CHP Berkshires welcomes Jonna Gaberman, M.D., as Director of Adult Medicine
Great Barrington— Dr. Jonna Gaberman has joined CHP Berkshires as director of adult medicine, and she will also provide adult primary care physician at CHP Neighborhood Health Center Pittsfield.
She brings extensive experience in community health care, population health, outpatient, internal medicine, and the care of persons living with HIV, Hepatitis C, and substance use disorder.
Gaberman most recently worked with Baystate Mason Square Health Center in Springfield, where her position was partially funded through a Ryan White grant for the care of persons with HIV. She earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School, and she also received her undergraduate degree in biology from Harvard University.
For her post-doctoral training, Gaberman completed a fellowship in primary care outpatient medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where she served as chief resident in primary care. She completed her internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s, where she also completed a fellowship in HIV care.
Prior to her work at Baystate Mason Square Health Center, she also worked at Lowell Community Health Center, Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center, and Brigham Internal Medicine Associates. She spent one year studying as a community health intern at the People’s Health Center, Savar, Bangladesh.
Gaberman has taught and precepted medical students, medical residents, and nurse practitioner students. She received the Arnold Dunne Award for Extraordinary Patient Care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
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Berkshire Humane Society to dedicate shelter in memory of Dr. John Reynolds
Pittsfield— Berkshire Humane Society will hold an open house on Sunday, August 13 from noon to 3 p.m. to celebrate the naming of the main shelter at 214 Barker Road in Pittsfield as the Dr. John Reynolds Adoption and Education Center. The open house will feature live bluegrass music by the Lenox Mountain String Band, food, tours of improvements of the shelter funded through the Forever Family Campaign, and vendors including Benson’s Pet Center, Meow and Growl, The Berkshire Dog, Barkshire Dog Trading Company, Little Wool Dogs, Roxies Barkery and Tuesday Ceramics. All adoption fees during the open house will be waived to approved adopters.
“This open house is a celebration of life,” said John Perreault, Executive Director of Berkshire Humane Society. We’re glad to dedicate our building in the name of Dr. Reynolds, who was a great veterinarian, compassionate man, and above all, a cherished friend. Dr. Reynolds lived life to the fullest and there’s no better we can carry on his legacy than by seeing his name on our building and enjoying a waterfall and rock garden on the side of our building,” he said. A new water feature built in the memory of Dr. Reynolds is in place and renderings of the landscaping planned for the area will be on hand for the celebration.
“We want people to know that Berkshire Humane Society is not changing our name,” said Perreault. “We’re still Berkshire Humane Society. We’re naming our building to honor a friend to animals, a friend to the community and a friend to us.”
The open house is free to the public. Participants are encouraged to bring canned or bagged cat or dog food to “Stuff the Suby”, a pet food donation drive by Haddad Subaru to benefit Berkshire Humane Society’s Food Pantry. If food donations fill a Subaru Ascent, Haddad Subaru will donate a two-minute shopping spree at Benson’s Pet Center to Berkshire Humane Society to further stock the food bank.
Dr. John Reynolds, who owned Pittsfield Veterinary Hospital, died in a tragic kayaking accident on Richmond Pond in 2021. He was a member of Berkshire Humane Society’s board of directors and generously donated his expertise, skills ,and time to benefit animals and the people who love them in Berkshire County.
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Pittsfield Cooperative Bank recognizes employees for years of service
Pittsfield— Pittsfield Cooperative Bank recently recognized six employees for their dedicated years of service. The staff recognized ranged in service from 10 years to 40 years.
Recognized for 10 years with the bank were Kristine Williams (Deposit Operations Clerk), Cande Markham (Branch Teller), and Jeff Hescock (Director of Facilities and Security). Lauren Miller (Branch Teller) was recognized for 20 years of employment at the bank.
Special recognition was given to Peter Marchetti (Senior Vice President of Retail Operations) for 35 years of service, and Sandra Girard (Assistant Vice President, Branch Manager) for 40 years with the bank.
“We are grateful for our employees’ dedication and service. They are the heart and soul of The Co-op, and we look forward to them continuing to be a part of our team,” stated J. Jay Anderson, president and CEO of Pittsfield Cooperative Bank.
