustics to filtration will unleash a new tool in healthcare that can also be leveraged into other industries.” Harsh led the global Science and Technology Organization for GE Healthcare, a $18 billion business unit of General Electric focusing its research on the development of innovative diagnostics, healthcare IT, medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient-monitoring systems, biopharmaceutical-manufacturing technologies, and technologies that facilitate new drug discovery. Harsh began his career at GE in 1979 as an electrical design engineer in nuclear imaging, and subsequently held numerous design and engineering management positions with X-ray, ultrasound, MRI, patient monitoring, and information technologies. He was also the global technology leader of the Imaging Technologies Lab at the GE Global Research Center, where he led the research for imaging technologies across the company, as well as the research associated with computer visualization/image analysis and superconducting systems. He was named an officer of General Electric Co. in November 2006. Harsh earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Marquette University, and he holds numerous U.S. patents in the field of medical imaging and instrumentation.
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Luis Santamaria

Luis Santamaria

Luis Santamaria has been chosen as Greenfield Community College’s new director of Campus Public Safety. He will oversee GCC’s Campus Public Safety department and serve as GCC’s chief of police. Santamaria leaves his position as associate director of Public Safety for Curry College in Milton. Prior to his work at Curry College, he served as a sergeant for Tufts University for nine years and as a campus police officer at Simmons College and officer in charge at Western New England University. Santamaria graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in criminal justice administration from Western New England University. He served as vice president of his class at the Special State Police Academy. He holds EMT certification and has certification as a MCJTC sexual assault investigator, defensive tactics instructor, and rape aggression defense instructor. He is bilingual in English and Spanish.
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Kate Bechtold

Kate Bechtold

Anthony Scibelli

Anthony Scibelli

Following nationwide searches, Cooley Dickinson Hospital President and CEO Joanne Marqusee announced that two healthcare executives, Katherine Bechtold and Anthony Scibelli, have joined the organization’s senior leadership team. Bechtold has been selected as Cooley Dickinson Health Care’s vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer. “I am very excited to have someone with Kate’s depth of experience, clear commitment to quality care and service excellence, collaborative style, and ability to inspire staff at all levels join the senior leadership team,” Marqusee said. Added Bechtold, “I am excited about this wonderful opportunity to lead nursing and patient-care services at Cooley Dickinson. I was impressed with the commitment to patient care that I heard from staff and medical staff alike and look forward to being part of the new leadership team that Joanne Marqusee is building.” Most recently, Bechtold served as the senior vice president and chief nurse executive for MultiCare Health System in Tacoma, Wash., where she oversaw system-wide nursing and clinical policies, case management, social work, and quality care for the five-hospital system and its primary-care, urgent-care, and specialty clinics. She also served for eight years as chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care at Centura Health Systems in Englewood, Colo., and Saint Anthony Hospital System. She counts among her accomplishments leading Saint Anthony Central Hospital to one of the highest scores in the nation for nursing quality indicators and significantly reducing nursing-management turnover rates. Scibelli has joined Cooley Dickinson Health Care as vice president, operations and chief administrative officer. He will supervise a number of departments, including Facilities, Housekeeping, Transport, Security, Nutrition, Lab, Imaging, and Human Resources. “I am very excited that a leader with Tony’s range of experience, dedication to service excellence, and ability to lead teams and promote teamwork has accepted this important position. He will add much to the new senior leader team we are building,” Marqusee said. Scibelli has most recently served as senior vice president, Human Resources, Support Services, and Post Acute Operations at Mohawk Valley Health System in Utica, N.Y., which resulted from the affiliation of Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare and St. Elizabeth Medical Center. He oversaw a range of functions, including Human Resources, Facilities Management, Support Services, Home Care, and Long-term Care. Scibelli joined Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare in 2004 as vice president, Human Resources and was promoted several times there. Scibelli earned a bachelor’s degree at Worcester State College and master’s degrees from Lesley College in Cambridge and SUNY Albany.
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Patrick McCarthy, Sodexo Dining Services general manager for the Loomis Communities, has been selected for the Sodexo National Emerging Leaders program, joining 29 of his peers who have been identified as leaders in their field. The Sodexo Emerging Leaders program consists of an intensive, nine-month leadership-development course focusing on leadership at a strategic level. The course study includes trainings at the Sodexo North American headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md., as well as peer project assignments and online interactive trainings. Prior to working for Sodexo and the Loomis Communities, McCarthy attended classes at the Culinary Institute of America and owned restaurants in the Pioneer Valley.