Harry Dumay

Harry Dumay, who boasts a long and distinguished career in higher education, officially took the helm of Elms College as its 11th president on July 1 (see story, page 17). Dumay was chosen after a nationwide search and has served in higher education finance and administration at senior and executive levels for 19 years. He holds a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Boston College, an MBA from Boston University, and a master’s degree in public administration from Framingham State University. “Dr. Dumay is a multi-faceted leader who understands Elms College and the importance of a liberal-arts education based in the Catholic intellectual tradition,” said Cynthia Lyons, chair of the board of trustees. “He has a collaborative style and a demonstrated record of strengthening organizational and academic effectiveness, and he is enthusiastic about the future of Elms College.” Dumay, who hails from Ouanaminthe, Haiti, most recently resided with his family in Framingham and worked as the senior vice president and chief financial officer at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. Before that, he served as chief financial officer and associate dean at Harvard University’s Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, associate dean at Boston College’s Graduate School of Social Work, and director of finance for Boston University’s School of Engineering. Dumay also served as an adjunct faculty member at Boston College for nine years. Dumay’s inauguration will be held in the fall. The trustees are planning additional autumn events that will allow everyone to meet the new president. He succeeds Mary Reap, who retired June 30 after serving as Elms president for the past eight years.

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Jessie Cooley

Following last month’s retirement of long-time Director Renee Moss, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County (BBBSHC) hired Jessie Cooley as its new director. Cooley has worked for 12 years with the BBBS organization, first in Boston and then in Franklin County, where she grew up. Most recently, she worked as the district director for state Rep. Paul Mark. She earned her master’s degree in education at UMass Amherst, and her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and secondary education from Northeastern University. She is a 2013 graduate of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts’ Leadership Institute for Political and Public Impact. “I am truly honored to join the phenomenal staff of this great program, and to work with them and our dedicated advisory board to match more children in Hampshire County with caring ‘bigs,’” said Cooley. “Having been a Big Sister myself, and after working with Big Brothers Big Sisters for more than a decade, I know the powerful, positive impact our mentoring programs have on children, their families, their mentors, and the larger community. I couldn’t be more thrilled to have this opportunity.”

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Keith Rhone

Friends of the Homeless, a program of Clinical & Support Options (CSO), recently welcomed Keith Rhone as the new director of Operations, overseeing day-to-day management of the Worthington Street facility. Most recently, Rhone served as assistant director of Safety and Crisis Management with ROCA Inc. of Springfield and established strong connections to community law enforcement and local program providers. He has also served as fiscal director with the Black Chamber of Commerce. Born and raised in Springfield, Rhone earned an associate degree in accounting from Springfield Technical Community College, and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from American International College.

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Katrina Anop

Tabitha Vianna

Bacon Wilson announced that Katrina Anop and Tabitha Vianna have joined the firm as associate attorneys. Anop is a graduate of the Western New England University School of Law. She is a member of Bacon Wilson’s real estate, family law, probate, employment, and immigration practice groups. Fluent in Spanish, she works primarily from the firm’s Springfield office. Vianna is a cum laude graduate of the Western New England University School of Law. She is a member of Bacon Wilson’s business and corporate practice group, where much of her work is devoted to assisting clients with commercial loan closings. She is licensed to practice in both Massachusetts and Connecticut.

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Barbara Campbell

Michael Tucker, president and CEO of Greenfield Co-operative Bank, announced that Barbara Campbell has been promoted to assistant vice president, Commercial Loans. Campbell has been with the bank since 2010, first as a credit analyst and for the past two years as a commercial loan officer. Prior to joining the institution, she worked at TD Bank, the Bank of Western Massachusetts, and People’s United Bank in various mortgage-lending roles. She is a graduate of Greenfield Community College with a degree in business management.

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Richard Hanchett

Westfield Bank announced that Richard Hanchett has been promoted to senior vice president/Commercial Loan officer. Meanwhile, six other Westfield Bank employees have been promoted to vice president, including Bryan Cowan, Cathy Jocelyn, William Judd, Sarah Medeiros, Kelly Pignatare, and Rick Zabielski.

