Page 84 - BusinessWest February 20, 2023

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE (CONTINUED) >>
Most recently, he served as the company’s chief technical officer, a position he will retain alongside his new role as president.
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Lori Beth Chase was installed as the 2023 president of the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Val- ley (RAPV), a nonprofit trade association with more than 1,800 members. The 107th annual installation of officers and directors was held on Jan. 12 at the Roosevelt Room at
Union Station in Northampton. Chase started her professional real-estate career in 2017 and quickly became involved in serving locally. Since 2020, she has served on the local board of directors at RAPV and, in 2021, served as treasurer and chair of the finance committee. Also in 2021, she served on
the Massachusetts Association of Realtors finance committee and, after the passing of Rick Sawicki in 2021, has served as the Western Mass. regional vice president, serving not only the Pioneer Valley but
the Berkshires as well. In this position, she sits on the Mas- sachusetts Assoc. of Realtors executive committee and board of directors. The following indi- viduals were installed as 2023 officers: Arlene Castellano
of Maria Acuna Real Estate as president-elect; Peter Ruffini of RE/MAX Connections as trea- surer; and Cheryl Malandrinos of BHH Realty Professionals
as immediate past president. Directors include Carrie Blair
of Keller Williams Realty, Shawn Bowman of Trademark Real Estate, Brenda Cuoco of Brenda Cuoco & Associates, Peter Davies of Borawski Real Estate, Janise Fitzpatrick of Jones Group Realtors, Judy Nevarez of BHH Realty Professionals, Michelle Stegall of Property One, and Clinton Stone of RE/ MAX Connections.
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Florence Bank announced that Vice President and
Granby Branch Manager Jessica Wales has been named manager of the bank’s King Street branch
in Northampton. Wales will replace Lee McCarthy, who is retiring in April after serving as manager of the King Street branch for 18 years and area man- ager for the bank since 2018. Since 2020, Wales
has served as manager of the Granby branch. She has 26 years of banking experience and previously worked for Florence Bank from 2000 to 2011. She holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Ashworth College and is a graduate of the New England School for Financial Studies. Active in the community, she is a board member and member of the finance committee for the United Way of Frank- lin & Hampshire Region, and a committee member for the Western Mass Women’s Business Network and Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s Golf FORE Health Tournament. She is also an ambassador for the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce.
A member of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty class of 2014, Wales is also a past recipient of the Florence
Bank Community Support Award. McCarthy worked in the banking industry for 42 years. Hired in 2004 by Florence Bank, she served as branch manager for King Street, beginning in 2004, and in 2018, she also became area manager, overseeing the King Street, Williamsburg, downtown Northampton, and Easthampton branches. For 16 years, McCarthy served on the United Way’s community investment committee.
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Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury and Murphy, P.C. (DWPM) announced that the firm has elected Kathryn Crouss and Erin Meehan as new sharehold- ers. Crouss joined the firm in May 2022. She has extensive experience in both family law and employment matters. She is a certified mediator and rep- resents family-law clients both in court and through alternative dispute resolution methods. She is currently president-elect of the Hampden County Bar Assoc., serves on the board
of Community Legal Aid, and has chaired Community Legal Aid’s Access to Jus-
tice fundraising campaign for the past two years. While a student at Western New England University School of Law, she served as editor-in-chief of the Western New England Law Review. Meehan con- centrates her practice in general civil litigation and municipal law. She joined DWPM as an associate
in 2014. She is a member of the board of directors of the Hampden County Bar Assoc. She earned her juris doctorate from Suffolk University Law School and her bachelor’s degree from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She is admitted to practice in Mas- sachusetts and Connecticut.
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Amherst College named Michael Thomas its new
chief financial and administrative officer (CFAO).
On the finance side, he will be responsible for all finance functions of the college, including budget- ing, accounting, financial reporting, long-range financial planning, and asset, liability, and risk man- agement. On the administrative side, Thomas will oversee facilities, health and safety, and business services (dining and auxiliary), among key operating functions. He joins Amherst from Middlebury Col- lege, where he was vice president for Administration and chief risk officer for the past two years and vice president for Finance and assistant treasurer for the previous four and a half years. He will report to and serve as a strategic partner to President Michael Elliott. His appointment is effective March 27, and he succeeds former Amherst CFAO Kevin Weinman, who became the president of Marist College in the fall of 2021. In his more than nine years at Middle- bury, Thomas led all aspects of financial matters, including accounting, financial systems and report- ing, budgets, debt and cash management, and endowment reporting, as well as risk evaluation, campus safety, environmental health and safety, emergency management, and land and property management. Before that, he was the controller and director of financial resources for Skidmore Col- lege (2006-13); the controller, manager of Financial Systems and Accounting, and a financial analyst for General Electric Silicones, Americas (1999-2006);
and an associate at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (1995- 98). He graduated from Union College with a bach- elor’s degree in mathematics and from the Univer- sity at Albany with a master’s degree in accounting.
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Florence Bank promoted Nicolle Marceau to branch manager of the Granby branch. With 10 years of retail bank-
ing experience, Marceau was hired in October 2022 and has worked in the bank’s Belcher- town, Amherst, and Florence branches. She holds a bachelor’s
degree in business administration from Westfield State College and is certified in business banking. In the community, Marceau coaches youth sports for the South Hadley Recreation Department and will soon be a member of the Parent Teacher Assoc. for Mosier Elementary School and the Plains Elemen- tary School Council, both also in South Hadley.
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Judith Roberts, executive director of the Literacy
Project, announced her retirement at the end of June 2023 after 16 years at the helm of the edu- cational nonprofit. The Literacy Project opened its doors in Franklin County in 1984 with co-founder Lindy Whiton. The Literacy Project classrooms in Greenfield, Orange, Northampton, Amherst, and Ware are places of respect, belonging, hope, and grit. Classes offer a warm and welcoming commu- nity for adults and out-of-school youth who need another chance at success. During Roberts’ tenure at the Literacy Project, the program has consistently been among the top three adult-education pro- grams in the state in terms of achieving successful outcomes for more than 200 students per year. These outcomes include passing the High School Equivalency Test (also known as the HiSET or GED), moving on to community college, job-training programs, and better jobs. The Literacy Project has expanded to provide more classes during the day and evening, creating online and in-person options to meet the changing needs of the local communi- ties it serves in Franklin and Hampshire counties.
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Nonotuck Resource Associates announced
that Ryan Gaw has been promoted to director
of Finance. Gaw has worked at Nonotuck since 2017. Initially hired as a staff accountant, he has
also worked as a senior accountant and account- ing manager before his promotion to director of Finance this month. He will now supervise accounts payable, accounts receivable, the staff accountant position, and the billing and A/R coordinator posi- tion. Gaw earned his bachelor’s degree in account- ing from the University of Rhode Island and his master’s degree in accounting from UMass Amherst. Nonotuck Resource Associates offers shared living, adult family care, and personalized day services for people with disabilities. Each of its services helps support its mission of providing people with dis- abilities a choice, a voice, and the opportunity to live authentic lives. The agency provides support and services across Massachusetts and is the largest shared-living organization in the state.
LORI BETH CHASE
NICOLLE MARCEAU
KATHRYN CROUSS
ERIN MEEHAN
ARLENE CASTELLANO
PETER RUFFINI
CHERYL MALADRINOS
84 FEBRUARY 20, 2023
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