Home Posts tagged 2025

Celebrating Entrepreneurship

By
Opinion

Editorial

Thirty years ago this month, BusinessWest launched a new recognition program.

We called it Top Entrepreneur, and from the beginning, this award has been about paying homage to this region’s long history of entrepreneurship — more than 300 years of it — and recognizing those who continue that tradition today. 

And for 30 years, we’ve enjoyed telling the stories of people who follow in the footsteps of Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson, Milton Bradley, Everett Barney, inventor of the ice skate, the Picknelly family, William Skinner, and so many others. Entrepreneurship played a huge role in the development of this region and communities like Springfield, Holyoke, Westfield, Lee, and North Adams, and it continues to shape our region today, in ways large and small.

As the list on page 9 reveals, this award has been given to individuals, families, and institutions across the broad spectrum of business — from car dealers (the Balise family) to hardware (the Falcone family) to technology, healthcare, energy, education, and the nonprofit realm.

This year, there is a new twist, sort of. We’ve chosen to recognize Dan Dziuban and Frank Langone, founders and owners of Theory Skate Shop. It’s a different kind of story, but one with many of the same threads as the ones we’ve told starting in 1996.

Only this one lends itself to some poetic analogies between business and the sports of skateboarding and snowboarding — the twists and turns, ups and downs, thrills and spills, and the need to keep getting right back up when you’ve fallen.

Dziuban and Langone, like all entrepreneurs, have experienced all of this on a journey that will soon mark 30 years itself. They started with a small shop in West Springfield and gradually set up headquarters in the Holyoke Mall, with a second location in Northampton and a large presence at the Big E. They sell a broad range of items and have created their own line of clothing.

But they’re being honored not just because of their success in the challenging, ever-changing, ever-fickle world of retail, but also because of the way they have changed the landscape in the region — literally, by helping several area communities create skateboard parks — and also changed the lives of countless young people by introducing them to a new sport, and, in some cases, providing them with a new passion.

They’ve done this through the skateparks, summer skate camps, and through countless other efforts to promote a sport they discovered themselves in the late ’80s.

As for being entrepreneurs, like skateboarding, it’s something you get better at over time, and they’ve done that, applying lessons they’ve learned over nearly three decades to continue on their growth trajectory and grab some air, as they say in the skateboarding world.

We started this program to recognize the very important role entrepreneurship has played in this region, and how it continues to not only provide jobs and fill spaces on Main Street and in industrial parks, but shape our cities and towns.

Dziuban and Langone continue that proud tradition, and they are quite worthy of the title Top Entrepreneurs.

Giving Guide 2025

By
Giving Guide Special Coverage

Regional Philanthropic Opportunities

Leaders of nonprofits across Western Mass. have grappled with a more challenging fiscal climate in the past year — and the need to become more ambitious, creative, and expansive in their fundraising efforts as federal funding shrinks. For the past 15 years, BusinessWest has published its annual Giving Guide to shine a spotlight on local nonprofits, detailing specific community needs and showing you not only how to support them, but exactly what your money and time can accomplish.
 
The profiles of area nonprofit organizations on the following pages — many of them sponsored by businesses that believe in their missions — are just a sampling of the region’s thousands of such organizations. These profiles are intended to educate readers about what these groups are doing to improve quality of life for the people living and working in the 413, but also to inspire them to provide the critical support (which comes in many different forms, from donating to volunteering to advocating) that they and so many others so desperately need.

View the 2025 Giving Guide PDF Flipbook HERE

Amherst Survival Center

Behavioral Health Network Inc.

Berkshire Family & Individual Resources

Community Foundation Of Western Massachusetts

Food Bank Of Western Massachusetts

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Triad Program

Friends Of Franklin County Regional Dog Shelter

Glenmeadow

HCS Head Start Inc.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Services

Rachel’s Table Of Western Massachusetts

RFK Community Alliance

Tom Cosenzi Driving For The Cure Charity Golf Tournament

Women’s Fund Of Western Massachusetts

YWCA Of Western Massachusetts

Presented by:

Giving Guide 2025

By
Giving Guide Special Publications

Regional Philanthropic Opportunities

Leaders of nonprofits across Western Mass. have grappled with a more challenging fiscal climate in the past year — and the need to become more ambitious, creative, and expansive in their fundraising efforts as federal funding shrinks. For the past 15 years, BusinessWest has published its annual Giving Guide to shine a spotlight on local nonprofits, detailing specific community needs and showing you not only how to support them, but exactly what your money and time can accomplish.
 
The profiles of area nonprofit organizations on the following pages — many of them sponsored by businesses that believe in their missions — are just a sampling of the region’s thousands of such organizations. These profiles are intended to educate readers about what these groups are doing to improve quality of life for the people living and working in the 413, but also to inspire them to provide the critical support (which comes in many different forms, from donating to volunteering to advocating) that they and so many others so desperately need.

View the 2025 Giving Guide PDF Flipbook HERE

Amherst Survival Center

Behavioral Health Network Inc.

Berkshire Family & Individual Resources

Community Foundation Of Western Massachusetts

Food Bank Of Western Massachusetts

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Triad Program

Friends Of Franklin County Regional Dog Shelter

Glenmeadow

HCS Head Start Inc.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Services

Rachel’s Table Of Western Massachusetts

RFK Community Alliance

Tom Cosenzi Driving For The Cure Charity Golf Tournament

Women’s Fund Of Western Massachusetts

YWCA Of Western Massachusetts

Presented by:

Announcing the 2025 Women of Impact

By
Cover Story Women of Impact 2025

BusinessWest has long recognized the contributions of women within the business community and created the Women of Impact awards in 2018 to further honor women who have the authority and power to move the needle in their business, are respected for accomplishments within their industries, give back to the community, and are sought out as respected advisors and mentors within their field of influence. 

Go HERE to view the 2025 Women of Impact Digital Section

The eight stories below demonstrate that idea many times over. They detail not only what these women do for a living, but what they’ve done with their lives — specifically, how they’ve become innovators in their fields, leaders within the community, advocates for people in need, and, most importantly, inspirations to all those around them. The class of 2025 features:

Tara Brewster

Vice president of Business Development and Director of Philanthropy at Greenfield Savings Bank

Ayanna Crawford

President of AC Consulting and Media Services

Tracy Friedenberg

Executive director of Bacon Wilson, P.C.

Rania Kfuri

Vice president for Philanthropy, Sales, and Marketing at Glenmeadow

Chelsea Kline

Executive director of Cancer Connection

Angelina Ramirez

CEO of Stavros Center for Independent Living

Amanda Sanderson

Executive director of Resilience Center of Franklin County

Sarah Rose Stack

Lecturer of Public Relations at UMass Amherst


Photos by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

Presenting Sponsors

Partner Sponsor

BaconWilson130YearLOGO

Celebrating Local Standouts

By
Special Coverage Super 60

Super 60 Honorees Impact Region in Many Ways

Dozens of area companies will be honored by the Springfield Regional Chamber in its 36th annual Super 60 Awards Program.

This year, the chamber received more than 100 nominations in five categories, one of the largest pools in the program’s history, showcasing the strength and diversity of the local business community.

The 2025 Super 60 winners represent industries across Western Mass., including healthcare, education, finance, manufacturing, dining, and more. The program recognizes excellence in five core categories: Revenue, Growth, Start-Up, Give Back, and Non-Profit. Each category celebrates a distinct measure of success, from sustained financial performance and rapid expansion to community impact and innovation.

In addition, the chamber will present its first-ever Legacy Award, recognizing an organization with deep and lasting contributions to the region’s economic and community vitality. The inaugural honor will go to Balise Motor Sales Co., a family-owned business founded in 1919 when Paul Balise began repairing farm equipment and automobiles from his backyard garage in Hatfield.

What started as a small local operation grew into one of New England’s largest automotive retailers under the leadership of three generations of the Balise family. Now headquartered in Springfield, Balise employs more than 1,400 people across Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Cape Cod.

“Super 60 is about more than business success; it’s about recognizing the people and organizations whose work uplifts our community and creates opportunities for throughout our region,” said Diana Szynal, president and CEO of the Springfield Regional Chamber. “This year’s honorees exemplify the strength and resilience that define Western Massachusetts. I’m especially proud to introduce our new Legacy Award, honoring Balise Motor Sales Co. for more than a century of adaptability, growth, and community impact.”

The 2025 Super 60 Awards Luncheon will take place on Friday, Nov. 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. The event will feature Jessika Rozki, founder of Rozki Rides LLC, as the keynote speaker, and the WWLP Morning Team — Kaelee Collins, Julia O’Keefe, and Chris Bouzakis — as emcees.

Tickets for the event can be purchased online at springfieldregionalchamber.com/super60. The cost is $75 for members and $85 for non-members. Tables of 10 can also be reserved. The event attracts more than 500 business leaders each year.

2025
Revenue Winners


Baltazar Contractors Inc.
Braman Chemical Enterprises Inc.
Campora Construction Co. Inc.
The Dowd Agencies LLC
Edward F. Corcoran Plumbing & Heating Co. Inc.
Fontaine Brothers Inc.
Freedom Credit Union
Harry Grodsky & Co. Inc.
Keiter Corp.
L&C Prescription Inc.
Marcotte Ford Sales Inc.
Maybury Associates Inc.
Patriot Property Management Group
Saloomey Construction Inc.
Tighe & Bond Inc.

2025
Growth Winners


Baltazar Contractors Inc.
Braman Chemical Enterprises Inc.
Campora Construction Co. Inc.
The Dowd Agencies LLC
Edward F. Corcoran Plumbing & Heating Co. Inc.
Fontaine Brothers Inc.
Keiter Corp.
L&C Prescription Inc.
Ludlow Eye Associates, P.C.
Marcotte Ford Sales Inc.
Monty’s Motorsports LLC
Patriot Property Management Group
RE/MAX Connections
Saloomey Construction Inc.
Tighe & Bond Inc.

2025
Start-Up Winners


Caring Medical Staffing LLC
Gleason Realty Group
K. Ebner Creative
The Latest Kraez
Wash Works Laundry Services

2025
Give Back
Winners


413 Elite Professional Basketball Team
All States Materials Group
The Fontaine Community Foundation Inc.
Keiter Corp.
Lock and Key Realty
Marcotte Ford Sales Inc.
MGM Springfield
Monarch Fore Charities
Realistic CEO
Springfield Hockey LLC

2025
Non-Profit
Winners


Access Care Partners
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield
Clinical & Support Options
Cutchins Programs for Children and Families Inc.
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
Forest Park Zoological Society Inc.
Hampden County Career Center Inc.
Hampden County Sheriff’s Workforce Initiative
Mental Health Assoc. Inc.
Rachel’s Table of Western
Massachusetts Inc.
Second Chance Animal Services
Springfield Partners for Community
Action Inc.
Sunshine Village Inc.
Work Opportunity Center Inc.
YMCA of Greater Springfield

REVENUE

Baltazar Contractors Inc.
83 Carmelinas Circle, Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 583-6160
www.baltazarcontractors.com
Paulo Baltazar, President
Baltazar Contractors is a heavy civil construction company with services in utility construction, roadway construction, site work and development, culvert and bridge construction, earth support and shoring, and trenchless technology. The company has remained family-owned over three decades in business.

Braman Chemical Enterprises Inc.
147 Almgren Dr., Agawam 01001
(413) 732-9009
www.braman.biz
Gerald Lazarus, President
Braman has been serving New England since 1890, using state-of-the-art pest-elimination procedures for commercial and residential customers, and offering humane removal of birds, bats, and other nuisances through its wildlife division. The company has offices in Agawam, Worcester, and Lee, as well as Hartford and New Haven, Conn.

Campora Construction Co. Inc.
43 Owens Way, Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 610-1660
www.camporacc.com
Mario Campora, President
Campora Construction specializes in full-scale building construction and sidewalk, patio, and driveway installation for residential, commercial, and governmental projects. Services include custom home design and construction, complete home rebuilds from fire damage, home additions and sunroom installation, concrete demolition and infills, and commercial office fit-outs.

The Dowd Agencies LLC
14 Bobala Road, Holyoke, MA 01040
(413) 538-7444
www.dowd.com
John Dowd Jr., President
Founded in 1898, the Dowd Agencies is the oldest insurance agency under continuous family ownership, and one of the most long-standing, experienced insurance agencies in Massachusetts. Its staff includes fully licensed and certified insurance and financial services agents and brokers in Holyoke, Hadley, Southampton, Indian Orchard, and Ludlow.

Edward F. Corcoran Plumbing & Heating Co. Inc.
5 Rose Place, Springfield, MA 01104
(413) 732-1462
www.efcorcoran.com
Brian Toomey, President
E.F. Corcoran Plumbing & Heating is a full-service plumbing and HVAC contractor, offering 24-hour plumbing services, HVAC installation, gas piping, boilers, heat recovery, and more. It serves the commercial, industrial, medical, and institutional industries and has performed work for Baystate Noble Hospital, Springfield College, UMass, Mercy Medical Center, and Stop & Shop.

Fontaine Brothers Inc.
510 Cottage St., Springfield, Massachusetts 01104
(413) 781-2020
www.fontainebros.com
David Fontaine Jr., CEO
Family-owned and operated for 91 years, Fontaine Bros. offers services such as general contracting, with a focus on K-12 schools, higher education, commercial properties, historical renovations, and municipal work, as well as construction management. As one of New England’s original green builders, it has expertise in building sustainably and responsibly for all kinds of projects.

Freedom Credit Union
1976 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 739-6961
www.freedom.coop
Glenn Welch, President and CEO
Freedom Credit Union is a credit union that offers banking and loan services to businesses, the cannabis industry, and individuals. It also offers insurance plans for individuals and an investment-services division. The institution celebrated its centennial in 2022 and regularly involves customers and the community in philanthropic outreach.

Harry Grodsky & Co. Inc.
33 Shaws Lane, Springfield, MA 01104
(413) 785-1947
www.grodsky.com
Dave Streeter, President
Harry Grodsky & Co. delivers design; construction; service, repairs, and maintenance; energy solutions; and more, offering a full range of customized services and project delivery methods including traditional bid, design build, design assist, and integrated project delivery. It also maintains a workplace culture of community involvement, with employees actively and financially involved in a wide range of area nonprofits.

Keiter Corp.
1 Interstate Drive, West Springfield, MA 01089
(413) 586-8600
www.keiter.com
Scott Keiter, President
Keiter Corp. is a construction-services company working with clients on residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional projects of all sizes. The firm is divided into four divisions: Keiter Builders (commercial and institutional construction), Keiter Homes (residential construction), Hatfield Construction (excavation, site work, and structural concrete), and Keiter Properties (real estate and rental).

L&C Prescriptions Inc.
155 Brookdale Dr., Springfield, MA 01104
(413) 781-2996
www.medibubble.com
Dr. Kara James, President
L&C Prescription, the parent company for Louis & Clark Pharmacy, provides medication solutions to individuals, healthcare providers, and assisted-living, independent-living, and memory-care communities, and offers online prescription refills, MediBubble pre-packaged pills, blister packs to manage daily medications, vial synchronization, consultations with registered pharmacists, and a delivery service.

Marcotte Ford Sales Inc.
1025 Main St., Holyoke
(413) 536-1900
www.marcotteford.com
Mike Marcotte, President
The dealership sells new Ford vehicles as well as pre-owned cars, trucks, and SUVs, and features a full service department, including a mobile service operation that comes to customers for basic maintenance and recall servicing. Marcotte has achieved Ford’s President’s Award multiple occasions over the past decade. It also operates the Marcotte Commercial Truck Center.

Maybury Associates Inc.
90 Denslow Road, East Longmeadow
(888) 629-2879
www.maybury.com
William Maybury, President
A one-source provider of quality industrial products and services to manufacturing, distribution, and warehousing customers, Maybury Associates designs, supplies, and services a wide variety of handling equipment throughout New England and provides customers in a wide range of industries with solutions to move, lift, and store their parts and products.

Patriot Property Management Group
268 Cold Spring Ave., Suite B, West Springfield, MA 01089
(413) 707-4434
www.patriotpmg.com
Marc Murphy, President
Patriot Property Management Group is a real estate company that assists clients in the Western Mass. region with a variety of services, including buying, selling, rental assistance, property management, and more. President Marc Murphy also helms Lock and Key Realty, which is honored in this year’s Super 60 in the Give Back category.

Saloomey Construction Inc.
62B School St., Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 269-4360
www.saloomey-construction.com
Michael O’Brien, President
For more than 40 years, Saloomey Construction has built a strong reputation in both new construction and renovation work, including commercial and residential development, historic renovations, medical facilities, marijuana growing facilities, schools, student housing, senior housing, churches, and much more. The firm has also been part of many design-build projects that help clients achieve a highly customized result.

Tighe & Bond Inc.
53 Southampton Road, Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 562-1600
www.tighebond.com
Robert Belitz, President and CEO
Tighe & Bond offers engineering, design, planning, and environmental-consulting services, with focuses in building, transportation, water and wastewater engineering, coastal and waterfront solutions, environmental consulting, GIS and asset management, landscape architecture and urban design, civil engineering, and site planning.

GROWTH

Baltazar Contractors Inc.
83 Carmelinas Circle, Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 583-6160
www.baltazarcontractors.com
Paulo Baltazar, President
Baltazar Contractors is a heavy civil construction company with services in utility construction, roadway construction, site work and development, culvert and bridge construction, earth support and shoring, and trenchless technology. The company has remained family-owned over three decades in business.

Braman Chemical Enterprises Inc.
147 Almgren Dr., Agawam 01001
(413) 732-9009
www.braman.biz
Gerald Lazarus, President
Braman has been serving New England since 1890, using state-of-the-art pest-elimination procedures for commercial and residential customers, and offering humane removal of birds, bats, and other nuisances through its wildlife division. The company has offices in Agawam, Worcester, and Lee, as well as Hartford and New Haven, Conn.

Campora Construction Co. Inc.
43 Owens Way, Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 610-1660
www.camporacc.com
Mario Campora, President
Campora Construction specializes in full-scale building construction and sidewalk, patio, and driveway installation for residential, commercial, and governmental projects. Services include custom home design and construction, complete home rebuilds from fire damage, home additions and sunroom installation, concrete demolition and infills, and commercial office fit-outs.

The Dowd Agencies LLC
14 Bobala Road, Holyoke, MA 01040
(413) 538-7444
www.dowd.com
John Dowd Jr., President
Founded in 1898, the Dowd Agencies is the oldest insurance agency under continuous family ownership, and one of the most long-standing, experienced insurance agencies in Massachusetts. Its staff includes fully licensed and certified insurance and financial services agents and brokers in Holyoke, Hadley, Southampton, Indian Orchard, and Ludlow.

Edward F. Corcoran Plumbing & Heating Co. Inc.
5 Rose Place, Springfield, MA 01104
(413) 732-1462
www.efcorcoran.com
Brian Toomey, President
E.F. Corcoran Plumbing & Heating is a full-service plumbing and HVAC contractor, offering 24-hour plumbing services, HVAC installation, gas piping, boilers, heat recovery, and more. It serves the commercial, industrial, medical, and institutional industries and has performed work for Baystate Noble Hospital, Springfield College, UMass, Mercy Medical Center, and Stop & Shop.

Fontaine Brothers Inc.
510 Cottage St., Springfield, Massachusetts 01104
(413) 781-2020
www.fontainebros.com
David Fontaine Jr., CEO
Family-owned and operated for 91 years, Fontaine Bros. offers services such as general contracting, with a focus on K-12 schools, higher education, commercial properties, historical renovations, and municipal work, as well as construction management. As one of New England’s original green builders, it has expertise in building sustainably and responsibly for all kinds of projects.

Keiter Corp.
1 Interstate Drive, West Springfield, MA 01089
(413) 586-8600
www.keiter.com
Scott Keiter, President
Keiter is a construction-services company working with clients on residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional projects of all sizes. The firm is divided into four divisions: Keiter Builders (commercial and institutional construction), Keiter Homes (residential construction), Hatfield Construction (excavation, site work, and structural concrete), and Keiter Properties (real estate and rental).

L&C Prescriptions Inc.
155 Brookdale Dr., Springfield, MA 01104
(413) 781-2996
www.medibubble.com
Dr. Kara James, President
L&C Prescription, the parent company for Louis & Clark Pharmacy, provides medication solutions to individuals, healthcare providers, and assisted-living, independent-living, and memory-care communities, and offers online prescription refills, MediBubble pre-packaged pills, blister packs to manage daily medications, vial synchronization, consultations with registered pharmacists, and a delivery service.

Ludlow Eye Associates, P.C.
200 Center St., Suite 1, Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 583-3600
Katarzyna Babinski, Owner
Ludlow Eye Associates provides comprehensive eye examinations, medical eye care, and contact lens fittings and examinations. Its optical staff is available to assist with new eyewear purchases, contact lens purchases, as well as eyewear adjustments and repairs.

Marcotte Ford Sales Inc.
1025 Main St., Holyoke
(413) 536-1900
www.marcotteford.com
Mike Marcotte, President
The dealership sells new Ford vehicles as well as pre-owned cars, trucks, and SUVs, and features a full service department, including a mobile service operation that comes to customers for basic maintenance and recall servicing. Marcotte has achieved Ford’s President’s Award multiple occasions over the past decade. It also operates the Marcotte Commercial Truck Center.

Monty’s Motorsport LLC
1 Arch Road, Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 642-8199
www.montysmotorsports.com
Monty Geer, Owner
Monty’s Motorsport is a parts, sales, service, and gear store for motorsport vehicles, such as four-wheelers, dirt bikes, motorcycles, electric bikes, street bikes, and more. It offers new and used vehicles, with financing options available, as well as services such as winterization, battery inspections, accessory installations, chain adjustments, oil and filter changes, and full engine rebuilds.

Patriot Property Management Group
268 Cold Spring Ave., Suite B, West Springfield, MA 01089
(413) 707-4434
www.patriotpmg.com
Marc Murphy, President
Patriot Property Management Group is a real estate company that assists clients in the Western Mass. region with a variety of services, including buying, selling, rental assistance, property management, and more. President Marc Murphy also helms Lock and Key Realty, which is honored in this year’s Super 60 in the Give Back category.

RE/MAX Connections
85 Post Office Park, Wilbraham, MA 01095
(800) 755-7595
www.remax.com/real-estate-offices/remax-connections-wilbraham-ma/100428112
Peter Ruffini and Dawn Ruffini, Brokers/Owners
RE/MAX Connections is a full-service real-estate brokerage servicing Massachusetts and Connecticut, with referral partners worldwide. Its services encompass buying, selling, and renting properties.

Saloomey Construction Inc.
62B School St., Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 269-4360
www.saloomey-construction.com
Michael O’Brien, President
For more than 40 years, Saloomey Construction has built a strong reputation in both new construction and renovation work, including commercial and residential development, historic renovations, medical facilities, marijuana growing facilities, schools, student housing, senior housing, churches, and much more. The firm has also been part of many design-build projects that help clients achieve a highly customized result.

Tighe & Bond Inc.
53 Southampton Road, Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 562-1600
www.tighebond.com
Robert Belitz, President and CEO
Tighe & Bond offers engineering, design, planning, and environmental-consulting services, with focuses in building, transportation, water and wastewater engineering, coastal and waterfront solutions, environmental consulting, GIS and asset management, landscape architecture and urban design, civil engineering, and site planning.

START-UP

Caring Medical Staffing LLC
235 Chestnut St., Unit B01, Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 435-0226
www.caringmedicalstaffing.com
Diana Preston, CEO
Caring Medical Staffing provides highly skilled nursing professionals across diverse healthcare settings, offering flexible, 24/7 staffing solutions tailored to meet each client organization’s short-term and long-term needs. Its team includes RNs (ADN, BSN, MSN), LPNs, CNAs, and HHAs. The business also offers CPR, first aid, and basic life support certification classes on a regular basis to healthcare providers and community members.

Gleason Realty Group
5 Industrial Parkway, Easthampton, MA 01027
(413) 250-7937
Anthony Gleason, President
Anthony Gleason says of his growing company, “we believe that property management is about more than just buildings — it’s about people, community, and creating spaces where businesses can thrive. We are proud to serve our local community with a thoughtful, hands-on approach to property management.”

K. Ebner Creative
www.kebnercreative.com
Kayla Ebner, Owner
K. Ebner Creative is a growing photography and videography business with a wide range of clients, business and corporate photography — everything from restaurants and food to sports and fitness; from drone footage and video business cards to events of all kinds, including weddings. Ebner works locally but is also available for destination and travel work, and offers a range of packages to meet the needs of each client.

The Latest Kraez
469 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow, MA 01106
(413) 384-2962
www.thelatestkraez.com
Rachael Kraez, Owner
Founded in 2020, the Latest Kraez is a woman-owned business serving Longmeadow and the surrounding areas. Owner and baker Rachael Kraez has an associate degree in baking & pastry arts as well as a bachelor’s degree in food and beverage entrepreneurship from Johnson & Wales University, and all her cakes and pastries are baked fresh with the best ingredients. She also services special events.

Wash Works Laundry Services
169 Hancock St., Springfield, MA 01109
(413) 889-3855
www.washworksma.com
Wash Works Laundromat is a family-owned business with multiple locations to better serve its customers. Services include self-serve wash and dry; drop-off wash, dry, and fold; pickup and delivery; commercial laundry services; and dry cleaning. Military and senior discounts are available.

GIVE BACK

413 Elite Professional Basketball Team
393 Belmont Ave., Unit 80347, Springfield, MA 01108
www.413elite.com
Charles Evans, Owner
The 413 Elite is a member of the American Basketball Assoc., whose goal is to provide quality, entertaining, and affordable professional basketball in a friendly, safe environment. Established in 2021, the 413 Elite is a part of the Northeast Division, alongside teams in Boston, Providence, New York, Long Island, New Jersey, and Canada.

All States Materials Group
11 Interstate Dr., Suite 301, West Springfield, MA 01089
(800) 343-9620
www.asmg.com
Jean Azoury, President
All States Materials Group provides a diverse range of products and solutions for the liquid asphalt, paving, and road construction industries. Its construction material supply capabilities include liquid asphalt, asphalt emulsion, specialty additives, construction aggregates, hot-mix asphalt, and ready-mix concrete. The company also provides a broad range of pavement maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation treatment options.

The Fontaine Community Foundation Inc.
510 Cottage St., Springfield, Massachusetts 01104
(413) 781-2020
www.fontainebros.com/fontaine-community-foundation
Elizabeth Wambui, Director
An arm of Fontaine Brothers Inc., thr Fontaine Community Foundation develops partnerships with organizations focused on building stronger communities in New England. Its mission is to leverage resources to help solve problems and contribute to the common good. Key priority areas include children and youth, education, health, community support, and developmental expressions.

Keiter Corp.
1 Interstate Drive, West Springfield, MA 01089
(413) 586-8600
www.keiter.com
Scott Keiter, President
Keiter Corp. is a construction-services company working with clients on residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional projects of all sizes. The firm is divided into four divisions: Keiter Builders (commercial and institutional construction), Keiter Homes (residential construction), Hatfield Construction (excavation, site work, and structural concrete), and Keiter Properties (real estate and rental).

Lock and Key Realty
268 Cold Spring Ave., Suite B, West Springfield, MA 01089
(413) 282-8080
www.lockandkeyma.com
Marc Murphy, President
Lock and Key Realty is a real estate brokerage launched in 2019, which has since grown to 60 agents and recorded $230 million in sales last year, with a portfolio of commercial and residential properties, including apartment complexes, commercial offices, and industrial sites. The firm gives back to the community through an annual golf tournament that raises money for Habitat for Humanity and the Hartsprings Foundation.

Marcotte Ford Sales Inc.
1025 Main St., Holyoke
(413) 536-1900
www.marcotteford.com
Mike Marcotte, President
The dealership sells new Ford vehicles as well as pre-owned cars, trucks, and SUVs, and features a full service department, including a mobile service operation that comes to customers for basic maintenance and recall servicing. Marcotte has achieved Ford’s President’s Award multiple occasions over the past decade. It also operates the Marcotte Commercial Truck Center.

MGM Springfield
One MGM Way, Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 273-5000
www.mgmspringfield.mgmresorts.com
Chris Kelley, President and COO
MGM Springfield recently celebrated five years of operation in downtown Springfield, offering a host of slot machines and table games, numerous restaurants, a hotel, and entertainment at Symphony Hall, Roar! Comedy Club, ARIA Ballroom, the MassMutual Center, and an outdoor plaza.

Monarch Fore Charities
One Monarch Place, 25th Floor, Springfield, MA 01144
(413) 746-4100
www.monarch-place.com
Paul Picknelly, President
Monarch Fore Charities is the philanthropic and charity-supporting arm of Monarch Enterprises, a leading commercial real-estate developer and hotel operator.

Realistic CEO
www.realisticceo.com
Mychal Connolly Jr., CEO
Realistic CEO aims to inspire and empower individuals, especially youth, to believe in their dreams and pursue them with unwavering determination. Through a book, podcast, vlog, speaking engagements, and more, Connolly aims to demystify the path to leadership and success, providing practical guidance, real-life examples, and motivational content to equip future leaders with the confidence, skills, and mindset needed to achieve their goals and make a positive impact on the world.

