Page 79 - BusinessWest September 28, 2020
P. 79

  ANASTASIA DILDIN
  TERESA KUTA RESKE
Elms College announced the promotion of Teresa Kuta Reske to the position of asso- ciate dean of Graduate and Doctoral Studies for the School of Nursing. Reske was on the leadership team that developed the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program and has served
as director since its inception in the fall of 2014. She will continue to lead the program in this new role. Among her accomplishments, Reske co-authored a chapter in DNP Education, Practice, and Policy: Rede- signing Advanced Practice Roles for the 21st Century (2012) and is a journal reviewer for the Journal of Professional Nursing. In addition, she has present-
ed locally, nationally, and internationally on DNP practice-related topics, patient-experience-related topics, nurse telephone triage, and nursing informat- ics. Reske holds a BS in nursing from Saint Anselm College, a MPA from the University of New Haven, an MSN in health systems from Vanderbilt University, and a DNP degree in executive nurse leadership from the MGH Institute of Health Professions.
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Florence Bank hired Jessica Wales to the position of vice president and branch manager of the Granby and Belcher- town offices. Wales studied at Ashworth College, where she received her bachelor’s degree in management, and is cur- rently pursuing an MBA in marketing there. She is also a
graduate of the New England School for Financial Studies. She is a recipient of Florence Bank’s Com- munity Support Award, an annual tradition estab- lished by the bank in 1997 that formally recognizes employees who are active participants in community events and donate their personal and professional time to local not-for-profit organizations. She was also recognized by BusinessWest in 2014 as a mem- ber of the 40 Under Forty, which celebrates young business and civic leaders in Western Mass. Wales serves her community as a board member of the United Way of Hampshire County and is an active member of its finance and investment committee. She also serves as a committee member of both the Western Massachusetts Women’s Business Network and Cooley Dickinson’s Golf FORE Health.
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The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM) announced four new staff members, filling phil- anthropic and program sup- port roles at the organization. Bianca Walker has been hired as philanthropic officer, Nikai Fondon has been hired as donor engagement coordina- tor, Anastasia Dildin has been hired as grants assistant, and Sophie Kanetani has been hired as scholarship program associate. Walker and Fondon will help deepen and broaden the organization’s fundraising and connection with donors. Walker has worked in the non-
profit field for the past 15 years, most recently as senior Development officer at the regional Alzheim- er’s Assoc. office. She developed a strong sense of devotion to, and appreciation for, the nonprofit field through her experiences as an annual youth employ- ee with a summer work program at Data Institute.
She is currently attending Bay Path University, pursuing a degree in nonprofit manage- ment. Fondon previously served the Community Founda- tion for three years in the role of scholarship associate, and is bringing her knowledge of the younger community to her
new role. A recent gradu-
ate of the Isenberg School
of Management at UMass Amherst, Fondon has a
strong passion for women’s empowerment, leadership, and education. Dildin will sup- port the foundation’s programs team with database manage- ment and other administrative
support. After graduating in 2018 from Central Con- necticut State University with a bachelor’s degree in statistics, she served one year with AmeriCorps as a data analyst and mentor program manager at Grace Academy, a Hartford school dedicated to fighting poverty through education. She is currently enrolled in Central Connecticut State University’s geogra- phy graduate program. Kanetani, who will support CFWM’s scholarship program in her new role, is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College.
•••••
Bulkley Richardson partners Liz Sillin and John
Pucci were named 2021 Lawyer of the Year recipients in their respective practice areas by Best Lawyers, in partnership with U.S. News Media Group. Sillin was recognized for trusts and estates, and Pucci was rec- ognized for criminal defense (general practice), an honor he has held for the past 11 years. Lawyer of the Year rankings are awarded to one lawyer per practice area and region, making it a distinguished accolade. Honorees receive this award based on their high overall peer feedback within specific practice areas and metropolitan regions.
•••••
Attorney Amelia Holstrom,
a partner at Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., has joined the board of directors for the East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce (ERC5). Holstrom has been with Skoler Abbott since 2012 and was named a partner last year. She focuses her practice on labor law and
employment litigation, including representing employers before state and federal agencies and in state and federal courts, providing counsel to man- agement regarding litigation-avoidance strategies, reviewing and revising personnel policies and prac- tices, wage-and-hour compliance, and separation and severance agreements. A seasoned employment- law attorney, Holstrom brings a unique perspective to the ERC5’s board. The mission of the ERC5 is to promote an environment that fosters the economic growth of the towns of East Longmeadow, Hampden, Longmeadow, Ludlow, and Wilbraham through the creation and expansion of businesses and jobs. Hol- strom’s skills and community involvement have been recognized many times by outside organizations. She was selected to the Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” list in 2018 and 2019, and was a Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly “Up & Coming” honoree in 2017. In addition, she received the Massachusetts Bar Assoc. Commu- nity Service Award in 2016, and was selected by Busi- nessWest as a 40 Under Forty honoree in 2015. In addition to the ERC5, Holstrom is also on the boards of directors for Clinical & Support Options and Girls Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts, and
is an ad hoc member of the personnel committee for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. She previously served as clerk of the board of directors for Friends of the Homeless. She frequently speaks about employment-related legal topics for a wide variety of associations and organizations and is a regular contributor to the Massachusetts Employ- ment Law Letter.
People on the Move
•••••
Greenfield Community Col- lege recently welcomed Judith Roberts, executive drector of the Literacy Project, to serve its board of trustees. Elected by her peers as the alumni rep- resentative, she was officially appointed to the board by
Gov. Charlie Baker earlier this
month. A single mother, Rob- erts came to GCC in her early 30s, when her youngest
child was just 1 year old. After graduating from GCC in 1995, she went to Smith College, where she earned her bachelor’s degree with honors. From there she went on to Harvard University, where she received her master’s degree in community-based education and a certificate in nonprofit management. She later returned to Franklin County to become executive director of the Literacy Project, a Greenfield-based nonprofit offering free classes to adults across West- ern Mass. in basic skills, high-school equivalency, and college and career readiness.
•••••
Josie Brown has been named interim dean of the
Western New England University (WNEU) College of Arts & Sciences. Brown joined the College of Arts & Sciences faculty in 2003, most recently serving as assistant dean for Arts and Sciences; professor of African-American, Caribbean, and Black Literatures; and student advisor, as well as the Study Abroad assistant director. As an undergraduate, Brown dou- ble-majored in English and African-American Stud- ies at Bates College. She then went on to pursue a master’s degree in English at Queens College in New York. Brown earned her Ph.D. in English from Stony Brook University with a concentration in African- American, Caribbean, and Post-colonial Literatures. In September 2019, she was honored by the African American Female Professors Award Assoc.
•••••
Dr. John Rousou has joined the board of trustees at Ameri- can International College (AIC). In a career dedicated to cardiothoracic surgery, Rou- sou was chief of the Cardiac Surgery division at Baystate Medical Center until his retire- ment in 2018. Graduating with an undergraduate degree in
biology from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, Rousou received his medical degree from the American University of Beirut Medical School
in 1970. Following an internship at the university,
he relocated to the U.S., completing a residency in general surgery at the University of Rochester in New York, and a residency in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago, where he was also an instructor. Rousou and his associate, Dr. Richard Engelman, initiated the Car- diac Surgery
  SOPHIE KANETANI
   JUDITH ROBERTS
  JESSICA WALES
  AMELIA HOLSTROM
  BIANCA WALKER
  DR. JOHN ROUSOU
  NIKAI FONDON
BusinessWest
DEPARTMENTS
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 39
program at Baystate
People
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