People in the Berkshires

Chris Melski has been named vice president of residential services, while Erin Manson has been promoted to director of residential services at Berkshire County Arc. Melski, who previously served as co-director of residential services, has worked at Berkshire County Arc for more than 30 years. In his new position. Melski will oversee the director of brain injury services and the director of residential services, which encompasses 43 homes across Berkshire County and the Pioneer Valley.

A licensed construction supervisor, Melski will continue to oversee the maintenance of all properties for the agency. He has spearheaded numerous BCArc programs, including the men’s group, which addresses issues around men’s health, social interaction, dating and other related issues.

He began his career at BCArc as a site manager and has also served as the assistant residential coordinator and residential coordinator.

Manson also previously served as co-director of residential services. She will oversee support of the individuals with developmental disabilities living in BCArc’s residential programs. She started her career at BCArc in 2004 as an assistant site manager, and has also served as a supervisor.

Real estate

and Daniel Harris, $65,000.

Richard D. Sawyer sold property at 435 Center Road, Savoy, to Andrew E. McNary, $82,500.

Sheffield

Andrew F. West and Ann M. Brassard sold property at Silver Street, Sheffield, to Nicholas D. Pedretti, $25,000.

Elene R. Galilea sold property at 1720 Home Road, Sheffield, to Karen Triantafilis, $350,000.

John A. James and Katherine G. Ness, co-trustees of John A. James Revocable Trust, sold property at 250 East Main St., Sheffield, to Elise T. Contarsy and Cynthia A. Lynch, $955,450.

Russell H. Funk & Eleanor L. Funk sold property at 440 Polikoff Road, Sheffield, to Jacob William Race, $52,000.

Beatrice M. Zamperini sold property at 90 Cobble Lane East, Sheffield, to Leslie Claus Van Hise, $369,000.

Stockbridge

20 Church Street House LLC sold property at 20 Church St., Stockbridge, to Carl Michael David and Margaret Nihoul Hughes, $565,000.

OK Mass Realty LLC sold property at 1 Elm St., Stockbridge, to Mass Postal Realty Holdings LLC, $888,850.

Mark J. Buffoni, individually and as personal rep. of the Estate of Laura-Lee Buffoni; Meaghan Carlotto and Dylan Buffoni sold property at 4 Mohawk Lake Road, Stockbridge, to Mark J. Buffoni, $200,000.

Karen Elizabeth Sayers sold property at 14 Yake Hill Road, Stockbridge, to Nina L. Aronoff, $700,000.

West Stockbridge

Daniel P. Koval and Krisztina Koval sold property at 290 Great Barrington Road, West Stockbridge, to Joseph R. O’Neil and Patricia S. O’Neil, $695,000. Estate of Jennie May Fadding sold property at 2 Wilson Road, West Stockbridge, to Stacy J. Gill & Debra K. Gill, $480,000.

Williamstown

Keith M. and Bayard S. Davis sold property at

She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in social work from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

Suzanne Bateman , Jason Cuyler , Harry “Chip” Moore and Jennifer Vrabel have been elected to Berkshire Community College’s board of trustees. Bateman, a student trustee, is a nontraditional student who is a mother of four and grandmother of nine.

Since 2015, she has owned and operated Autumn’s Bistro, a restaurant and special events business. Previously, she owned and operated Pepe’s Kitchen and was a transportation coordinator for Ace Cab Co. A graduate of August Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Boulder, Colo., Bateman is now a business administration student at BCC, where she is active in the Student Government Association.

49 May St., Williamstown, to IRAR Trust Company for the benefit of Louise Palmer Account Number 3602783, $289,000.

Robert J. Cummings sold property at 1587-1589 Green River Road, Williamstown, to Kira K. Guidon, $200,000.

160 Water LLC sold property at 160 Water St., Unit 401, Williamstown, to VAH Cable Mills LLC, $875,000.

John P. Gerry and Laura H. Schoenbaum sold property at 20 Meacham St., Williamstown, to Graham K. and Catherine O. Giovanetti, $750,000.

Pamela A. Cadran, personal rep. of James Alexander Renton, sold property at 10 Main St., Williamstown, to 10 Main Street Partners LLC, $175,000.

Bradford W. Baer and Pamela Shapiro Baer, trustees of the Bradford W. Baer and Pamela Shapiro Baer RVT, sold property at 74 Bridges Road, Williamstown, to Franco and Madeline D. DiAddezio, $496,000.

Adrian R. Lafond and Jocelyn B. Torio sold property at 112 South Hemlock Lane, Williamstown, to John and Jean G. McClellan, $303,000.