A 34-year veteran of the local banking industry, Hanchett joined Westfield Bank in 2007 as vice president/Commercial Loan officer. As team leader of the bank’s Commercial Loan Division since 2015, he manages a group of seven lenders in addition to maintaining a large loan portfolio. Prior to joining Westfield Bank, he spent 24 years at the former Westbank, rising through its Commercial Credit Department to senior credit analyst before becoming a Commercial Loan officer in 1986. Civically engaged, Hanchett currently serves on the Springfield Chamber of Commerce legislative steering committee and education & workforce development subcommittee, and is on the board of the Work Opportunity Center in Agawam. He is a graduate of Western New England University.

Bryan Cowan

Cowan, who has been promoted to vice president/Finance, started his career at Westfield Bank in 2001, advancing to accounting associate, then staff accountant by 2005. He was named assistant vice president in 2014 as he developed his skills in financial reporting, forecasting, interest-rate risk, liquidity management, and data analytics. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Westfield State University and an MBA and master’s degree in finance from Northeastern University.

Jocelyn, now vice president/Marketing manager, joined the bank eight years ago as Online Banking coordinator; shortly after, she moved to the Marketing Department as Marketing coordinator, was promoted to Marketing manager, then assistant vice president/Marketing manager, in which position she holds responsibilities for bank advertising, branding, sponsorships, and charitable giving, among other duties. She has extensive experience in the banking industry, and holds an associate’s degree from Bay Path University.

William Judd

Judd, who has been promoted to vice president/Credit Administration, started with the bank as a teller in 1997, moving to the Commercial Loan Group in 2001, becoming Credit Department manager in 2007. In 2012 he was promoted to assistant vice president/Credit Administration; in that role, he has been instrumental in the development of the bank’s commercial-credit underwriting process and in training new credit analysts. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Westfield State University and an MBA from Northeastern University.

Sarah Medeiros

Medeiros, now vice president/Commercial Credit, began her banking career in 2011 as a commercial credit analyst at Chicopee Savings Bank, quickly advancing to Credit Department manager, then assistant vice president in 2013. She has been instrumental in the development of a credit-administration structure to support Westfield Bank’s $1.1 billion commercial portfolio. A former CPA with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP and director in Risk Management for Forest City Enterprises, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting with a minor in Finance from Providence College.

Kelly Pignatare

Pignatare, who has been promoted to vice president/regional manager, joined the bank in 2007 following five years of experience in the local banking industry as an online banking and cash-management specialist, branch-administration manager, and business-development officer. At Westfield Bank, she quickly advanced to assistant vice president, Small Business Sales manager, then regional manager and assistant VP, Sales Administration and market analyst. She attended Holyoke Community College.

Rick Zabielski

Zabielski, now vice president/Underwriting and Processing manager, has been with the bank since 1996, holding a number of positions before his most recent role as assistant vice president/Underwriting and Processing manager for Retail Lending; he has experience as a consumer loan underwriter, mortgage originator, and manager of the bank’s loan center. In his new role, he is also responsible for underwriting and processing of residential lending, home-equity, and consumer loans. “I am delighted to announce these well-earned promotions,” said James Hagan, president and CEO of Westfield Bank.

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Aimee Furaha Salmon, Harry Montalvo, and Markus Jones have joined the all-volunteer board of directors for the Northampton-based International Language Institute of Massachusetts (ILI). Salmon, currently a student in Greenfield Community College’s Health Science program, is the former administrator of CAMME DRC, a nonprofit organization that helps youth in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) achieve lives free of exploitation. She is a former ILI student and is now the volunteer leader of the school’s International Club. Salmon has a degree in development management from Institut Superieur d’Informatique de Gestion, DRC. Montalvo, Community Development specialist at bankESB, has an extensive background in the private sector, with emphasis on human resources, safety, and business development. His career includes work in his home country of Puerto Rico and in Western Mass, where he founded the Western Massachusetts Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Montalvo earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Puerto Rico and is certified in readiness training, credit counseling, and computer operations. Jones, philanthropy officer at Baystate Health Foundation, brings more than 10 years of experience in fund-raising and the foundation world to ILI. His commitment to community building includes heading up United Way of South Mississippi rehab/rebuild projects for homes and nonprofit offices along the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. He also provided United Way management support following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Jones holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising from the University of Southern Mississippi.

