Page 49 - BusinessWest March 18, 2024

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE (CONT’D)>>
nonprofit leaders, and business managers. The new board members are Jamie Cocco, Caroline Gear, Taylor Robbins, Elena Sharnoff, and Cigdem Turkomer. Cocco owns Empowered Digital Market- ing and Empowered Social Media. In addition to his role on the board, he serves on the GNCC’s execu- tive committee and chairs the ambassador commit- tee. He brings an extensive marketing background to the GNCC, along with strong interests in building community and business development. Gear is the executive director of the International Language Institute of Massachusetts in Northampton. As executive director of a nonprofit organization, she brings to the chamber rich experience in working with a board, budgets, fundraising, and more. Rob- bins is a business relationship manager at UMassFive College Federal Credit Union. With a focus on com- mercial lending and cash management, she uses her experience in the field to offer individualized advice for business owners. Sharnoff owns B Strategic Communications and brings more than 25 years of experience in strategic communications and mar- keting, branding, and messaging to her role at the GNCC. She has served on che chamber’s ambas- sador committee for several years. Turkomer grew up in Istanbul and has spent more than 25 years creating set designs for commercial and documen- tary films. After studying for several years at San Francisco State University, Cigdem moved back to Northampton to open LeBonNton, which supports women artists and business owners from the U.S. and around the world.
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Holyoke Community College (HCC) recently welcomed Der- ick Santos as its veterans-bene- fits and financial-aid counselor. He joined HCC on Jan. 22. Orig- inally from Lajas, Puerto Rico, Santos holds a bachelor’s degree in computational mathematics from Embry-Riddle Aeronauti-
cal University in Daytona Beach, Fla., where he also worked in the Military and Veterans Services depart- ment for the university’s online campus. His father is an active-duty serviceman with the Puerto Rican National Guard. In his new role, Santos is HCC’s school-certifying official and will process all bene- fits for U.S. veterans and military-affiliated students. He will also counsel prospective and returning stu- dents through the financial-aid process and serve as part of the counselor on-call rotation.
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Dulye & Co. founder and President Linda Dulye,
who 16 years ago established a philanthropic orga- nization to develop and connect emerging leaders in the Berkshires and beyond, has been honored for her achievements by the Zonta Club of Berkshire County. After receiving nominations from the pub- lic, Zonta Club members voted on their final choices of Berkshire County women whose outstanding work is building a better world for women and
girls. Dulye joins five other women who have made significant contributions in their fields and to the Berkshire community in receiving this annual award. They were recognized at the Zonta International Women’s Day celebration dinner on March 8.
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Pearson Wallace Insurance announced a new hire,
Marc Membrino, and shared the achievement of current employee Robert “Bobby” Tyrol III, who has acquired his property and casualty insurance producer license. Membrino joins the team with an extensive background in the insurance industry.
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He moved to the Berkshires in 1979 and worked for his family- owned insurance company, which he later bought in 1989 and subsequently sold years later. Membrino’s current role with Pearson Wallace Insurance is customer service representa- tive, in which he rates and ser-
vices policies and provides help to customers. Tyrol has been with Pearson Wallace Insurance for two years. After working as an assistant golf professional at Berkshire Hills Golf Course in Pittsfield for six years, he joined Pearson Wallace Insurance in 2021 as a personal lines client manager. After receiving his insurance designation of a property and casualty producer, Tyrol has been promoted to customer service manager. He takes charge of all personal- line services for Pearson Wallace Insurance, with the goal of making customers’ experiences seamless.