Springfield Hockey LLC
1 Monarch Place, Springfield, MA 02110
(413) 746-4100
www.springfieldthunderbirds.com
Nathan Costa, President
Springfield Hockey LLC, better known as the Springfield Thunderbirds, is the local affiliate of the St. Louis Blues and and the American Hockey League’s 2021-22 Eastern Conference champion. Playing its home games at the MassMutual Center since its inception in 2016, the team gives back to the community in multiple ways, like the Thunderbirds Foundation, Stick to Reading school programs, Hometown Salute, Frontline Fridays, and more.

NON-PROFIT

Access Care Partners
4 Valley Mill Road, Holyoke, MA 01040
(413) 538-9020
www.wmeldercare.org
Roseann Martoccia, Executive Director
This agency’s mission is to preserve the dignity, independence, and quality of life of elders and disabled persons desiring to remain within their own community. It offers services for elders, their families and caregivers, and people with disabilities. Programs and services include supportive housing, home care, options counseling, adult family care, nutrition programs, elder mental health, family caregiver support, and health-insurance counseling.

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield
28 West Silver St., Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 562-2301
www.bgcwestfield.org
Bo Sullivan, CEO
The Boys & Girls Club aims to inspire and enable young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. Its programs for ages 2 to 18 are designed to support youth in achieving three priority outcomes: academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles.

Clinical & Support Options
8 Atwood Dr., Suite 301, Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 773-1314
www.csoinc.org
Karin Jeffers, President and CEO
CSO’s mission is to provide responsive and effective interventions and services to support individual adults, children, and families in their quest for stability, growth, and a positive quality of life. Services include crisis and emergency services; outpatient mental health; family-support programs; community-based programs; and shelter, housing, and homelessness efforts.

Cutchins Programs for Children and Families Inc.
78 Pomeroy Terrace, Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 584-1310
www.cutchins.org
Tina Champagne, CEO
Established in 1979, Cutchins aims to give children and families access to compassionate and transformative mental healthcare. Its mission is to help children and families transform significant emotional distress into increased resilience, hope, and quality of life, to support the healing and learning process with innovation and integrity, and to serve as a model for best and promising practices.

The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
25 Carew St., Chicopee, MA 01020
(413) 247-9738
www.foodbankwma.org
Andrew Morehouse, Executive Director
The Food Bank works to end hunger in Western Mass. by providing nutritious food, strengthening the region’s food-assistance network, and developing solutions to the causes of hunger. The Food Bank receives food from a number of different sources, including state and federal government, local farms, food businesses, and community organizations, and distributes it to member food pantries, shelters, and meal sites, as well as directly to families.

Forest Park Zoological Society Inc.
293 Sumner Ave., Springfield, MA 01108
(413) 733-2251
www.forestparkzoo.org
Sarah Tsitso, Executive Director
The Forest Park Zoological Society governs the Zoo in Forest Park & Education Center, a non-profit organization that serves as home to more than 225 native and non-native animal residents. The zoo works with wildlife rehabilitators across the U.S. to provide care to animals that have been deemed non-releasable to the wild due to injury, illness, permanent disability, habituation to humans, or other factors, and offers a variety of educational programming for children and adults.

Hampden County Career Center Inc.
850 High St., Holyoke, MA 01040
(413) 532-4900
www.careerpointma.com
David Gadaire, President and CEO
Since 1996, Hampden County Career Center Inc., now doing business as MassHire Holyoke Career Center, has been serving the workforce and economic-development needs of individual job seekers, social-service agencies, and the business community throughout Hampden County and beyond, offering a seamless service-delivery system for job seeking, career training, and employer services.

Hampden County Sheriff’s Workforce Initiative
627 Randall Road, Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 858-0000
www.hcsoma.org/workforce-initiative
Nicholas Cocchi, Hampden County Sheriff
The Hampden County Sheriff’s Workforce Initiative is an innovative program designed to empower justice-involved individuals, disenfranchised job seekers, and those experiencing homelessness by providing immediate, daily employment with same-day pay. Launched by Sheriff Nick Cocchi in 2022, the initiative aims to promote personal growth, self-sufficiency, and social inclusion, ultimately leading to full-time employment and community reintegration.

Mental Health Assoc. Inc.
350 Memorial Dr., Chicopee, MA 01020
(413) 734-5376
www.mhainc.org
Cheryl Fasano, President and CEO
Mental Health Assoc. helps people with a wide variety of mental health issues to live their best life by providing access to therapies for emotional health and wellness; services for substance use recovery, developmental disabilities, and acquired brain injury; services for housing and residential programming; and more.

Rachel’s Table of Western Massachusetts Inc.
1600 Dickinson St., Springfield, MA 01108
(413) 733-0084
www.feedwma.org
Jodi Falk, Executive Director
The mission of Rachel’s Table of Western Massachusetts is to alleviate hunger and reduce the waste of food resources in Western Mass. The organization takes a holistic and collaborative approach toward food security by supporting an inter-generational volunteer effort to feed and nourish local communities.

Second Chance Animal Services
67 Mulberry St., Springfield, MA 01105
(413) 739-2343
www.secondchanceanimalservices.org
Sheryl Blancato, CEO
Second Chance Animal Services is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that operates community veterinary hospitals in Springfield, North Brookfield, Southbridge, and Worcester; subsidized rates are provided to underserved communities. Every year, Second Chance helps tens of thousands of pets through full-service veterinary care, spay/neuter services, adoption services, community and educational outreach programs, training, and a pet-food pantry.

Springfield Partners for Community Action Inc.
721 State St., Springfield, MA 01109
(413) 263-6500
www.springfieldpartnersinc.com
Paul Bailey, Executive Director
Springfield Partners for Community Action’s mission is to utilize and provide resources that assist people in need to obtain economic stability, ultimately creating a better way of life. It does so through home and energy services, income-tax assistance services, money-management services, transportation services, veterans’ services, and youth and family services.

Sunshine Village Inc.
75 Litwin Lane, Chicopee, MA 01020
(413) 592-6142
www.sunshine.us
Gina Kos, President and CEO
Sunshine Village serves more than 400 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism spectrum disorders through a variety of innovative day supports. Programmatic sites are located at the agency’s main campus in Chicopee, as well as in Agawam and Three Rivers. The agency’s commercial cleaning company, Westover Maintenance Systems, employs an integrated workforce, while Sunshine Village supports individuals in their own jobs and within group settings at local businesses.

Work Opportunity Center Inc.
94 North Elm St., Suite 104, Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 786-8830
www.wocinc.org
Mary Akers, Executive Director
Established in 1969, Work Opportunity Center is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Westfield, with various sites throughout Western Mass. WOC provides training, employment opportunities, and community-based day services to individuals with physical and/or developmental disabilities.

YMCA of Greater Springfield
1500 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 739-6951
www.springfiedly.org
Dexter Johnson, President and CEO
The YMCA’s mission is to serve human needs in Greater Springfield by providing programs that promote lifelong personal growth and the balanced development of spirit, mind, and body for all. Its areas of focus include youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility, and it accomplishes this through learning centers, school-age programs, childcare, summer programs and camps, and the Y-AIM social intervention program for teenagers.

Sarah Rose Stack

By
Sarah Rose Stack
Women of Impact 2025

Lecturer of Public Relations, UMass Amherst

Grounded in the Arts, She’s Had Many Accomplishments of Note

Sarah Rose Stack counts several mentors and influencers in her life — from her sister, Theresa, to her husband, Ryan, who has supported her in everything she’s done, to the accountants at the firm she would work for. But she always starts those discussions by referencing two music teachers — one in middle school and the other in high school.

Both inspired a passion for the arts that lives on today and influences virtually every aspect of her life (more on this later), but they did more than that. In short, they helped convince her that her challenging life — being raised by a single mother at or just below the poverty line, and at times homeless — shouldn’t limit her ambitions.

“They started to make me realize that I could be capable of something beyond just surviving,” Stack recalled, adding that they became surrogate parents in some ways, providing her with everything from quiet space in which to study and escape that home life to invaluable lessons on how teachers need to support their students in any way they can — lessons she applies today as a lecturer of Public Relations at UMass Amherst.

“That’s why there’s food here, there’s drinks here … I have a very, very, very open-door policy,” she said while talking with BusinessWest in her office at the Integrated Learning Center. “I have a student who’s not in any of my classes anymore, but she asked me to help her pick an outfit for an interview and do practice questions … that means a lot to me when students reach out to me like that, and I always try to be there for them.”

Stack has taken a circuitous route to her current position, putting aside music and the arts (at least as a profession) after coming up one credit shy of what she needed to graduate from UMass Amherst with a music degree as she tried to balance school and life, and thus being unable to speak at commencement, as she was chosen to do — although she would go back and do it later when she earned that degree.

This otherwise dark moment ultimately helped shape her in a positive way by taking her down a different career path — working first as an executive for the billion-dollar e-commerce company SHOP.COM, then for the Holyoke-based accounting firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka (MBK) and, eventually, UMass.

Today, Stack balances life at home with work (including the Stack Group, the consulting firm she co-owns with Ryan), the arts (on many different levels), and involvement in the community, squeezing every hour out of every day — except Sunday, which is reserved for family.

Indeed, while providing guidance and support to her younger son, Ethan, with college applications and her older son, Jordan, as he pursues a legal studies degree at UMass Amherst, she teaches three courses at the university (four next semester) while also managing several interns.

“They started to make me realize that I could be capable of something beyond just surviving.”

Meanwhile, she’s teaching dance one night a week; choregraphing a production of Sweeney Todd at the Little Theatre of Manchester (Conn.) set for November; preparing to star in a theatrical performance she couldn’t name just yet, opting only for ‘razzle dazzle’; and laying the groundwork for the return of a program she created called Build a Prom, which provides prom dresses, suits, and accessories to those in need. And that’s just a partial list.

She’s also a consultant to MBK on marketing matters and serves as a role model and mentor to students, young professionals, and artists of all kinds. Katrina Arona, her successor at MBK, is one of them.

Sarah Rose Stack (pictured with her husband, Ryan) says she strives to be the kind of game-changing teacher she had while studying music in her youth.

Sarah Rose Stack (pictured with her husband, Ryan) says she strives to be the kind of game-changing teacher she had while studying music in her youth.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

“She plants the seeds with me, and I sprout from there,” Arona said, adding that advice has come on specific marketing initiatives as well as broad realms of working with people and solving problems. “She’s like that good player on a soccer team that enables everyone around her to play better.”

 

Sound Advice

When Stack says she couldn’t take anything for granted growing up in New Jersey, she means it.

And that includes having a place to live.

“I probably moved more times before I was in high school than most people do in a lifetime,” she recalled. “I Iived in a hotel for a little while, and in a church for a little while, with family, with friends.”

She said her mother worked three jobs to support her three children and, understandably, wasn’t around much.

Which brings her back to her music teachers. One of them, ‘Mr. Lorreti,’ got her started in music and gave her a euphonium, a close cousin of the trombone and tuba, which she would go on to play in several bands and focus on in her college major. Then, in high school, there was a teacher known to all as ‘Mrs. G,’ who helped her manage those difficult years.

“I consider myself an accomplished artist in music and dance, and I got a lot of my fundamentals from my music teachers with regard to technique,” she explained. “But they were there for everything. I remember being so stressed about getting homework done … the house was crazy, and I was allowed to go to the music room and work on things during off periods; she [Mrs. G] would never tell me to leave. I could go there for a quiet moment and work on an English paper.

“Those arts teachers … they give you so much than the lessons,” she went on. “My mother was a single mom raising three kids and working three jobs, so we rarely got to see her. She worked so hard, and she did her best. But it’s interesting how these arts teachers were like second and third parents.”

Stack had a few music scholarship offers, including one to Rutgers, but chose to pay to attend UMass Amherst for its strong faculty and institutions like its marching band, which she never did play in because she was involved in so much else.

She took on school in aggressive fashion, accruing far more credits per semester than the norm, while also meeting Ryan, also a music major. She became pregnant her junior year, took a year off to be with her son, Jordan, and then returned to school to finish, but, as noted earlier, came up one credit shy due to some challenges with balancing life and school.

“Things were different then — people weren’t so accommodating with non-traditional situations,” she explained. “One of my required classes started at 8 a.m., but childcare didn’t open until 8:30. That was problematic. Two times a week, I would drop Jordan off at 8:30, park in the football lot, and sprint to this class 40 minutes late.”

“They really showed me how to set boundaries for myself. They told me that if I don’t take care of my whole person, I’m not going to be a good employee. That was such a shift for me, and it stuck with me.”

She passed the class but, as noted, couldn’t take the final, in-person exam, and thus couldn’t speak at commencement and had to put aside her dream of playing euphonium with the ‘The President’s Own’ United States Marine Band.

“I took some time off, and that was when I just thought … ‘I hate music, I hate everything,’ and I started working for SHOP.COM,” she said, noting that she started in sales and worked her way up to director of Business Integration.

It was a job that took her around the world, and she enjoyed most aspects of it, but as her children grew older, she desired something more grounded. So she took the job at MBK as director of Marketing and Recruiting, thinking it would be the “the most boring job I ever had.”

But it wasn’t. It was another learning experience on many levels, and one where she would gain more confidence and life skills.

Sarah Rose Stack (in the pink cap) leads one of the many dance classes she teaches weekly.

Sarah Rose Stack (in the pink cap) leads one of the many dance classes she teaches weekly.

“They really showed me how to set boundaries for myself,” she noted. “They told me that if I don’t take care of my whole person, I’m not going to be a good employee. That was such a shift for me, and it stuck with me.”

 

The Next Stage

Always seeking new challenges professionally, Stack found one in the School of Journalism at UMass Amherst. There she teaches “Writing for PR,” “Research & Analytics,” “Social Media for PR,” and other courses while also trying the follow the lead set by the teachers who were so impactful in her life.

While her career has taken her to the corporate world and then academia, the arts remain a huge part of her life — performing, choreographing, teaching, mentoring, inspiring, and also playing in a few orchestras, including one featured in a recent performance of Shrek.

As noted, she teaches dance — everything from ballet and pointe to ‘Broadway jazz’ — one day a week at Nutmeg’s Dance & Theatre Co. in Southwick, where she’s taught for 20 years.

She also choreographs shows for several area groups, including the Little Theatre of Manchester, the Opera House Players, Renbrook Prep School, High Wire Acts, Seat of Our Pants Productions, and the Massachusetts Academy of Ballet. Specific performances include A Chorus Line, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Grease, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Little Mermaid, and many others.

While work and the arts are separate worlds for Stack, they interconnect in many ways, especially with the way in which her training in the arts has made her better in her more recent career roles.

“All of my music and dance training played a huge role in all of my marketing and design choices,” she explained. “When you think about video design or storytelling, writing, or any of that stuff, the cadence of things … where there’s space, where things speed up, where things are longer than they need to be — all of that is very musical to me.

“When I write something, I’ll always read it out loud and say, ‘does this sing? Does it sound monotonous, or does it sing? Are there good pauses? Does it flow nicely?’” she went on. “It’s the same with video design when it comes to how things move, physical space, tempo … all those things play a huge role in how things are visually processed; I do think there are a lot of transferable skills.

“If I were to do a doctorate, this is exactly what my dissertation would be on,” she continued. “Dance and music as a universal language as it relates to behavior change.”

Pausing for a moment, Stack seemed to take that ‘if’ out of the equation, making it sound far more like ‘when,’ as in maybe a few years from now, when there might be a little more time.

That will be the latest challenge for someone who has never shied away from one, and, in fact, always looks for the next one.

That’s just one of the myriad traits that has enabled her to excel on many different stages — both figuratively and literally — and take a bow in December as a Woman of Impact.

Amanda Sanderson

By
Amanda Sanderson
Women of Impact 2025

Executive Director, Resilience Center of Franklin County

She Combines Innovation with Compassion, Authenticity

 

Amanda Sanderson says she owes a lot of who she is, what she does, and what drives her personally and professionally to her family, especially her mother.

“She’s a survivor of sexual and domestic violence,” Sanderson explained. “And each time she was in a situation that was unsafe, and her children’s safety was threatened, she had to find this store of extreme resilience to leave, support her children, rebuild her life, and make sure we were all safe.”

Elaborating, Sanderson said she grew up in a blended family with siblings and stepsiblings who had different needs, and she watched as her parents fought for their rights and the various forms of support they needed.

Such experiences — and the desire to help others find within them that same level of resilience her mother and stepfather exhibited — have taken Sanderson to career stops at nonprofits in Birmingham, Ala., Boston, and now Greenfield, where she serves as executive director of the Resilience Center of Franklin County (RCFC), formerly known as the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition (NELCWIT).

That’s a mouthful, and a name that needed to be changed, she said, to reflect that the organization serves survivors of all gender identities and sexual orientation and puts an emphasis on resilience.

And rebranding has been just one of many items on a large to-do list since she arrived nearly two and a half years ago.

Indeed, she has guided the agency — funded through the Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance — through might be called a period of renewal and transformation, handing internal challenges, enhancing its physical space, and expanding client services (including access to food, emergency assistance funds, and a welcoming visitation center), while also overseeing record-breaking fundraising and increased grant support.

Lainie DeCoursy, a board member with the RCFC who nominated Sanderson to be a Woman of Impact, described her as a “visionary nonprofit leader,” convener, collaborator, and a clear, strong voice when it comes to raising awareness about domestic and sexual violence.

“Amanda has been a key driver of regional coalitions of more than 40 nonprofits, amplifying the collective voice for health and human services across Franklin County and North Quabbin,” she wrote. “She is a strong advocate for the role of community-based organizations in fostering resilience, often emphasizing the ripple effect of nonprofit work — that thriving individuals and families are the foundation of strong communities.

“She combines bold innovation with compassion and authenticity,” DeCoursy went on, crediting Sanderson with providing strong leadership at a time of funding challenges and policy shifts and expanding holistic services to survivors and families by growing access to a basic needs and food pantry, introducing client transportation through a new agency van (helping meet a critical void in the county), and launching several innovative support groups. “A champion of equity, sustainability, and survivor-centered care, she has made services more holistic and more accessible, while engaging hundreds of community supporters.”

“A champion of equity, sustainability, and survivor-centered care, she has made services more holistic and more accessible, while engaging hundreds of community supporters.”

While Sanderson said much has been accomplished over the past few years, she’s looking ahead to the next challenges, both short-term — managing through serious threats to funding at the state and national levels — and long-term, including the need for different types of housing to effectively serve those in transition.

Amanda Sanderson has expanded access to a basic needs and food pantry, as well as other holistic services, at a challenging time for nonprofits.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

“I think of it as a three-phase problem — we need emergency short-term housing for people who need two, three, four days for the plan that they have to come to fruition; we need transitional housing, which is one to two years, for people who have left the situation they were in and now need a place where they can rebuild; and we need long-term permanent housing options,” she explained, adding that solutions will not come easily and will require collaboration among the region’s nonprofits.

This drive to keep looking ahead at the next challenges and finding needed solutions helps explain why she is a Woman of Impact.

 

Lessons from a Tiny Town

When Sanderson says she grew up in a small town in Northern Vermont, she puts extra emphasis on small.

“The town I grew up in was technically a town only because it had a post office,” she explained. “There were no schools, no general stores … we had to go down the mountain to get to the next town, which had a general store, but no gas station; it was 25 or 30 minutes to the nearest gas station, so you had to plan accordingly.

“And it’s still like that, although we now have a stoplight for the first time; we went from a four-way stop sign to a stoplight in 2019,” she went on, adding that, while such small towns have unique challenges, they share problems with communities of all sizes, and it was this knowledge, coupled with what she saw and experienced growing up, that inspired the career path she chose.

“All of those things that I witnessed or experienced instilled a lot of compassion — and a belief that, with the right support, people can accomplish the things they want to accomplish,” she noted. “And I think nonprofits are the glue, a bridge between what the government should be doing for people and what people want and need.”

After earning a bachelor’s degree in arts, peace, and justice studies at St. Michael’s College in Vermont, she left the Northeast for Birmingham, serving as a AmeriCorps state volunteer for Impact America, working as a middle school debate coach, providing free vision screenings to children enrolled in daycare across 20 Alabama counties, and serving in the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program as a tax preparer and volunteer tax site manager in Selma and Montgomery.

“Through my studies, it became clear that the best way to learn about the world was to see a little bit of it,” she said. “And Birmingham is an excellent place to go if you’re curious about different parts of the country. And what I learned is that the problems are similar pretty much everywhere, and people are the same pretty much everywhere.”

“Everything we do has to be grounded in serving the survivors of sexual and domestic violence, building awareness in the community, and strengthening the quality of the culture here so people can do trauma work and be OK.”

Sanderson would spend four years in the Deep South, eventually serving as program manager for Impact America’s SpeakFirst program, supervising 17 middle and high school debate coaches while directly coaching 24 high school debaters and also expanding college readiness efforts through innovative programming and support initiatives.

In 2018, she joined City Year Inc., a Boston-based nonprofit focused on helping young people stay on track academically and graduate from high school ready for college. There, she managed and coached teams of six to eight AmeriCorps members who work with Greater Boston high school students.

While earning a master’s degree in higher education administration at Boston College, she served as a graduate resident director and also served as a sexual assault network advocate at the Boston College Women’s Center, working on call for its confidential hotline supporting survivors of sexual assault.

After earning that degree, she saw an opening for the co-executive director’s position at NELCWIT and decided this should be her next challenge. The job opportunity was part of it, and being just a few miles from Vermont and her family was another part.

She applied, got the job, and moved to Greenfield the same day she graduated, and was at work the following day.

Almost immediately, there were challenges that needed to be addressed internally, while also focusing on the mission and creating ways to better carry it out.

Indeed, the person hired to be the other co-executive director did not work out, she noted, and within a few weeks of being hired, Sanderson was named acting executive director, while soon also serving as acting program manager as well.

Amanda Sanderson, center, with Joan Featherman, left, one of the founders of the Resilience Center of Franklin County, and Pam Brown, a long-time director, as the agency recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Amanda Sanderson, center, with Joan Featherman, left, one of the founders of the Resilience Center of Franklin County, and Pam Brown, a long-time director, as the agency recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.

“In the first few months, I was just working on understanding what the staff needs were and understanding what our community relations were, where our priorities lay, and what we were doing to serve survivors,” she explained. “After I got that information, I really started to understand where our areas of improvement were.

“I was lucky enough to have someone on the staff I thought would be an incredible program director,” she went on. “I encouraged her to apply, and I started building a team of people that has the same priorities as I do.”

 

Building Resilience

When asked about those priorities, she said it comes down to meeting needs within the community, helping survivors tap that reservoir of resilience she believes is in everyone, and supporting staff members, most of whom are survivors of abuse themselves, in every way possible.

“Everything we do has to be grounded in serving the survivors of sexual and domestic violence, building awareness in the community, and strengthening the quality of the culture here so people can do trauma work and be OK,” she explained. “There was a lot of turnover when I started because people were getting burned out from hearing really difficult things and not having the support they needed.”

Elaborating, she said the agency became more thoughtful about pay, time off, and “making sure, if you come to do this work, that we’re being as supportive a workplace as we possibly can be.”

While doing that, Sanderson has been working to strengthen coalitions and collaborative efforts, knowing that, in rural areas, persistent problems cannot be solved by one agency.

In Franklin County, there are many such problems, including transportation, (or a lack thereof), substance abuse, a shortage of jobs and career opportunities, and, in many cases, a lack of understanding of the problems unique to rural areas on the part of many of the judges who come to serve in the county (most are from the Boston area) and even the state police that provide much of the public safety.

“The size of the communities can create more support for people, but it also makes it harder to fly under the radar and operate with anonymity,” she explained, adding that those who file restraining orders are far more likely to run into their abuser in a town with one grocery store than in a big city. “There are safety concerns that people do not consider if they’re not from a rural area.”

And then, there’s the housing issue.

“We need housing options that suit the area, and I’m looking into how nonprofits can work together to create supportive housing to answer some of that need and demand,” Sanderson told BusinessWest. “I’m not seeing any traditional solutions that meet our pipeline issue, and although there’s some backlash against housing-first policies, we’ve seen a lot of success once someone is rooted to a place — they have a place where they can give an address so they can get a job and enroll their children in school; DCF won’t be involved if they have a home. Those are just some of the aspects to the whole healing process.”

She noted that her mother recently earned a bachelor’s degree through Southern New Hampshire University.

“It’s something she always wanted to do,” Sanderson told BusinessWest, adding that her mother was one of the few in her own family to graduate from high school. “She wants to work with homeless youth because she was, at one time, a homeless youth.”

This new chapter in that story adds more emphasis to Sanderson’s comments earlier about how, if given the right support, people can accomplish what they need to accomplish.

It also helps explain why, when Sanderson thinks about the path she didn’t choose — a career in business, probably in a large urban center like Boston — she doesn’t think about it for long.

She’s quite content with the path she did choose, and what she’s done on that path — become a Woman of Impact.

Angelina Ramirez

By
Angelina Ramirez
Women of Impact 2025

CEO, Stavros Center for Independent Living

She Helps People with Disabilities Live the Life They Desire

 

When Angelina Ramirez went to work at Stavros Center for Independent Living as a secretary in 1990, it was supposed to be a transition plan to something else.

Thirty-five years later, she has certainly done plenty of transitioning, but all of it within this organization dedicated to helping people with disabilities achieve independence — with roles including outreach, special programs, community relations, and development … all the way to CEO in 2019.

As for why she never left, it was a matter of simply connecting with a mission.

“I’m a person with a disability myself, and finding a job when you have a disability can be hard, and trying to get through life can be challenging. So the mission of Stavros really spoke to me because it’s making sure that, whatever your goal is, whatever your initiative in your life is, wherever you want to go, we will be there to support you.”

Whether it’s helping people with disabilities access housing, education, and benefits or helping them access personal care management services necessary to stay in their homes, Stavros has impacted countless clients over the decades. But they’re not just numbers; Ramirez can relate many individual stories.

Like young adults who have secured internships through Stavros. “One of my favorites is this kid whose school kept telling him, ‘no, you’re too disabled; you can’t do auto repairs.’ And we talked with an auto repair shop, and they said, ‘well, if he wants to do an internship, we’ll take him.’ And they ended up hiring him because he was so good at mechanical stuff.”

“The mission of Stavros really spoke to me because it’s making sure that, whatever your goal is, whatever your initiative in your life is, wherever you want to go, we will be there to support you.”

Or another client who arrived at Stavros homeless. “The police brought her in and said, ‘we need you to do something because we don’t know what else to do with her.’ And over the years, we helped her get medication, get the services she needed, get her an apartment, and eventually get a job. And now she’s retirement age. I mean, in 35 years, you see someone’s whole life. And when you see that, you say, ‘yeah, I made a difference.’”

Jason Montgomery, Stavros’ director of Development, repeatedly noted that passion for making a difference when he nominated Ramirez to be a Woman of Impact.

“No one in Western Massachusetts has done more to advance disability rights and equity than Angelina Ramirez,” he wrote. “Her leadership is both visionary and practical, driving systemic change while ensuring immediate, tangible results for people in need. She embodies the independent living movement’s core values: equity, self-determination, and community leadership.”

Angelina Ramirez (center) with some of the team at Stavros.Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

Angelina Ramirez (center) with some of the team at Stavros.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

It’s a measurable impact, Montgomery went on. “Under her leadership, Stavros transitioned hundreds of people from institutional living into the community and provided thousands with durable medical equipment and home modifications. For decades, she has championed legislation ensuring equity and independence for all.”

One well-known Stavros program is called Home Sweet Home, Ramirez told BusinessWest. “Every year, we build around 60 to 80 ramps, depending on funds. That is a phenomenal program that has to raise a whole lot of money to be able to get all that done. But it’s thanks to partnerships in the community and a great team of people here that it happens.”

Another example of creative problem solving is a contract Stavros recently secured with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to repair wheelchairs. “One of the issues that we have seen over and over is that, for people with disabilities, their wheelchairs will not be fixed in a timely manner, so essentially they’re stuck at home,” she said.

“Her leadership is both visionary and practical, driving systemic change while ensuring immediate, tangible results for people in need. She embodies the independent living movement’s core values: equity, self-determination, and community leadership.”

In all, Stavros serves about 10,300 individuals across Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties at any given time, currently ranging in age from 4 to 89 — and it’s critical work, Ramirez noted.

“When people don’t know about our services, they end up in nursing facilities. Not to say that nursing facilities are not a good thing for some people, but say you’re 25 and you got into a car accident, and now you use a wheelchair. Do you want to spend rest of your life there? The answer is no.

“So one of the things that we do is help people to make sure that they don’t end up in situations like that. But also, a lot of people with disabilities want to go back to work, and they don’t have the resources or the peer support that they need to do that. So one thing we see over and over again is that, because we’re here, more people go back to college, and more people end up working.”

That’s real impact. And it explains why Ramirez, who has dedicated most of her life to this mission, is being recognized as part of the Women of Impact class of 2025.

 

Sharing the Spotlight

Under Ramirez’ leadership, Stavros has become one of the largest and most effective independent living centers in Massachusetts, Montgomery noted. It was named one of the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts by Boston Globe Magazine in 2022 — the same year the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce presented Ramirez with its A+ Lifetime Achievement Award.

She is quick to deflect such praise, however. “I feel like I don’t do anything half the time — it’s all the team, and I just get credit for all that they do. But it’s really gratifying.”

Angelina Ramirez says the mission of Stavros has always spoken to her — supporting people with disabilities and helping them succeed in life, no matter what their goals are.

