Page 77 - BusinessWest February 19, 2024

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE>>
CLAUDIA PAZMANY
The Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce announced the resignation of Executive Direc- tor Claudia Pazmany, effective Feb. 28. Pazmany has led the chamber for the past five and
a half years, growing it to over 400 members while leading
it through the pandemic. The
chamber will launch a search for its next execu- tive director immediately. With Pazmany’s help, the Amherst Area Chamber has built a strong founda- tion with deeply rooted partnerships year after year and a dedicated staff focused on meeting the needs of its members and the business community. The chamber has hosted valuable events for members and the broader community to network, enjoy locations in the Greater Amherst area, and meet new people. Events such as Margarita Madness, the annual golf tournament, and the A+ Awards have all grown in recent years. Under her leadership,
the chamber also established a diversity, equity,
and inclusion task force and has advocated with local town governments on items of interest to its members. The chamber has continued its outreach to members in an effort to promote their busi- nesses through workshops and monthly Arrive at 5 networking events. In 2023, Pazmany and Gabriele Gould from the Amherst Business Improvement District were recognized by BusinessWest as Differ- ence Makers for their joint work on pandemic relief for small businesses.
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Liz Larson, currently director of Operations at the
Amherst Business Improvement District (BID), has been named interim executive director, effective Feb. 26. Larson has been with the BID for six years and has worked closely with departing Executive Director Gabrielle Gould, creating events for the community, revitalizing downtown, and ensuring the health of the BID’s finances. She is the creative force behind the Makers’ Market at the annual Sip and Shop Stroll and the recently launched “Take
a Dino to Dinner” campaign. With a background
in arts administration and nonprofit management, Larson moved to Amherst with her family in 2007 and has been active in the community, serving on several boards and committees, including profes- sional growth objectives for the public schools and the city’s Participatory Budgeting Commission.
She is currently a trustee and board treasurer for the Amherst Historical Society. Prior to moving to Amherst, she spent 20 years in New York and Tokyo.
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The board of trustees of Country Bank announced the appointment of Mary McGov- ern as president and chief operating officer, effective April 1. She will oversee the bank’s operations and drive its strategic growth initiatives. Paul Scully, who has been the president and
chief executive officer, will remain the CEO. McGov- ern brings more than 30 years of experience in the banking industry, making her a valuable asset to Country Bank. She holds degrees from Emmanuel College and Babson College, and her extensive knowledge and expertise have been instrumental
in the bank’s success. Mary joined Country Bank
in 2011 as its chief financial officer and has since been an esteemed member of the bank’s Leadership Group. McGovern recently attended the American Bankers Assoc. (ABA) Wharton Leadership Lab at the
BusinessWest
University of Pennsylvania, earning an ABA Wharton Leadership Certificate. This accomplishment further solidifies her commitment to excellence and con- tinuous professional development.
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MCLA Physics Professor Emily Maher, one of 65
scientists in the MINERvA collaboration at Fermi National Accelerator Lab (Fermilab), has published work that has been chosen as one of the “Top 10 Physics Breakthroughs of 2023” in Physics World. Over a 10-year span, the MINERvA detector record- ed the interactions of neutrinos and antineutrinos, the antimatter partners of the neutrino. The physi- cists working on the MINERvA experiment used the data to make a groundbreaking new measurement, which was published last February in Nature. The study, led by Tejin Cai at the University of Roches- ter in the U.S. and Canada’s York University, shows how information about the internal structure of a proton can be gleaned from neutrinos scattering from a plastic target. The team focused on isolat- ing the signal from neutrinos scattered off lone protons within the background of those scattered off protons bound in carbon nuclei. Their innova- tive approach involved simulating and subtracting the carbon-scattered signal from experimental data. This provides insights into proton structure and enhances the understanding of how neutrinos interact with matter.