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AXiA Insurance Services recognizes the recent
professional achievements of two employees in its West Springfield location. Aidil Cortinhas, personal lines account relationship manager, earned the cer- tified insurance service representative (CISR) desig- nation. The CISR program is nationally recognized with the mission to further develop insurance- related competencies for industry customer-service representatives. Cortinhas has been with AXiA since October 2017, servicing clients’ home and auto insurance coverage. She is also a current member of the company’s team and events committee, which coordinates company employee events, and an active volunteer in AxiA Charitable Fund programs. Colin Dandy, administrative coordinator, earned
his property and casualty insurance license, having passed the Massachusetts state exams. This quali- fies him to now sell insurance coverage, continuing his growth track at the agency and in the industry. Dandy has been with AxiA since September 2022, after graduating high school that same year. He currently is a member of a company process/proce- dural committee.
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Advantage Truck Group (ATG) named its 2023 Pete
DePina Legacy Award winners for Massachusetts, recognizing one individual from each of its loca- tions in Raynham, Shrewsbury, and Westfield for making an impact on their fellow employees, cus- tomers, and the company. Gerry Avery received the legacy award for ATG’s Westfield facility. Employees were nominated by their peers for the award, and
a winner was selected from each of ATG’s eight locations. Winners were presented with a monetary award that they will continue to receive as part of their profit-sharing bonus each year throughout their employment with the company.
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Viability Inc. announced the appointment of Sylviana Lopez as its chief people officer in Human Resources. She brings a wealth of experience and exper- tise to the organization, and she is expected to drive Viability’s commitment to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable
workplace. For more than two decades, Lopez has been at the forefront of solving complex problems at scale across industries from the private sector to human services, blending human-resources strategy with forwardthinking creativity. She is expected to be an asset to Viability in its pursuit of building a
strong, diverse culture and strengthening its resolve to build a world in which individuals with disabilities and other disadvantages realize acceptance, inclu- sion, and access. She earned a bachelor’s degree
in communications from Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan, Puerto Rico and an MBA in human resources management from the University of New Haven in Connecticut.
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Springfield College Professor of Exercise Science
Samuel Headley has been accepted as a fellow in the inaugural cohort of the Clinical Exercise Physiol- ogy Assoc. (CEPA), a recognition of his outstanding service to the field of clinical exercise physiology (CEP). Headley, currently program director of the Springfield College master’s and doctoral pro- grams in exercise physiology, is one of the found- ers of CEPA and previously served as its president. Clinical exercise physiology is a branch of exercise physiology that focuses on the acute and chronic responses of both healthy individuals and individuals with chronic diseases to exercise. Headley is a well- known scholar in the field, with more than 50 peer- reviewed publications, 30 peer-reviewed abstracts, and six books or book chapters in exercise physiol- ogy. His scholarship has recently focused on the impact of exercise on patients with chronic kidney disease. During his time at Springfield College, he helped develop the college’s nationally accredited clinical exercise physiology program.
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William Pitt Sotheby’s announced that Richard
Aldrich has joined the company. He will work with Steven Weisz to expand the company’s current mar- ket leadership role in commercial property sales and leasing. Aldrich has been in sales since 1971. As a real-estate broker in the Berkshires, he has become a leader in commercial property sales, leasing, and business brokerage. He has been involved with the sale of the Countryside Landscaping building in Wil- liamstown, Camp Half Moon in Monterey, Country Curtains in Lee, and Patrick’s Pub in Pittsfield. He is currently representing the Fuel Coffee Shop and the Gorham & Norton Market.
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Dietz & Company Architects Inc. announced the addition of Michelle Muro, AIA to its staff in the role of senior architect
in the Cambridge office. She holds a bachelor of architecture degree from Montana State University and is a licensed architect in Massachusetts,
Vermont, New Jersey, and Kansas. She brings more than 26 years of experience to Dietz & Company, having worked for firms in Massachusetts and Colo- rado. Muro has worked on a variety of projects in the industrial, multi-family, commercial, retail, and sports-entertainment sectors. She has expertise in code compliance and accessibility and specializes in project management and construction administra- tion. As such, she will be managing the construction process at the Walkling Court senior-housing devel- opment project in Medford.
ROBERT TYROL III
DERICK SANTOS
MICHELLE MURO
SYLVIANA LOPEZ
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MARCH 18, 2024 45