Her impact only continues to grow. In 2024, the year she guided Stavros through its 50th anniversary, she secured a $153,000 grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts to expand community-based mental health support across Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties. And this year, she launched Rock, Roll & Gather, a regional event blending music, art, and activism to celebrate disability pride, while building community support for access initiatives.

About 80% of Stavros’ income comes from contracts with the state, and many of those contracts originate with the federal government, so there is some long-term anxiety about shifting federal priorities — a concern shared by nonprofits across the U.S. — and short-term worries as well, from a government shutdown that had not abated as this issue went to press.

Still, in the Pioneer Valley, “a lot of the nonprofits help each other out,” Ramirez said. “Every year, we do this small breakfast with our legislators, and we bring in other nonprofits to talk about what issues are of concern right now and how we can address them.

“We have good relationships with the Amherst Survival Center and the Northampton Survival Center and other nonprofits in the area,” she went on. “Sometimes we get employees from them, from the people they serve who are looking for jobs, and they end up working here. And at the same time, our consumers go there and get the services and supports that they need.

“That’s one good thing about working here in the Pioneer Valley — even though there is some sense of competition, because there are not a lot of funds out there, there’s also camaraderie, and the main interest is serving people. That’s very different in this area. I talk with other people in other parts of the state that don’t have that.”

Montgomery noted that Ramirez’s leadership has been especially crucial during periods of crisis. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she oversaw the successful transition of more than 140 individuals from nursing facilities into community living and facilitated the construction of more than 100 ramps for accessibility. She also ensured that Stavros offices were kept open for the duration of the pandemic, and, at the height of pandemic shutdowns, facilitated meal deliveries for clients who couldn’t otherwise access them.

At the same time, Montgomery said, Stavros staff — 80% of whom are women — are empowered to lead, innovate, and serve as peer mentors. “She creates a culture where women’s voices are not only heard, but elevated.”

That’s an especially gratifying part of her job, Ramirez said.

“When people don’t know about our services, they end up in nursing facilities. Not to say that nursing facilities are not a good thing for some people, but say you’re 25 and you got into a car accident, and now you use a wheelchair. Do you want to spend rest of your life there? The answer is no.”

“It is a great opportunity to see people succeed, see people that came in like me as a secretary or as a skills trainer and now see them in supervisory positions or management positions. There’s one person in the building who started coming in here with her mom when she was a teenager, and now she is the assistant director of one of our programs. So there is opportunity for mentorship here. You get to do good while you’re doing good for yourself.”

 

A True Problem Solver

Ramirez also contributes to civic and professional organizations across the state. She serves on the board of Housing Navigator Massachusetts Inc., which works to expand access to affordable housing through user-friendly, publicly available tools. She is also a member of the Health Equity Compact, a coalition of 85 leaders of color dedicated to advancing health equity and dismantling systemic disparities throughout Massachusetts.

“I remember when the Housing Navigator approached me in 2019 — they had an idea to create this nonprofit to identify housing in the whole state and see where the gaps are. I said, ‘well, I want to be part of that.’ So they created a tool, and now we can see that, here in Western Mass., the availability of housing is minimal to nothing.”

It’s a major problem, especially for an organization trying to keep people in their own homes, but Ramirez is no stranger to tackling problems.

“Anyone can look around and see what is happening and what impact they can have, whether it’s health equity, housing, mental health, whatever it is. If there is a crisis, we need to meet it. That’s what I’m passionate about — when you look at what’s going on with the people that you serve and you start formulating plans. That’s what makes this organization and the teams here successful — they’re always looking forward.”

On its website, Stavros explains that, for the past 50-plus years, it “has worked tirelessly to remove barriers to accessibility and provide essential resources that support independent living. From advocating for disability rights and accessible housing to offering peer counseling, skills training, and vocational support, Stavros has been a trusted ally for thousands of individuals across Western Massachusetts and beyond.”

For Ramirez, the throughline across all that work has been identifying barriers people have to living the life they desire — and then identifying solutions to overcome those barriers. That’s a legacy befitting a Woman of Impact, but, again, she always seeks to share the credit.

“Surrounding yourself with a great team of people that can make it happen is the most important part of it because a lot of this stuff, you can’t do by yourself,” she said. “You have to make sure that the people around you are capable of doing it.”

Chelsea Kline

By
Chelsea Kline
Women of Impact 2025

Executive Director, Cancer Connection

She Brings Connectivity and a Punk Rock Ethos to a Scrappy Nonprofit

Two decades before Chelsea Kline took the reins at Cancer Connection, her mother was one of its early participants.

“It was such a relief to me that she had supports here at Cancer Connection that I could not provide,” Kline recalled. “I was young, I was a single mom, and she was going through such a terrible time, so I was grateful to have a place where people really understood and had connections to resources and were able to listen deeply and support in a way that that I couldn’t — which I think is the case for many caregivers. It’s hard to watch someone you love be in pain.”

The organization’s impact on Kline’s mother was so profound that her daughter emptied her piggybank on numerous occasions to donate to Cancer Connection because she knew how much

it had benefited her grandmother. And through her time working there, and especially since becoming executive director in 2022, Kline has come to appreciate that impact even more.

“When caregivers and people with a diagnosis come to us, they don’t have to put on a front; they don’t have to smile or brush it off — they can be real here. I saw that with my mom, that she had a place where she could just be real and honest with her fear or her pain or her anger, whatever it is. There are so many emotions that come along with a diagnosis.”

Kline, who earned a bachelor’s degree in religion and biblical literature at Smith College and a master’s degree in theological studies at Harvard Divinity School, spent several years overseeing leadership and organizational studies at Bay Path University before operating Chelsea Sunday Coaching for four years, a consulting business that helped many nonprofits in transition. In between, she ran for Massachusetts State Senate in 2018, garnering 41% of the vote.

But her interest all along was in supporting people who are struggling, and alleviating suffering. She found the perfect outlet for both at Cancer Connection.

During her graduate studies, “that’s where I really dug in with pastoral care and counseling and the whole concept of being present for people in hard times and in transition, and also the whole concept of the third space: we have our home, we have our work, and where’s the third space that we go? Is it a bar? Is it a church? Is it a community center? Is it a barbershop?”

Especially since COVID, she went on, those third spaces have become less robust and well-attended. But Cancer Connection can be a very particular kind of third space for people who need it.

“Our mission is very focused, but it’s a a really important community space where people can come and be held and be heard and feel connected and feel that they belong. And that, to me, is like magic,” Kline said. “That is so beautiful and so important. What could be more important?”

“Our mission is very focused, but it’s a a really important community space where people can come and be held and be heard and feel connected and feel that they belong. And that, to me, is like magic.”

When founders Jackie Walker and Deb Orgera launched the Northampton-based nonprofit in 2000, Kline said, their vision involved a concept known as befriending, which evolved out of the Samaritans model, which is a hotline for people in crisis. Essentially, Cancer Connection is a place to talk to someone, free of expectations or judgment.

Meanwhile, the nonprofit has evolved over the years to include support groups for different types of cancer and aspects of the cancer experience, from caregiving to self-care; integrative therapies like massage, acupuncture, Reiki, and energy balancing to treat cancer symptoms, boost comfort, and relieve stress; and programs that nourish the body, mind, spirit, and creativity, like Qigong yoga, mindfulness in nature, knitting, music and movement, equine therapy, and more.

Chelsea Kline is gratified that so many people find calm and courage during a difficult time in their lives through Cancer Connection.Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

Chelsea Kline is gratified that so many people find calm and courage during a difficult time in their lives through Cancer Connection.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

“If people are hurting,” she said, “if people are feeling isolated, if people are feeling scared and alone, we have these open doors and this beautiful space, and we can say, ‘we understand, we want you to feel protected, we want you to feel cared for, and we’ll do our very best.’”

For her role in connecting people in need with a community that cares for them — and cultivating the support of a much larger community outside its doors — Kline can certainly be called a Woman of Impact.

 

Calm in the Storm

“I can breathe deeper, feel lighter, calmer.”

“The class was exactly what I needed. Being part of a community of other cancer survivors gave me a such a feeling of connection and courage.”

“I met amazing women at various stages of healing. The beauty and grace that each of them expressed helped me realize I am not alone.”

Those are some of the many quotes the team at Cancer Connection have collected from people who have accessed its services. They speak to a sense of calm in the storm, and that’s exactly what Kline intends.

“Every time someone has a massage or an integrative treatment here, we have a form where they fill out — how they’re feeling before and how they’re feeling afterwards. And it’s so moving to see someone who was in pain, they were exhausted, they were scared, they were uncomfortable, they were feeling like a 1 when they got here, really low on the scale, and after they work with the integrative therapist, whether it’s massage or acupuncture or Reiki, they’re feeling at an 8 or a 9. They’re feeling so much better; they say, ‘I’m feeling soothed. I’m feeling more hopeful.’

“And every time I read those forms, I send them out to the staff and I’m like, ‘look at how beautiful this is. Look at how important this work is.’ It keeps us all grounded.”

They’re doing the work with no federal grants — a comforting model at a time when such funds are being threatened across the nonprofit world. Instead, Cancer Connection relies on local corporate sponsors, a monthly giving program for individual donors, and a variety of events, from the annual Harvest Dinner to a Mother’s Day half-marathon that celebrated its 15th year this past spring. A new event, a ladies’ golf tournament, recently raised $20,000.

Other community groups have helped as well, from Crippled Old Busted Bikers putting on a comedy show to raise funds for Cancer Connection to a drag revue called Camilla’s Extravaganza that has taken the nonprofit on as a fundraising beneficiary, to the annual Bed In for Cancer Connection — launched by radio personality Monte Belmonte as Monte’s Camp Out for Cancer Connection, and how hosted by Greenfield Savings Bank’s Tara Brewster, one of this year’s other Women of Impact.

“We’re just lean and scrappy because the point is caring, and that’s counterculture to capitalism. This organization is kind of punk rock, in a way.”

Then there’s the Cancer Connection Thrift Shop on South Street in Northampton, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary.

“I often joke that the thrift shop is the fun part of Cancer Connection. There’s aways great music playing, friendly people, and treasures to be found,” Kline noted, adding that the shop is also in line with her belief in reusing and repurposing in an effort to have a lighter impact on the planet.

“I am profoundly grateful for the visionaries that came before me that dreamt up the shop and worked so hard to bring it life,” she added. “My oldest friends are all amused by the fact that I landed at an organization that has an awesome thrift shop, given that I am a lifelong diehard thrifter.”

In nominating Kline to be a Woman of Impact, Jean Einstein, co-president of Cancer Connection’s board of directors, noted that, “through her leadership and tireless energies in creative fundraising in the community and her talent to recruit talented development staff and board members to expand funding opportunities, Cancer Connection is well-positioned for the next 25 years to continue making a difference in the lives of with those with cancer, their loved ones, and caregivers. Chelsea Kline’s powerfully positive impact on Cancer Connection, and its ability to continue its legacy as a place to find strength, cannot be overstated.”

When Kline hears that, however, she immediately credits so many others who support the work, from staff to board members to volunteers.

Chelsea Kline (right) with Shelley Daughdrill of Florence Bank, which continues to be a sponsor of Cancer Connection’s Harvest Dinner — one of many examples of how the community supports the nonprofit’s work.

Chelsea Kline (right) with Shelley Daughdrill of Florence Bank, which continues to be a sponsor of Cancer Connection’s Harvest Dinner — one of many examples of how the community supports the nonprofit’s work.

“The thrift store alone has about 50 volunteers a year, people of all ages who show up and give their time to help support our mission,” she told BusinessWest. “The staff at the shop serve as amazing mentors for people of all ages in how they listen deeply and with profound compassion when shoppers and donors share their cancer stories.”

She also has an eye firmly on those who will take up the mantle in the future.

“Working in a nonprofit, it’s really important to think about how we’re going to be bringing in new generations of people who are going to be doing this work. Who are the helpers? How can you be a helper? How can you be a professional helper?

“That’s a really important career track,” she went on. “But it’s a counterculture career track for a lot of people because I think, in a capitalist society, it’s like, ‘money, money, money.’ And what’s so cool about Cancer Connection is we’re kind of outside of that; we don’t take insurance, we don’t charge people. We’re just lean and scrappy because the point is caring, and that’s counterculture to capitalism. This organization is kind of punk rock, in a way.”

 

Crank It Up

Kline doesn’t use that term lightly; she was deeply involved in the punk scene in Washington, D.C. back in the ’90s.

“I’d to all the shows that were free in D.C., and I was part of the Beehive Collective and zine publishing, and I had a shaved head. And the sweetest people I ever knew were all the punks at the shows. They would look out for each other. I was totally involved in Food Not Bombs. We would make huge meals from donated foods and give it away in the park,” she recalled.

“A huge part of my punk rock upbringing was, how do you take care of people that are hungry? It’s so basic and so essential, and it’s getting lost, and how can that be? How can we have so many hungry people? How can we have so many lonely people? How do we fix it? It drives me crazy.”

“I want people to see this work and grasp it and appreciate it and respect it and want to be part of it.”

She mentioned all that context to explain her listening choice while driving to the Florence Bank Customers’ Choice grant awards this past spring.

“It’s a bank event, right? Like, I’ve got to be buttoned up, to look like a professional lady, but I’m blasting Fugazi on the way. But there’s so much about the punk rock ethos that really does translate to working in nonprofits. It’s about just doing what you can with what you’ve got and living by your values, and not being fake and not being stuffy and not trying to hurt anybody else or try to take advantage. And I’m a little punk rock at heart.”

That punk ethos, she said, means authenticity, anti-consumerism, and helping others whenever possible, which also relates to being a social justice advocate, with an emphasis on anti-racism and LGBTQ+ rights.

And, of course, helping people through one of the most difficult journeys in life: cancer.

“I want people to see this work and grasp it and appreciate it and respect it and want to be part of it,” she said. “So my work is not work, per se; it’s an honor to be able to use my energy and my enthusiasm to bring people along and say, ‘hey, this is really important. Come and be part of this.’”

Rania Kfuri

By
Rania Kfuri
Women of Impact 2025

Vice President for Philanthropy, Sales, and Marketing, Glenmeadow

She Brings Energy, Positivity to Everything She Does

 

When asked about her basic approach to life and work — and, later, about her best advice to young people, and especially women — Rania Kfuri said that, in both cases, it comes down to the same two-word phrase: show up.

By that, she meant being ambitious, giving back, supporting others, effectively balancing work and life in a way that would yield success at both, and always reaching higher.

She also meant following a tradition of community involvement set by several generations of her family — on both sides, and especially the women, something we’ll hear more about in a bit.

And she also meant literally showing up, as she does, at gatherings of all kinds, including BusinessWest’s events. Indeed, Kfuri, a proud former introvert, spoke early and often about the power of networking and connectivity, and how, because of that, she counts many of BusinessWest’s Women of Impact, including several from this year’s class, as friends.

She’s joining their ranks … well, because she does show up, and always has, whether while working for the mayor of Chicago; or as an entrepreneur who developed a unique travel bag for young parents; or while working at Smith College, which she served in several roles; or as a Philanthropy officer for Baystate Health; or as a board member for nonprofits that include the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, Stanley Park, Revitalize CDC, and Girls on the Run.

Or in her current role as vice president of Philanthropy, Sales, and Marketing at the Glenmeadow senior living in facility in Longmeadow.

That’s a broad title with many responsibilities that are all connected and represent some of her passions, especially philanthropy, she explained.

“There’s such an intersectionality between these three areas — I wish more organizations would see it that way,” said Kfuri, a first-generation Lebanese-American whose parents came to this country when her father, a physician, did his residency here, and stayed as war continued to rage in Lebanon. “Collaboration and communication are so important for an organization, and all three of these areas are very closely related.

“Sales, marketing, and philanthropy should all be communicating together, using the same streamlined language, and communicating the same mission,” she went on, adding that it’s her job to make sure they do.

But it’s not so much what she does within that broad job title that makes her a Woman of Impact, but how she does it — and what else she does.

“Her energy and positivity are contagious and help us all to see the benefits of collaboration and connectivity,” wrote Kathy Martin, president and CEO of Glenmeadow as she nominated Kfuri for this award. “She puts community first and is a quiet but impactful leader. From her service to a great many organizations and causes, she is often the nexus of an impressive web of overlapping relationships that, taken as a whole, move Western Mass. forward.”

“She puts community first and is a quiet but impactful leader.”

Dawn Creighton, a community outreach officer with Liberty Bank, who also nominated Kfuri, agreed, calling her an inspiration on many fronts.

“She is a beacon of positivity no matter what is happening in the world,” Creighton wrote. “I admire her tremendous balance of work and family life. Rania embodies engaging her girls in all she does so they understand what being a good steward to the community looks like. She is a walking judgment-free zone and will help anyone without explanation, requiring just a smile of gratitude. I love her passion for family, life, and our community.”

She’s far from alone in that sentiment, and this helps explain why Kfuri has been named a Woman of Impact.

 

Root Causes

Kfuri says she can thank family members for many of the traits she exhibits today.

Indeed, she said it was her brother, Kerim, a successful entrepreneur, who helped her overcome shyness and eventually become a dynamic networker and collaborator.

Rania Kfuri, right, counts Revitalize CDC as one of the many area agencies and causes to which she has donated time and talent.

“This is an acquired skill; I was not like this naturally … I was almost afraid of people when I was younger,” she recalled. “And my brother, who’s an extrovert, said, ‘you’re never going to have any fun, you’ve never going to get anything done if you don’t just go talk to people.’ He made me fearless to be social.”

Meanwhile, she said her parents and other members of her extended family going back several generations have served as effective role models when it comes to everything from giving back and helping others to being entrepreneurial.

“My parents’ home became a community hub for people who were also immigrating to the United States from Lebanon,” she explained. “And the nature of my parents being that way is because of the families they were raised by in Lebanon.

“He really instilled in my mom, who instilled it in me, the importance of being present in your community — being a doer.”

“My great-grandmother on my mother’s side was the head of the women’s group of the Greek Orthodox Church in Beirut,” Kfuri went on. “She was a very strong woman, a community-oriented woman who helped a lot of women who were widowed with employment opportunities and things of that nature. And that is how she identified my grandfather, my mom’s dad, who was also a family medicine physician, to be a great partner for my grandmother — because he also really believed in being a participant in community.

“He really instilled in my mom, who instilled it in me, the importance of being present in your community — being a doer,” she continued. “That’s in the fabric of my family, and the same goes for my father’s side, where my grandmother, in her earlier years in Lebanon … if you didn’t have a table to sit at and have dinner at, you were welcome at her table.”

These qualities, which she is now passing down to her children, helped shaped Kfuri as she grew up in Baltimore, and she eventually graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. with a political science degree and dreams of working in the State Department overseas.

Rania Kfuri continues a long tradition among several generations of her extended family when it comes to getting involved and giving back.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

She entered law school at Marquette University in Milwaukee, but didn’t enjoy that experience and returned to American University to earn a master’s degree in ethics, peace, and global affairs and forge new dreams of returning to Lebanon and doing peace building.

All that changed when she met her husband, then doing his residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, not through a dating website, as she recalled, but a ‘finding your roots in Lebanon’ website.

But that’s another story. Fast-forwarding this one, Rania and her husband eventually came to Western Mass. as he joined Baystate Health (he’s now chief of Gastroenterology there), and she starting writing new chapters in an intriguing career.

One of the first involved entrepreneurship, developing travel bags for parents with young children under the name Free Like Birdie, with Birdie being a nickname for her older daughter. The bags were a huge success — they were sold through Kohl’s, diapers.com, Amazon, and other outlets — but she eventually reached a critical crossroads.

“My younger daughter was about to start preschool five days a week, and my company was in a place where I was talking to QVC, and it either needed to grow, meaning I needed to build out a team, or it should close,” she recalled. “I decided that it had been a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it, but it was the right time to close.”

She then took a part-time position as an administrative assistant at the Solidago Foundation in Northampton and later worked at Smith College, first as assistant director of the Annual Fund and then as assistant director of International Alumni Relations.

She enjoyed her time at Smith, but was drawn to healthcare — many family members work in that broad realm — and took a job as a Philanthropy officer with Baystate Health in 2022.

“I wanted to help support the healthcare system because my dad used to teach public health at Johns Hopkins, and I know that regions can become healthcare deserts, and I don’t want that to happen to Western Mass.,” she said. “I’m always a cheerleader for Baystate.”

 

Connecting the Dots

Kfuri joined Glenmeadow a year ago, taking on a role that makes each day different and presents myriad opportunities to do what she perhaps does best — promoting and building community in all its forms.

“Community grows here, and in many different ways,” she explained, listing everything from the relationships between residents and staff to community gatherings (she calls them cocktail parties), to regular ‘town hall gatherings’ where residents can ask Martin questions and get answers.

Community also refers to connecting residents to the larger community, she went on, be it through trips to area attractions and institutions — there was one recently to the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne — to programs with partners such as the Community Music School and Square One. “We’re always looking to create spaces of joy,” she explained.

Reflecting on her approach to life and work, Kfuri summoned a phrase she attributes to an English teacher at the McDonogh School in Maryland: ‘you should care, you should dare, and you should share.’

“She would say that all the time,” Kfuri said. “And it re-emphasized that you shouldn’t be waiting for someone else to do the thing; you should be doing the thing. And that’s such an important part of whom I am as a person. Between my family and school, the culture was, ‘you have to show up.’

She continues to do so, and thus, there are many parts to who Kfuri is, starting with a strong work ethic and drive to succeed, a collaborative approach to her work, and a willingness to get involved in the community.

“In her work at Glenmeadow, she champions a person-centered approach to the functions she oversees and has transformed our organization by the outcomes and approaches to her work,” Martin wrote. “It’s about more than filling apartments; it’s about welcoming new members of our community in ways that honor the lives they’ve lived already and creating pathways for them to continue to thrive. She has made us better on every level.”

In the community, meanwhile, Kfuri has become involved with a wide range of groups and causes, from Revitalize CDC to Girls on the Run to the city of Westfield, where she served on a master plan committee.

But beyond that, she serves as a convener and a motivator, always seeking to broaden and strengthen the core of women leaders in the region. She hosts an annual dinner at her home, inviting those women leaders to gather and discuss ways to be empowered — and utilize that power to better the region.

“I don’t think that calling yourself an ambitious woman is a bad thing — ambition is not a dirty word,” she told BusinessWest. “I do, though, also believe that, as women, we need to support other women, and I would love to see more women genuinely support other women.”

With those efforts, as with other aspects of her life, it all comes back to where she started this conversation — with showing up … and being a Woman of Impact.

Tracy Friedenberg

By
Women of Impact 2025

Executive Director, Bacon Wilson, P.C.

She’s Made a Career of Giving Others the Tools to Succeed

 

Tracy Friedenberg recalls working for a tech consulting company in Holyoke (the ill-fated Data Profit) not long after graduating from UMass Amherst in the mid-’90s, and quickly discovering what she wasn’t doing — and ultimately needed to do — for a living.

She started as a receptionist and very quickly moved to office manager and then executive assistant, and over the course of that rapid advancement, she made a critical discovery.

“I realized in those moments that I really loved business,” said Friedenberg, who had designs (pun intended) on the fashion industry and being a buyer for a major retailer while in college. “But what I loved more was being on the operations side and making sure that, behind the scenes, everything ran smoothly.

“I knew very early on that sales wasn’t necessarily my thing — I wasn’t that person who was going to go out and get the clients,” she went on. “But I wanted to make sure that the organization and the people in the organization had what they needed to be successful, so the people who were practicing whatever they were practicing could do what they needed to do. And that has carried with me through my entire career.”

Indeed, it has, through a series of jobs at MassMutual, a lengthy stint at the Hartford-based law firm Day Pitney, and, since 2023, for the Springfield-based law firm Bacon Wilson.

There, she serves as executive director, a title that comes with a broad range of responsibilities — everything from day-to-day HR duties to working with other firm leaders on long-term matters, from the impact of AI on the legal profession to where the new courthouse in Springfield might go, and what they will mean operationally — and we’ll get into some of that later.

“I knew very early on that sales wasn’t necessarily my thing — I wasn’t that person who was going to go out and get the clients. But I wanted to make sure that the organization and the people in the organization had what they needed to be successful, so the people who were practicing whatever they were practicing could do what they needed to do. And that has carried with me through my entire career.”

But at Bacon Wilson, and her many other career stops, it’s not the lines on her job description that have made her a Woman of Impact, but how she has carried them out, often going what most would consider above and beyond, while also getting involved in the community at the same time.

Tracy Friedenberg has been described as a selfless, compassionate leader, one who drives organizational success but also champions the growth and well-being of those around her.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

“Tracy is the kind of leader who not only drives an organization forward, but also ensures that every individual within it feels seen, valued, and cared for,” said Alayna Anderson, marketing coordinator for Bacon Wilson, who nominated her for this award. “She exemplifies compassion, strength, and service in everything she does. Her heart is always in the right place — committed to making a difference for the people and community she serves.”

Reflecting on what drives her, what she’s been able to accomplish, how she’s been influenced by mentors, and how she now mentors others, Friedenberg credits her parents, Bruce, who passed away last year, and Cecilia, as well as the Springfield school system, for giving her what she’s needed to be successful.

The schools instilled in her a thirst for learning and spawned a passion for everything from business to the Spanish language, with which she can still hold her own, she explained, while her parents, both hard workers, gave her inspiration, a solid foundation, and critical lessons, especially about the need to be accountable for everything one does with and during her life.

“My parents were and are a big part of whom I am,” she told BusinessWest. “They were hard workers. They weren’t necessary knocking it out of the park from a corporate standpoint, but I always learned the value of hard work from them, doing it for yourself, and treating people the way you want to be treated.

“I learned so much from them, and especially my mom,” she went on, echoing what has become a common theme among this year’s honorees. “She made a career out of customer service — she worked for 35 years at Springfield College in the food service department. Watching my mom work and watching her get joy out of serving people and helping them … really resonated with me. She took so much pride in everything she did. It didn’t matter if she was making a coffee or cleaning a counter or counting a cash drawer; having that pride in what she did and doing it well always resonated with me.”

 

Learning Experiences

Turning back the clock 30 years to her time at Data Profit, one of many tech companies that rose and fell in the ’90s or early 2000s, Friedenberg said it was a learning experience on many levels.

“I was the executive assistant to the number two and number three individuals in charge, and I was privy to a lot of information,” she recalled. “They had filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and then it ended up being Chapter 7, and there were a lot of things going on. I would be in these difficult meetings with the leadership team; they were sitting there, and they literally had names on whiteboards, and they had to figure out who was going to be let go.

“It was at this age of 24 and 25 that I started to recognize some of the things that I knew I didn’t want to do or some of the ways I didn’t want to lead or manage,” she explained, adding that she has been shaped by every career stop and, long before that, her time in the Springfield schools and then UMass Amherst.

Tracing her career steps, Friedenberg said she moved from Data Profit to MassMutual, where she worked for nearly seven years, assuming titles ranging from College Relations manager to director of Corporate Human Resources.

“People are people, and, yes, we have work to do, and people have to be responsible and accountable for that, but we all are human, too. You can’t have people working for you and forget that they’re human beings.”

While at MassMutual, she was influenced by several managers and mentors, including one she served as an executive assistant who surprised her with a question she wasn’t really expecting.

“I had been there a few weeks … he came in one day and said, ‘where are you going to go in the company — what area do we need to move you to?’” she recalled. “I was a taken aback by that at first and said, ‘did I do something wrong?’ He said, ‘no, you have the ability to do more than this role requires, and I hired you for the company, not just this role.’

“Throughout your life, you have things that people say to you that stick with you,” she went on. “And that was one of them; that has resonated with me throughout my career. When I’ve been in a position to hire, I take a look at individuals not just for the role I’m trying to fill, which is important, but for their potential in general.”

In 2007, she began a 14-year stint with Day Pitney, a large firm with 13 offices and more than 600 employees. There, she held a variety of titles and had myriad responsibilities while gaining experience in some new realms, including work helping to manage some acquisitions and facility moves, and managing the IT Department.

Overall, she sharpened her skills when it became to being the person behind the scenes giving those around her the tools they needed to succeed.

After 15 years with the firm, she started to get “a little bored,” she said, and took on a new challenge, becoming chief of staff for Odin, a remote role that she wasn’t in long before she realized it wasn’t the right space for her.

Tracy Friedenberg says she’s long been inspired by the strong work ethic demonstrated by her parents.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

Ultimately, her position was eliminated, and this led to what she called the “summer of Tracy,” what she described as a period of reflection, taking her time deciding what she wanted to do next, and getting even more engaged in the community — with her daughter’s school as president of its PTO and as president of the Dress for Success Western Massachusetts board.

“I knew I wanted to be in this community again,” she explained. “I was born and raised in Springfield — I’ve lived here my whole life, and I still live here — and working in Hartford all those years, I realized how disconnected I felt from my community.”

 

Work in Progress

And it was in her role as president of Dress for Success, and specifically while leading efforts to secure a new home for the nonprofit after it was evicted from the closing Eastfield Mall, that Friedenberg ultimately started down the path to her latest career stop.

As she tells the story, she needed an attorney to review the lease for the new space on Lyman Street, couldn’t touch base with the attorney the agency had been working with, and wound up calling former Central High School classmate Dan McKellick, a shareholder with Bacon Wilson, to see if he could help. He did, and while doing so, he mentioned that the firm was looking for a new executive director.

