Page 39 - BusinessWest March 4, 2024

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE>>
Donna Haghighat, CEO of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, has announced her plans to retire, effective June 30. Under Haghighat’s leadership, beginning in 2017, the Women’s Fund developed innovative programs, sought out effective partnerships,
increased grantmaking, grew its corporate and individual donations, and focused on racial equity and trust-based philanthropy. She was also integral in the launch of the Young Women’s Initiative for girls and young women of color in Springfield and the Greater Springfield Women’s Economic Security Hub. Haghighat has facilitated the monthly meet- ings of the Women Heads of Nonprofits group in Western Mass., which the Women’s Fund hosts, and has served on the state’s Community Reinvestment Fund Advisory Board and the advisory board of the Center for Social Justice at Western New England School of Law. She was appointed by Gov. Maura Healey to the Massachusetts Cultural Council this year and is a board member for WAM Theatre in the Berkshires.
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Professional Drywall Con- struction Inc. (PDC) announced that Timothy Craw has joined the company as vice president of Business Development and Labor Relations. With 45 years of construction experience in nearly every industry segment, Craw will be responsible for
expanding the company’s footprint in all areas of the Atlantic states. Most recently, Craw was a union business agent and building trades president. In
his various positions over the years, he has devel- oped and maintained relationships with union and non-union contracts for business development and market expansion, recruited and represented union journeyman and apprentice carpenters in collec- tive-bargaining negotiations, mediated contract conflicts, and monitored federal and state public construction projects during the planning, design, and bidding processes. Craw received the Carpen- ters Union Local 108 Steward of the Year Award in 2001 and the BCBCTC Edward M. Kennedy Award in 2016. He is a member of the International Founda- tion of Employee Benefits Plans and the Assoc. for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiol- ogy. A graduate of the U.S. Army Engineer School, he served six years as a sergeant in the U.S. Army.
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Florence Bank has promoted Andre Motulski to the role of vice president/controller. Motul- ski joined the bank’s team as assistant vice president/control- ler in September 2019. He holds a bachelor’s degree in account- ing from Central Connecticut State University and is a Fed-
eral Deposit Insurance Corp.-commissioned risk- management examiner. In his new role, which he assumed in December, he is responsible for manag- ing financial records, ensuring regulatory compli- ance, and assessing risks associated with lending and investment activities. Motulski is involved in the community, serving on the finance committee for Hampshire Regional YMCA in Northampton.
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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western Massachusetts (BBBSWM) announced that Chris Thompson has
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been selected as the nonprofit’s chief growth offi- cer. In this role, Thompson will be responsible for strengthening the newly merged agency’s relation- ship with the communities of Berkshire, Franklin, and Hampden Counties. Thompson was honored with the BusinessWest 40 Under Forty award in 2009 and is active in the local community. He cur- rently sits on the board of Arrha Credit Union and
is a former commissioner for the Western Massa- chusetts Sports Commission and West Springfield’s Parks and Recreation Commission. As co-founder and owner of the Westfield Starfires of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, Thompson brings a wealth of experience to his new role in the areas of advocacy, community outreach, business develop- ment, and external relations. He will lead BBBSWM’s growth efforts in Berkshire and Franklin coun-
ties. Previously, Thompson served on the BBBS of Hampden County board of directors between 2014 and 2021. He brings with him more than 20 years of experience developing marketing partnerships and generating revenue for iconic Western Mass. brands, such as the Springfield Falcons hockey team, where he developed a comprehensive corporate partner- ship program, and where he led the launch of the Springfield Thunderbirds hockey club, serving as senior vice president of Sales & Strategy.
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Governors America Corp. (GAC) welcomed Jeff Little
as its new director of Product Management. As director of Product Management, Little’s responsibilities include aligning product strategy with business goals; driving product discovery, market research, and competi-
tor research; driving innovation and new product development initiatives; communicating product vision and strategy to stakeholders; and monitor- ing and maintaining product health. Little received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University. He has garnered 27 years of experience in the industry, most recently as director of Product Management at Enovation Controls.
