Page 33 - BusinessWest November 24, 2025

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE>>
JOSH LEVINE
Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin,
P.C., a multi-disciplinary law
firm with offices in Springfield
and Northampton, announced
the addition of Josh Levine as
of counsel, bringing extensive
experience in commercial real
estate, land use, and business
licensing to the firm’s grow-
ing practice. Levine joins Shatz, Schwartz & Fentin
after a distinguished career spanning more than 17
years. His experience includes serving as product
liability defense counsel at a boutique litigation firm
in Washington, D.C., trial counsel at the U.S. Depart-
ment of Justice Tax Division, and partner at Levine
Law, where he focused on commercial transactions
and land use. In his role at Shatz, Schwartz & Fentin,
Levine assists clients with all aspects of commercial
real estate transactions, secured financing, land use
and zoning, business licensing, and purchases and
sales. He represents clients extensively before local
boards throughout Western Mass. and across the
state for liquor licensing matters. Levine has been
actively involved in his community, serving on the
Longmeadow Select Board since 2021, currently
as chair, and previously on the Longmeadow Plan-
ning Board from 2019 to 2021. He earned his juris
doctorate with honors and a bachelor’s degree in
English from George Washington University.
•••••
Pittsfield Cooperative Bank
announced the promotion of
Eric Padelford to chief operat-
ing officer. As COO, he will lead
the bank’s operational strategy
and execution, aiming to drive
innovation, efficiency, and
ERIC PADELFORD
exceptional customer experi-
ence across all areas of the
organization. A dynamic and results-driven opera-
tional leader with decades of experience in tech-
nology, finance, and banking, including extensive
experience in the financial services sector since
2010, Padelford has been instrumental in modern-
izing Pittsfield Cooperative Bank’s infrastructure
and aligning its operations with long-term strategic
goals. He holds a master’s degree in data science
from Eastern University, which fuels his data-driven
approach to process improvement, performance
management, and digital transformation. As COO,
Padelford will collaborate closely with Levante and
CEO Mike Daly to guide the bank’s strategic initia-
tives and uphold its 136-year legacy of service to
the Berkshires.
•••••
bankESB announced the pro-
motion of Alison Tower to
senior vice president of Enter-
prise Risk Management and
Legal Services. In her new role,
Tower will lead enterprise risk
management initiatives, ensuring
rigorous compliance and legal
oversight across all business
lines at bankESB and the family of banks that com-
prises Hometown Financial Group, including bank-
ESB; bankHometown; North Shore Bank; Abington
Bank and Colonial Federal Savings Bank, divisions
of North Shore Bank; and Hometown Mortgage.
With an extensive background in risk and legal ser-
vices, she has been instrumental in shaping strategic
approaches that strengthen the bank’s risk posture.
Tower joined bankESB in 2015, bringing with her
a wealth of experience from running her own law
practice in Amherst. She earned her juris doctorate
Business W est FRANK ROBINSON
NIKKI GLEASON
MOYAH SMITH
ALISON TOWER
from Western New England University School of
Law, an MBA in finance from UMass Amherst, and
a bachelor’s degree in gender studies from Bard
College at Simon’s Rock. Tower currently serves as
president of the board of directors for Easthampton
Community Center, an executive committee mem-
ber for Brockton Housing Partnership, and a finance
committee member for Pioneer Valley Habitat for
Humanity. She also contributes her expertise as a
review board member for the Western Massachu-
setts Mortgage Loan Review Board and on the loan
committee for Worcester Community Housing
Resources.