“In her nearly two years at Bacon Wilson, Tracy has transformed our organization into the best version of itself.”

She applied, after realizing how much she missed the law firm environment, was hired, and is now, in essence, focusing on the present and future of this firm while applying lessons learned at the various stops in her career.

Perhaps the biggest of these lessons involve communication, managing change — because it is seemingly constant — and always remembering the human element of the workplace.

“People are people, and, yes, we have work to do, and people have to be responsible and accountable for that, but we all are human, too,” she told BusinessWest. “You can’t have people working for you and forget that they’re human beings.”

A story shared by Anderson in her nomination brings home this sentiment.

“I experienced the sudden and tragic loss of my partner — a loss that shook me and my community,” she wrote. “Tracy stepped beyond the role of executive director and became a source of unconditional support. She cooked meals, helped care for my home and my dog, covered my work responsibilities, managed our marketing and communications, and, most importantly, gave me the space and time to grieve.

“In her nearly two years at Bacon Wilson, Tracy has transformed our organization into the best version of itself,” Anderson went on. “She has fostered a culture of inclusivity, diversity, and warmth, reshaping the way our firm is perceived both internally and within the community. Her leadership has not only elevated our operations, but has changed the narrative of what it means to belong at Bacon Wilson.”

Jeff Fialky, the firm’s managing partner, echoed those thoughts.

“Tracy has been instrumental in continuing to shape our firm’s culture and success,” he said. “She leads with empathy, strength, and brilliance, ensuring that every challenge becomes an opportunity for those around her to grow and flourish. Her influence extends well beyond our walls — she uplifts those around her.”

When asked about her work and how it might generate such comments, Friedenberg said it comes down to keeping one eye on today, the other on tomorrow, and, most importantly, being a good listener as she manages a firm, but also a workforce that spans several generations.

“One thing that I feel so grateful for is that lots of people come and talk with me throughout the day,” she said. “They’ll come to me to talk about a concern they might have — maybe it’s with a client, or maybe it’s just something with their own personal situation in their employment or something in their personal life. Or they’ll bounce an idea off me or bring ideas to me. I feel so honored that they let me into their circle of trust.”

Not everyone gets into that circle of trust. It’s reserved for those who not only listen, but respond proactively and compassionately to what they hear.

It’s reserved, in this case, for a Woman of Impact.

Ayanna Crawford

By
Ayanna Crawford
Women of Impact 2025

 

President, AC Consulting and Media Services

Through Many Roles, She Elevates Young People — and the Entire Community

 

Ayanna Crawford, it needs to be said up front, is the model of a Woman of Impact, who has made her mark — and made people’s lives better — in numerous ways: as a public speaker helping young people find their own voice, as a community leader both locally and in legislative circles in Boston, as a media consultant boosting local businesses and nonprofits … the list goes on.

But it’s an honor she finds both gratifying and a bit humbling.

“It’s not something I look for. I’m just humbled by it, and sometimes I feel, is this really for me? Am I worthy enough? Did I do enough? Is there more that I need to do before I get recognized?” she said.

“That’s always in the back of my mind because I think about so many great leaders in our community, in our world, that have gone unnoticed or not been recognized,” she added. “But I’m grateful for the recognition. I’m grateful that someone has seen the work that I’m doing.”

To be sure, many have noticed, including LaTonia Monroe Naylor, a member of the Women of Impact class of 2024, who nominated Crawford for this year’s honor.

“Ayanna doesn’t seek recognition — she builds infrastructure: programs, relationships, and movements,” Naylor wrote. “She mentors emerging leaders, elevates marginalized voices, and constantly returns to the core question, ‘what did I do for someone else today?’”

Naylor knows Crawford well; the two of them co-founded a nonprofit seven years ago called Parent Villages, which connects families, educational institutions, and community partners to enhance learning and support systems for children. It was born from the sobering statistic that 93% of local children aren’t ready to succeed in kindergarten.

“She thought, ‘what could we do to encourage parents and families, and help their children get ready for kindergarten?’” Crawford recalled about the origins of Parent Villages, which Naylor still leads as CEO. “We did meetups and focus groups around the city at different libraries and community centers to talk to parents and families about how can we help children get ready for school.

“It has grown immensely, to the point where we’ve bought a building, we have over a million-dollar budget, we’ve got staff, we have six or seven different types of programs. It’s just flourishing,” said Crawford, who serves on the board.

But that’s only one of the ways she has demonstrated a passion for helping children. Originally interested in a broadcast journalism career, she switched to an education track at Westfield State University and became a teacher, teaching creative writing in middle school and reading and language arts in elementary school over the years.

“Ayanna doesn’t seek recognition — she builds infrastructure: programs, relationships, and movements. She mentors emerging leaders, elevates marginalized voices, and constantly returns to the core question, ‘what did I do for someone else today?’”

It was in the latter setting that she noticed many children were shy about giving presentations — some so shy, they would cry. So she asked her principal if she could conduct a mini-lesson around public speaking — which turned into an afterschool program, which soon drew middle-schoolers as well, and eventually emerged in the broader community as a still-flourishing initiative called Take the Mic.

Backed by a group of interns and volunteers, Crawford has partnered with colleges, especially Springfield Technical Community College, creating a curriculum within its College for Kids summer program, and also conducted programs in the Springfield Public Schools and an afterschool program at the East Springfield branch of Springfield City Library. In all, the program serves young people from ages 6 to 18. She also conducts workshops for adults who want to improve their speaking skills and confidence.

Ayanna Crawford says some of her priorities in her work with state Rep. Orlando Ramos include education, mental health, parks, and the environment.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

“About 75% of the world’s population is afraid of public speaking,” she said. “Even myself, growing up, I was afraid to as well. But there are strategies, techniques, resources, so many different things that you can use. I’ve done a lot of training myself to make sure that I’m on the cutting edge of the nuances of public speaking and making sure that not only the students have what they need, but the adults, too.”

Helping both children and adults achieve what they need — in these ways and others we’ll talk about — is a hallmark of a life of passion and purpose. It’s the life of a Woman of Impact.

 

Community Champion

When asked when she developed a passion for young people, Crawford said it’s always been there.

“I remember, when I started teaching, having students from all different socioeconomic statuses and wanting to see all of them flourish and thrive. Then, I was always the one at my schools to either help organize the open house or get the parents together, get them excited about events we had with our school, or go out in the community and talk to families about the work that we do in our school.”

Her teaching career was also the fountain from which her business, AC Consulting and Media Services, sprung. Her principal noticed she was doing a lot of community work, so she became the go-to person for connecting the school with community leaders, elected officials, and the media as well. From there, other businesses and nonprofits started asking her for help with press releases, media invitations, flyers, and other forms of marketing, and the enterprise was born.

“Our mission is to provide media and public relations services and supports to nonprofits and corporate businesses to enhance their brand awareness and client base,” she explained. “We simply are a firm that believes in amplifying the message and awareness of our clients in their communities.”

Her foray into politics, culminating with her current role as chief of staff to state Rep. Orlando Ramos, also began with her volunteer service on school PTOs, neighborhood councils, and, eventually, political campaigns. She later became chair of the Democratic City Committee for Springfield’s Ward 8, worked on Ramos’ campaign for the State House, and then joined him in that work, much of which she’s personally passionate about, especially when it comes to issues that affect young people, like education, healthcare, parks, and the environment.

An advocate for neighborhood safety, Crawford spearheaded a local Stop the Speed initiative, a public safety campaign born out of Springfield residents’ concerns about dangerous driving through residential streets. It was born out of an incident in which a vehicle her daughter was riding in was struck by a speeding car. Another passenger was in the ICU for weeks.

Ayanna Crawford took the stage at the MassMutual Center this past June as co-emcee of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty Gala.
Photo by Underwood Photography

“It was very traumatic; it was a very serious accident. So I said, ‘what can I do to help curtail it, to stop it? I knew that the East Springfield community had done some Stop the Speed events … so I started them here in Springfield on Boston Road, particularly.”

With Ramos’ backing, she spearheaded monthly awareness events for about a year, and other legislators and community leaders, in 16 Acres and the North End, picked up the cause as well. “So, through my efforts raising some more advocacy around it, other communities decided to start doing them.”

It’s typical of the impact Crawford can have when she has a goal in mind, Naylor said. “Through this work, she’s not just raising awareness — she’s organizing, coordinating with city officials, and pushing for tangible policy solutions. Her leadership reflects a commitment to safety, accountability, and resident-led change.”

Crawford has long been committed to the revitalization of the Indian Orchard community. To that end, she has organized food truck festivals, promoted small business development, and supported entrepreneurial opportunities, creating accessible platforms for local vendors and artisans to thrive.

She also founded the annual Sylvia Barksdale Wilson Scholarship in Nursing Brunch, a program that provides scholarships for individuals going into the nursing field in honor of her mother, who was a nurse. She also founded the Literacy Champion community event held annually at the Brookings Elementary School to promote literacy and showcase local authors, and she is president of the Springfield Women in Business Club, which highlights and provides support to women entrepreneurs and executive leaders.

“Through this work, she’s not just raising awareness — she’s organizing, coordinating with city officials, and pushing for tangible policy solutions. Her leadership reflects a commitment to safety, accountability, and resident-led change.”

“From the classroom to the Capitol, from Indian Orchard streets to statewide strategy rooms,” Naylor wrote, “Ayanna is not just making an impact — she is building one and deserving of finally being recognized for what she has done to contribute to our region.”

 

Fearless and Impactful

When Crawford takes the stage at the Log Cabin on Dec. 9 to accept the Women of Impact honor, it will cap a busy year of recognition.

This past April, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra chose her as a recipient of its annual Fearless Women Awards, which are given to area women who embody bravery, advocacy, passion, perseverance, and authenticity. And in June, she co-emceed BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty Gala at the MassMutual Center.

Asked to give some perspective on her many roles in the community, she said, “I never know the extent of what I do and how it is really impacting others. I just do it because it’s important to me.” But she said she’s equally proud of her role as a mentor to her now-grown children.

“We have what we call healthy conversations with my adult children, helping them navigate through life and being an example to them. I want them to see what I’ve done, and I want to see what they can do,” she told BusinessWest. “And I have two grandsons, and I want them to also know that this is a legacy that I’m building for our family, for our community, and for folks that are yet to be born.

“Again, I’m not looking for recognition because I’ll do it regardless. I’ll continue to work to elevate voices, to elevate our community, especially women, but men, too, because I have a daughter and a son. I want men to see me as an example too; I’ve mentored young men in my lifetime as well as young women.”

And she aims to continue to be a leader, in all her different roles and maybe some she hasn’t discovered yet.

“My children keep on telling me, ‘mom, you’re getting a little older now. I think you need to slow down.’ But I’m fine. I feel like I’m just hitting my apex, where I can do this work and know I have the tools and the skill set to do it. I’ve got the training; I’ve got the wherewithal and the tenacity and the capacity.”

And now she’s got the title of Woman of Impact.

Tara Brewster

By
Tara Brewster
Women of Impact 2025

Vice President of Business Development and of Philanthropy, Greenfield Savings Bank

She Makes Purposeful Connections to Multiply the Impact of Good Works

Tara Brewster

Photos by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

Tara Brewster has told the story on many occasions about accepting her current job at Greenfield Savings Bank and being asked by John Howland, then then bank’s president, where she wanted her office. She said she didn’t want one.

“I said, ‘I’m good.’ He said, ‘what do you mean you’re good? Everybody has an office.’ And I said, ‘you expect me to be making relationships in the community. You expect me to be having meetings with people. Nobody’s going to want to come into the bank to have a meeting with me in my office. So I’m not planning on being in my office hardly ever because I’m going to be out in the community. And he was like, ‘OK, prove it.’ So for nine years, I’ve never had an office. This is my office.”

By ‘this,’ she meant the restaurant where she sat with BusinessWest for this interview — and not just that establishment, but any number of eateries and other community meeting places where she meets potential clients on financial matters, but also nonprofit leaders, as her title spans the worlds of both business and philanthropy. As does her life.

“We’re not going to fill that gap alone; we’re only one organization. But we need to be intentional and focused about the different times that we’re living in.”

“So many people don’t get out — they work their 9 to 5, they work their desk job, they have their own obligations. I feel privileged that that I’m able to create my own schedule, go where I’m needed, and be really intentional, purposeful, and independent on where I need to go and who needs me. That’s not lost on me.”

She’s especially gratified by her philanthropic role; the bank now gives away about $1 million each year to some 300 nonprofits.

Tara Brewster (center) with four of the valued mentors who have supported her for many years: from left, Chia Collins, Barbara Jones, Sidonia Dalby, and Mark GrumoliPhoto by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

Tara Brewster (center) with four of the valued mentors who have supported her for many years: from left, Chia Collins, Barbara Jones, Sidonia Dalby, and Mark Grumoli
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

“We don’t do the big check presentation. That’s not how we roll. I like to send all the contribution checks to all the branch managers and have them make the connection and go deliver them and say hi, because it’s not about my relationship with the nonprofit; it’s about our relationship.”

Since COVID, Brewster explained, the bank’s philanthropic priorities have included healthcare, human services, housing, food security, safety, and children. “We try to look through that lens and meet the needs where we can.”

It’s especially important, she added, at a time when nonprofit funding, already a challenging landscape, is being threatened on a massive scale by federal cutbacks.

“I would like to have a conversation with senior leadership about, ‘OK, who is really being targeted? How can we allocate a little bit more funding to those groups? How can we step up a little bit more to try to support them and fill in the cracks from holes in federal funding and the decimation of their livelihoods?’ We’re not going to fill that gap alone; we’re only one organization. But we need to be intentional and focused about the different times that we’re living in.

“You know, if we didn’t have nonprofits, we would be screwed,” Brewster added, “because government — even in the best of times, with the best of leaders, who have the heart to do it — could never take care of all of the issues that exist and the needs of all the people. They haven’t figured out how to do that. So it makes the role of institutions like banks, foundations, and individuals so much more important, because they do so much.”

Those who know Brewster understand her passion for supporting the community didn’t start with her current job. She currently serves on four nonprofit boards — Cutchins Programs for Children and Families, Riverside Industries, Downtown Northampton Assoc., and Double Edge Theatre — as well as several local committees, including Community Action of Pioneer Valley, Look Memorial Park, North Star Self-Directed Learning for Teens, the David Ruggles Center, and the Treehouse Foundation.

 

She is also a top fundraiser for numerous regional events, including the Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage, Dancing with the Local Stars for Cutchins, and two annual events — the Mother’s Day Half Marathon and the Bed In fundraiser — for Cancer Connection, whose executive director, Chelsea Kline, is also a Woman of Impact this year; see story on page W19).

“Respected equally by business leaders, nonprofit executives, and grassroots organizers, Tara is a force multiplier for good,” wrote Ira Bryck of Helping Leaders Grow, who nominated her as a Woman of Impact. “She is present in every role she plays — mother, wife, colleague, volunteer — leading with an open heart and strategic mind. Western Massachusetts is better because Tara Brewster calls it home, and her impact continues to ripple outward through every organization, partnership, and person she touches.”

 

Road to Success

This is Brewster’s third BusinessWest honor; she was part of the 40 Under Forty class of 2009, when she co-owned Jackson & Connor, a men’s clothing store in Northampton, and a Difference Maker in 2022.

Since joining Greenfield Savings Bank in 2016, she has generated over $200 million in deposits, loans, and mortgages while shaping and expanding the bank’s annual philanthropy budget — a success on every level. But the road to her current career was a winding one, marked by early tragedy.

As a teenager, she planned on moving far away from Massachusetts and attending college in Montana, with the goal of becoming a pediatrician. But her mother was diagnosed with stage-4 ovarian cancer when Tara was just 15, a turn of events that would not only alter her plans for college, keeping her close to home, but inspire her to reach higher and serve others more purposefully following her mother’s passing.

She eventually graduated from Smith College, majoring in government and anthropology, and found her way into the men’s clothing business. She started at Taylor Men, which had a store in Thornes Marketplace, while she was at Smith, and would later be regional sales manager for seven stores in the Northeast before moving to Manhattan and working for a men’s wholesale apparel company.

Eventually, Brewster returned to Northampton and opened Jackson & Connor with a business partner; they ran the store for eight years before selling it. It was there, she told BusinessWest, that she began to understand the importance of community connections.

“Respected equally by business leaders, nonprofit executives, and grassroots organizers, Tara is a force multiplier for good.”

“I was like, ‘oh, my success is tied to the community’s success. It’s tied to others. It’s tied to me supporting you and you supporting me, and one hand washes the other.’ It was very clear. Before that, when I worked for these larger companies, in bigger cities, they weren’t very philanthropic, and they didn’t really push us to do a lot of charity work. But when your livelihood is dependent on local customers coming in and supporting you, that’s how you eat. That’s how you pay the bills. It’s how you pay your employees. I really got it then.”

After selling the store, Brewster segued into consulting before Mark Grumoli, senior vice president and commercial loan officer at Greenfield Savings Bank — who, years earlier, had helped the partners secure funding to launch Jackson & Connor when he was with Florence Bank, convinced her to become the new vice president of Business Development.

In addition to her dual role at work and her robust involvement with nonprofits outside of it, she also hosts the Western Mass. Business Show on WHMP, a radio interview program with local business leaders that she inherited from Bryck.

“Tara is a creative spirit, an entrepreneur, media mogul, and supports philanthropy,” wrote Tina Champagne, another nominator. “When there is a community need of any kind, Tara knows who to call and how to help raise funds to support those in need. She is brilliant at luring others in with her passion, care, and positive energy.”

Still, Brewster admits there’s only so much one person can do, especially someone who is widely recognized as a go-to helper.

“It’s not about being in all the rooms anymore. When I first started, I felt like I had to be at all these events, I had to meet this person, I had to go to this, I had to go to that, I had to show up. But really, it’s about being more calculated and smart about how I can actually effect change — who are the people that I need to call in, sit at a table with, connect with, strategize with?”

Sue Monahan (left), creator and director of the Mother’s Day Half Marathon, with Tara Brewster, host of Bed In for Cancer Connection.

Sue Monahan (left), creator and director of the Mother’s Day Half Marathon, with Tara Brewster, host of Bed In for Cancer Connection.

Especially, as noted earlier, at a particularly rough time for nonprofits.

“A lot of the meetings and spaces that I’m in, people are talking about ‘how are you taking care of yourself in order to be a freedom fighter and a warrior and someone who shows up and has capacity for other people and the work?’ And ‘how do you choose what’s important?’”

For one thing, Brewster would like to see more conversations between nonprofits whose clients have needs that dovetail.

“If we’re having a meeting about federal funding or food security or another need, let’s not just have it be like a siloed meeting,” she said. “Let’s have it be an integrated meeting — who needs to be in the room, who can do what, and how we can get it done? — rather than just thinking, ‘I’m me, and I have these resources,’ and ‘you’re you, and you have these resources.’ We just need to be more collaborative and more strategic than we’ve ever been going into these times.”

 

Setting an Example

Just as important as who’s making an impact now is who will follow in their footsteps, which is why Brewster values mentorship, both giving and receiving. In fact, she asked to take a photo for this story with four of her mentors, people who have helped shape her path and work.

One of them is Chia Collins, a local small business owner and volunteer. “Tara Brewster is my sister from a different mother, as she has said to me. She is truly a saint in the valley,” Collins said. “I adore moving mountains with her and for her. What nourishes her seems to be her love to connect people and to better the world. Tara is truly a force of nature.”

Brewster, like others honored in this year’s class of Women of Impact, is quick to deflect, or at least share, credit for such accolades, but said the award is still a meaningful one.

“I’m incredibly honored. It’s very humbling, and it makes you want to do more; it makes you want to keep going. To be recognized and acknowledged says, ‘OK, I must be doing something right; I must be helping people, or my impact must be having a ripple effect, so I need to keep doing it,’” she said.

“What are we here for — like, seriously, what are you here for — if not to make a difference, if not to improve someone’s life?” she added. “I want to die having left a mark, having a purpose, helping others, something other than just self-service.”

Western Mass. Offers Plenty of Autumn Fun

By
Special Coverage Tourism & Hospitality

Cool Happenings

 

Western Mass. is known for its wide range of tourist destinations and attractions, but the fun doesn’t have to end once the weather cools down. In fact, thanks to the perennial popularity of Halloween with families, October is one of the most lively months on the calendar for fun in the 413. Here are eight ways to enjoy the season.

 

 

The Great Halloween Drive-Thru

1911 Poquonock Ave., Windsor, CT

thegreathalloweendrivethru.com

The Great Halloween Drive-Thru is a unique family- and kid-friendly attraction, conveniently located next to Brown’s Harvest Farm in Windsor, Conn., just 15 minutes from Hartford and 25 minutes from Springfield. Visitors stay in their vehicles for a 45-minute journey through a farm full of spooky holograms, projections, and special effects. The Great Halloween Drive-Thru is not scary. There are no live actors and no jump scares, making this an ideal attraction for families with children. Spooky fun without the scare, the attraction draws visitors from all over Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. The Great Halloween Drive-Thru is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in October from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., with the last ticket sold at 9 p.m. Admission is $30 per carload.

 

Hancock Shaker Village

1843 West Housatonic St., Pittsfield, MA

hancockshakervillage.org

With 20 historic buildings and a working farm and garden, Hancock Shaker Village is open April through December for self-guided tours, demonstrations, talks, and programs. Admission is $8 to $20, with children under 12 free. On Oct. 17, 18, 23, 25, and 30, the village offers the Haunted Hancock Tour at 7 p.m. ($30 additional cost). Guests can walk the dark halls of the Brick Dwelling and hear about all the haunted stories of this old building. For the younger set, Haunted Hancock for Kids (Oct. 18 and 25, 5 p.m.) is a tour of Shaker ghosts and mystery especially designed for kids ages 8-12 (and at least one adult companion). The 45-minute walking tour ($10-$15) includes a spooky walk through the Village and a visit to the Brick Dwelling. Finally, included in the Hancock admission is the Halloween Pumpkin Extravaganza at the Village on Oct. 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Guests are invited to wear a costume, trick or treat through the Village, meet Valerian the Garden Witch, and decorate a pumpkin.

 

A family enjoys pumpkin picking at McCray’s Farm.

McCray’s Farm

55 Alvord St., South Hadley, MA

mccrays-farm.com

McCray’s always gets its terror on in the fall, and this year’s Fear on the Farm spectacle includes the Monster Mash Haunted Hayride, Massacre Manor, and the Diagnostic, Operations, Nexus Genetic Research Facility (DONGRF). The farm is open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in October. The ticket box office opens at 6:30 p.m., and the haunted attractions open at 7 p.m. General admission is $30, and the fast pass option (to skip to the front of the line) costs $55, available online only. McCray’s also offers pumpkin hayrides every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ride to the pumpkin patch costs $5, and the pumpkins range in price depending on size.

 

Mike’s Maze at Warner Farm

23 South Main St., Sunderland, MA

mikesmaze.com

Visitors to Mike’s Maze, now celebrating its 25th year as one of the country’s most recognized corn mazes, will encounter activities, games, and amusements to entertain the entire family. Every year, the farm concocts a new maze, along with themed games that will challenge guests to solve puzzles and problems and guide their exploration through the corn. Outside the maze, the attractions include a horse-drawn wagon ride, potato cannons, pumpkin picking, and lunch at the Corn Café. Young kids will enjoy a playground featuring a giant double drain-tube slide, a jump pad, a tractor tire jungle gym, and giant games. Older kids and adults can race around the track in pedal carts at Dave’s Derby. And folks love to check out the view of the maze from the perspective of a giant walk-in camera obscura. General admission ranges from $10 to $14 and is free for kids 4 and under. The site is open through Nov. 2, Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays, Sundays, and Columbus Day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 

The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home

2 Plunkett St., Lenox, MA

edithwharton.org

The Mount is a turn-of-the-century home, designed and built by Edith Wharton in 1902. Today, this historic landmark is a cultural center with a robust year-round calendar of events. On the Ghost Tour of the Mount (selected Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays in October; see edithwharton.org/visit/ghost-tours for a full schedule and reservations), guides lead guests through the darkened halls of the Mount, sharing tales of the many eerie encounters that have been reported there for years. Ghost Tours last approximately two hours and include a half-mile walk — rain or shine — between buildings on the Mount’s campus. This tour contains adult content that is not appropriate for young audiences, and children under 12 will not be admitted. Fortunately, families may also choose a Ghost Tour for Kids on Oct. 3, 24, or 30.

 

One of the performers lurking in a scare zone at Six Flags New England.

Six Flags New England

1623 Main St., Agawam, MA

sixflags.com/newengland

On weekends and select days through Nov. 9, the annual Fright Fest promises plenty of thrills and scares on weekends and select days through Nov. 2. Fright Fest features more than 20 attractions, including five haunted mazes: Nightmares, Terror Tales, Slasher Circus 3D, Midnight Mansion, and Camp Killamore. Guests will also encounter seven immersive scare zones located throughout the park, where creatures lurk in the fog and sinister performers emerge from the shadows. Each zone delivers its own brand of fear, from a toxic wasteland to a city overrun by demons, and even a carnival of sinister clowns. Live shows include Midnight Uprising, The Awakening, Mort’s Used Coffins, and Love at First Fright. Park admission is $39, and entry into the five haunted mazes is an additional $24.

 

Sonny’s Place

349 Main St., Somers, CT

sonnysplace.com

Halloween at Sonny’s takes place throughout October. In addition to more than a dozen year-round attractions, Sonny’s offers a pair of seasonal highlights. Haunted Mini Golf costs $18 per person and features terrifying themes and live scare actors roaming the course from sundown to 10 p.m. every Friday and Saturday through Nov. 1. In addition, the Trick-or-Treat Trail is a chance for kids to trick-or-treat at Sonny’s. Kids can purchase a bag and punch card ($6) and visit highlighted attractions to collect a prize or candy at each one. The trail is open Friday through Sunday during operating hours.

 

An illustration used in the “Witch Panic!” exhibit at the Springfield Museums.

Springfield Museums

21 Edwards St., Springfield, MA

springfieldmuseums.org

Through Nov. 2, the Wood Museum of Springfield History is showcasing an exhibit called “Witch Panic! Massachusetts Before Salem.” Forty years before the infamous trials in Salem, fear gripped the small settlement of Springfield. Neighbors whispered about Mary and Hugh Parsons as rumors simmered for years, exploding into hysteria that eventually consumed the town. “Witch Panic!” dives into the daily lives of the couple, examining the circumstances that led to their 1651 accusation and arrest for witchcraft. Guests can learn about the folklore surrounding witches, like their association with broomsticks, black cats, and cauldrons; design their own ghoulish familiar, a small creature believed to help witches; and review the evidence of the Parsons’ witchcraft as a member of the jury and determine their innocence or guilt. Admission to all five Springfield Museums ranges from $13 to $25, with children under 3 free.

 

Wistariahurst Museum

238 Cabot St., Holyoke, MA

wistariahurst.org

The 19th-century mansion and gardens at Wistariahurst comprise a cultural center that engages with the community and hosts exhibitions, performances, and private events throughout the year. October offers two seasonally appropriate events. Cemetery Tours at Forestdale Cemetery will take place on Oct. 11. Guests will discover all there is to know about living and dying in Holyoke from narratives of the people who now find solace in these hallowed grounds. Four tours kick off between 3 and 4 p.m., and the cost is $15. Then, on Oct. 15, the Darkened Hallways Tour (5:30 p.m., also $15) is a chance to get to know Wistariahurst Museum after dark as guests are led through its halls by candlelight.

Introducing the 2025 Healthcare Heroes

By
Cover Story Healthcare Heroes

Since BusinessWest and the Healthcare News created the recognition program known as Healthcare Heroes in 2017, the initiative has more than succeeded in its quest to identify true leaders — not to mention inspiring stories — within the region’s large and vitally important healthcare sector.

The award was created to recognize those whose contributions to the health and well-being of this region, while known to some, needed to become known to all. And that is certainly true this year.

Go HERE to see the 2025 Healthcare Heroes Digital Flipbook

Click on the names below to read  each story of this years Healthcare Heroes:

Collaboration in Healthcare

Andy Yee Palliative Care Unit at Mercy Medical Center

Healthcare Educator

Andrea Bertheaud

Clinical Assistant Professor, Elms College

Community Health

Linda Koh

Assistant Professor,
Elaine Marieb College of Nursing at UMass Amherst

Lifetime Achievement

Dr. Thomas Lincoln

Physician And Associate Professor of Medicine,
Baystate Health

Community Health

Areliz Barbosa

Clinical Assistant Professor
and Senior Project Coordinator, Bay Path University

Emerging Leader

Chrissy Humason

Nursing Supervisor and
Stroke Coordinator,
Baystate Noble Hospital

Healthcare Provider

Cindy Leonard

Infusion Manager,
Sister Caritas Cancer Center at Mercy Medical Center

Healthcare Administrator

Dr. Yannis Raftopoulos

Director, Holyoke Medical Center Weight
Management Program

BusinessWest and the Healthcare News will celebrate this year’s honorees on Thursday, Oct. 22 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. Tickets cost $95, and tables of 10 are available. To purchase tickets, GO HERE

Presenting Sponsors

Partner Sponsors

Holyoke Medical Center

Chrissy Humason

By
Chrissy Humason
Healthcare Heroes

Emerging Leader

Nursing Supervisor and Stroke Coordinator, Noble Hospital

She Helps Close Gaps in Care Through Education, Outreach

Chrissy Humason

 

Chrissy Humason says she first started thinking about a career in healthcare while she was working on the ski patrol at Otis Ridge — she grew up near it — when she was just 15.