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MassMutual announced the appointment of Cindy Ryan to head of Human Resources. Ryan, who has
more than two decades of HR leadership experi- ence, will oversee and advance MassMutual’s people strategy, aligned with the company’s purpose, pri- orities, and aspirations. In this role, Ryan assumes oversight of MassMutual’s HR organization, which includes talent acquisition and management; total rewards; HR operations; employee relations; learn- ing and development; and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She will be responsible for con- tinuing to evolve the company’s flexible, inclusive culture, supporting the holistic well-being and growth of MassMutual’s employees and attracting and retaining a talented, diverse workforce. Ryan joins MassMutual after spending nearly 25 years in various leadership roles of growing responsibility at Cigna, where she most recently served as the com- pany’s chief Human Resources officer (CHRO). In this role, she led Cigna’s worldwide enterprise talent strategy and pandemic response, built its award- winning DEI approach, and enriched its engaged culture. Prior to her CHRO role, she served as senior vice president of HR for Cigna’s U.S. business lines, where she was responsible for talent-management strategies, employee engagement, and leadership effectiveness for the company’s health, life, and dis- ability services lines as well as serving as the com-
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pany’s chief talent officer, overseeing recruiting, learning, leadership development, and employee relations worldwide.
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Laurel Carpenter, associate professor of Environmental Science at Holyoke Commu- nity College (HCC), has been awarded a national fellowship focusing on STEM education at community colleges. The fel- lowship, from the Community College Presidents’ Initiative
in STEM (CCPI-STEM), is intended for community- college faculty and administrators pursuing gradu- ate degrees and conducting research related to STEM education and workforce development.
STEM stands for science, technology, engineer-
ing, and math. Carpenter is part of a cohort of just seven CCPI-STEM fellows for 2024-25 and the only one from a college in the Northeast. Fellows are selected from a national pool of applicants, who are evaluated based on their education, STEM experi- ence, leadership potential, community engagement, and research. A 2012 graduate of HCC, Carpenter is a wildlife biologist, chair of the HCC Environmental Studies department, co-coordinator of the HCC STEM Scholars program, and a graduate student at UMass Amherst, where she is pursuing a doctorate in education. CCPI-STEM fellows receive a $5,000 honorarium each year for two years to support their graduate studies. They also participate in profes- sional-development activities and are paired with a professional mentor.
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Ute DeFarlo has been appoint- ed director of Development by Shakespeare & Company, a nonprofit theater performance, education, and actor-training organization based in the Berk- shires. In her position, DeFarlo is responsible for supporting Shakespeare & Company’s mis-
sion and vision through the development of new and expanded income streams, cultivation of the company’s donors and board of trustees, and vari- ous engagements with constituents in the Berk- shire County community. Most recently, she served as director of Development for the Mount, Edith Wharton’s home, in Lenox and as Development officer at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge. Her appointment marks her return to Shakespeare & Company’s Development team, which she first joined in 2004, serving as director from 2009 to 2015. DeFarlo holds a master’s degree in English and Russian language interpretation from the University of Mainz, Germany, and attended Georgetown Uni- versity on a one-year Fulbright scholarship.
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O’Dell Women’s Center, Springfield’s first nonprofit
women’s center, appointed Margaret Tantillo as
its executive director. In her previous position as executive director of Dress for Success Western Massachusetts, Tantillo directed five distinct pro- grams designed specifically for low-income women that resulted in hundreds of women finding gainful employment. These programs included workforce development, mentorship programming, and train- ings in financial literacy, digital literacy, and dressing for the workplace. Toward the end of her tenure,
DONNA HAGHIGHAT
LAUREL CARPENTER
TIMOTHY CRAW
JEFF LITTLE
UTE DEFARLO
ANDRE MOTULSKI
People
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