People in the Berkshires

PITTSFIELD — André Lynch and Julia Marko have been elected to three-year terms on Roots Rising’s board of directors. Roots Rising is an nonprofit organization that empowers youth and builds community through food and farming.

Lynch is the director of diversity, equity and inclusion at Berkshire Arts and Technology

(BART) Charter Public School in Adams. He holds a master’s of education degree in educational leadership, with an emphasis on higher education. He previously served as associate dean for equity and inclusion at Wells College in Aurora, N.Y.

Marko has been a volunteer with Roots Rising for several years, working on multiple committees. She is currently the director of finance and operations at BART, and previously worked in the business office of the Pittsfield Public Schools. A first generation college student and a lifelong learner, Marko holds a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology and museum studies from Hampshire College and an MBA from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

DALTON — Scott C. Little, a financial adviser and vice president at Berkshire Money Management, has earned the designation of behavioral financial adviser.

Behavioral financial advisers combine financial knowledge with psychology and neuroscience to increase their ability to coach clients in making rational, values-based decisions.

The BFA program was developed by Think 2 Perform, a Minneapolis-based business management consultant. To earn the certification, advisers must complete two multipart courses on behavioral finance, pass an online proctored exam, and complete 20 hours of continuing education to renew their status every two years.

Little is also a certified elder planning specialist and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

PITTSFIELD — Louise Lydon has been named vice president of institutional advancement at Berkshire Community College.

Lydon will serve as the college’s chief advancement officer, advising BCC President Ellen Kennedy on the management and operation of alumni relations and donor relations.

Other responsibilities include developing, executing and evaluating donor engagement. This includes annual giving, corporate and foundation relations, legacy giving, donor and alumni relations, research and prospect management, advancement services, donor cultivation, stewardship and communications/marketing.

Lydon has spent more than 20 years in higher education advancement roles, working at Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania; George Washington University; and, most recently, as the assistant dean for law advancement at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. At Catholic University, Lydon partnered with university leadership in engaging donors to solicit multimillion-dollar gifts and spearheaded a $36 million comprehensive campaign for the law school. A first-generation college graduate,

Lydon earned a bachelor’s degree from Seton Hill University. She is passionate about providing educational opportunities to students of all backgrounds and experiences. She lives with her husband in Cheshire.

NORTH ADAMS — Christine Meiklejohn, the director of ABI/MFP residential services at Berkshire Family & Individual Resources, was awarded the February 2023 Workforce Hero Award by the Provider’s Council.

The Providers’ Council is a statewide association of primarily nonprofit, community-based organizations that provide human services, health, education and vocational support to residents of the commonwealth. With 220 members, it is the largest human services association in Massachusetts.

“My desire to work with people goes back as far as I can remember. When I was in school, I volunteered in programs for at-risk youth — this is where I got my first taste of what helping people could do,” Meiklejohn said in a news release.

“It did not take long to realize that even a few minutes of attention to someone could change the entire trajectory of their future. I knew back then human services would be for me.”

LEE — Cheryl Martin has joined Lee Bank as the senior vice president of consumer banking. She is based out of the bank’s main office at 75 Park St. in Lee.

Martin was previously employed at Berkshire Bank, where she most recently served as the senior vice president of bank operations.

Martin holds a bachelor’s degree in corporate finance and accounting and an MBA from Bentley University. She has served on the board of the local Dollars for Scholars chapter.

A lifelong Berkshire County resident, Martin lives in Lenox.

GREAT BARRINGTON —

Leigh Davis has been appointed communications and community engagement director for Construct, South Berkshires’ leading affordable housing provider.

Davis has been instrumental in creating real, tangible change in the Southern Berkshires through her position as Construct’s development director as well as her broader advocacy for housing opportunity, according to a news release. At Construct, she was instrumental in acquiring Windflower Inn as a more flexible workforce housing option.

A member of the Great Barrington Select Board, Davis moved to the Southern Berkshires from Ireland in 2009 and has been active as a volunteer for area organizations.

She has also worked in marketing, journalism, housing development and local government roles for the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, The Berkshire Eagle, the Eagle Mill redevelopment project and the town of Great Barrington. She has a background in film and television as a studio film editor in Los Angeles and a tenured film professor in Ireland.