“It was the ability to help people … giving them a boost after they’d fallen or having their wrist splinted before they were taken to the hospital — it was rewarding,” she said of her work on the slopes.

Those feelings stayed with her and created … well, a desire for more, prompting her to join Otis’s volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad when she was 16. And to earn EMT certification by the time she graduated from high school. And to use a sports scholarship to enter an EMS management program at Springfield College, becoming a paramedic upon graduation. And to then earn a nursing degree at Berkshire Community College (BCC). And to join the Westfield Fire Department while working as a nurse at Berkshire Medical Center (BMC), going through several cars because of all the miles she was racking up.

Today, she’s a member of a five-person crew on the Westfield Fire Department’s Engine 3, fighting fires while also responding to medical calls, while also serving as a nursing supervisor at Baystate Noble Hospital, a role that brings a different flavor of rewards and service to the patient population.

“Stepping into that role was definitely a change because it went from being strictly bedside, caring for the patient, to managing and overseeing all that’s happening, the day-to-day operations, the staffing … it was more putting puzzle pieces together,” she explained. “Now, I can be there and help my fellow team members as a leader, help them through when they have questions, and be there and support them. I find that very fulfilling.”

All of this goes a long way toward explaining why Humason has been named a Healthcare Hero in the Emerging Leader category. But there’s still more to this inspiring story.

It comes in the form of her leadership efforts with a stroke education program that brings healthcare directly to the community.

As stroke coordinator at Noble, Humason has led a groundbreaking, grant-funded community stroke initiative across Hampden and Hampshire counties that targets rural areas where access to resources is limited and the need for public health education is high.

“Stepping into that role was definitely a change because it went from being strictly bedside, caring for the patient, to managing and overseeing all that’s happening, the day-to-day operations, the staffing … it was more putting puzzle pieces together.”

And also where an ambulance ride to the nearest hospital might take 30, 40, or more minutes, heightening the need to move quickly and decisively when stroke symptoms may be in evidence.

“Time is brain when it comes to strokes and heart attacks,” said Humason, whose efforts have led to the creation of a detailed community resource brochure loaded not only with information about stroke, but also a healthcare proxy form, a guide to community resources for seniors, and even a File of Life card with key information ranging from emergency contacts to a list of prescriptions that is to be updated every six months.

They have also led to community outreach efforts that have covered nearly 300 square miles and reached more than 1,500 participants. Working with Emergency Department Educator Tami Wescott, Humason has delivered interactive education sessions and health outreach at farmers markets, senior centers, soup kitchens, assisted living facilities, and town events such as the Southwick Rotary Club’s concert series.

And these efforts, she noted, are starting to create positive results.

“We’re finding that people are accessing emergency services a lot sooner by recognizing the symptoms,” she said, listing everything from arm weakness to face drooping. “We have people coming in with the earliest symptoms, and with that, they’re able to receive treatment a lot quicker, and that can help with their symptoms for long-term effects. And that’s our ultimate goal.”

Chrissy Humason with other members of the Westfield Fire Department’s Engine 3.

This early success is both an indicator of the power of outreach, and yet another example of how Humason is collaborating with others to create a healthier, more informed community.

Brandon Okezie, Noble’s president and chief operating officer, summed up Humason’s contributions, and her qualifications for the title Healthcare Hero, in effective fashion.

“She is an excellent emerging leader in healthcare: innovative, empathetic, collaborative, and committed to closing gaps in care through education and outreach,” he wrote in nominating her for the award. “Her work has left a meaningful imprint on the communities served by Baystate Noble and offers a model for how localized, person-centric health education can save lives.”

 

Slippery Slope

As noted earlier, Humason grew up in Otis and was a member of the Fire and Rescue Squad while still in high school. This was a learning experience on many levels — especially when it came to the challenges facing those living in remote areas and those serving them — and, in many ways, it inspired a career.

“I learned a lot being out there — you don’t have many resources, and you’re quite a distance from any hospital,” she recalled. “There’s a lot to do between there and here, so I learned a lot from that time and decided I wanted to continue and build on that experience.”

Indeed, she attended Springfield College, with the goal of being a firefighter and paramedic, and then moved on to BCC, earning degrees in both nursing and fire science. She joined the Westfield Fire Department in 2006 while also working as a per diem nurse at BMC.

“We needed to figure out how to bring this information into these communities so they would recognize these symptoms a lot quicker and access what needed to be accessed — 911 — to get to the hospital a lot quicker.”

She came to Noble in 2015, cutting some of her commuting time, starting in the ER before eventually becoming a nursing supervisor. After the hospital’s primary stroke coordinator stepped down three years ago, she was approached about becoming stroke and STEMI (heart attack) coordinator and added those responsibilities to an already lengthy list.

Her collective experience, and a desire to find new ways to educate the public and serve rural areas, brought her to the moment when a program administered by Borderland Partners LLC and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health invited institutions to apply for grants that would enable them to bring stroke education to underserved areas.

And Humason seized that moment, first by rallying hospital departments around the concept and then leading the efforts that eventually garnered $15,000 in grant money.

“This was really a team effort,” she explained. “I went around and spoke to everyone in the hospital; I spoke to our case management team, to our ER team, to our physicians, asking them what our patients are lacking when they come to the hospital. Is it education? Is it knowledge of recognizing stroke symptoms? Are they lacking the resources to go back home? What can we do to help them?”

The answers to these questions helped frame an effective grant application — Noble partnered with the Westfield and Southwick fire departments on the initiative — and also helped determine how the grant funds could best be used, Humason went on, adding that the feedback helped inspire an ambitious updating of the community resource brochure.

It is crammed with information for seniors on everything from skilled nursing programs, home care services, and assisted living facilities to senior centers, medical equipment companies, and transportation, as well as the File of Life card — actually two of them, one for the refrigerator and the other for the wallet or purse — and healthcare proxy, a document that too many people are still lacking.

But there is also information on stroke — risk factors, how to spot signs, and why to call 911 immediately, especially in these rural areas.

Chrissy Humason (right) with Baystate Noble Hospital Emergency Department Educator Tami Wescott at one of many outreach events to promote stroke awareness..

“We needed to figure out how to bring this information into these communities so they would recognize these symptoms a lot quicker and access what needed to be accessed — 911 — to get to the hospital a lot quicker,” she noted, adding that the program partners modified the traditional stroke-signs acronym FAST (face, arm, speech, and time) to BE FAST, adding balance and eyes (checking for vision loss).

And the phrase is resonating.

 

Peak Performance

Beyond the brochure, though, is a comprehensive community outreach initiative, one that has been impactful in many ways, from creating a more informed community to giving stoke survivors an opportunity to open up and be part of that education process.

This community outreach, as noted, has covered more than 300 square miles, taking Humason and Wescott to more rural communities such as Otis, Huntington, and Russell, but also Westfield, Agawam, and Southwick.

The sessions have been informative, but also interactive, said Humason, adding that, at several gatherings, stroke survivors felt comfortable enough to share their experiences, informing other attendees, but also inspiring them.

“We had many who spoke highly of coming to Bronson [Rehabilitation Unit at Noble] after a stroke and going from being afraid about never making it home to getting their strength back and going home again,” she recalled, adding that these stories brought a needed personal element to stroke education.

There have been roughly a dozen of these outreach efforts, large and small, to date, she said, adding that more will follow this fall and early winter — in Tolland, at the Westfield Senior Center, and at the Westfield Women’s Club, a gathering expected to draw more than 100 people. And there have been requests to add more to the schedule.

While it’s difficult to quantify the success of this initiative, Humason, who sees results as both a 911 responder and nursing supervisor and stroke coordinator at Noble, can qualify it by noting that people are calling 911 more quickly when they suspect stroke, while EMS responders are finding more File of Life cards on refrigerators.

“Utilizing BE FAST, we’re catching a lot more strokes in different areas of the brain and catching them early, and giving people the resources they need and the interventions they need.”

When asked what it’s been like to be part of this program, Humason said “very fulfilling and heartwarming.” That’s true of all aspects of the initiative, but especially those times when stroke survivors add their experiences and become part of the effort to educate and inspire others.

“For us, that shows that we’re out there making a difference,” she said, adding that this sentiment has motivated her since she was working on the ski patrol, and it has kept her motivated ever since.

“Christine is not just leading change,” Okezie wrote in his nomination. “She’s building a healthier, more informed future for the communities she serves.”

And that explains why she’s an emerging leader and a Healthcare Hero.

Andrea Bertheaud

By
Healthcare Heroes

Healthcare Educator

Clinical Assistant Professor, Elms College

She’s Raising Up a Young Generation of Nurses with Empathy, Conviction

Andrea Bertheaud

Andrea Bertheaud

 

Andrea Bertheaud’s early career in nursing found her in challenging settings — a year on an oncology unit followed by 15 more in critical care, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

After retreating from the field for a dozen years to raise her kids, she went back to work in a nursing home in 1999, then decided to go back to school for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. And that’s when she found her true calling.

“One of my classmates was a psych nurse, and I did a project with her at Roca,” Bertheaud recalled, referring to the successful violence-prevention program. “She was so inspirational. I saw her work with this clientele; there were maybe 15 young men between the ages of 18 and 26, and I saw how she brought them in and controlled the room. And I said, ‘that’s the skill I want.’”

So she became certified in mental health and eventually worked in that field at Providence Behavioral Health Hospital and Baystate Health. And those experiences sparked in her a desire to teach others.

“It was mainly psychiatric patients, a lot of co-morbidities with substance use. And patients were frequently recurring, so I got to know them over and over through a lot of admissions. And I felt like we weren’t supporting them enough in the community,” Bertheaud said. “I also found there was a lot of stigma toward mental health, which I have to admit I had. And I found it was a different skill set. In the ICU, in an open heart or trauma, that’s a skill. But being a mental health nurse is a different skill set. And it kind of called to me.”

Today, Bertheaud teaches mental health and population health to aspiring nurses in the Elms College School of Nursing, preparing them — and, many times, inspiring them — to work in challenging settings.

“A lot of it is communication skills,” she explained. “If you want to be safe, it’s not about controlling the situation; it’s communicating and getting the situation opened up so that everybody is safe. Even a psychotic person, they’re not intent on hurting themselves or others. They’re intent on controlling the situation through their perception. I have to understand that before I can approach them safely. And a lot of nurses don’t quite understand that.

“I hear all the time about nurses getting hurt because we want to save the situation,” she went on. “We want to run in like the firemen or policemen, and we have no protection, and we are not taught how to assess the situation. Now I never run in a room, no matter what’s happening. I’m looking around. I’m seeing where everybody’s at. I’m reading the room. And those are skills I learned as a psych nurse.”

Population health, on the other hand, is more of a global view of nursing. “Instead of just looking at your community, it’s stepping back a little bit and looking at the difference between the European healthcare system versus the United States healthcare system versus healthcare in Africa or Asia, and what works for them and what doesn’t, and what are their health outcomes,” she explained. “One example is maternity health — we have really low numbers in maternity health compared to a lot of developed countries in the world. Why is that? Those are the questions we look at in population health.”

“One of my classmates was a psych nurse, and I did a project with her at Roca. She was so inspirational. I saw her work with this clientele; there were maybe 15 young men between the ages of 18 and 26, and I saw how she brought them in and controlled the room. And I said, ‘that’s the skill I want.’”

In the decade Bertheaud has been at Elms College, not only teaching students but helping them gain valuable experience in community health settings locally, she has become “the face of Elms College nursing to many community members,” said Julie Beck, dean of the School of Nursing, who nominated Bertheaud as a Healthcare Hero.

“In her courses, Andrea synthesizes the physical and mental needs of the clients that she cares for. She utilizes humor, patience, skill, education, and wisdom when teaching her classes and leads by example when working with clients out in the field. Andrea serves as a Healthcare Hero not only to community members, but also as a nurse educator here at Elms College.”

 

Behind the Locked Doors

She does so with raw honesty and a belief in hands-on experience, especially when it comes to the challenging settings young nurses may face in the mental-health world.

“Last year was the first year I was able to get every single student into inpatient, which was really important, and which was a request of the students because they may never see the inside of a psychiatric unit, an acute locked ward, unless they have experience through school. It’s a completely different kind of unit. I’ve had nurses that have been teaching or practicing for 50 years, and they’ll say, ‘what happens behind those closed doors?’

Andrea Bertheaud (right) participates in a service trip to Jamaica with Mustard Seed Communities.

“I’ve actually invited people in the hospital I worked at, in administration, for three or four hours on my shift doing direct care and have them follow me so they’ll understand what a psychiatric nurse does and how we approach people, how we set boundaries,” she went on. “And they have really interesting questions because, again, they don’t know the skill. I didn’t learn it in ICU.

“So this is a very different skill set,” she went on. “I try to get as many students exposed to that and help them destigmatize that population. They come in terrified the first shift. One group was panicked, and I had to hold them off from going onto the unit because they were so nervous. I had to sit there and talked about their feelings until I had them settled enough so I could go onto the floor — because you don’t want to bring that kind of energy onto a psychiatric ward. They have enough energy and dysfunction as it is.”

But while teaching safety and boundaries to students, Bertheaud also emphasizes empathy and humanity.

“I want them to realize, ‘that could be me. I’m one car accident away from having a traumatic brain injury. Then my whole world would change, and this is how I would act.’ Elms students tend to be very, very smart, but because of their background, some of them — not all, but some of them — don’t have exposure to people who have had challenges.

“So I try to work on teamwork,” she added. “I’ve worked with some of the best teams in nursing, where I called it a symphony — all of a sudden everybody’s getting into their spot, and everybody knows what they’re doing to do. It’s just like music, and we can handle anything that comes through that door. But it takes skill. It takes working together with people who are very, very different.”

“In her courses, Andrea synthesizes the physical and mental needs of the clients that she cares for. She utilizes humor, patience, skill, education, and wisdom when teaching her classes and leads by example when working with clients out in the field.”

Bertheaud was also recently certified in bioethics and medical humanities, having taken classes with Dr. Peter DePergola, one of the region’s foremost medical ethicists and an associate professor at Elms.

“It’s about understanding the history, how we got here, and understanding how we can be more ethical,” she said. “Nurses are generally ethical — some of them not so much, but I think we’re at an advantage because we work with patients one on one, so we want better outcomes. I think when you get up to administration, that’s where we drop the ball — when you go up and you’re away from those patients; you’re not doing direct care. That’s when we get into making decisions that aren’t always outcome-based.

“In the last 40 years, I’ve seen healthcare become very monetized and profit-minded,” she added. “So I want to kind of instill that back in and have these young nurses challenged in this way. I want them to be able to see the bigger picture and look for the best outcomes and really be ethical nurses, challenge the system.”

And, again, challenging the system means understanding it, through real-world experience, from very early on.

Andrea Bertheaud with some of the medical simulation ‘babies’ used to demonstrate everything from fetal alcohol syndrome to shaken baby syndrome.
Staff Photo

“I think, in leadership, we’re focused on degrees, which is helpful. I’m all for education, but I think we need to incorporate experience a little bit into it. I’ve seen nurses that come into nursing school going, ‘I want to be an NP,’ ‘I want to be a DNP,’ ‘I want to be a provider.’ And I’m like, you’ve got to walk before you run. You’ve got to know all these things before you can get to the next level.”

 

Outside the College Walls

Bertheaud’s impact extends well beyond the walls of Elms College; she has participated in service trips outside the U.S. and regularly teaches parents in the local community about any number of issues, often employing medical simulation ‘babies’ from the college’s expansive collection of lifelike sims.

“In the community, we can go in and teach a group of parents how easy it is to get shaken baby syndrome. And then we have a fetal alcohol syndrome baby [sim], and we can talk about those characteristics compared to a normal baby and what that looks like. And we can talk about brain development.”

She involves students in community health as well. “Last year, I had 86 students in 20 different placements. We were in high schools and Head Start and Square One, and I’ve been to Roca, you name it. If they let me in and it’s challenging, I’m like, ‘oh, I’ll put a student there.’ I have students at the jail. I bring in six students, and we do that two days a week.

“I’m in the community, and we’re doing teaching at senior citizen centers, we’ll do high blood pressure screenings, we’ll do healthy eating and sleeping for older people, which is a problem, fall prevention, you name it.”

As for her mental health focus, not many students were choosing that field as their entry into nursing, “but now I’m seeing a lot more. Especially after COVID, people have realized that mental health and population health are two things that are really important. I think students can be so focused on learning how to put in an IV and take blood pressure that they forget that there are bigger things.”

For Bertheaud, teaching has been that bigger thing, in many ways.

“When you’re a bedside nurse, you’re affecting your patient. Or maybe you’re precepting one nurse every couple months. But when I’m teaching, I can affect 60 or 90 students in a semester. And then I get to see them the next year and see how they’ve grown.

“I like to see them after they graduate,” she added. “I’m like, ‘oh my God, you’re going be somebody.’ The energy of a 20- or 30-year-old is just so cool. They’re unstoppable.”

For never stopping until she found her place of greatest impact, Andrea Bertheaud certainly earns the title of Healthcare Hero.

Areliz Barbosa

By
Healthcare Heroes

Community Health

Clinical Assistant Professor and Senior Project Coordinator, Bay Path University

She’s a Fighter and Advocate Who Helps Others Overcome and Thrive

Areliz Barbosa

Areliz Barbosa

 

Areliz Barbosa says she was born a fighter.

“My midwife, her name was Olivia. And my mom was screaming at the top of her lungs, and she had to get on top of my mom and literally forced me out before they grabbed the forceps to pull me out,” she related. “My mom was so grateful to her that she gave me her middle name.”

It’s a name, she said, that derives from the olive tree, and Barbosa said it also has connotations of strong roots — and it’s a middle name she has often reflected on.

“In order for her to thrive and survive, you need strong roots. And in order for me to be able to overcome the things I’ve overcome is because of the roots I’ve been able to make here in Western Mass. and my mentors and people that I’ve been able to connect with.”

While she’s a professor at Bay Path University and juggles many other roles as well (more on those later), Barbosa also recently founded Olivia’s Mission LLC, a social impact business dedicated to advancing health equity.

“I often say, like Mother Teresa, ‘I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.’ It’s really about investing in other people and helping them,” she told BusinessWest. “I also am a plant lady, and a lot of teachers or professors use the analogy of planting a seed so people can grow into their full potential. So these are just little seeds that I’m planting to better serve our world and inspire the next generation.”

Her specific role at Bay Path is clinical assistant professor and senior project coordinator of SAMHSA initiatives, she explained, referring to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“In order for her to thrive and survive, you need strong roots. And in order for me to be able to overcome the things I’ve overcome is because of the roots I’ve been able to make here in Western Mass. and my mentors and people that I’ve been able to connect with.”

“I work within our physician assistant program, which sits in our Health Science department. I help develop a curriculum that’s focused on substance use disorder, multiple pathways to recovery, harm reduction, co-occurring disorders, and addressing the stigmas around substances.”

She also has an adjunct role in workforce development at Holyoke Community College (HCC), providing support and training to community health workers.

“Areliz co-develops interdisciplinary curriculum focused on public health, mental health, and substance use. She mentors future healthcare professionals through a lens of cultural humility and community engagement, preparing them to meet today’s complex health challenges with compassion and competence,” said Terry DeVito, academic dean in the School of Health & Natural Sciences at Bay Path, one of an impressive five individuals who nominated Barbosa as a Healthcare Hero.

“Areliz’s body of work reflects a lifetime of achievement rooted in resilience, faith, and service,” she added. “Her career has empowered thousands, not just through direct care or education, but by inspiring others to lead, advocate, and believe in their own capacity to heal.”

 

Up from the Ashes

Barbosa’s career began 28 years ago as a CNA at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. But she said the experiences that shaped what she wanted to do with her life began much earlier.

“I identify with lived experience. And what I mean by that is, I’ve experienced racial trauma and physical, mental, and sexual abuse. So a lot of the things that I do now in my roles is advocating and bringing that into classroom settings, into the curriculum, to better strengthen students’ knowledge, but also improve the system.”

For the past 23 years, Areliz Barbosa (second from left) has coordinated a program that provides free Thanksgiving meals to people who need them.

DeVito agreed. “What distinguishes Areliz as a community health hero is her ability to connect with individuals while transforming systems,” she wrote. “Whether she is guiding students, designing wellness models, or speaking truth in clinical settings, she brings both empathy and strategy to every initiative she leads.”

Barbosa said it’s personally rewarding to bring a lived experience perspective into the classroom.

“I feel like my story is a story of resilience, when we choose not to give up. And it’s not easy to break generational poverty. But being that person that I wish I had growing up, that gives me the reward. And also knowing what I’ve been able to overcome, there are lessons in there — multiple lessons to be shared so people can learn. It doesn’t define who I am today, but there are lessons to be learned from it.”

She intends to share those lessons in a number of ways outside the classroom, starting with a memoir she’s writing titled There Is a Purpose for Your Pain. She’s also speaking at the annual Rise Up conference, taking place on Oct. 9 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.

Her lived experience as a trauma survivor — not only as a child, but as an adult; she came to Western Mass. from New York due to a domestic violence situation — also informed the creation of Olivia’s Mission, which aims to create a safe, empowering space for women through peer support groups and specialized training opportunities on behavioral health education; grief, loss, and healing; public health core competencies; family planning; and more.

“I am a domestic violence survivor, and I want to use my story to inspire other women,” she said. “Even local businesses have started to reach out to me — maybe a customer needs help, or is experiencing a crisis, and they’re asking, ‘can you help him with some resources?’ So, again, it’s a resource to anyone that needs help.”

As DeVito put it, “through Olivia’s Mission, Areliz collaborates with faith-based organizations, healthcare institutions, and academic programs to design wellness solutions rooted in cultural responsiveness and community empowerment.”

“I know what it’s like to be homeless, having to sleep on a park bench. So I never forget where I came from. It’s just having that heart of gratitude that I was able to overcome a lot of these things and serve my community.”

But Barbosa is active in the community in other ways as well. As a member of the New England Public Health Training Center advisory committee, she advocates for the voices of community health workers and calls for inclusive representation across all levels of public and healthcare systems.

She also provides expert insight to medical students through several initiatives, including Baystate Health’s Wellness on Wheels, where she emphasizes trust building between providers and patients; Baystate’s Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health committee, where she contributes to culturally informed panel discussions; and Bay Path’s Health Resources and Services Administration advisory board, where she shares strategies for culturally humble engagement and serving diverse populations.

She also just created Healing Through Motherhood, a support group for mothers of adult children (her own son is 23). Participants, she explained, will include mothers facing the challenge of supporting an adult child (or children) through trauma, unhealthy behaviors, or emotional distress. Here, they can access a safe space to connect, share, and heal together, while building community and support and navigating life transitions that aren’t often talked about.

In addition, for the past 23 years, Barbosa has coordinated a Thanksgiving outreach that provides free meals to individuals.

“When I started it from my home, we served 34 meals. Last year, we were able to serve over 1,000 meals,” she said, noting that, this November, the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute will collaborate on the project. “It’s just getting bigger and better.”

This is, in fact, one more way Barbosa’s lived experience informs her work today.

“I know what it’s like to be homeless, having to sleep on a park bench. So I never forget where I came from. It’s just having that heart of gratitude that I was able to overcome a lot of these things and serve my community.”

 

Matters of Perspective

That’s a lot of roles, for sure, and it’s not even the whole list of what Barbosa does. For example, she also mentors emerging entrepreneurs through EforAll Holyoke, and as the Massachusetts coordinator for Power 4 Puerto Rico, she champions just recovery and economic self-sufficiency for the island, demonstrating another way in which public health intersects with national policy, disaster resilience, and social justice.

In talking about her memoir and her upcoming appearance at Rise Up, Barbosa was reflective on the ways in which she has turned hardship and trauma into a tool for helping others.

“I’m just excited to be where I’m at, to be able to overcome the challenges that I have overcome and be a productive individual, able to contribute to my community.

“It all comes back to our perspective,” she added. “How do we define success? For me, it’s having a sound mind, emotional intelligence, being able to connect with people, building community, and overcoming the trauma, the anxiety, the depression. It’s so rewarding to be able to inspire others so they, too, can overcome these things with the right support and the right environment.”

Areliz Barbosa says her work is rooted in faith, empathy, gratitude, and resilience.

Barbosa also talks enthusiastically about her Christian faith, which she said began when she was pregnant with her son.

“That’s really where my healing started. I knew, when I moved here, it was my second chance. I knew that I didn’t want my son to go through what I went through. I wanted to change. I wanted better for him.”

And she also wanted to give back, as evidenced by the Thanksgiving outreach that began shortly after.

“I remember telling my mom, ‘I want to do this — it’s just something that I feel was put in my heart.’ I didn’t have a car, and I remember putting all the meals in a little warmer in my son’s Eddie Bauer stroller and walking with him. That was the year it snowed a lot.”

Her faith is, in fact, deeply veined with both service and empathy, something she’s quick to explain at a time when many Christians are at odds with certain marginalized populations. “I believe in respecting people’s autonomy and choice, and it’s important for me to vocalize that in spaces where I have opportunities to be, because there are a lot of people being targeted who identify with the LGBT+ community.”

Add it all up, and the picture that emerges from Barbosa’s life is one of an inspiring — and very busy — community leader who, as DeVito put it, blends lived experience with academic and professional expertise to bring dignity, healing, and justice to underserved populations.

“Areliz has consistently built bridges between healthcare and the communities it must serve. Olivia’s Mission stands as a model for how community-led health promotion can be both effective and sustainable,” she added. “For her visionary leadership, tireless advocacy, and enduring impact, Areliz Barbosa is a true Healthcare Hero. She doesn’t just serve the community — she uplifts, empowers, and transforms it.”

The Andy Yee Palliative Care Unit

By
From left, Dr. Laurie Loicono, Peter Picknelly, Tony Ravosa, Sarah Yee, Dr. Philip Glynn, and Tim Stanton.
Healthcare Heroes

Collaboration in Healthcare

Inspired by a Lifetime of Giving, They Gave the Region Something in His Name

 

From left, Dr. Laurie Loicono, Peter Picknelly, Tony Ravosa, Sarah Yee, Dr. Philip Glynn, and Tim Stanton.

From left, Dr. Laurie Loicono, Peter Picknelly, Tony Ravosa, Sarah Yee, Dr. Philip Glynn, and Tim Stanton.

 

As BusinessWest spoke with several individuals about how the Andy Yee Palliative Care Unit at Mercy Medical Center was conceived and eventually became reality, they took turns gesturing toward one another and saying, “if wasn’t for … this never would have happened.”

It was said about Tony Ravosa, ‘Uncle Tony,’ a close friend of Yee’s, who doggedly raised money for the unit, conceived soon after Yee succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2021.

It was said about Dr. Philip Glynn, the oncologist (and a Healthcare Hero himself in 2022) who cared for Yee during his illness and became inspired to do something to bring a new level of care to the region in his honor. He is now co-director of the unit with Dr. Laurie Loicona.

It was said of Tim Stanton, regional vice president of Philanthropy and chief Development officer for Trinity Health Of New England, Mercy’s parent company, who quarterbacked the fundraising efforts.

It was said of Yee’s wife, Sarah, who wanted to do something to recognize the unique brand of care provided to Andy in Mercy’s ICU in his final days and bring it to more patients and families facing difficult end-of-life issues.

But mostly, it was said about the person not in that room, but whose spirit certainly was: Andy Yee himself.

Indeed, all those gathered said creation of the eight-bed unit, the only one of its kind in the region, would not have been possible were it not for the way Yee touched all those who knew him — from customers in his restaurants to his nurses in the ICU; from long-time friends and business associates to former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, who rushed back to Springfield from a Republican governors’ meeting in Nashville, Tenn. to be at Mercy the day Yee died — and seemingly willed them to come together and make this ambitious undertaking reality.

“All of this is because of Andy and the people who loved him,” said Yee’s friend and business partner Peter Picknelly, chairman of Peter Pan Bus Lines. “Mayor [Domenic] Sarno stepped to the plate, the governor stepped to the plate, the lieutenant governor, the business community, all because of Andy and this institution, which helped him so much.”

In truth, the palliative care unit would not have happened without everyone in that room working together to create a vision and then make it reality. And all those individuals would be quick to note that getting the doors open was just the first chapter in this story. The next ones involve operating it in the compassionate, innovative manner that was imagined and, hopefully, expanding the facility to include more beds — because the existing beds are almost constantly full and the need, sadly, remains.

“This space was created in Andy’s spirit, and it’s designed to focus on enhancing interaction and time between family and their loved one at some of the most difficult times in people’s lives.”

“We had the ribbon cutting, and we were full the next day,” Glynn said. “We could fill 15 beds today.”

The unit was designed to help achieve what is known in healthcare as a ‘good death,’ one that, according to an Institute of Medicine Report, is “free from avoidable distress and suffering for patient, family, and caregivers, in general accord with the patient’s ands family’s wishes, and reasonably consistent with clinical, cultural, and ethical standards.”

By all accounts, Andy Yee’s passing met this criterion, and the unit created in his name is dedicated to helping others achieve a similar passing.

