Page 86 - BusinessWest February 21, 2022

PRISCILLA KANE HELLWEG
TIM PROVOST
Enchanted Circle Theater’s executive and artistic director, Priscilla Kane Hellweg, has stepped down after 40 years of service, having grown Enchant- ed Circle from a small touring educational theater company into a nationally recognized leader in the field of arts inte-
gration. The board of directors is currently working with a consultant and staff on temporary manage- ment while studying various governance models. The organization will announce the plan by the end of the school year. Under Hellweg’s direction, Enchant- ed Circle has become the regional leader in the field of arts integration, working district-wide in public schools throughout Western Mass. and collaborat- ing with more than 60 community partner organiza- tions, developing work that bridges arts, education, and human services. She received the 2019 Lifetime
benefit-plan practice. She performs technical reviews of employee benefit-plan audits and is frequently called upon to assist with research regard- ing plan issues. Her experienc- es with benefit plans include working on Internal Revenue Service examinations, volun- tary plan corrections, and self-
corrections of plan errors. English joined the firm in 2001 and has more than 20 years of audit experience. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Westfield State University and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and AICPA’s Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center. She is very active in the community as a volunteer board member of the Down Syndrome Resource Group of Western Massachusetts and the Chicopee Galaxy Youth Athletic Assoc., of which she
support. As an educator, he is a strong advocate in providing access to learners, including marginalized students in post-secondary higher education. Dur- ing his career, he has been a results-oriented leader committed to building profitable growth and return on investment both domestically and internationally. He earned a Ph.D. in organizational development and change and a master’s degree in organizational leadership through Fielding Graduate University. In addition, he received an executive MBA through Pep- perdine University and a bachelor’s degree in busi- ness administration from DeVry University.
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American International Col- lege (AIC) has appointed Michael Dodge associate vice president for Academic Affairs following a national search. Dodge has been with AIC since 2018, previously serving as dean of Student Success and Opportunity. As dean, he had oversight of the tutoring and
advising programs on campus and the James J. Shea Memorial Library, and was instrumental in the suc- cess of the AIC’s Plan for Excellence (APEX) program for students, serving as director of the program. In addition, he served as the principal investigator for the U.S. Department of Education Title III Grant program. While maintaining several of his previ-
ous responsibilities, as the associate vice president for Academic Affairs, Dodge will serve as the chief
of staff to the executive vice president for Academic Affairs (EVPAA), including responsibility for day-to- day operational support for all areas reporting to the EVPAA, including the schools of Business Arts and Sciences, Education, and Health Sciences. Among his many areas of responsibility, Dodge will repre- sent the Office of Academic Affairs to internal and external constituencies to develop comprehensive and integrative structures and processes to support student success and timely graduation. In addition, he will assist in the institution’s assessment processes and support development of meaningful and mea- surable institution, program, and course student- learning outcomes. He will research and analyze new program proposals from concept to market. Prior to joining AIC, Dodge worked for more than a decade at UMass Amherst in a variety of teaching and adminis- trative roles. He earned his doctorate in educational policy, leadership, and administration at UMass Amherst after first earning his master’s degree in student affairs in higher education from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and his bachelor’s degree in secondary education and English at the State Uni- versity of New York Oswego.
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Western New England University School of Law Professor Jennifer Levi has been named an inaugu- ral fellow in a new Salem State University program of the Berry Institute of Politics (IOP). Levi will share this honor with former Boston Mayor Kim Janey for the spring 2022 semester. Levi is a lawyer, profes- sor, and nationally recognized expert on transgen- der legal issues who has dedicated their career to fighting for the rights of women, children, the poor, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) clients. Currently, Levi serves as director
of the Transgender Rights Project for GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and as professor of Law at Western New England University. Throughout their career, Levi has led legal fights for transgen- der equality across a range of contexts, including
in the areas of family law, education, healthcare,
People
Continued on page 87
MICHAEL DODGE
People on the Move
is also a co-founder. Provost provides consulting and tax solutions to a diverse group of clients including individuals, partnerships, limited-liability companies, corporations, and
Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Non- profit Network and was a finalist for Excellence in Leadership in 2018. She has received a Champions
of Arts Education Award from the Massachusetts Alliance for Arts in Education and a Millennium Award from the National Guild of Community Arts Educators for her commitment to making quality arts education accessible to all. In 2016, Enchanted Circle was nominated to represent Massachusetts
by the Massachusetts Cultural Council to receive
the Creativity Connects Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Its work was highlighted in the national PBS series, American Graduate, for its Shakespeare program that combats summer learn- ing loss in Holyoke Public Schools. Enchanted Circle received the 2015 Commonwealth Award, Massachu- setts’ highest honor in arts, sciences, and humani- ties; received the 2013 Arts and Humanities Award for Outstanding Organization from NEPR; and was named Outstanding Arts Collaborative in 2011 from Arts/Learning. Hellweg has created district-wide arts-integration initiatives to enhance academic achievement for Holyoke, Amherst, Northampton, and Westfield public schools, and has collaborated on the development of several Teacher Training Insti- tutes with numerous partners, funded by the Nation- al Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Teaching American History grants. She has taught professional-development workshops for many district-wide school systems
in Massachusetts and Connecticut, including the Wang Center in Boston, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., the History Institute at the Uni- versity of Massachusetts, and the Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton. She has been adjunct faculty at the University of Hartford, Hamp- shire College, and Westfield State University. She has also co-written and directed several site-based historical plays for educational and cultural tourism sites.
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MP CPAs recently announced the promotion of Melissa Eng- lish to senior audit manager and Tim Provost to senior
tax manager. English works with clients across a variety
of industries, including non- profits, manufacturers, dis- tributors, and other small to medium-sized businesses. She
is also the lead professional for the firm’s employee
trusts. He also has experience working with inter- national affiliates on foreign tax issues, and special- izes in working with high-net-worth clients and with private equity firms and their owners. Provost joined the firm in 2008 and has more than 13 years of expe- rience in personal and business taxation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Westfield State University and a master’s degree in accounting and taxation from American International College. He is a certified public accountant and a member of AICPA. He is very active in the community as a volunteer board member of the West Springfield Youth Basket- ball Assoc. and a volunteer youth basketball coach.
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Country Bank announced that Melissa Stefanowich
has joined its Retail Bank-
ing division. An experienced leader who has been in the retail banking industry for 14 years, she will serve Western Mass. in her new role at Coun- try Bank. Stafenowich joins Country Bank from Westfield
Bank where she was a Retail Banking officer, branch manager, and mortgage specialist. She was respon- sible for the leadership and management of branch service, sales, operations, and team development. She worked for Chicopee Savings Bank for eight years before it merged in 2016 with Westfield Bank. She is a supporter of the Huntington’s Disease Soci- ety of America and Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts.
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After a nationwide search, Bay Path University
announced that Frank Rojas has joined the univer- sity as the new vice president of Enrollment Man- agement. In this role, he will oversee many duties, including creating and driving the strategic vision
for enrollment, overseeing all aspects of enrollment operations, executing a comprehensive enrollment plan, and identifying and employing strategies that clearly demonstrate the university’s value proposi- tion and align with institutional goals. Rojas has extensive experience in higher education, most recently as chief operating officer and executive vice president at Los Angeles Pacific University. In that position, he led a team that successfully drove enroll- ment growth and increased revenue, while imple- menting marketing plans and strategies for an online university that also integrated a focus on student
MELISSA STEFANOWICH
MELISSA ENGLISH
86 FEBRUARY 21, 2022
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