•••••
Revitalize Community
Development Corp. (CDC)
announced the election of two
new members to its board of
directors: Frank Robinson,
retired vice president and Pub-
lic Health officer at Baystate
Health, and Nikki Gleason, vice
president and branch man-
ager at Florence Bank in West
Springfield. Robinson has made
decades of contributions to
public health, education, and
community development across
Western Mass. and beyond. Early
in his career, he advanced health
equity through leadership roles
in the Massachusetts Depart-
ment of Mental Health and the
Northeast Ohio Developmental
Center. He went on to serve as
the founding executive director
of Partners for a Healthier Com-
munity and director of Commu-
nity Health Planning at Baystate
Health, where he championed
upstream approaches to com-
munity well-being. From 2015
to 2024, as vice president and
Public Health officer at Bay-
state Health, Robinson played
a pivotal role in establishing
the Baystate Academy Charter
Public School and the Baystate
Springfield Educational Partnership, both designed
to empower Springfield students through aca-
demic excellence and college readiness. He also led
regional initiatives such as the Anchor Collaborative
and the Alliance for Digital Equity, and in 2023, he
secured a $5.1 million grant from the Massachu-
setts Broadband Institute to expand digital literacy
and public connectivity. Gleason brings more than
25 years of experience in commercial and com-
munity banking to the board. As vice president and
branch manager at Florence Bank, she is known for
her dedication to helping businesses and individu-
als achieve financial stability through personalized,
relationship-driven service. She has also demon-
strated her long-standing commitment to com-
munity revitalization by volunteering for more than
a decade as a Revitalize CDC #GreenNFit Neigh-
borhood Rebuild house captain, helping transform
homes and neighborhoods across Springfield. The
organization also announced new board leadership
with Moyah Smith, owner of B-Side Entertainment
& Memories Matter, elected as board chair, and
Robin Youmans of the Center for Human Develop-
ment elected as board clerk. Smith, who has served
on Revitalize CDC’s board for 10 years, succeeds
John Robinson, who led the board for the past five
years and will continue to serve as a member after
<< DEPARTMENTS >>
ROBIN YOUMANS
more than two decades of volunteer leadership.
•••••
The Isenberg School of Management at UMass
Amherst has appointed Paula Murphy as the new
state director of the Massachusetts Small Business
Development Center (MSBDC) Network. She found-
ed and directed the Massachusetts Export Center,
the network’s international trade arm, in 1994.
Under her leadership, the center became one of
the nation’s most respected export assistance pro-
grams, helping Bay State companies achieve more
than $200 million in annual export sales and earning
multiple national honors, including the U.S. Small
Business Administration’s Excellence and Innova-
tion Award and the Presidential E Award, the federal
government’s highest recognition for contributions
to American exports. Murphy brings more than 30
years of international trade and business develop-
ment experience in both public and private sectors.
In addition to her leadership at the Export Center,
she taught graduate-level international marketing
and export/import operations at Boston University
and previously served as an international trade advi-
sor for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and
as an international marketing analyst with Hagan &
Co. Her early work included representing the Irish
Trade Board (now Enterprise Ireland) and the Aus-
tralian Commission in New England. Throughout
her career, Murphy has been recognized for pro-
fessional excellence and service. She is a certified
global business professional, a certified U.S. export
compliance officer, and a five-time recipient of the
Massachusetts State Star award from the Assoc. of
Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC). A
graduate of Suffolk University, she has served on
multiple nonprofit boards and as national co-chair
of the ASBDC’s international trade committee. As
state director, Murphy will oversee the network’s
nine offices across the Commonwealth, including
the MSBDC state office in Amherst; regional centers
in Newton, Fall River, Pittsfield, Salem, Springfield,
and Worcester; as well as the Massachusetts Export
Center and Government Sales Center.
•••••
The Berkshire United Way
(BUW) board of directors has
officially approved Kather-
ine von Haefen as president
and CEO, effective immedi-
ately. She previously served as
interim while continuing her
KATHERINE VON HAEFEN
role as director of Community
Impact. Von Haefen joined BUW
in October 2021 and has led region-wide initia-
tives focused on early childhood education, food
security, and nonprofit investment. She also spear-
headed BUW’s $1 million annual investment strategy
and played a key role in shaping the organization’s
strategic plan. She brings more than two decades
of nonprofit leadership experience, including her
tenure at United Way of Greater Houston, where
she led major initiatives in early childhood develop-
ment and public policy advocacy. She will continue
to serve on the city of Pittsfield’s Commonwealth
Preschool Partnership Initiative leadership com-
mittee, the Massachusetts Early Childhood Funder
Collaborative steering committee, and the board of
Berkshire Area Health Education Center.
•••••
Notch Mechanical Constructors announced the
retirement of Steven Neveu, who has served as
president for the past 28 years, and the appoint-
ment of Nick DePalma as the company’s new
president, effective Oct. 1. This leadership transi-
tion marks a new chapter for Notch, continuing its
NOVEMBER 24, 2025
33