“This space was created in Andy’s spirit, and it’s designed to focus on enhancing interaction and time between family and their loved one at some of the most difficult times in people’s lives,” Loicona noted, adding that this is the very essence of palliative care.

 

Coming Together

‘Collaboration’ comes from the Latin word ‘collaborare,’ meaning ‘to labor together.’ It has come to describe individuals and groups working together to achieve a common goal.

Since the Healthcare Heroes program was created in 2017, the Collaboration category has been an important part of the initiative because almost all issues in healthcare, from opioid addiction to food insecurity, are complex and require the efforts of many different agencies pulling in the same direction.

Yee family members and guests cut the ribbon on the Andy Yee Palliative Care Unit in May.

Yee family members and guests cut the ribbon on the Andy Yee Palliative Care Unit in May.

The creation of the Andy Yee Palliative Care Unit is a somewhat different story, but one that provides poignant lessons about the importance of collaboration and how it enables things to happen that wouldn’t happen otherwise.

Our story begins … well, it’s hard to say when it actually begins. It certainly began before Andy Yee’s cancer brought him to Mercy’s ICU. And it probably began before Yee, working with Picknelly, coordinated meal donations for employees at Mercy and other hospitals during the pandemic.

But that’s a good place to start because those efforts reflected Yee’s deep respect for Mercy, healthcare workers in general, and, eventually, the doctors and nurses who treated him.

“Andy really had an affection for this hospital; he could have gone anywhere for his care, but he chose this place because of that guy over there,” said Picknelly, gesturing toward Glynn. “People encouraged him to go elsewhere; he didn’t. He said, ‘I’m staying here; the people at Mercy are awesome, and Dr. Glynn is the best.”

This respect was repaid by those at the hospital bending the rules, if you will, for Yee and his family during his stay in the ICU, meaning the rules regarding how many people could visit him at one time, how long they could stay, and how they were able to make Andy feel more at home by bringing some of his home to his room in the ICU.

In other words, helping him achieve a ‘good death.’

These actions inspired Sarah Yee to want to do something to thank those at Mercy and help others facing oncology care. One thought early on was to gift an infusion suite for the cancer center in Andy’s name. But eventually, sights were set much higher, on creating a palliative care unit.

“We were given the opportunity to make that a comfortable space for our family that week he was here,” Sarah recalled, referring to his room in the ICU. “And I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be nice if other families could have that opportunity as well?’”

“We were given the opportunity to make that a comfortable space for our family that week he was here. And I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be nice if other families could have that opportunity as well?’”

So there was an initial conversation with Glynn, who has long understood the need for a unit devoted to palliative care and was more than amenable to the idea. He also understood that, unlike putting Yee’s name on an infusion suite, this would require a collaborative effort to address the many facets of this project — especially fundraising, design, and, eventually, operations.

And for the fundraising side, those duties fell to Ravosa, owner of a public relations and consulting firm, who accepted the assignment even as it kept changing and growing in scope, from initial estimates of $100,000 to the eventual total of $1.5 million as the cost of construction and materials kept climbing after COVID.

The rooms in the unit are designed to bring comfort to both patients and family members.

Overall, the three-year effort generated $650,000 in grants, including $250,000 in ARPA money, $450,000 in corporate gifts, $70,000 in political committee gifts, and donations from friends, family, and colleagues.

 

Food for Thought

The I-91 Supper Club covers several of those categories.

This is a group of friends, business colleagues, ‘political guys,’ and more who first gathered to mark the closing of the Hu Ke Lau in Chicopee (one of the Yee family’s many restaurants) and started meeting regularly after that, Ravosa said.

“We’d go to a restaurant once a month with a pre-set menu, and we’d bounce around … there were a lot of long-standing friendships and legacy businesses involving families that had been the community a long time,” he went on, noting that Sarah Yee was invited to come to a meeting of the group and give a presentation on the proposed unit.

And it was the group’s six-figure donation that essentially got the ball rolling, said Stanton, who worked in tandem with Ravosa on the project and recalls him being a “bull in a China closet.”

“Those checks started flying in,” he recalled. “Tony had a few events, and people brought money to them, and then he was on a roll. In more than 20 years of doing this, I can only think of one president of one university that I had to sprint to keep up with, and the other one who was like that was Tony; he kept pushing us and pushing us and pushing us.”

While funds were being raised, others were at work on design and operating plans for the unit, which, as noted, is the first of its kind in the region.

Located on the hospital’s fifth floor, the unit provides an inviting, soothing space for end-of-life care for patients and families, as well as patients with chronic illnesses requiring pain and symptom management. The layout required certain key elements, everything from a place where family members could sleep overnight to spaces for physician-patient consultation.

As for the care provided there, Loicona added that the overriding mission is to bring care at this level “back to family” and provide a support unit to the patient and family members.

Kathy Sullivan, nurse manager of the unit, agreed.

“Our nurses go above and beyond to provide the comfort and support that the patients and their families need, whether it’s little things like making sure the families have everything they need to eat or drink or making the beds for them to sleep in,” she said. “They order comfort trays for the patients from our kitchen, and they’re always advocating to make sure the medications are there that they need, and the providers.”

Glynn agreed, recalling a poignant example of going above and beyond. It involves a younger patient with a young child. Knowing he had a limited amount of time left, the patient wanted to talk with his son, but didn’t really know what to say and wanted to collect his thoughts in writing.

“He said that he was just too weak,” Glynn recalled. “So, one of the nurses took pen and paper and sat down next to him and wrote it all down, so he had what he wanted to say to his son.”

This is the kind of care that those who conceptualized this unit had in mind, and as they talked about what it was like to be part of this collaborative effort, those in the room kept coming back to the person who wasn’t, but who really made it all happen.

“I never had the pleasure of meeting Andy — I joined Mercy just after he died — but I feel like I know him very well from dealing with all of his friends and all the people involved in this effort,” Stanton said. “Tony did a great job of recruiting Fontaine Bros. for the contracting — they knew Andy — and JCJ Architecture; they knew Andy. Everyone involved in this project knew Andy, and it was a labor of love. It wasn’t work; it was ‘we have to make this happen.’”

Sarah Yee agreed.

“Andy had no idea of the people he touched,” she said, adding that now, through the unit named in his honor, he can touch countless more.

And while the unit wouldn’t have happened without him, it also wouldn’t have happened without a group of determined collaborators who are also Healthcare Heroes.

Dr. Yannis Raftopoulos

By
Healthcare Heroes

Healthcare Administrator

Director, Holyoke Medical Center Weight Management Program

He Helps Patients Regain Their Health — and Their Lives

“This doctor really puts his time into it. He takes his time to help you, he gives you his phone number, you can text him anytime with questions. He is with you there through the whole process. When I felt something was not right, I could just text him.”

“It’s because of him that I’m doing so well. He is caring, knowledgeable — the most supportive doctor I have ever had. He was in contact with me by phone daily for the first week or two after my surgery and is always available by email. Even at almost three years post-op, he still responds immediately to any emails concerning my health.”

“It stuck with me when he said, ‘you will be a patient of mine forever, as long as you want to be.’ I feel he has stuck to that 100%.”

These are just three of the many testimonials from patients regarding Dr. Yannis Raftopoulos, director of the Holyoke Medical Center (HMC) Weight Management Program, and they help explain why he is a part of the Healthcare Heroes class of 2025. But even more importantly, they explain his personal approach to patient care and an unrelenting focus on communicating with them as they start and then continue on a difficult but often very rewarding journey.

Indeed, weight management is a journey, one that starts with a desire to do something about one’s weight, and it never really ends, not with surgery, medication, or a combination of the two, said Raftopoulos, who told BusinessWest that this specialty, which chose him as much as he chose it, is extremely rewarding.

And not just because of the pounds shed and then, in many cases, kept off, but because of what patients gain in the process — improved health, for example, with everything from diabetes to hypertension, sleep apnea, and more, but also the ability to do things they were not able to do previously.

“It makes my day, even today, after doing this for almost 25 years, when I see a patient succeed,” said Raftopoulos, who launched HMC’s Weight Management Program in 2016 and since then has helped more than 4,000 patients. “And success means to get a normal weight, which might help them find a job they couldn’t do before, or get into a relationship, or stop taking medication for diabetes or high blood pressure … all of this makes my day.”

As he talked about his work, he came back repeatedly to the importance of communication between himself and his patients, noting that this is perhaps the most important factor in achieving a successful outcome.

And successful, to him, means not merely losing some weight, but, as he said, achieving a normal weight and maintaining it, something he stresses to patients as he implores them to set the bar high and keep it there by changing their lifestyle.

“Sometimes, they’ll say ‘any weight loss is great. And I’ll say, ‘wait a minute, it’s not great.’ I tell them that, if they’re going to go under the knife and under anesthesia for the sole reason to lose weight, they need to do awesome, and awesome, to me, means getting back to a normal weight.”

His approach to his work, and his impact on his patients, was perhaps best summed up by HMC President Spiros Hatiras.

“He makes himself very accessible to his patients, and that truly sets him apart from other physicians,” Hatiras said. “Once a person becomes a patient of Dr. Raftopoulos, they remain his patient for as long as needed and are not discharged from the program.”

 

It Weighs on Him

“I am no longer a diabetic, and I don’t have high blood pressure. I thank God first and then Dr. Raftopoulos for the new me.”

That’s another of those testimonials, which collectively describe a physician who could be a Healthcare Hero in many categories: Healthcare Administrator, because he oversees and built this program, which now includes several doctors; Healthcare Provider, for all the reasons listed above; and even Collaboration in Healthcare because that one word effectively describes how he works with patients, out of necessity, for them to achieve the results they desire.

But we’ll focus on administration because of the way he has grown this program and made it a model of sorts that continues to attract physicians.

Our story begins in Greece, where, early on, Raftopoulos developed an affinity for challenge and eventually went to medical school while setting his sights on coming to the U.S. to be a surgeon. Upon graduating, he sent 450 hand-typed letters, by his count, to hospitals in this country seeking interviews.

He got three responses, one from a hospital in Chicago, where he ultimately landed, eventually working with one of the pioneers in bariatric surgery.

Dr. Yannis Raftopoulos is relentless when it comes to establishing solid lines of communication with his patients.

The surgery fascinated him. But he was more drawn to the physician’s personal approach to his work, a philosophy that he emulated and has taken with him to a fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh and eventually to his role as director of the Bariatric Surgery Program at Sant Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Conn., then back to Greece for a short time, and then to Holyoke for the start of its Weight Management Program in September 2015.

Upon coming to this country in 2002, Raftopoulos quickly noted that it had a weight problem.

“It was striking, for someone who hadn’t been here before,” he said, adding that, unfortunately, over the years, this weight problem has become more of a global phenomenon.

And he has essentially dedicated his life to addressing it — or at least helping those who come to him because they want to do something to get their life back.

He spends two days a week in surgery, with the most common procedure being a gastrectomy, whereby part of the stomach — 60% to 70% on average — is removed to reduce stomach capacity and promote weight loss.

“It reduces the appetite and the hunger and makes the patient feel full faster with less food,” he explained. “Obviously, that by itself is not enough to be successful, but it gives them the tools, the assistance to be motivated to change their habits and work with me.”

After surgery, he said, the simple goal is to keep patients motivated, focused on short- and long-term goals, communicating, and on the path they started down because they couldn’t manage their weight themselves.

And to the extent possible, he motivates his patients to set the bar high when it comes to what is considered ‘success.’

“They’re learning a new skill set, and it takes time to acquire it and make it a habit; you need a lot of coaching over a long period of time.”

“Sometimes, they’ll say ‘any weight loss is great,’” he told BusinessWest. “And I’ll say, ‘wait a minute, it’s not great.’ I tell them that, if they’re going to go under the knife and under anesthesia for the sole reason to lose weight, they need to do awesome, and awesome, to me, means getting back to a normal weight.”

 

Achievements on a Grand Scale

During his career, Raftopoulos has helped more than 10,000 patients on their weight-loss journey, bringing his personal brand of care to each case with that aforementioned focus on communication, something that, in many cases, needs to be taught.

“Learning how to communicate — that’s one of the biggest issues they face,” he said of his patients. “They need to be confident in conveying the difficulties and learning to work together with me to solve them, rather than try to figure it out themselves, as they have been used to in the system, and then they end up not doing the right thing.

“The first thing they need to learn is how to communicate, and how to communicate effectively,” he went on. “And when I say ‘effectively,’ I mean not being afraid to communicate if they’ve had a bad week or they’ve gained weight, because I tell them the opportunity is still there from the good weeks and the bad weeks. I’m not the police; I’m not going to give them a ticket, and sometimes I have to tell them that, because they think, if they tell me something bad, that I’m going to get upset or they’re going to feel ashamed.

“Everyone makes mistakes,” he continued. “As long as you communicate and we discuss the mistakes, you learn from them. The bigger mistake is not to communicate, because it’s very difficult, without guidance, to understand why you’re making mistakes and, more importantly, how to correct them and not repeat them.”

This communication begins before surgery, and it continues every day after surgery for some time, and then it becomes weekly, he went on, adding that his research has informed him that more intensive follow-up for a longer period of time is a key ingredient in a patient achieving long-term success.

“They’re learning a new skill set, and it takes time to acquire it and make it a habit; you need a lot of coaching over a long period of time,” he said. When asked how long this coaching goes on, he added simply, “forever.”

Elaborating, he said that, over time, the patient will achieve a measure of independence, with the communication coming weekly, monthly, or over a few months, but it continues because weight management is a lifelong assignment.

And while carrying out that assignment, he said, it’s important for patients to have goals, short and long term, as well as milestones to reach and encouragement to reach them.

“You have to set goals for them, like losing three pounds every week,” he said, adding that he will remind them of this. “And then, I give them longer-term goals; I’ll remind them, ‘you’re 30 pounds from not being obese, that’s a milestone.’ Or ‘you’re 60 pounds from not being overweight.’ I find that giving them milestones motivates them to stay in the program, to push harder, and to accomplish the task.

“People will say, ‘oh, my pants feel loose, I feel great, I made another hole on my belt,’” he went on. “I’ll say, ‘that’s great, but that’s not the goal; the goal is to get to a normal weight.’”

Raftopoulos said many factors go into whether a patient will be successful on his or her weight loss journey, but perhaps the most important are a willingness to listen, communicate, learn from mistakes, fully understand that they need help to do this, and ask for help when it’s needed.

“Some people don’t know what to do, and they have difficulty doing it,” he explained. “They have an opinion about things, and sometimes we’ll have an argument. I’ll say, ‘you have an opinion, you’re entitled to have an opinion, everyone has an opinion … but you came to us because you couldn’t lose weight or you gained weight, so that means that whatever opinion you had, it wasn’t very successful; maybe you should listen to me and do things differently.’”

These comments help convey that, while research, innovation, and evidence-based practice is at the foundation of his work, compassion and dedication to patients truly set him apart and enable his patients to achieve positive results at rates considerably higher than the national averages.

And they also help convey why Raftopoulos is now, and has always been, a Healthcare Hero.

Dr. Thomas Lincoln

By
Healthcare Heroes

Lifetime Achievement

Physician and Associate Professor of Medicine, Baystate Health

He’s Pioneered an Innovative Model of Care for the Incarcerated

Dr. Thomas Lincoln

 

Passion. Empathy. Compassion. Leadership. Optimism.

Keisha Williams says these are just some of the qualities that Dr. Thomas Lincoln brings to his groundbreaking work every day.

“He’s very passionate about this population,” said Williams, responsible health authority and director of Nursing for the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office, who has worked with Lincoln for more than 25 years now as he has devoted much of his career to improving access to care for those impacted by incarceration. “He’s accessible, and he’s dedicated; there’s nothing he won’t do to assist someone or support someone and provide needed guidance.”

Lincoln, a physician at the Brightwood Community Health Center in Springfield and medical director of the Hampden County Correctional Centers, pioneered an innovative, nationally recognized public health model of healthcare for incarcerated individuals, one that not only ensures high-quality care during incarceration, but also supports a safe and successful transition back to the community — an initiative that has demonstrably improved outcomes and removed barriers to reintegration.

This model and the continuity of care it created has earned Lincoln national accolades, including the W. Lester Henry Award for Diversity and Access to Care from the American College of Physicians and the Armond Start Award for Excellence from the American College of Correctional Physicians. But for Lincoln, the far greater reward is seeing the results achieved by this work; the manner in which it is has become a model for other communities, including Washington, D.C., to emulate; and the gratitude of the inmate population.

“People are very appreciative just to be seen and taken care of in a manner that’s the same as what would be done on the outside,” he noted. “There’s plenty of need — you feel the need, and it feels worthwhile to do this.”

As medical director for Hampden County’s correctional centers, Lincoln cares for patients (inmates) at four facilities across the region, but especially what’s known as the ‘main institution’ in Ludlow, which has a population of approximately 800 men.

He helps treat what Williams describes as an older, sicker inmate population (more on this later) with a focus on all aspects of care, but the especially the HIV population.

“That’s his passion,” said Williams, adding that Lincoln is also medical director of the opioid treatment program.

With the Healthcare Hero award in the Lifetime Achievement category, Lincoln adds some additional recognition for this work not only with the incarcerated, but also with the underserved population that frequents the Baystate Brightwood Health Center in Springfield’s North End, and also for his work as an educator and mentor.

“As a primary care physician at Baystate Brightwood Health Center and associate professor of Medicine at UMass Medical School – Baystate, he has shaped the way care is delivered to underserved and marginalized communities across Western Mass.”

“As a primary care physician at Baystate Brightwood Health Center and associate professor of Medicine at UMass Medical School – Baystate, he has shaped the way care is delivered to underserved and marginalized communities across Western Mass.,” said Dr. Audrey Guhn, medical director of Brightwood Health Center. “His dedication to those who are too often overlooked by traditional healthcare systems makes him not only a role model, but a true Healthcare Hero.”

 

Impact Statement

When it comes to the Healthcare Heroes program and the many categories created to recognize the contributions of individual honorees, Lincoln checks essentially every box BusinessWest has created.

Indeed, he’s a provider and administrator, but also an educator, innovator, and collaborator with a strong focus on community. And because he’s been doing all this for decades now, he’s being honored in the Lifetime Achievement category.

Dr. Thomas Lincoln (center) with Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi and Keisha Williams, responsible health authority and director of Nursing for the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office.

His story is somewhat similar to that of the 2024 honoree in this category, Dr. Andrew Balder, attending physician at Baystate Mason Square Neighborhood Health Center, who has also worked tirelessly on behalf of the underserved, with a specific focus focused on the homeless population and infant mortality, child maternal health, and birth outcomes. Yet, their careers have taken different, but equally impactful, paths.

Lincoln’s story begins in Concord, Mass., where he was drawn to science and eventually majored in physics in college before getting into research (geriatrics and cardiology) at Beth Israel in Boston.

“I decided I wanted to get into the people-based side of healthcare,” he said, adding that he enrolled at what is now UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester in 1983, with the goal of eventually getting into family medicine or emergency medicine, a path inspired in part by work as an EMT while in college.

He met his wife in medical school, and when she came to Baystate Medical Center to practice pediatrics, Lincoln, who was a year behind her in school, eventually followed her to Springfield, choosing internal medicine over pediatrics.

“I was interested in community health and work at a community health center,” he told BusinessWest, adding that he eventually landed at the Brightwood facility after his residency and has made it his career.

Sort of.

Starting in the early ’90s, his focus shifted to work at the county’s correctional facilities, where he now spends five days a week, a career path inspired in large part by the rise of HIV and the medication to treat it, AZT.

“Folks would disappear for a few months, come back not on medication, and we’d find out that they’d been in jail,” recalled Lincoln, who became interested in HIV care following a rotation at San Francisco’s Ward 86 HIV Clinic, the epicenter of the AIDS crisis, while in medical school. “And with all the stigma and everything, they wouldn’t tell health services — they wouldn’t tell anyone — about their HIV until they got back out of jail and came in for healthcare.”

This reality prompted officials at the Brightwood facility and the former York Street Jail in Springfield to create a type of outreach program to provide HIV care in the jail.

Lincoln, who was one of those providing such care, recalled that, early on, it was mostly emergency room physicians working after hours administering care to inmates, and over time, it was determined that, instead of this episodic, urgent care model, a primary care model would be more appropriate and provide more continuity with follow-up after patients were released from prison at area health centers.

This would become what’s known as the Hampden County public health model for correctional healthcare.

“Folks would disappear for a few months, come back not on medication, and we’d find out that they’d been in jail. And with all the stigma and everything, they wouldn’t tell health services — they wouldn’t tell anyone — about their HIV until they got back out of jail and came in for healthcare.”

Today, four area health centers — the Brightwood, Mason Square, and Southwest clinics in Springfield and Holyoke Health Center — are involved in providing this model of care to those who are incarcerated, with designated teams comprised of physicians from those facilities working with a primary nurse practitioner or physician assistant who works full-time at the jail, as well as a case manager and primary nurse.

“When people arrive at the jail, we divide them up by what neighborhood they’re from or where they’re going for their healthcare,” Lincoln explained. “They are assigned to a team; a primary nurse would follow up from the time they’re there, and a physician comes in once a week to see people. It’s primary care.”

And it continues after the individual is released from jail, he went on, adding that this continuity of care is critical for a population battling issues such as addiction, other mental health issues, hepatitis C, HIV, hypertension, diabetes, and often chronic injuries.

Dr. Thomas Lincoln says Hampden County’s primary are model for incarcerated individuals has been adopted by several other communities.

Williams agreed. “We would start the discharge planning with that team model so that, when that patient went back out into the community, their plan would be seamless, and there would be a continuity of care,” she explained. “Building that relationship with the community provider while they were on the inside would only help them return to the community and feel confident with the same provider outside.”

 

Innovative Model

Measuring the success of this program is somewhat difficult due to a lack of research on this population, but Lincoln believes it is certainly making a difference.

“Follow-up is a big marker — if someone’s following up, that’s generally a marker for better health,” he said, adding that, while hard evidence is difficult to come by, he believes the program is yielding results with everything from reduced ER visits after release to improved overall health.

Williams agreed, noting that the primary care model is certainly needed at a time when the inmate population is both older and sicker — and in need of such continuity of care.

“People are sicker coming to jail,” she said. “There’s a dynamic where there’s heighted mental health problems in the community, and with these problems comes substance abuse issues, as well as not taking care of existing conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and liver disease associated with alcohol use, so people are coming to jail sicker than they have in the past.

“And there’s also an aging population,” she went on. “The patients we’re seeing now … we have fewer numbers, but we have more co-morbidity and more acuity; we have people in their 70s coming to jail.”

Meanwhile, one measure of success is the number of communities that have adapted the model, or aspects of it, for their correctional systems.

“The biggest adaptation and use of the model is Washington, D.C.,” Lincoln explained, adding that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provides funding for a nonprofit to promulgate the model and provide technical assistance. “There’s a large community health center system, and they adapted this there for the District of Columbia jail, and they actually dedicated a health center as a re-entry health site.

“Other community health centers, other spots in the country have looked at this and decided to do similar things; it very much lends itself to the smaller location, where the jail and the community health center serve the same population,” he added, noting that representatives of several communities and correctional facilities in states ranging from Florida to Michigan have come to Ludlow to watch, listen, and learn.

Beyond his work with those who are incarcerated, Lincoln is making a difference as an educator and mentor of young people looking to follow his lead and make their mark in healthcare.

“In addition to his clinical leadership, Dr. Lincoln is a passionate educator and mentor who has guided countless medical students, residents, and early-career physicians,” Guhn said. “His commitment to reaching the next generation of caregivers to serve with empathy, humility, and cultural competence has had a lasting impact not only on individual careers, but also on the broader field of internal medicine.”

Williams said one of the best testimonials to all that Lincoln brings to his work and the community is a scholarship that bears his name, one she pushed hard to create.

“It’s awarded to a medical staff member who is looking to further their education, and it talks about what he exemplifies, his moral principles, optimism, integrity, honesty, and respect for human dignity. It’s given to a person who epitomizes all that he stands for, and it’s my honor every year to talk about it.”

That’s a fitting tribute to someone who is called a pioneer, innovator, passionate care provider, and now … Healthcare Hero.

Cindy Leonard

By
Healthcare Heroes

Healthcare Provider

Infusion Manager, Sister Caritas Cancer Center at Mercy Medical Center

She Brings Empathy and a Strong Ear to Those Navigating Their Cancer Journey

Cindy Leonard says that, as incredulous as it may sound — especially given the preconceived notions about cancer treatment and chemotherapy in particular — some of the visitors to the medical oncology infusion services at the Sister Caritas Cancer Center are sad when those treatments are no longer needed because they’re getting better and moving to the next step in their journey.

“They say they’re really going to miss us … they want to know if they can come back and visit,” said Leonard, adding that these sentiments are commonplace, but hardly universal.

And while they stem in part from doubts about whether the cancer is truly gone, apprehension about if or when it will return, and the comfort derived from seeing one’s care team every day or every week, they also result from the family-like atmosphere that exists here, and the compassionate care provided during what is generally the most difficult time in a patient’s life.

And no one exemplifies all of this more than Leonard, infusion manager at the Caritas Center and one of two 2025 Healthcare Heroes in the Healthcare Provider category.

She’s been working in the broad realm of oncology, starting in pediatric oncology, for nearly 40 years now, and she described it as a field where there are obvious challenges and many difficult days, but also rewards that perhaps few who don’t do this day in and day out could really understand.

“People who are not nurses or healthcare workers will say, ‘how can you do that? How do you take care of someone knowing that they might not make it? How do you do that without crying? How do you provide care and not get frustrated and say, this is not worth it?’” she said, listing just some of the questions people have for her. “I always say, ‘it’s not about that; it’s about what’s happening right now — you’re going to take care of them, and hopefully, whatever care you’re providing them makes a difference in their day and their life and helping them live a little longer so they can do things they want to do.’

“I can’t tell you how many patients over the years have had a goal,” she went on, becoming emotional as she did so. “Men who wanted … needed to get to their daughter’s wedding, for example. If you’re able to be a small part of them achieving that goal … there’s no reward greater than that.”

With that, she summed up why she loves what she does and why, at age 63, she’s not even thinking about retirement. For some sentiment on why those who work with her don’t want to see that day either, and what Leonard brings with to work every day, we turn to Dr. Philip Glynn, a Healthcare Hero himself in the Provider category (class of 2022), who has worked beside Leonard for 25 years now.

“Over her 40-year career, Cindy has shepherded hundreds of souls on their cancer journey, helping them navigate care as part of a club no one wants to join,” he said. “Sitting for hours in an infusion chair can be lonely, and Cindy not only makes sure patients feel heard during treatment, she also ensures that they are well cared for and comfortable. This is not an easy job, especially when outcomes are so often unfortunate. Still, Cindy is a fierce advocate for patients, and she handles the heavy burden of their care with grace and humility.

“I can’t tell you how many patients over the years have had a goal. Men who wanted … needed to get to their daughter’s wedding, for example. If you’re able to be a small part of them achieving that goal … there’s no reward greater than that.”

“At her core, Cindy is probably one of the kindest people anyone could meet, and couple that with … let’s call it unconditional empathy for people — she is the absolute example of a servant leader,” Glynn went on. “People around her, the nursing staff around her, they want to emulate her; I’ll bet every nurse there would say that Cindy is a role model.”

Such sentiment explains why Leonard is now also a Healthcare Hero.

 

Unconditional Caring

Like many previous honorees, as well as several members of the class of 2025, Leonard would qualify to be a Healthcare Hero in a number of categories, including — given how long she has been doing this — Lifetime Achievement.

But Provider seems most fitting because she is perhaps best noted for what she brings to, and does for, patients who come to the infusion center, where more than 17,000 treatments are provided annually.

“Her empathy for people going through the biggest life challenges imaginable … it knows no limit,” Glynn said. “It’s what I would call unconditional caring — she’s universally kind, professional, and thorough with everyone. And patients get it; they gravitate toward her.”

And they have done so for decades now.

Cindy Leonard with Dr. Philip Glynn.
Staff Photo

Indeed, Leonard has been an oncology nurse for nearly the entirety of a 40-year career in nursing. When she graduated from the College of Mount St. Vincent in the Bronx, N.Y., she knew she wanted to work in pediatrics.

“But those jobs are few and far between — that’s what most people want,” she recalled, adding that it took her three years to get into that specialty, and when she did, in 1987, it was in pediatric oncology at a hospital in New Jersey.

She would remain there until her family relocated to Western Mass. in 2001. Soon thereafter, she met Glynn, who happened to have an opening for a nurse in his oncology clinic at Noble Hospital in Westfield. The two have been working side by side ever since, with Glynn moving his practice to Mercy in 2012, and Leonard moving with him.

Since then, they have been part of continued expansion of the medical oncology center and witnesses to dramatic changes and new treatments for patients, especially immunotherapy.

“One of the beautiful things about immunotherapy is that it doesn’t make people sick; it’s not traditional chemotherapy where people are nauseous, vomiting, tired, and weak,” she explained. “This, along with other advances in cancer care, is one of the things Dr. Glynn and I reflect on a lot; we’ll say, ‘who would have thought 15 years ago that patients would be taking a medicine that doesn’t make them sick?’”

At the center, Leonard handles myriad responsibilities that fall into the categories of management and patient care, and she handles both with professionalism and enthusiasm.

“It’s what I would call unconditional caring — she’s universally kind, professional, and thorough with everyone. And patients get it; they gravitate toward her.”