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Holyoke Community College (HCC) recently welcomed Eliza- beth Ollson as its manager of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving. Ollson is a 2018 gradu- ate of HCC and also holds a bachelor’s degree in women, gender, and sexuality stud-
ies from UMass Amherst. She joined HCC’s division of Institutional Advancement
in November. She came to HCC from Boston Col- lege, where she was the senior associate direc- tor of Annual Giving Programs. Prior to that, she worked at Amherst College as the Amherst Fund coordinator.
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Lisa Zarcone, an author, speaker, and child mental-health advocate honored in Decem- ber as one of BusinessWest’s Women of Impact for 2023, has released her second book, titled The Book of Joann: A Novel Based on Her Life Story, and the Lifetime Battle She Endured with
Mental Illness and published by Joshua Tree Pub- lishing of Chicago. “The Book of Joann is a power- ful story of darkness and light, defeat and victory, hope and faith,” said Zarcone, whose first book, The Unspoken Truth, is a memoir of her experiences with — and overcoming — years of abuse. Zarcone is currently the Massachusetts National Ambas- sador for the National Assoc. of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse. She is dedicated to spreading aware- ness of child safety/abuse, as well as mental illness and the stigma that surrounds it. She is committed to educating people and promoting change in a flawed system as too many children continue to
fall through the cracks. She is also a public speaker, radio personality, social-media influencer, and blog- ger on her own website, lisazarcone.net. The Book of Joann can be found at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
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Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee Co. announced that its CEO, Beth Spong, has been appointed to serve on the board of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA), a global organization dedicated to empowering women in the coffee industry, foster- ing gender equality, and promoting the inclusion of women at all levels of the coffee supply chain. Now in its 20th year, IWCA is committed to creating an equitable coffee industry by empowering women
in chapters serving 33 countries around the world through leadership development, strategic partner- ship, and amplified market visibility. Spong brings a wealth of experience with nonprofit boards and a passion for promoting equity to her new role. Under her guidance, Dean’s Beans continues to be at the forefront of advocating for fair-trade practices, environmental stewardship, and social responsibil- ity within the specialty coffee industry. As a board member, she will contribute her expertise to further IWCA’s mission and initiatives supporting women coffee farmers, exporters, importers, roasters, and entrepreneurs.
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The law firm of Pellegrini, See- ley, Ryan & Blakesley (PSRB) announced the appointment of Amara Barbiero as an associate attorney. Barbiero graduated from Quinnipiac University with a bachelor’s degree in account- ing prior to obtaining her juris doctorate from Western New
England University (WNE) School of Law. As a law student, she was awarded the prestigious CALI Award in Workers’ Compensation, given to the highest-scoring student in each law-school class. She also worked as a clinician for the WNE Small Business Clinic in Springfield. Barbiero spent four years working as a legal assistant in Connecticut before joining PSRB as a law clerk in 2021. That immersion into the practice of law has helped her develop an experience-based sensitivity to issues
of equity and justice across diverse communities. She is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and awaits her admission to the bars of Connecticut and New Jersey.
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New England Public Media (NEPM) promoted
Elizabeth Román into the role of managing edi- tor – daily and digital news. Although her title did not dramatically change, her responsibilities have evolved, and she will now take the lead on deliver- ing daily news programming on the radio, NEPM’s website, and social-media channels. Román is continuing to focus on expanding the diversity of sources in news coverage and opportunities to cre- ate more Spanish-language news content. As the daughter of Puerto Rican parents who migrated
to Massachusetts more than 40 years ago, she has intended throughout her career as a journalist to provide accurate representation of communities of color in Western Mass. She has felt empowered to do this at NEPM, and in this new role, with the addi- tion of supervisory responsibilities, she looks for- ward to sharing her expertise with other journalists. Román is a graduate of Holyoke Community Col- lege and UMass Amherst. Prior to working at NEPM, she was a reporter at the Republican for almost two decades, edited El Pueblo Latino, co-founded Col- ectivo de Medios Latinos, and appeared as a panelist
AMARA BARBIERO
ELIZABETH OLLSON
LISA ZARCONE
MARY MCGOVERN
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