C. Ondine Chavoya sold property at 65 Jerome Drive, Williamstown, to Benjamin Timothy Grimes and Jan Maghinay Padios, $410,000.

Julie Arnold, personal rep. of D. Janet H. Hopton, sold property at 29 Cold Spring Road, Williamstown, to Zachary R. Wadsworth and Alexander T. Pyper, $577,500.

160 Water LLC sold property at 160 Water St, Unit 412, Williamstown, to Robert G. and Sandra H. Sullivan, $895,000. Windsor

Dustin W. Teich sold property at 235 High Street Hill Road, Windsor, to James and Valerie Treadway, $449,900.

Cuyler, a licensed social worker, is the executive director of 2nd Second Chances of Pittsfield, a nonprofit under the direction of the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office that connects formerly incarcerated people of Berkshire County with the tools, programs and support they need for reentry into their community.

He has been a case management coordinator for the sheriff’s office for 20 years, is a board member of Hillcrest Educational Centers, Berkshire United Way and the Christian Center, and a member of the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Domestic Violence High Risk Team. Cuyler holds a criminal justice certificate and bachelor of arts degree in sociology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Moore, a native of Washington, is executive vice president of Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, where he had previously served as vice president/ controller.

He has also worked for Adams Community Bank and Greylock Federal Credit Union. He holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Westfield State College, a master’s degree in executive bank management from Babson College, a diploma from the National School of Banking, and a master’s in business administration from the University of Maryland, Adelphi.

Vrabel is the executive director of communications, planning and development at Berkshire Health Systems.

She has previously served as director of development at Berkshire Medical Center, executive director of the Literacy Network of South Berkshire and assistant director of corporate and foundation relations at Williams College. A board member of Downtown Inc., Vrabel holds a bachelor of arts degree in art history from Williams College and is active with Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Pittsfield.

, Jay

Green , Andy Ottoson and Nyanna L. Slaughter have all been elected to the board of directors of Second Street Second Chances Inc., an organization that supports formerly incarcerated men and women in Berkshire County.

Accetta, a formerly incarcerated person, is a clinician for the acute care services/emergency services program at the Brien Center for Mental Health and Substance Use in Pittsfield. After completing Berkshire Community College’s Social Work Transfer Program in 2011, she earned a bachelor of social work degree from Elms College in 2013 and a master of social work degree from Westfield State University’s Advance Standing Program in 2015.

Accetta, who has a hearing disability, has been in substance abuse recovery for 16 years and works per diem as a recovery coach for the deaf and hard of hearing community.

Green is the town administrator for the town of Adams. He has

PEOPLE, Page 22 previously served as an assistant district attorney with the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office, as chief administrative officer for the city of North Adams, and as district manager of station operations with Amtrak in Albany, N.Y.

He holds a bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice from Saint Anselm College, a law degree from Western New England School of Law and a certificate in railroad management from Michigan State University. He is also a graduate of the Massachusetts Intermittent/Reserve Police Academy.

Ottoson is a senior public health planner at Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, overseeing countywide substance use–related initiatives.

He has also worked in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Program at Berkshire Community College and as systems manager at National Association of Drug Abuse Problems focused on moving individuals with substance use disorders into self-sufficiency. He also has served as a producer/director in theater and opera in New York City and elsewhere.

Slaughter is the Central Massachusetts regional director for Sen. Elizabeth Warren and treasurer of the Berkshire Black Economic Council.

A former Pittsfield School Committee member, Slaughter has held multiple supervisory roles working with children, including positions as coordinator and co-director of Pittsfield’s Marilyn Hamilton Sports and Literacy Program. She holds a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice for investigative services from the University of New Haven and a master’s degree in business administration from Fitchburg State University.

Realtor Danielle “Dani”

Giulian has joined William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty’s brokerage in Lenox. The Pittsfield resident, who has a background in sales and finance, became a Realtor in 2019 after first entering the industry in a support role four years before.

Giulian serves on the board of directors of the Multiple Listing Service and is a member of the Berkshire County Board of Realtors’ government and affairs committee.

“I am excited to welcome Dani to the firm and to our brokerage, where her passion for real estate and the community will be a key differentiator,” said Stephanie McNair, brokerage manager for William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty in Lenox. “I know our clients throughout the region will benefit significantly from her dedication, organization and highly responsive approach to client service.”

Lisa Dent has been appointed director of public programs at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the first person in the museum’s nearly 25-year history to hold that position.