During a typical 10-hour day that starts at 7:30 a.m., she will create a scheduling grid for all infusion and acute visits, 65 to 80 a day on average — a complex assignment.

“On any given day, there’s 10 to 12 nurses, and when you print the schedule, you assign a patient to a nurse every 30 minutes to an hour based on the acuity of the patient because they’re all here for a different reason,” she explained. “Some of the patients sit here all day and receive multiple medicines, which require a lot of coordination from the nurse, and others are here for only an hour, so the schedule has to be done fairly.”

Patients start arriving around 8, and they come in continuously over the course of the day, she went on, adding that physicians will call throughout the day with requests to add people to the schedule because they’re not feeling well.

Leonard also assures that all infusion, injection, and transfusion therapies are complete and have undergone prior authorization to obtain insurance approval, ensuring that the services are properly ordered to account for any change in clinical parameters and that they are fully reviewed and approved by physicians. Treatments often require coordination with other service lines, such as radiation oncology, surgery, or intervention radiology, and she said she oversees all this while taking on her own patient load.

Meanwhile, on the more administrative side, she collaborates with medical management, Joint Commission representatives, the cancer committee, and Mercy’s Education department to create annual competencies for nursing staff.

And she brings to all these responsibilities what Glynn called a ‘servant leader’ mentality. “She doesn’t back away from hard problems, she doesn’t back away from big responsibilities, and yet, there’s no job that’s too small.”

 

Navigating the Journey

But those who know Leonard will say that it’s not what she does that sets her apart and makes her a Healthcare Hero, but how she does it.

“The moment you hear, ‘you have cancer,’ that phrase is burned into your memory forever; those three words change everything — how you view your life to that point and beyond, how you interact with family and friends, and perhaps your belief in a higher power,” said Glynn, adding that Leonard has helped countess patients cope with a new level of vulnerability as they try to navigate all parts of this this unwanted journey.

This is the part of her work that many not in this field have trouble understanding, but for her, it’s a labor of love.

Cindy Leonard (right) with team members at the Sister Caritas Cancer Center.

“Dr. Glynn and I talk about it all time … we come to work every day, but we don’t consider it work,” she said. “It’s like that old saying — find what you love to do, call it work, and find a way to get paid for it. That’s how I feel.”

And as she talked about her work, she said it requires several qualities and skill sets, if you will, including compassion and empathy, the ability to listen, and the willingness to be honest with patients and not create unrealistic expectations.

“We tell them the truth, but we tell them both sides,” she explained. “We don’t just tell them the bad things; we’ll tell them the story of that one patient that did well and got to do things.”

Overall, Leonard said she and other nurses in medical oncology form strong bonds with patients, bonds that explain the piles of letters she’s received from patients and family members thanking her for all she does, as well as the myriad prayer cards from the funerals of patients that she has attended.

“If oncology is your calling and it’s something you’re able to do, it is very rewarding,” she said, while acknowledging that sometimes, visits to the infusion room stop not because the treatments are working, but because they are not, and there are no more options.

“There are often tears because we’re human,” she said. “And I believe that, as nurses and as a profession, as oncology nurses, it’s important that we’re able to acknowledge those feelings as well. It’s OK to cry with a patient; it’s OK to let them verbalize to you that nothing else is working and it’s time for the next step in their life.

“I’ve had many conversations over the years,” she went on. “A lot of it is listening, but a lot of it also is acknowledging their emotions, and often these patients will take the lead and talk and tell you that they’re OK with it, they understand, and they know that they did everything they could.

“They’ll express to you their wishes … they want to be comfortable; they want to die at home, or ‘oh my gosh, I do not want to die at home,’” she continued. “You work with the patients to help them express what their wishes are.”

Thus, listening is perhaps the most important skill in the cancer center, and it’s one of many that sets Leonard apart.

All this explains why some people are sad when their visits to the infusion room come to an end. But mostly, it explains why Leonard is a Healthcare Hero.

Linda Koh

By
Healthcare Heroes

Community Health

Assistant Professor, Elaine Marieb College of Nursing at UMass Amherst

She Is Changing Lives Through Her Passion for Nutrition

Linda Koh’s journey to healthier eating is a lifelong one.

“I’ve had a passion for it for a long time,” she said. “My grandmother was a great cook, and she lived with us, so I was always wanting to learn how to cook. And she was like, ‘no, your job is a student; you need to study.’ She didn’t have opportunities to study when she was younger, so she always encouraged me to study, but I was always interested in food.”

Around the third grade, her father visited Massachusetts to attend a lecture about the Framingham Heart Study, and how red meat can put people at higher risk for heart disease and certain types of cancer.

“He came home from that presentation and said, ‘we’re going to be vegetarian.’ So overnight, we stopped eating meat, and that was kind of traumatic for me because I was like, ‘what are we going to live on? I’m not used to this.’”

But Koh stuck with it, and when she got married, she and her husband made the decision to go vegan, and have stuck to a plant-based diet for the past 13 years.

“We’ve seen in our own lives how it’s impacted our health. We used to have seasonal allergies, and we don’t have those anymore, so if it works for us, I’m sure it could be helpful for other people.”

So she speaks from experience in the work she does today — as an educator shaping future nurses at the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing at UMass Amherst, as well as an emerging leader creating partnerships around nutrition and sustainable food systems.

Take it from Crystal Neuhauser, chief Development officer at the Marieb College, who nominated Koh as a Healthcare Hero.

“Through her innovative research, collaborative partnerships, and culturally grounded pedagogy, she is reshaping the healthcare landscape in Western Massachusetts — empowering individuals, training future nurses, and building healthier, more equitable communities,” Neuhauser wrote.

As noted above, Koh — like others in this year’s class of Healthcare Heroes — could easily be recognized in a few different categories, including Emerging Leader, Collaboration in Healthcare, and Healthcare Educator. But Community Health seemed most apprropriate because her impact on the community, by helping people change the way they look at food and nutrition, is significant, and growing.

“Dr. Koh’s impact is clear: families eating better, students entering the workforce more prepared, and communities being heard,” Neuhauser added. “What makes her heroic is not just her scholarship — it’s her radical belief that everyone deserves to live with health, dignity, and joy. Her work is already changing lives in Western Massachusetts. Her leadership ensures those changes will endure.”

 

Cross-country Impact

Koh grew up in Southern California, and her early educational and career experiences took her to several far-flung locales.

“I worked in nursing in Colorado, I taught English for one year in Ukraine, and I also did an internship in Denmark in health program planning, so I had all these different ideas of things I was interested in.”

“Up to that point, I had mostly been working with adults, but because I wanted to do something more with the whole family and community, I was looking for opportunities where I could expand to work with kids.”

But she eventually pursued an associate’s degree program in nursing, and worked in that field for about 15 years. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to work in a hospital for the rest of her life.

“After 15 years, it was already starting to kind of wear on me. My husband was like, ‘if you go back to school, think of the impact that you could have if you teach.’ So I decided to go back to school.”

Koh wound up at UMass for her graduate studies, but then returned to California — Stanford University, to be specific — for post-doctoral research work, where she worked with a pediatric gastroenterologist at a weight-management clinic.

“I got a lot of experience working with patients in the clinical setting,” she recalled. “Up to that point, I had mostly been working with adults, but because I wanted to do something more with the whole family and community, I was looking for opportunities where I could expand to work with kids.

Linda Koh led the development of “Full Plate for Kids,” an activity book that teaches children about good nutrition.

“So I worked with that professor and clinician for one year, and then I got a grant that enabled me to stay on for a second year as a post-doc working with Dr. Christopher Gardner, who does all the nutrition research studies within the Stanford Prevention Research Center.”

At the time, he had a side project called Farm to Table Camp, a summer camp that brought kids to an organic farm. “Kids from kindergarten to eighth grade could go and learn how to grow food, how to harvest it, how to prepare it. I thought, ‘this is amazing. I wish like every child could have this opportunity.’”

Gardner encouraged Koh to apply for a grant from the Ardmore Institute of Health in Oklahoma, which has a nutrition education program called Full Plate. “I was thinking it would be great if we could take something like this and turn it into like nutrition education for kids.”

So she did, producing an activity book called Full Plate for Kids, which explains concepts like fruits, vegetables, fiber, and other parts of a healthy diet, as well as how food is grown, how to prepare simple, healthy meals, and more.

Much of her work so far has been based in California, but since starting work at UMass, Koh has been busy locally. She recently secured a grant to work with a graduate student on a nutrition project this fall, and is working on another to have more students involved in the spring. “So I’m trying to get more people involved in nutrition and also help to educate the next generation of nurse scientists.”

The activity book and other efforts aimed at children and their families can be impactful, she noted.

“A lot of kids have an aversion to vegetables,” she noted. “So we need to figure out ways to encourage people to eat more vegetables and whole grains and beans, nuts and seeds. And so if we can do it from a young age, I think they can reap the benefits of that long-term.”

She talked about working in a community health center as part of her dissertation work, and right next to it was a food bank; patients could come to the health center for their appointments, and then go next door and get a box of food.

“I noticed that they would keep most of the canned goods, but all the fresh fruits and vegetables, they would just leave in a pile next to the trash can when they were leaving. And I wondered why they were doing that. So I started talking to some of them, and they would say things like, ‘I don’t know how to prepare it.’ Or ‘My family doesn’t like it.’ Or ‘I don’t have a refrigerator.’

“So, for my dissertation work, I really focused on teaching adults how to prepare things in a quick and easy way that takes less than 15 to 20 minutes,” she continued. “We also talked about eating things in season and how to create a menu plan where you can make meals on $5 a day, stuff like that.”

Meanwhile, Koh saw from her camp experience the impact education and exposure could have on young people over just a few days.

“A lot of kids have an aversion to vegetables. So we need to figure out ways to encourage people to eat more vegetables and whole grains and beans, nuts and seeds. And so if we can do it from a young age, I think they can reap the benefits of that long-term.”

“The first day, we’d have children that say, ‘oh, I don’t like any vegetables; I’m not eating this. I’ll help prepare it, but I’m not going to eat it.’ Or they’d say, ‘I’ve seen that at home; I don’t like it.’ Then, by Wednesday or Thursday, they’re eating it. On Friday, we had salad day; we had a huge salad bar with all the vegetables from the farm, and the parents were in shock to see their kids piling kale onto their plates, things like that. So in just that short time frame, I feel like we made an impact, and that’s something they can take home to their families, and then it can impact the whole community.”

 

Food for Thought

This fall, at the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, Koh will be teaching a doctoral-level class in community engagement and community building — essentially, how to work in partnership with other community members. She’ll also be teaching undergraduate courses in writing and nursing ethics.

“Dr. Koh is a leader in advancing nursing education that responds to the needs of diverse communities,” Neuhauser wrote. “She mentors undergraduate and graduate students in culturally responsive care, sustainable food systems, and health equity research. Many of her students come from communities underrepresented in nursing and go on to serve in local health centers, schools, and public health departments. By embedding equity into clinical practice and community engagement, Dr. Koh is training a new generation of nurses to serve Western Massachusetts with compassion and cultural humility.”

One of the reasons Koh is excited to be at UMass is this region’s strong agriculture economy.

Linda Koh, right, with (from left) Natacha Costa, Angela Williams, Dr. Christopher Gardner, and Claire Paul at a Stanford University summer internship program.
Photo by Shelley Anderson

“I’ve met quite a few people in soil science and nutrition and at the School of Agriculture; they’re doing a lot of different things. I’m hopeful that we can get a teaching kitchen going in the future — one in the community and also one here on campus, and do more collaborative projects together.”

Koh’s mentor at Stanford recently received a grant to work with a nonprofit organization in more than 600 schools across the nation, going into school cafeterias and helping them get involved with local farms, improving their scratch cooking, and removing excess sugar. She’d like to see more efforts like that nationally, but for now, she’s determined to do what she can in Massachusetts.

“I feel like nutrition is something that everybody can get excited about because everybody has to eat, and everybody has memories of their favorite foods, or foods they ate when they were growing up, or around holidays. So that whole community-engagement piece together with nutrition, that’s where my interests lie.”

And to see the impact, even if it’s on just one student or one family at a time … well, she finds that highly rewarding.

“When I worked inpatient, seeing people coming out of surgery or who had just gotten a diagnosis, they start thinking, ‘did I do something wrong? Was there anything I could have done to prevent this?’ And I feel like nutrition is one of the ways that people can feel like they’re actually directly impacting their health in a small way. And by starting young, I feel those are lessons they can carry with them throughout their entire lifetime.

“One of my lifelong goals is to be the bridge between academia and the general public. A lot of times, people are doing this great research, but they don’t know how to share that with the general public, and it can be like 10, 15 years before people find out about it,” she added. “I just feel like health is so important, and if you don’t have it, it impacts every other part of your life. And I want to help people live happy and healthy lives.”

For her commitment to doing just that — and for the broad impact this work will eventually have — Koh is certainly a Healthcare Hero.

High Impact, Weather or Not

By
Opinion

Editorial

Rain, rain, go away.

That’s Gene Cassidy’s wish every year when it comes to the 17 days of the Big E, the agricultural fair that will celebrate its 110th year when it kicks off next week.

That’s because the weather is typically the most impactful factor in how successful the fair proves to be. After a rainy 2023 dampened attendance (and profits), a largely clear-skied 2024 saw the Big E set records for attendance (1,633,937) and net income (more than $6 million).

As Cassidy, president and CEO of Eastern States Exposition, told BusinessWest in the story on page 10, all of that $6 million will be put back into the facility, which is grappling with some $250 million in deferred maintenance on grounds dominated by buildings more 100 years old.

So, clearly, the success of the Big E is critical to the Eastern States Exposition (ESE), as is the site’s robust, year-round slate of activities, from animal, mineral, and home shows to the annual Hooplandia 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

And that success — and impact — ripples out much further than the grounds on Memorial Avenue. In fact, ESE attracts about 3 million people to West Springfield annually, across a bustling calendar of more than 120 year-round events — slightly more than half that crowd count coming from the Big E itself.

And, according to a study conducted by Regional Economic Models Inc. (REMI) of Amherst, ESE’s economic impact on Hampden County in 2024 was $235 million in gross regional product (GRP), and its larger footprint across New England and New York equaled a record-breaking $1.167 billion.

“The impact of Eastern States Exposition is not limited to the Springfield area, agriculture in Massachusetts, or even agriculture in New England; we have touched 26 states and multiple Canadian provinces,” Cassidy said when the report was released earlier this summer. “This makes us arguably the most impactful agricultural fair in North America.”

The study revealed that the ESE created 8,085 jobs across New England and New York in 2024; 60.8% of all jobs created went to individuals without a college degree, 5,646 jobs were filled by individuals in the bottom 20% of income earners, and 1,310 jobs created across the region supported Hispanic employment. Employment growth was observed across all races, income levels, and education groups.

Meanwhile, since 1995, when the Big E first expanded from 12 to 17 days, ESE has donated 1% of its annual gross revenue to the town of West Springfield each year to build and bolster the Eastern States Exposition-West Springfield Trust. In 2024, 26 groups benefited from the trust, including sports teams, food rescues, and cultural centers. ESE’s overall contributions, including a sizable donation of $370,970 made on June 12 of this year, now total $5,425,220.

At a time of economic uncertainty, that overall impact of the ESE — again, much of it driven by that 17-day fair window in September — is critical to this region, and something to be celebrated.

Plus, the Big E is simply a lot of fun — rain or shine.

Senior Resources

By Contributor
Senior Planning

These Nonprofits Can Help Families with Care Planning

These regional and statewide nonprofits can help families make decisions and access resources related to elder care planning.

AARP Massachusetts
1 Beacon St., #2301, Boston, MA 02108
(866) 448-3621;
states.aarp.org/region/massachusetts
Administrator: Mike Festa
Services: AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, social-welfare organization with a membership of nearly 38 million that advocates for the issues that matter to families, such as healthcare, employment and income security, and protection from financial abuse

Access Care Partners
4 Valley Mill Road, Holyoke, MA 01040
(413) 538-9020; www.accesscarepartners.org
Administrator: Roseann Martoccia
Services: Provides an array of in-home and community services to support independent living; interdisciplinary team approach to person-centered care; information, referrals, and options counseling as well as volunteer opportunities available; primary service area includes Holyoke, Chicopee, Granby, South Hadley, Belchertown, Ludlow, and Ware, as well as other surrounding communities

The Conversation Project and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement
53 State St., 19th Floor, Boston, MA 02109
(617) 301-4800; www.theconversationproject.org
Administrator: Kate DeBartolo
Services: The Conversation Project is dedicated to helping people talk about their wishes for end-of-life care; its team includes five seasoned law, journalism, and media professionals who are working pro bono alongside professional staff from the Instititute for Healthcare Improvement

Elder Services of Berkshire County Inc.
877 South St., Suite 4E, Pittsfield, MA 01201
(413) 499-0524; www.esbci.org
Administrator: Christopher McLaughlin
Services: Identifies and addresses priority needs of Berkshire County seniors; services include information and referral, care management, respite care, homemaker and home health assistance, healthy-aging programs, and MassHealth nursing home pre-screening; agency also offers housing options, adult family care, group adult foster care, long-term-care ombudsman, and money management, and oversees the Senior Community Service Aide Employment Program

Estate Planning Council of Hampden County
www.estateplan-hc.org
Administrator: Christopher McLaughlin
Services: Provides a forum for current, accurate, and authoritative information with regard to estate and financial planning; council members are life-insurance professionals, bankers, fiduciaries, lawyers, accountants, planned-giving professionals, and other financial-service providers engaged in the planning, settlement, and management of estates

Greater Springfield Senior Services Inc.
66 Industry Ave., Suite 9,
Springfield, MA 01104
(413) 781-8800; www.gsssi.org
Administrator: Jill Keough
Services: Private, nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining quality of life for older adults, caregivers, and people with disabilities, through programs and services that foster independence, dignity, safety, and peace of mind; services include case management, home care, home-delivered meals, senior community dining, money management, congregate housing, and adult day care

Highland Valley Elder Services
320 Riverside Dr.,
Florence, MA 01062
(413) 586-2000;
www.highlandvalley.org
Administrator: Allan Ouimet
Services: Services include care management, information/referral services, family caregiver program, personal emergency-response service, protective Services, home-health services, chore Services, nursing-home ombudsman Services, adult day programs, elder-care advice, bill-payer services, options counseling, respite Services, representative payee services, local dining centers, personal-care and homemaker Services, and home-delivered meals

LifePath
101 Munson St., Suite 201, Greenfield, MA 01301
(413) 773-5555; www.lifepathma.org
Administrator: Gary Yuhas
Services: LifePath, formerly Franklin County Home Care Corp., an area agency on aging, is a private, nonprofit corporation that develops, provides, and coordinates a range of services to support the independent living of elders and people with disabilities with a goal of independence; it also supports caregivers, including grandparents raising grandchildren

Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs
1 Ashburton Place, Unit 517,
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 727-7750;
www.mass.gov/elders
Administrator: Robin Lipson
Services: Connects seniors and families with a range of services, including senior centers, councils on aging, nutrition programs such as Meals on Wheels, exercise, health coaching, and more; supports older adults who may be somewhat frail through programs in nursing homes, such as the ombudsman program, volunteers who visit residents, and quality-improvement initiatives in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities; caregiver programs offer support to people with mild Alzheimer’s disease or those caring for someone with more advanced Alzheimer’s

MassOptions
(844) 422-6277;
www.massoptions.org
Administrator: Dr. Kiame Mahaniah
Services: A service of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, MassOptions connects elders, individuals with disabilities, and their caregivers with agencies and organizations that can best meet their needs; staff can also assist with determining eligibility for and applying to MassHealth

VA Central and Western Massachusetts Healthcare System
421 North Main St., Leeds, MA 01053
(413) 584-4040;
www.centralwesternmass.va.gov
Administrator: Jonathan Kerr
Services: Provides primary, specialty, and mental-health care, including psychiatric, substance-abuse, and PTSD Services, to a veteran population in Central and Western Massachusetts of more than 120,000 men and women

Brew at The Zoo

By

Join us for a day of 21+ fun at The Zoo in Forest Park and Education Center, presented by PeoplesBank! This event features tastings from your favorite local breweries, a home brew competition, live entertainment, food trucks, a raffle, and of course, animal interactions. Brew at The Zoo runs from 1:30 – 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 2nd, with a special hour-and-a-half of up-close animal encounters for VIP ticket holders starting at 12:00 p.m.. Visit forestparkzoo.org/brew to purchase tickets and learn more!

Know Before You Go: A valid ID is required for all attendees and will be checked at the gate. No one under 21, including designated drivers, will be permitted inside The Zoo on Saturday, August 2nd. All ticket sales are final. This event is rain or shine, and no refunds will be issued in the event of rain.

Orlando Ramos

By
Orlando Ramos
Alumni Achievement Award

State Representative, 9th Hampden District

Orlando Ramos

Orlando Ramos

Orlando Ramos when he was named to the 40 Under Forty class of 2014, and today (top)

Orlando Ramos when he was named to the 40 Under Forty class of 2014, and today (top)

Orlando Ramos has a small classic car collection.

He once had four vehicles, but recently sold a 1974 Corvette. He still has a 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo, a 1989 Chevy Camaro IROC-Z, and a 1991 Ford Escort, and shows them all at area shows.

The Escort doesn’t sound particularly sexy, and Ramos acknowledged that, but it has taken home a lot of hardware at those shows, as has the Monte Carlo, he said, adding that the Camaro wins at pretty much every competition he brings it to.

Beyond first-place ribbons, the cars bring Ramos memories, a chance to meet new people and add more friends to an already large roster, and, perhaps most importantly, some relaxing moments to counter the many chaotic ones at the State House and within his district.

“I try to drive them on the weekends when I get some downtime, and I do some car shows on the weekend if I’m not busy with work,” he told BusinessWest. “It takes my mind off things. That’s where I find my peace — driving my classic cars … no radio, just the sound of the engine with the windows down.”

He considers the cars a passion, one of two that he has, with the other being the city of Springfield, which is now his sole focus within the 9th District (he used to represent a small section of Chicopee).

He grew up in the City of Homes, among several other places (his family moved frequently in his youth), graduated from Putnam Vocational Technical High School, did some boxing in the city, and later settled in Indian Orchard, which he still calls home. He served on the City Council, including as its president, before being elected to the House, and ran, unsuccessfully, for Springfield mayor in 2023, leaving the door wide open for another run down the road.

Most of those who nominated Ramos for the Alumni Achievement Award — and there were several — called him an ambassador for the city, a mentor to young people, and, in many ways, an inspiration to those in the minority community.

FAST FACTS

Age: 42
40 Under Forty Class: 2014
Title Then: Springfield City Councilor
Title Now: State Representative, 9th Hampden District
Walk-up Song: “Aguanile” by Marc Anthony
Years an AAA Finalist: 2

In addition, he’s a prolific filer of bills designed, in many cases, to safeguard the interests of his constituents while also addressing inequalities that still exist on many levels.

Indeed, Ramos said he filed 27 bills at the beginning of this session, the most he’s ever filed, and they involve everything from regulations for facial surveillance technology (there currently are none) to measures to protect taxpayers and cities and towns from utility companies that withhold property taxes by closing existing loopholes.

“The law was intended to help small, mom-and-pop businesses and individual residents that were struggling to pay their tax bills,” he explained. “It wasn’t meant to help multi-billion-dollar utilities to abuse that loophole.”

In addition to all this work at the State House, Ramos remains actively involved with the community, whether it’s in his neighborhood, where he sits on the Indian Orchard Citizens Council; coaching in a basketball league; turning up at car shows; or supporting small businesses.

“I always try to show up at small businesses and festivals and community events and be supportive of everything that’s happening in the community,” said Ramos, who has a new initiative that touches on many of his priorities, goals, and efforts to make a difference.

It’s called Ties to Success, and it’s designed to teach young men in Springfield public schools how to tie a tie — what he calls an important but overlooked life skill.

“Eventually, I hope to reach every graduating class in the city,” he said, adding that, in this, the program’s inaugural year, he and others working with him started with about 30 students at Putnam.

“I’ve recruited about 15 volunteer mentors from the public and private sector,” he said. “In addition to learning how to tie a tie, each student will leave with a brand-new tie, written instructions, and the invaluable experience of connecting with positive role models from the business and government sectors.”

Speaking of tying the knot, Ramos, a proud single parent of daughter, Ariana, now 21 (who was his date at his 40 Under Forty gala), announced that he recently got engaged to a member of the 40 Under Forty class of 2024, Natalie Mercado, owner and CEO of Sweetera & Co.

That adds another passion to a man who has several, including those cars. You might say he’s a driving force for positive change. Many people do.

—George O’Brien

Ryan McCollum

By
Ryan McCollum
Alumni Achievement Award

Owner, RMC Strategies

Ryan McCollum

Ryan McCollum

Ryan McCollum when he was named to the 40 Under Forty class of 2012, and today (top)

Ryan McCollum when he was named to the 40 Under Forty class of 2012, and today (top)

Ryan McCollum says he likes to have the circles in his life intersect.

And by circles, he means people who are in his life for various reasons — clients, friends, colleagues, elected officials — and causes and agencies he supports, everything from early childhood education provider Square One to the game of golf, especially for populations not generally associated with it.

To get his point across, McCollum gave a couple examples that help tell his story, and this particular story of how he is again a finalist for the coveted Alumni Achievement Award.

One references his involvement with a group called 16 Lyrics (formed with 15 friends), which is committed to combating racism and, among other initiatives, helps provide schools with books featuring diverse characters, authors, and storylines — “because, whether it was books or TV, it was hard to find characters that looked like me,” he noted.

“We had a golf tournament last year,” he said of 16 Lyrics. “I had Trap Golf, which I work with to bring people in the game, donate a bunch of stuff. I had a client from PricewaterhouseCoopers play with me. I made sure to ask elected officials to play or sponsor — we had a cart full of state reps. My wife and daughter helped in planning it. Circles intersected: my charitable world, a lobbying client, my family, and all my friends, and Get Set Marketing designed and printed all the tee signs and the like, and I work with them.”

FAST FACTS

Age: 45
40 Under Forty Class: 2012
Title Then: Owner and Principal, RMC Strategies; Marketing Consultant, Get Set Marketing
Title Now: Owner, RMC Strategies
Walk-up Song: “Get By” by Talib Kweli
Years an AAA Finalist: 2

The second example involves one of his clients, Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia, and the kickoff to his re-election campaign in February.

Garcia wanted Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll to attend, and McCollum made some calls and secured an appearance, not just for that announcement, but also for a tour of the Hope for Youth Arts Center (formerly CityStage), a project being undertaken by another McCollum client, Robert Bolduc, and his Center for Hope & Families Foundation. He also helped organize a fundraiser for the lieutenant governor at LightHouse Holyoke, a non-traditional middle and high school that is another McCollum client. And to top it off, Young at Heart, the Northampton-based chorus and yet another client, performed at the event.

You might say bringing worlds together and having circles intersect is what McCollum does. Professionally, he’s an entrepreneur, the owner of RMC Strategies, a consulting firm that partners with Get Set Marketing to provide one-stop shopping for those with political marketing needs. He’s worked on several campaigns over the years, including those for Garcia and State Rep. Orlando Ramos, another of this year’s AAA finalists (see story on page 19).

McCollum is also heavily involved in the community and has been for decades. He’s among the founders of the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield and currently sits on several boards, including those for Square One, Suit Up Springfield, 16 Lyrics, the Healing Racism Institute of Pioneer Valley, and the National Conference for Community and Justice.

“When people ask me what I do, I tell them I’m a political consultant, I tell them I’m a lobbyist, but I do a lot of connecting of folks whom I think should be connected,” he said, adding that this unique and important skill has defined his professional career and personal life.

And it certainly explains why is a finalist for the Alumni Achievement Award for the second time in three years.

As does his outlook on simply … being kind.

“Kindness, and being kind, is a great business and career strategy, and on so many levels,” he told BusinessWest. “Especially in my business — the relationship business. Treating people kindly goes a long way. It can be hard to be kind all the time, because we’re all human … but it’s important, and it’s something I work on.”

As for the game of golf, McCollum plays whenever he can — he’s partial to Springfield’s municipal courses, Franconia and Veterans — and has become involved with various efforts and outfits, such as Trap Golf out of Atlanta, which was created to bring more people into the game, “especially communities that don’t intersect with it often,” as he put it.

“I like to be America’s golf guest,” he joked, adding that he plays with friends as well as entering tournaments for various causes throughout the summer.

“It’s a great game,” he went on, adding that, among other things, it provides more opportunities to enable circles to intersect and for him to continue his work as a connector.

—George O’Brien

 

FAST
FACTS

Age: 45

40 Under Forty Class: 2012

Title Then: Owner and Principal, RMC Strategies; Marketing Consultant, Get Set Marketing

Title Now: Owner, RMC Strategies

Walk-up Song: “Get By” by Talib Kweli

Years an AAA Finalist: 2

James Krupienski

By
James Krupienski
Alumni Achievement Award

Partner, Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.

James Krupienski

James Krupienski

Jim Krupienski when he was named to the 40 Under Forty class of 2010, and today (top)

Jim Krupienski when he was named to the 40 Under Forty class of 2010, and today (top)

It’s called Krupienski’s Korner.

That the name of the … let’s call it gathering spot in the break room at the accounting firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka.