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Beverly Orloski

At the recent 2017 Mid-Year Mortgage Conference, the Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman magazine, released its annual report of the top mortgage originators in Massachusetts. Beverly Orloski, vice president and mortgage consultant at PeoplesBank, was named as the top loan originator by volume in Western Mass. She was listed as the top loan originator by volume in the market in 2015 and 2016 as well. Orloski has more than 30 years of financial and banking experience. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Elms College and is a graduate of the American Bankers Assoc. Residential and Commercial Lending School. She is a member of the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley.

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Berkshire Bank announced the promotion of Joseph Marullo to senior vice president, Commercial Relationship manager from his current position of vice president. Marullo will continue to be responsible for growing both commercial and industrial business, as well as commercial real-estate lending. In addition, he will expand relationships with products and services offered through the bank’s other business lines, including cash management, wealth management, insurance, private banking, and retail banking. Marullo has 15 years of banking experience and has been with Berkshire Bank since 2006. Prior to joining the bank, he held the position of commercial credit analyst with TD Bank, where he received formal credit training. “For the past 11 years, Joe has been an integral part of the Pioneer Valley commercial team, making significant contributions to the bank’s growth and success in the local market,” said Jim Hickson, senior vice president, commercial regional president. Marullo holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Quinnipiac University and an MBA from UMass.

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Tanzania (Tanzi) Cannon-Eckerle

Royal, P.C. congratulates Tanzania (Tanzi) Cannon-Eckerle on her honor as one of the Top Women of Law, as published by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. The award was presented for her efforts in the diligent practice of law, community involvement, and high ethical standards. Cannon-Ecklerle currently serves as owner, general manager, and general counsel for Brew Practitioners in Florence. She successfully balances this with her role as chief development officer at Royal, P.C. She is the third attorney from the firm to be bestowed this award; previous Royal honorees include Amy Royal (2012) and Rosemary Nevins (2013).

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Alice Ferreira

Webster Bank has named Alice Ferreira as senior vice president of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs. She is responsible for all external and internal communications, public relations, and government affairs for the bank, and will oversee the bank’s community-affairs and philanthropy efforts. She reports to Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Dawn Morris. Ferreira joins Webster from UnitedHealthcare, where she was vice president, Corporate Communications for its Medicaid Division, overseeing corporate media relations, internal communications, crisis management, and thought-leadership programs. Prior to that, she was director of corporate communications for HealthNet’s $10 billion Northeast Division. Ferreira serves as honorary chair of the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, Conn., and is a member of the board of directors of the American Red Cross of Connecticut and Rhode Island.

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Webster Bank announced that John Driscoll Jr. has been appointed regional market executive for Webster Private Bank’s Hartford and New Haven offices. Driscoll, senior vice president and senior relationship manager for Webster Private Bank, joined Webster in 2007. In his new role, he expands his responsibilities as the senior representative in the Hartford and New Haven markets for Webster Private Bank’s line of business and leading the Private Bank’s sales team. He will report to Peter Gabriel, senior vice president, head of Private Banking. Driscoll has more than 31 years of experience in investment, financial, estate, and
tax planning, and charitable giving. He is a tax attorney who is a certified
 financial planner, a chartered life underwriter, and a chartered financial consultant. A member of the Connecticut and American Bar Associations, he serves on the executive committees of the Estate and Probate section and of the Sports and Entertainment Law section of the Connecticut Bar Assoc. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Connecticut, a law degree from Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law, and a master of laws degree from Boston University School of Law.