Dent comes to Mass MoCA from Artspace New Haven in Connecticut, where she had been executive director since 2020. Previously, she led public programs and business development at Powerhouse Arts, led the artist services department at Creative Capital, and was associate curator of contemporary art at Columbus Museum of Art. She also founded Lisa Dent Gallery in San

Francisco,

In her new role, Dent will oversee public programming that amplifies and enhances Mass MoCA’s visual and performing arts offerings through programs in creative and cultural practices often found outside of exhibition-making and performance presentations, building upon long-standing partnerships with local, regional, and national organizations in authoring new initiatives.

Dent holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Howard University, and a master’s degree in fine arts from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

She has completed the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program in curatorial studies, has served on several juries and committees, and is currently a board member of Black Lunch Table.

Jason “Jay” Nocher, broker/owner of Nocher Realty, has been elected 2023 president of the Berkshire County Board of Realtors.

Nocher has been practicing real estate since 2013 and became a licensed broker three years later.

He has served on the Berkshire County Board Realtors for several years, on the MLS task force for land and commercial property listings, and as a member of the board’s personnel, finance, professional standard and nominating committees. He represented the board at the 2022 midyear legislative meetings in Washington, D.C.

A resident of Adams, Nocher also serves on the town’s finance and capital planning committees.

He has been the owner and manager of multiple business ventures in the Berkshires. Nocher Realty, which marked its fifth anniversary Feb. 5, has offices in Adams, Great Barrington and Pittsfield.

Wendy Healey has been named executive director of Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum in Lenox. Healey, who lives in Colebrook, Conn., has previously been a management consultant and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in banking, financial technology and marketing.

She has also served on WAM Theater’s board of directors since 2018, most recently as board president, and also chairs its governing committee.

She is a founding member of the Inclusive Economic Innovation Group, a think tank that seeks equitable solutions to systemic economic racism, and has served on the board of directors of BerkShares, the local currency of the Berkshires.

She has been involved with local chambers of commerce her entire career, and served as the first woman president of the Avon, Conn., Chamber of Commerce.

Healey holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor of arts degree in English literature from the University of Connecticut.

Greylock Federal Credit Union has promoted Jennifer Connor-Shumsky to assistant vice president, community support and events; and Mark Kaley to vice president,

PEOPLE, Page 23 contact center.

ConnorShumsky is now responsible for sponsorships and community support and manages Greylock’s Quality Time Club, high school scholarship program and the new mentorship program. She joined Greylock almost five years ago, bringing 27 years of expertise as a development professional with Community Health Programs and the Berkshire United Way.

She serves on the steering committee of the 1Berkshire Youth Leadership Program, and is an active volunteer with PEO Chapter L of Pittsfield and Salvation Army of Hudson, and has a long history with Berkshire County UCP. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Rochester Institute of Technology and lives in Great Barrington.

Kaley joined Greylock in 2008 as the manager of the contact center. He now oversees a team of 12 employees who handle every incoming call to Greylock as well as provide internal and external support for online banking inquiries.

He coaches his children’s sports teams and is a high school basketball and soccer official in Berkshire County.

A Dalton resident, Kaley serves on the Robert “Boog” Powell Memorial Fund committee and is a member of Wahconah Country Club

Connor-Shumsky and Kaley also work on Greylock’s employee United Way campaigns and organize workplace events and fundraisers with Ann Palmer.

Anthony V.

Hayes has been named president and CEO of WMHT Public Media. He becomes the sixth person, and first African American, to lead WMHT since its inception in 1953. He replaces Robert Altman, who is retiring after 15 years as president and CEO of WMHT.

Hayes most recently served as chief operating officer and general manager of New England Public Media in Springfield, Mass. He was instrumental in the merger of public television station WGBY-TV, which he led as general manager, with New England Public Radio to create NEPM.

A native of Queens, N.Y., Hayes has also served as senior vice president for engagement at Connecticut Public Broadcasting in Hartford, and held positions in Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Va.

Hayes is currently an elected member of the board of trustees of America’s Public Television Stations, a national nonprofit membership organization ensuring a strong and financially sound public television system, and a member of the Association of Black Business & Professionals.

Immigration attorney Susan Cohen and television producer Jennifer Seelig have joined the board of directors of Berkshire HorseWorks Inc.

Cohen is a nationally recognized immigration lawyer who has played an instrumental role in shaping both federal and state regulation for over 30 years. She recently became a best-selling author with the publication of “Journeys from There to Here.”

She is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and resides in both Boston and Becket.

Seelig was a producer at Fox News Channel for over a decade and served as deputy director of media affairs for Jon Kasich’s Presidential Campaign in 2016.