Jim Krupienski is host and unofficial bartender at the Korner on Friday afternoons just after 5 during tax season. He said tax preparers and others at the firm can get a libation if they are so inclined, but also, and more importantly, a much-needed reprieve from the pressures that build as April 15 approaches.

FAST FACTS

Age: 46
40 Under Forty Class: 2010
Title Then: CPA Manager, Health Care and Pension Audit Divisions, Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.
Title Now: Partner, Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.
Walk-up Song: “Dream On” by Aerosmith
Years an AAA Finalist: 1

“It’s just a way for people to step away after a long week and just talk about something other than tax returns, take a deep breath, and unwind,” said Krupienski, noting that, with his Korner, he is continuing a tradition started years ago by retired partner Bob Perry, who operated Perry’s Pub for those same reasons.

Korner keeper is one just one of the many additional roles and responsibilities Krupienski has assumed since he joined the 40 Under Forty club in 2010. Then, he was CPA Manager for the Health Care and Pension Audit Divisions. Now, he’s one of six partners who together manage all operations at the firm.

Krupienski’s focus points are marketing and what’s known as the firm’s Business Development Group, an initiative that empowers emerging professionals to develop their networking skills, build a clientele, and foster strong client relationships.

To this and his many other assignments, Krupienski brings energy, creativity, a strong emphasis on teamwork, and a mindset of building a stronger firm through a focus on people. All this helps explain why he is a first-time finalist for the Alumni Achievement Award.

“Jim has not only enhanced his professional stature but also elevated the firm’s reputation in the broader business community,” wrote Howard Cheney, another of the firm’s partners, who nominated Krupienski for the honor. “This ongoing commitment to excellence, innovation, and community engagement has significantly contributed to the firm’s success and continued growth, marking Jim as a pivotal figure in its upward trajectory.

“Jim’s contributions to the firm’s corporate culture, especially through initiatives like Krupienski’s Korner, illustrate his dedication to creating a cohesive, supporting, and engaging workplace environment,” Cheney continued. “These somewhat intangible contributions to the firm are invaluable, playing a significant role in enhancing employee satisfaction and morale.”

Krupienski, who became partner in 2017, said his new role and responsibilities have created learning experiences on many levels that are, of course, continuing. He listed COVID as one of those experiences.

“That was an interesting, challenging time … we were all learning together,” he said of the partnership team. “We’d have partner meetings several times a week just to figure out the next steps while the governor was making his decisions; we were trying to figure it all out and make very quick, very real decisions that were impacting people and their well-being. And this was the in middle of tax season.

“Through it all, we learned a lot about ourselves, about our firm, about our employees — and in the end, we came out stronger,” he went on, adding that this learning continues on many levels.

And while he continues to mature as a leader, mentor, and motivator, Krupienski remains active in the community, especially in his home community of Westfield. There, he is involved with everything from Little League to the Chamber of Commerce to the YMCA. He is also current chair of the Westfield Foundation.

Meanwhile, he is involved with the firm’s many efforts to support area nonprofits and individual causes and initiatives. Under his influence, MBK has supported entities such as Habitat for Humanity of Greater Springfield and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts through donations, volunteering, and raising awareness. He’s also a strong supporter of the firm’s Dress Down for Charity Days, a fundraising effort that benefits various local charities, including the Veterans Home at Holyoke and the Massachusetts Special Olympics.

And he is continually encouraging those at the firm, especially the young professionals, to get involved themselves, as supporters of nonprofits, but also as board members, roles that support those agencies but also help individuals develop into leaders in the community.

When not working — at MBK or in the community — Krupienski is usually spending time with family — wife Megan, son James, and daughter Hayley. His children were very young when he joined the 40 Under Forty club, but are now a junior in college and a graduating high school senior and softball player, respectively, with James poised to follow his father into the accounting field.

—George O’Brien

 

 

 

Amelia Holstrom

By
Amelia Holstrom
Alumni Achievement Award

Partner, Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C.

Amelia Holstrom

Amelia Holstrom

Amelia Holstrom when she was named to the 40 Under Forty class of 2015 and today (top)

Amelia Holstrom won’t ever have any trouble remembering when she joined the 40 Under Forty club.

It was near the time her first child was born. Make that very near.

Indeed, the day after Holstrom posed for her 40 Under Forty photo — “they told me to bring a prop; I said, ‘isn’t my stomach enough of a prop?’” — she was in labor. She recalls being in the hospital after delivery and facing a deadline to pick a walk-up song for the gala.

FAST FACTS

Age: 39
40 Under Forty Class: 2015
Title Then: Associate Attorney, Skoler, Abbott & Presser
Title Now: Partner, Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C.
Walk-up Song: “Gonna Fly Now” from Rocky
Years an AAA Finalist: 1

“I didn’t have a lot of time to think, so I just went with the theme from Rocky,” she recalled, adding that the gala at the Log Cabin that June marked her first real public event since she gave birth to Carter, who is now 10 and an avid soccer player.

Attending his games, and also her younger son Reid’s track meets, are just a few of the many things Holstrom now packs into a busy schedule that also includes many forms of giving back, including several roles within her home community of Wilbraham, as well her day (and sometimes night) job as a partner with the Springfield-based law firm Skoler, Abbott & Presser.

It’s a schedule that’s helps explain why she is a finalist for the Alumni Achievement Award for 2025.

Holstrom was an associate attorney when she became a member of the class of 2015. Today, she is a partner and one of the leaders of a firm that specializes in employment law, a subject Holstrom likes to talk about, and on many different levels, from interviews with the press to leadership roles in events hosted by the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast, MassHire Springfield, and others.

“I pride myself on being able to explain complex issues in everyday language so that everyone will understand and get a grasp of what they need to know.”

This is an intriguing area of the law, she told BusinessWest, one where there is both constant change and an overriding mission — to help employers stay on of top of all that change and, at the same time, avert potential legal trouble.

“In this area of the law, I have a unique opportunity to advise employers before something happens,” she said. “I can give them advice so that, if they are sued by an employee, they’re in the best position to defend that matter. And sometimes, I can guide them through the process with a specific employee issue, and a lawsuit never arises.

“Employment law is an area of the law that changes frequently, and it’s really important for employers to keep up with that change,” she went on. “If they don’t do that, they could find themselves facing a lawsuit, including a wage-and-hour claim or another type of claim. So I’ve dedicated my time to learning employment law inside and out, knowing everything there is to know.”

Helping employers navigate the rough seas created by constantly changing employment law requires several skills, said Holstrom, especially the ability to both listen and communicate effectively.

“One of my mentors when I first started with the firm really talked about how knowing the information is one thing, but being able to explain it to supervisors and managers in a way that is understandable is the most important part of the equation,” she noted. “I pride myself on being able to explain complex issues in everyday language so that everyone will understand and get a grasp of what they need to know.”

And there are several areas they need to know, including, most recently, paid family medical leave and issues involving diversity, equity, and inclusion.

As for other items on her busy schedule … these include serving with several area nonprofits, including the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts, as chair of board development; the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, as a member of the personnel committee; Clinical & Support Options, as a board member and clerk; and the East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce, as legislative chair.

Meanwhile, in Wilbraham, she serves as vice chair of the town’s Commission on Disabilities, chair of the Personnel Advisory Board, and, most recently, library trustee; she filled a short-term vacancy on that board and was recently elected to a three-year term.

These various contributions to the community were recognized by the Massachusetts Bar Assoc., which honored Holstrom with its Community Service Award for Hampden County in 2016.

And then, there’s her family, for which she always finds time, and to which there will always be a special connection to 40 Under Forty.

—George O’Brien

 

Jeffrey Fialky

By
Jeffrey Fialky
Alumni Achievement Award

Managing Shareholder, Bacon Wilson, P.C.

Jeffrey Fialky

Jeffrey Fialky

Jeff Fialky when he was named to the 40 Under Forty class of 2008, and today (top).

Jeff Fialky says being managing shareholder of a law firm allows him to “put my money where my mouth is.”

For decades, he’s been counseling business owners large and small on matters from personnel to growth through acquisition to being prepared for the future and whatever it might bring.

And now, he’s doing all of the above and more for Bacon Wilson, a firm celebrating its 130th birthday. Fialky says it’s his job — his mission, in fact — to make sure it’s around for another 130.

“We have 115 employees, four offices, and we’re looking to expand — we’re looking at other geographic areas, other firms, other attorneys looking to join,” he said. “And you balance that with a business with exponentially increasing expenses, which creates unique challenges, but is exciting for someone who has been representing businesses and business owners for 30 years.”

Including the recently announed class of 2025, there are 760 members of the 40 Under Forty club. Fialky is now among the … let’s call them ‘most senior.’

“Will humans get to a point where they’re satisfied looking at a blinking cursor and a computer screen? I don’t think I’ll see that in my lifetime, but as lawyers, as a legal industry, we must be thinking about what the future has in store.”

He was honored in 2008, the program’s second year, just a few years after joining Bacon Wilson as an associate. That was so long ago, honorees didn’t have their own walk-up music, as they do now. When asked what he may have chosen, Fialky gave an answer that spoke to just how many years have passed.

“My tastes have changed over time … it would probably be something country now,” he said. “Back then, probably Beastie Boys, Metallica, or something in between; now it’s country.”

While his tastes in music have changed over the years, so have the responsibilities for Fialky, a finalist for the Alumni Achievement Award several times early on (the award was created a decade ago), but not recently. His ascension to managing partner has something to do with his return to the field, as does his continued involvement with the community.

With the former, he noted, it’s an intriguing challenge at any time, but especially now — for the legal industry and for business in general.

FAST FACTS

Age: 55
40 Under Forty Class: 2008
Title Then: Associate Attorney, Bacon Wilson, P.C.
Title Now: Managing Shareholder, Bacon Wilson, P.C.
Walk-up Song: None
Years an AAA Finalist: 4

“I enjoy this side of what I do,” said Fialky, who remains chair of the firm’s corporate and commercial department and serves as the senior mergers and acquisitions attorney as well. “I enjoy the entrepreneurial aspect, as well as the management, and they’re different.

“The management side is the day-to-day, P&L and balance sheet, the budget,” he went on. “The entrepreneurial side is imagining where the future lies and the practice of law in the Pioneer Valley.”

Which brings him to the subject of AI, technology that is casting a shadow over the future if many industry sectors.

“I don’t think we’ve seen it yet in our day-to-day, but you have to be realistic that it is going to change the way the practice of law looks in the future, maybe five to 10 years out,” he told BusinessWest. “Predicting what that’s going to look like is more art than science, but you must be thinking that far out as you see the billions that are being invested in AI and will continue to be.

“For so long, people wanted to look their lawyer in the eye; they wanted to hear from a human being when they were asking, ‘what should I do?’” he went on. “Will humans get to a point where they’re satisfied looking at a blinking cursor and a computer screen? I don’t think I’ll see that in my lifetime, but as lawyers, as a legal industry, we must be thinking about what the future has in store.”

As for his work in the community, Fialky continues to be involved with several nonprofits and business groups. That list includes the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce, which he has served as a board member since 2007 and as chair from 2013 to 2016, and the Springfield Museums, which he has served as a trustee since 2012.

Previously, he has been involved with agencies and causes ranging from the United Way to the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield; from Leadership Pioneer Valley to the American Cancer Society.

Today, while continuing to give back and leading Bacon Wilson into its next 130 years, he finds time for family, especially his son, Samuel, born just after he was presented with his 40 Under Forty plaque, and daughter Madeline.

“They’re both just wonderful, so I spend a lot of time with them,” said Fialky, the now country music fan who has returned to being a finalist for the Alumni Achievement Award.

—George O’Brien

 

 

Announcing BusinessWest’s 2025 40 Under Forty

By
Class of 2025 Cover Story Uncategorized

40 Under Forty was launched in 2007 to honor young professionals in Western Massachusetts, not only for their career achievements, but for their service to the community. Winners hail from a host of different industries. Many are advancing the work of long-established businesses, while others have created their own entrepreneurial opportunities. 

Meet the class of 2025 and read their stories below.

You can view the interactive flipbook HERE

CELEBRATE THE CLASS OF 2025!

Join Us on June 19th at The Mass Mutual Center

Tickets on sale now!

Photos by Leah Martin Photography

Olivia Calcasola
Tatiana Cole
Tatiana Cole
Sherleen Crespo
Chelsea Depault
Chelsea Depault
Amber Estelle
Paris Felogloy
Maureen Freniere
Koby Gardner-Levine
Diana Guzman
Angela Hansberry
Angela Hansberry
Brenton Jenkins
Tashea Jenkins
Tashea Jenkins
Sarah Lapolice
Shannon Lynch
Mia McDonald
Dr. Nathan Macedo
Liz Martinek
Liz Martinek
Jessica Menard
Kate Minifie
Jason Moran
Jason Moran
Dr. Divya Mudumba
Dr. Divya Mudumba
Marc Murphy
Geoff Naunheim
Geoff Naunheim
Kerry Parsons
Brigid Owino
Jennifer Reynolds
Catherine Rioux
Lidia Rodriguez
Kashawn Sanders
Davis Snow
Davis Snow
Nicole Taylor
Savannah Taylor
Victoria Thompson
Victoria Thompson
Kerri-Lynn Tichy
Vadim Tulchinsky
Vadim Tulchinsky
Dr. Allison van der Velden
Mydalis Vera
Matthew Waldrip
Elizabeth Wambui
Elizabeth Wambui
Janna White

Presenting Sponsor:

Partner Sponsors:

Janna White

By
Class of 2025

Director, Five College Center for World Languages: Age 39

Janna White

Janna White

In explaining the importance of her organization, Janna White noted that the Five Colleges are known for language study, but while students are interested in a diverse array of languages, not all of them draw enough interest to be offered in the classroom.

“But they still wanted to make as many languages available as possible,” she said, which is why the Five College Center for World Languages was founded more than three decades ago.

“We complement rather than compete with the languages available on campus, and students can take as many languages as possible while they’re here,” she said — about 60 in all, among the highest number offered anywhere in the country.

White directs all aspects of programming for this element of the Five College Consortium, enabling 300 students per year to study these less commonly taught languages for college credit.

It was an intriguing opportunity for White when she took the job in 2018, as she has always had a love of language. As sole proprietor of Janna R. White Content and Editing from 2011 to 2018, she offered communications products and project-management services, including editing 28 books, 21 articles, and hundreds of reports, white papers, and webpages.

“I worked with a variety of different organizations and individuals, but I really specialized in academic work — academic presses and scholars and faculty. I was really enjoying that work, and I wanted to expand on the ways in which I was partnering with academic institutions. That’s how I wound up at Five Colleges.”

From 2016 to 2018, she served as Academic Programs coordinator before her current job opened up.

“Our particular focus on less commonly taught languages is really important,” she noted. “The reason why we say ‘less commonly taught’ and not ‘less common’ is that many have millions, if not billions, of speakers, like Cantonese, Hindi, and Urdu. But it’s not common for college students to have opportunities to study those languages. So we’re really broadening access and opportunity for students.”

Active in her community, White served two terms on the Northampton Community Preservation Committee and joined the Northampton Planning Board in 2018. Elected vice chair in 2022, she will become chair this year.

“Anyone who has volunteered in the community knows it can be challenging, but it’s also incredibly rewarding,” she said. “It’s been one of the great learning experiences of my personal and professional life. I take that responsibility very seriously.”

—Joseph Bednar

Dr. Allison van der Velden

By
Class of 2025

CEO, Community Health Center of Franklin County: Age 39

Dr. Allison van der Velden

Dr. Allison van der Velden

Like many Hampshire College students, Dr. Allison Van der Velden trod a winding path, first studying language and religion, then switching to microbiology, then landing on dentistry.

“I was interested in working with people, making a difference, working with my hands, learning a useful skill — being a doctor, but not having the same emotional load as, say, pediatric oncology. Just something where I could solve problems.”

After starting her career at Amherst Dental Group, then working in private practice, she did some part-time work Hilltown Community Health Center and immediately preferred that model of care.

“I realized the community health center movement was more my home, so I left private practice,” van der Velden said. “I really enjoy the healthcare aspect of dental. I prefer that to cosmetic dentistry. I don’t enjoy cutting down a perfectly healthy tooth and doing a treatment to look prettier for someone who was already beautiful. That never jived with me.

“What I find really satisfying is taking a person who’s afraid of the dentist, in pain, and putting them at ease and relieving their pain and discomfort and bringing them to a healthier place.”

She eventually landed at the Community Health Center of Franklin County and moved quickly up the ranks from dentist to dental director to CEO. The nonprofit, federally qualified health center provides primary medical care, dental care, behavioral health, and wraparound services like transportation, language translation, and health-insurance navigation, and recently opened its first pharmacy.

“One thing you notice in the community health center population is a lot of patients have been mistreated by the medical healthcare industry,” she explained. “They’ve been invalidated, haven’t had resources during their lives from the beginning, and have had a lot of trauma.”

Away from work, van der Velden has volunteered with numerous boards, including Amherst Survival Center, as well as Deerfield’s Capital Improvement Planning Committee and Finance Committee. At work, she leads a team that serves 9,000 people annually — a number that’s only growing in a rural region with fewer medical resources than other counties.

“I like to say community health centers are the least broken part of the healthcare system,” she said. “People face so many barriers to seeking their best quality of life and medical treatment. I’m passionate about healthcare and healthcare access and feel really good knowing I am working to be part of a solution to an enormous problem.”

—Joseph Bednar

Elizabeth Wambui

By
Class of 2025

Director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Impact, Fontaine Brothers Inc.: Age 38

Elizabeth Wambui

Elizabeth Wambui

Diversity in construction is important for a number of reasons, Liz Wambui said, while breaking down the elements of her multi-faceted job at Fontaine Brothers Inc.

“The first piece is making sure we’re doing everything we can to be compliant with the workforce goals on every public project — and we are lucky to be building a lot of public projects,” she explained.

“Another piece is workforce development. And we’ve been very intentional about talking to not just students and educators, but anyone considering a career change about all the opportunities within the trades. We need people, and we need them yesterday.”

That’s a common refrain among contractors, especially businesses looking to grow at a time when more people are aging out of the field than entering it. “With the retirements coming up within our industry, we’ve really been spending time on that,” she said. “It’s a huge piece of my work here.”

To that end, Wambui plays a critical role leading project teams to maximize opportunities for minority- and women-owned business enterprises, as well as attracting a more diverse workforce. The firm partners with unions, trade schools, and other community partners to more actively promote and provide opportunities for local residents.

“We’ve been very intentional about is presenting the entire breadth of opportunities within the construction industry — getting to educators and caregivers and anyone in front of young folks, so they understand it,” she said. “These are life-changing opportunities.”

The third part of Fontaine’s role is executive director of the Fontaine Community Foundation, where she builds partnerships with organizations focused on the common good and connects the firm with worthy causes, especially those important to staff members.

Wambui is no stranger to accolades; in fact, she’s a rare double 40 Under Forty winner, having received that honor from the Worcester Business Journal in 2014, when she worked for the American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts. She then served as director of Advancement at Nativity School of Worcester before coming to Fontaine Brothers in 2021.

“I’ve been given so many opportunities to learn and try different things and be creative, and I like that because it definitely pushes me out of my comfort zone,” she said. “I love community engagement, to sit with an issue that affects us all and bring a lot of constituencies together to solve problems. Different perspectives are so important. We need them.”

—Joseph Bednar

Mydalis Vera

By
Class of 2025

Owner, Guerrera Writer LLC: Age 36

Mydalis Vera

Mydalis Vera

As an author and social worker, Mydalis Vera lives an impactful life on two fronts, which often intersect.

The first is Guerrera Writer LLC, through which she provides editing and consulting services for a number of organizations, making research reports more clear, precise, and professional, and helping to develop culturally responsive educational content.

She also founded and facilitates a writing group for women aspiring to begin their writing journey. The group welcomed 34 women in 2024, with a goal of doubling that number this year.

As a social worker, she partners with agencies across Western Mass., with a special interest in the foster-care system; she has written more than 150 comprehensive adoption studies or child assessments for children in foster care, with the goal of facilitating adoptions.

“It’s a service I provide because the Department of Children and Families has been in overflow for a long time,” she explained. “So I come in and do adoption studies and assessments to make sure children can get adopted in a timely manner. Sometimes kids are in care longer than they should be because these reports are not completed in time. These reports have to be written so the judge can say this child can be adopted.

“This is my passion,” she added. “When it comes to social work and creating content, I took all the things I love and put them together.”

A dedicated civic leader, Vera has contributed to various organizations and initiatives aimed at empowering communities, including serving as a mentor and board member with Girls Inc. of the Valley, joining the board of Dress for Success Western Massachusetts, and volunteering with the O’Dell Women’s Center.

“I love working with communities,” said Vera, who draws inspiration from her mother, Mildred DeJesus. “We grew up in poverty, and I thought my mom was the smartest person I knew, but she never had the opportunity to really flourish and become what she wanted to be. And I always told myself, when I got older, I would try to give women who wanted an opportunity a chance to create that opportunity.”

That’s why much of her volunteerism centers on inspiring and helping girls and women.

“I’m trying to show women that there is possibility, that they can do it,” Vera added. “I want to demonstrate to women that there are people who care about them, and there is a way out of the darkness.”

—Joseph Bednar

Matt Waldrip

By
Class of 2025

Manager, Licensing & Permitting, Eversource: Age 36

Matt Waldrip

Matt Waldrip

He calls it ‘Turtlepalooza.’

This is a program Matt Waldrip, manager of Licensing & Permitting for Eversource, now coordinates yearly. And, as the name suggests, it involves turtles — or turtle safety, to be more precise.

“We train our construction crews how to safely conduct their work when there are turtles present on site, so they can avoid direct harm to the species,” he explained. “And the way we do that is by training them and letting them know what to look for and methods they can use to move grass out of the way so they can see the turtles.”

That’s just one of many ways Waldrip works to bring construction and the environment together — in everything from his day job to his hobby, beekeeping.

A graduate of Westfield State University, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in environmental science and regional planning, and Fitchburg State, where he earned an MBA, Waldrip manages a team of 15 scientists responsible for licensing and permitting critical energy projects, everything from utility poles to lattice towers, to make the electric grid more reliable, resilient, and sustainable — work he finds rewarding on many levels.

“I find it interesting. I come from a family of scientists — my mom was a science teacher, and my dad is a farmer now, but he was a college professor,” he said. “I just came to realize how important the environment is, and I wanted to try to make a difference.”

He’s doing so on many levels, including in the community. He’s served, with others, as a captain for Eversource’s United Way campaign, as well as serving as an Eversource runner in a 5K race with Mass General Cancer Center and the Run for Boston Children’s Hospital.

He’s also a member of the Hadley Planning Board, chairs the energy resource committee for the Environmental Business Council of New England, co-chaired the 2025 annual conference of the Massachusetts Assoc. of Conservation Commissions, and coaches in the Amherst Youth Basketball Assoc., among other efforts.

As for the beekeeping … he had six hives, but unfortunately, a few died over the winter. He sells honey and wax to friends in what he described as an enjoyable side hustle inspired by his mother.

“She’s been a beekeeper for years,” he said. “I just got kind of hooked into it as I realized how beneficial bees are to the environment.”

—George O’Brien

Vadim Tulchinsky

By
Class of 2025

Partner, Director of Acquisitions, Urbanist Development: Age 39

Vadim Tulchinsky

Vadim Tulchinsky

While earning a master’s degree in real-estate development from Columbia University, Vadim Tulchinsky realized early on that he didn’t want to spend his career building skyscrapers or shopping malls.

“I wanted to find a place where I could make a difference,” he said. “And I was never super motivated by money. If I could exist in a place with a lower cost of living and make enough money to pay my mortgage, that was good enough for me.”

About 15 years ago, he visited Holyoke, explored the mill and canal area, and “it was love at first sight.”

He met two like-minded professionals, and they started discussing their vision for urban living, one that’s safe, dense, walkable, and bikeable. “We understood the value of a downtown where you can walk or bike to it; that’s the difference between a thriving place and a stagnant one.”

So they started Urbanist Development about eight years ago specifically to revitalize downtown Holyoke. Since then, they have purchased and redeveloped historically significant buildings in the High Street area, bringing them back to life with a mix of storefronts, offices, and much-needed residential units.

“The once-vibrant Holyoke downtown area has seriously gone into decline since the July 1979 opening of the Holyoke Mall,” said Helene Alderman Florio, president of the Holyoke Taxpayers Assoc., one of 14 people who nominated Tulchinsky for 40 Under Forty. “Vadim has recognized the value in getting people back into the central downtown of Holyoke.”

Tulchinsky not only serves on the board of that organization, but also on the board of directors of Holyoke Preservation Trust, and he has worked to create a business improvement district downtown as well.

An immigrant from Russia — his family fled in the early ’90s when the Soviet Union was collapsing — Tulchinsky grew up in Boston, but is gratified to be working on meaningful projects in a smaller city, projects the size of which many larger developers won’t touch.

“Somebody has to do it for these little buildings, relatively speaking, that otherwise might get torn down. It’s heartbreaking to see these beautiful assets of the city get wasted,” he said. “We have the patience, we have the wherewithal, and we feel like we can make a difference here. If all we do is turn around one block, that will move the needle. We believe we can change the perception of Holyoke.”

—Joseph Bednar

Tori Thompson

By
Class of 2025

Vice President, Head of Internal Audit, PeoplesBank: Age 38

Tori Thompson

Tori Thompson

Tori Thompson calls her role “the third line of defense for our bank.”

Management is the first, setting controls and policies, while the second line comprises risk and compliance, she explained. Internal audit is the third line of defense, examining the controls the bank has in place. And it’s important work.

“Her business acumen has resulted in our having successful audits and examinations, without any major findings, from a very wide variety of state compliance and regulatory agencies,” said PeoplesBank President Brian Canina, who recruited Thompson based on their prior tenures at Wolf & Co., an accounting firm in Springfield.

“I got my foot in the door there because we did a lot of financial audit statements for banks,” she explained. “It was like Banking 101; I got to see the inner working of banks.”

Thompson was selected in December as Volunteer of the Month from among 325 PeoplesBank colleagues — a notable achievement at an institution that prioritizes civic engagement.

“They’re very supportive of everyone taking time out of their day to help the community around us, and I’m proud to be part of a company that’s supportive of that,” she said.

For example, as board treasurer for the Hitchcock Center for the Environment since 2019, she chairs the finance committee and serves on the executive committee.

“Their mission is to foster environmental awareness and environmental awareness through educational programs,” she said. “They live and breathe sustainability every day and do work every day to help the community.”

Rhea Banker, president of the Hitchcock Center, noted that Thompson has “led the board and staff in working together with vital information about best working practices. In addition, she was at the forefront of redefining our investment practices, helping to sustain our critical climate education moving into the future.”

Thompson — whose family includes husband Devon and children Carter, Liam, and Ellery — has also volunteered with the Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts Teen Reality Fair, Revitalize CDC’s #GreenNFit builds, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western Massachusetts, Safe Passage, Girls Inc. of the Valley, Valley Educational Associates, the United Way of Hampshire County, and Gateway Youth Athletic Assoc., where she serves as board secretary.

“That’s an all-volunteer group of parents who get together, offer sports programs, and promote physical activity and teamwork among everyone,” she explained. “We want to get the kids away from screen time, active, and out in nature as much as possible.”

—Joseph Bednar

Kerri Tichy

By
Class of 2025

Senior Director of Philanthropy, Shriners Children’s New England; Age 38

Kerri Tichy

Kerri Tichy

Kerri Tichy doesn’t see her role as senior director of Philanthropy at Shriners Children’s New England as work, instead calling it a “passion.”

Actually, it combines two passions.

One involves philanthropy, and the other involves the Shriners, its many organizations, its children’s clinics, and especially the one in Springfield, where her daughter, Kelsi, is a patient.

“My father was a Shriner, and I grew up in the daughter organization called the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, and from that, I went into the Ladies of the Oriental Shrine of North America — the ladies with the white fezzes,” Tichy said. “Shriner’s Children’s is my passion and my purpose; it’s part of who I am.”

As for fundraising, Tichy has made it a significant part of her career.

Indeed, she worked in the private sector — for Aero Fastener Co. in Westfield and also MassMutual and Babson Capital — before joining the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, managing more than 430 philanthropic funds and driving strategic donor-engagement efforts.

She enjoyed that work, but when there was an opportunity to join Shriners Children’s New England, she jumped at it. And since arriving in 2022, she has excelled, while also moving up in the ranks, from Development officer to associate director to director, and now senior director.

Last year, for example, she oversaw the team that raised just over $8 million, 272% above the goal of $3 million, an achievement she attributes largely to one large, anonymous $10 million donation split with the Boston clinic, but mostly to hard work.

“There were a lot of events, a lot of speaking engagements, and meeting with donors,” Tichy said, adding that she spends most of her days hitting the pavement and spreading the word about the organization’s mission.

“When you’re mission-oriented, that speaks authentically to the donors and engages them, so it creates a deeper impact all the way around,” she said. “The other key is building on that relationship. Yes, the dollar matters, but at the end of the day, if you don’t have the rapport and the relationship with the individuals, the money isn’t going to continue.”

While doing all this, she is also active in the community, with organizations ranging from the PTO at her daughter Kelsi’s school to the Ladies of the Oriental Shrine of North America to Easter Seals of Western Massachusetts.

—George O’Brien