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Comcast announced the appointment of four leaders for the company’s Western New England region, which is headquartered in Berlin, Conn. and includes more than 300 communities in Connecticut, Western Mass., New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. In the Human Resources department, Judith Rudge was named director of Talent Management, while Taissa Gawronski was named director of Human Resources. In Sales and Marketing, Matt Frascone was named director of Retail Sales, and in the Communications department, Elizabeth Walden was appointed manager of Public Relations. Rudge came to Comcast with more than 12 years of recruiting experience. In her new role, she oversees talent management and recruiting efforts for the company’s Western New England Region, which currently employs more than 1,800 individuals across five states. Prior to joining Comcast, she was the senior manager of talent acquisition at Verizon in Atlanta, where she owned the end-to-end recruitment of information technology, engineering, product, and sales positions for 86 national office locations. She graduated from Dickinson College. Gawronski joined Comcast with 10 years of human-resources experience. In her new role, she is responsible for the human-resources needs of the company’s retail and door-to-door sales channels, as well as those on the Comcast Business team and in Sales and Marketing administration. Before joining Comcast, she was director of Human Resources at C&M Corporate, a custom cable manufacturer in Killingly, Conn., where she evaluated and maintained the company’s organizational design, as well as oversaw its workforce-recruitment and retention efforts. She graduated from Framingham State College. Frascone recently relocated from Comcast’s Greater Chicagor to Comcast’s Western New England region to oversee 10 XFINITY stores and three service centers across Connecticut, Western Mass., and Vermont. He is also responsible for Indirect Sales, which involves Comcast’s partnerships with Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. Previously, he spent the last year as director of Comcast’s flagship XFINITY store in Chicago. He joined Comcast with 20 years of retail experience and, prior to Comcast, was a director for two Apple stores in Atlanta, where he managed a staff of 177 sales associates. He was also a U.S. Navy Reservist. Walden came to Comcast with seven years of public-relations experience. In her new role, she is responsible for helping shape the company’s image with external audiences across the Western New England region. Prior to joining Comcast, she was vice president at Quinn, a lifestyle public-relations firm in New York City, where she oversaw a team of public-relations executives who carried out day-to-day media and operations for a portfolio of 20 business, real-estate, and technology clients, in addition to being responsible for building the firm’s client base and developing strategic public-relations campaigns. She graduated from Clark University in Worcester.

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Eric Lineback recently joined Country Business Inc. (CBI), a regionally based New England business-brokerage and merger-and-acquisition firm. He will be focusing his efforts serving clients in Western Mass. Lineback previously worked as a strategic management consultant with McKinsey & Co. in Chicago on projects for various Fortune 500 companies. He then went on to work as a senior analyst for a mid-size private-investment company in Houston and then Washington, D.C., helping to manage a $500 million diverse portfolio of assorted assets, including several operating companies, real-estate investments, equity buy-out funds, and marketable securities. In the mid-’90s, as the Internet was emerging commercially, he co-founded and managed for almost 20 years a successful boutique Internet design and development firm, helping clients create an engaging online and offline presence. Lineback’s work with CBI enables him to apply his entrepreneurial, investment, and financial-management experience in assisting business owners with their succession plans. “We are excited that Mr. Lineback has joined our firm,” said Philip Steckler, a principal with CBI. “While we have managed the sale of numerous businesses in Western Massachusetts over the years, his focus on that region enables us to enhance our services and broaden our client base.” Since 1976, CBI has managed the sale of more than 1,200 businesses, ranging in price from $500,000 to $30 million. The company has represented businesses across many industries and sectors, including manufacturing, distribution, retail, and hospitality. CBI is an industry leader in successfully completing sales of client businesses. The firm traditionally completes 80% to 90% of the businesses it is retained to sell — far higher than industry norms. “I’m excited to be working with such an established and successful company, one which has had a significant positive impact on the local economy,” Lineback said. “My passion has always been working with entrepreneurs and small-business owners.”