She has an extensive background working with national news organizations including NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, Forbes, BuzzFeed, and the Huffington Post.

Currently, she is a podcaster inchief of Podcast PR Pro and the CEO of its parent company, Orion Public Relations.

BHW has also received a firsttime grant of $5,000 from the Scott Fujioka Fund for scholarships for its Ranch Life 101 program and other equine-assisted learning initiatives.

Dr. Mark J. Sterling , a board certified and fellowship trained gastroenterologist, has been appointed to the medical staff of Berkshire Medical Center and the provider staff of Gastroenterology Professional Services of BMC, according to Berkshire Health Systems.

He previously worked at Tufts Medical Center for six years. He has served as director of endoscopic ultrasound at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, and as chief of gastrointestinal endoscopy and director of gastroenterology service at UMDNJ-University Hospital in Newark, N.J.

Sterling is board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology, and fellowship trained in gastroenterology at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center/Faulkner Hospital in Boston, and in advanced endoscopy/gastroenterology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

He received his medical degree from New York Medical College and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester.

Melissa Mazzeo and her daughter, Mia Mazzeo , have joined Berkshire Hathaway HomeService Barnbrook Realty as Realtor associates.

Melissa Mazzeo served on the Pittsfield City Council for 10 years, which included a stint as council president under former Mayor Daniel Bianchi.

She also ran for mayor in 2019.

Born and raised in the Berkshires, Mia Mazzeo has an extensive background in the food industry and runs the family’s restaurant, Mazzeo’s Ristorante in Pittsfield, with her father, Anthony.

Melissa will apply her recently earned Massachusetts Real Estate Salesperson license to residential sales throughout the Berkshire County market.

Mia, who already has several years of licensed real estate sales experience, will be adding her real estate and market knowledge to the new mother/daughter team.

Barnbrook Realty, established in 1976, has offices in Great Barrington, Lenox and Pittsfield.

Aaron Gordon , of Lenox, has been named director of finance and operations at Miss Hall’s School. He will work with senior administrators and the school’s board of trustees to ensure fiscally responsible and mission-aligned decision-making.

His role will include overseeing all financial and operating functions, including budgeting, financial reporting, monitoring investment accounts, and campus services.

Gordon has extensive experience in nonprofit finance, higher education administration, strategic planning, student and residential life, and operations, having most recently served as director of student administrative affairs, strategy and planning at Williams College.

He joined Williams in 2005 as assistant director of campus life-residential programs.

In 2011, he was named director of divisional business affairs. Gordon served in that role until June 2020, when the division merged with the division of the dean of the college.

A graduate of Franklin and Marshall College with a bachelor’s degree in classical archaeology and ancient history, Gordon also holds an MBA from Clarkson University Graduate School.

Miguel Silva has been promoted to director of tutoring at the Literacy Network of South Berkshire.

Silva, who joined LitNet in 2021, formerly served as the organization’s learner liaison.

In his new role, under the direction of Executive Director Leigh Doherty, Silva will oversee the enrollment of all new tutors and will serve as support for LitNet’s existing 140 plus volunteer tutors.

He will retain his responsibilities as also being the point of contact for LitNet’s 160 active learners, the majority of whom are immigrants seeking English language instruction.

Silva, a native of Colombia who moved to the Berkshires at age 10, taught Spanish at Berkshire Country Day School before joining LitNet. He is certified in teaching English to speakers of other language.

Dr. Yagya Tiwari , a board certified and fellowship trained Infectious disease specialist, has been appointed by Berkshire Health Systems to the medical staff of Berkshire Medical Center and the provider staff of Berkshire Internists of BMC.

Tiwari comes to the Berkshires from New Bedford Community Health Center, where he served as an infectious disease and internal medicine provider since 2018.

His clinical interests include antimicrobial stewardship, complex lung and abdominal infections, and viral infections.

He is board certified in internal medicine and infectious disease and was fellowship trained in infectious disease at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine in New York.

He received his medical degree from Tribhuvan University in Nepal, and completed his residency in internal medicine at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester.

BIC Presents Event Recycled Materials Innovations

Consumer demand for sustainability is rising. Environmentally sustainable innovations are needed in material sourcing, manufacturing procedures, and basic chemistry to improve recylability and safety and reduce cost and dependence on carbon materials in the consumer goods industries. Join our panel of experts helping to lead the charge to innovation-driven consumer goods.

Thursday, March 30, 2023

5:00 - 8:00 PM Berkshire Innovation Center 45 Woodlawn Avenue, Pittsfield

In-person and live-streamed Free and open to the public