LEE — Mindy Brown has been promoted to branch manager of Greylock Federal Credit Union’s branch in Lee.

The position became available when her predecessor, Jennifer O’Neil, was promoted to vice president, market manager.

Brown will oversee all activities for the Lee branch and will play a pivotal role in the renovations of the office’s future site on Park Street.

She has been with Greylock for 22 years, last serving as Lee’s assistant branch manager. Brown and her husband, Ken, live in Stephentown, N.Y.

PITTSFIELD — Mark Cohn has been appointed development officer of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires.

Cohn will be responsible for working in partnership with the executive director, the board of directors, and the development committee to plan and implement the federation’s annual campaign and major gifts fundraising effort.

Cohn, an ordained reform rabbi, previously served as rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he was honored with the title of rabbi emeritus upon concluding his service. He has also served as the assistant rabbi of Congregation Schaarai Zedek in Tampa, Fla.

Originally from the San Francisco Bay area, Cohn holds a bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA and a master’s degree in history from Lehigh University. In 1998, he received his rabbinic ordination through Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion having studied in Jerusalem and Cincinnati..

In 2022, Cohn married Rabbi Amy Walik, who serves as the rabbi of Temple Beth El in Springfield.

ADAMS —Dr. Guity Valizadeh, a board certified primary care physician, has been appointed to the medical staff of Berkshire Medical Center and the provider staff of Adams Internists of BMC. Valizadeh came to the Berkshires from East

Boston Neighborhood Health Center, and previously provided care at the Veterans Administration in Quincy, Boston Medical Center, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and other health care centers in the Boston area. Her clinical interests include preventative care. She is board certified in internal medicine and received her medical degree from Univeriste libre de Bruxelles Faculte de Medecine in Belgium. Valizdeh completed her residency in internal medicine at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton.

PITTSFIELD — Nicholas Kirchner, Guin Griswold and Lee Rudin will make up the management team at Molari Employment and HealthCare Services, according to President and CEO Gail Molari.

Together the trio have over 85 years of combined experience in the field, Molari said.

Kirchner will serve as COO/CFO, making him responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations as well as the financial aspects of the business community.

Griswold will serve as director of employment services, overseeing Molari’s staffing division, which specializes in providing temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct hire staffing solutions to clients throughout the Berkshire County region.

Rudin, a registered nurse, will serve as director of health care services leading Molari’s health care division, providing oversight and direction of the company’s caregivers to ensure the highest level of care for clients.

GREAT BARRINGTON — Rania Markham, a care coordinator for CHP Family Services, was recently named a “Rising Star” by the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce for receiving the organization’s Women in Leadership Award.

Markham, a passionate advocate for families of children with disabilities, was among 111 women who were nominated for the award, which she received at the chamber’s first Women in Leadership luncheon.

She leads a weekly online special needs support group for parents and caregivers, and organizes activities and playgroups for families of children with disabilities. She has also developed “IEP 101,” an online training for parents navigating special education programs in public schools.

Markham is completing her master’s degree in social work at Simmons University and holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Westfield State University. She has worked for CHP for the past 10 years, assisting family services clients at risk of homelessness and food insecurity. Her son Zachary was diagnosed with autism in 2019.

BENNINGTON, VT. — Physician Assistant Emily Winans D’Amario has joined Southwestern Vermont Medical Center ExpressCare and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians.

D’Amario earned her master’s degree in physician assistant studies from LeMoyne College in New York. She received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Union College in New York. She is certified by the National Committee on Certification of Physician Assistants.

Most recently, D’Amario has worked as a physician assistant at Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center’s EmUrgentCare and as a patient care technician at St. Peter’s Hospital, also in Albany.

WILLIAMSTOWN — Mike Minnich , John Kelly and Jarod Serwecki have joined Jack Miller Contractors as senior carpenter, carpenter and assistant carpenter, respectively.

Minnich has more than a decade’s worth of experience with a small sawmill building modified pole barns, post-and-beam homes and custom projects. He also spent seven years working with a crew of Danish master carpenters building imported zero-energy Trelleborg homes.