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Berkshire Innovation Center announces the startup companies accepted into Stage 2 Accelerator Program
Pittsfield— The Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC), is proud to announce the cohort of startup firms that have been accepted into the BIC’s Stage 2 Accelerator, a 35-week hands-on and results-oriented program designed to serve early-stage tech startups that are building a physical product and moving toward the manufacturing phase. The awardees will receive membership and a dedicated workspace at the BIC and will have full access to our labs, advanced equipment, digital media studio, and our internal team of subject matter experts, as well as broad and curated support from our committed member community. The firms will also be invited to participate in the BIC Manufacturing Academy and related programming.
“With the BIC Stage 2 Accelerator, we have crystallized and expanded our current offerings so that we can provide the full range of BIC resources to more entrepreneurs,” says Ben Sosne, Executive Director of the Berkshire Innovation Center. “The program will leverage our existing strengths and assets and will be an opportunity to increase access and activate more of the connections that we have built over the last four years. We see this as a natural evolution of our offerings, a program that will fuel the growth of new firms and new jobs in sectors prioritized by the Commonwealth and critical to the strength of our regional rural economy.”
The firms accepted into the BIC Stage 2 Accelerator program are:
- eSki: a blind-owned company looking to revolutionize the personal watercraft market. Their mission is simple – to bring the first electric powered personal watercraft to market with features you have been waiting for.
- Fibrocor Therapuetics: a biotech startup specializing in early-stage treatments for fibrotic diseases, bringing potentially life-changing therapies to patients with few existing options.
- MacFarlane Medical: a startup with a revolutionary wearable insulin delivery device that leverages proprietary technology to deliver insulin in a faster, more comfortable, and less resource-dependent way than existing options.
- Noble Carbon: a startup seeking to revolutionize the way electricity grids are managed using their proprietary smart circuit breaker technology. Their solution allows them to provide a resolution of demand data that was previously unavailable to utilities and grid managers.
- PathogenX: a firm that develops, manufactures, and distributes proprietary technology designed to transform the process of medical waste management. The company’s stand-alone onsite device transforms medical waste into a harmless, solid block, allowing for disposal in the common trash.
- SQE.io: the first quantum secure, decentralized blockchain-based platform for industrial, commercial, and general public consumption, powered by patent-pending Simulated Quantum Entanglement.
The partners providing support for this program include: Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, Mill Town Foundation, 1Berkshire, Hamilton Brook Smith Reynolds, andMassMEDIC.
In addition to the facilities and equipment, firms in the program will have extensive access to the vast network of experts that engage with the BIC regularly. Among the numerous mentors supporting the entrepreneurs and guiding the growth of the program, is Sam Russo, co-founder and chief operating officer of Dive Technologies, a firm that leveraged the BIC resources to build their autonomous underwater vehicle prior to acquisition by Anduril Industries in 2022. Russo, a Pittsfield native, will maintain an office at the BIC and serve as the program’s official “Entrepreneur in Residence.”
Russo said, “I’m proud of what the team at Dive Technologies was able to accomplish and am grateful for the support that the BIC and the BIC network provided along the way. I learned a tremendous amount as we advanced our product and grew our firm, and I am eager to share my experiences and help fellow entrepreneurs grow their businesses and seed economic growth right here in the Berkshires.”
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Berkshire Community College fall semester starts September 5
Pittsfield— Berkshire Community College (BCC) begins its fall semester Tuesday, September 5. A variety of learning options are offered, including in-person, online, and hybrid. Prospective students may register any time online, or by walking in without an appointment to the One Stop Center. There, applications are processed for instant acceptance to the College. Financial aid assistance is also available.
Newly offered this fall is an associate in science degree in Natural and Physical Sciences, which offers pathways in biology, biotechnology, chemistry, and physics. Also new to BCC is an associate in science degree in mechatronics, a field that combines electronics and mechanical technologies.
After completing an application and receiving acceptance into BCC, students take an Accuplacer exam or submit official high school transcripts to be evaluated for course placement. Students who previously attended another college or university should submit official transcripts to BCC, which may provide exemption from testing.
To learn more about applying to BCC, including viewing an admission checklist, browsing a course catalogue, filing a financial aid form or scheduling a tour, visit www.berkshirecc.edu/fall. Advisors are on hand to answer questions; call (413) 499-4660 or email onestop@berkshirecc.edu.