Kelly has been working in the carpentry trade for more than 17 years on new construction and remodels. Promoted from team carpenter to supervisor at B&B Micro Manufacturing in Adams, he worked in collaboration with its team to build 1,000-plus tiny homes. He also served as project manager at Woodland Properties. He received his real estate license in 2016 and his construction supervisor license in 2018.

Hired as a carpenter apprentice, Serwecki has been with JMC since October 2022. While not a complete novice to woodworking, he is new to construction.

GREAT BARRINGTON — Courtney Maxwell has joined Community Access to the Arts as program associate.

CATA has dramatically expanded programs serving people with disabilities and this new staff position will help the organization deepen community partnerships and grow inclusive arts workshops and performances, giving people with disabilities across the Berkshires and Columbia County more opportunities to explore their talents and express themselves creatively.

Maxwell is an artist, art educator and occupational therapist who has worked at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art as a gallery art teacher and as an occupational therapist at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital in Vermont. She holds a graduate degree in art education from Lesley University in Cambridge, and a graduate degree in occupational therapy from Kean University in Union, N.J.

PITTSFIELD — Sumant Pustake has been promoted to EVP, chief transformation and strategy officer at Berkshire Bank.

A veteran of the banking industry, Pustake has played a critical role developing and overseeing the implementation of Berkshire’s Exciting Strategic Transformation program, according to bank president and COO Sean Gray.

He will lead Berkshire’s transformation initiatives and provides essential support to solve large, complex challenges and drive high company performance. He works closely with senior management to accelerate growth, enable innovation, and meet the organization’s short and longterm objectives.

Pustake previously oversaw Berkshire’s corporate development efforts, where he served as the development leader and helped define and realize the vision and growth strategy. Prior to joining Berkshire Bank, he served as vice president, head of corporate credit for Commerce Bank and Trust. Pustake holds a master of business administration from the Yale School of Management, a master of finance from Clark University, and a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering from the University of Pune.

PITTSFIELD — Richard Wilson has been appointed senior vice president of administration and fi nance at the Brien Center, replacing Jeffrey Pringle, who has retired from the agency.

Wilson has over 25 years of experience in the non-profit sector, with a focus on improving systems and financial sustainability, according to Brien Center president and CEO Christine MacBeth.

He has previously served and consulted in various executive leadership roles for other nonprofits, including the Jewish Board of Family and Children Services, Sound Community Services Inc., Citizen Advocates Inc., Yale University, New York University and New York Medical College.

Wilson holds a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration from New York University and a master’s degree in public health with a concentration in nonprofit finance from New York Medical College.

PITTSFIELD — Devan Gardner has been promoted to assistant vice president, lending systems and project manager at Greylock Federal Credit Union.

In his new role, Gardner will serve as project manager, supporting lending initiatives and new facility development. He will act as primary liaison between Greylock departments,

IT and vendors. He is also a certified credit union financial counselor with Greylock, which means he may provide financial coaching on a variety of topics from budgeting to navigating financial hardship.

Gardner, who lives in Pittsfield, joined the credit union in 2013 and most recently served as Greylock’s lending system and project manager. He is currently earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration and project management from Southern New Hampshire University.

GREAT BARRINGTON — Michelle R. Sisk has joined the nutrition team at CHP Berkshires.

In her new role, Sisk will work primarily as a culinary nutritionist with the CHP Nutrition Club, which provides nutrition services to patients of Berkshire Fallon Health Collaborative (MassHealth). She will counsel patients mainly through telehealth, and will also lead culinary nutrition and education programs.

A graduate of Marymount College of Fordham University, Sisk holds a bachelor of science degree in nutrition, and completed her dietetic internship at the University of Connecticut and Hartford Hospital. She also earned a bachelor of arts degree in English from Williams College, and she holds a certification in adult weight management.

Sisk is also a nutritional counselor at Millbrook School in Millbrook, N.Y. and Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn. She also designed and taught an elementary school nutrition curriculum at Salisbury Central School in Lakeville, and she has provided private in-home nutritional counseling to patients. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Connecticut Dietetic Association.

TONY DOBROWOLSKI, Editor 413-496-6224 tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com

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