Berkshire Theatre Group names Paleologos as executive director
Pittsfield — The board of trustees and artistic director and CEO Kate Maguire of Berkshire Theatre Group have named Nicholas Paleologos as the organization’s executive director.
Paleologos served for 14 years as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives where his primary focus was education and the arts. He was House chairman of the Joint Committee on Education, Arts and Humanities from 1985 to 1990. After leaving the Legislature in 1990, Paleologos helped spearhead the drive to create the Boston Renaissance Charter Public School and then served for over a decade as one of its founding trustees. He was honored by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees in 2007 for his service to public education.
In September 2000, Paleologos founded Boston’s Stuart Street Playhouse and was its producing director for nearly a decade, during which time he also taught a course in theater production at Tufts University. From 2007 until 2010, he served as executive director of the Massachusetts Film Office. A two-time Tony Award-winning producer whose credits include both the London and Broadway productions of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” Paleologos has received Emmy Award nominations for his work with HBO. He has produced documentaries for the PBS series “Frontline” and “American Experience.” In 2011 he was appointed executive director of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
Paleologos is the author of published articles on a wide variety of subjects. He won the 2014 Harvardwood Writers’ Competition for Best Feature Screenplay. He is a cum laude graduate of Tufts University, holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University and an honorary doctorate from the Boston Conservatory, and, in 2016, was awarded Rowan University’s Medal of Excellence.
–E.E.
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NPC Berkshires to hold CORE Plan information sessions for nonprofits
Great Barrington — The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires has announced that it will hold three information sessions Tuesday, March 27, about the new Massachusetts Defined Contribution CORE Plan, a statewide, multiple-employer 401(k) retirement plan available to Massachusetts nonprofit organizations with 20 or fewer employees. The sessions will take place at the Mason Library from 9 to 10 a.m., Berkshire United Way in Pittsfield from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Design Lab in North Adams from 3 to 4 p.m.
The CORE Plan, launched in collaboration with the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, features administration and oversight provided by the Office of the State Treasurer on behalf of participating employees, fiduciary assistance to the state’s small nonprofits, professionally developed investment options, minimal fees and automatic enrollment.
The sessions are free, but participants are asked to RSVP to elizabeth@npcberkshires.org. For more information, call NPC Berkshires at (413) 645-3151.
–E.E.
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Roeliff Jansen Community Library appoints new director
Hillsdale, N.Y. — The board of trustees of the Roeliff Jansen Community Library has announced that Tamara Gaskell has been appointed as the library’s new director.
Gaskell was a reference librarian in Germantown, Tennessee, and served as a board member for her local public library in Media, Pennsylvania, and for the Pennsylvania Historical Association and the National Council on Public History. Gaskell has also worked as a public historian, most recently at Rutgers University as public historian in residence and at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, where she planned and developed projects and programs for varied audiences and supervised staff, interns and volunteers. Gaskell, who grew up in Rensselaer County, looks forward to returning to the area and living in Columbia County. She received her bachelor’s degree from Amherst College and her doctorate from Brandeis University.
Gaskell began work at RJCL March 12. Carol Briggs, who is retiring after more than 45 years as RJCL director, will remain for a period to assure a smooth transition.
–E.E.
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Berkshire Money Management founder publishes ‘Build It, Sell It, Profit’
Dalton — Berkshire Money Management founder and CEO Allen Harris has released his first book, “Build It, Sell It, Profit,” written for business owners in the midst of transition.
“Build It, Sell It, Profit” is focuses on increasing an owner’s income while making the business a better candidate for sale, either in two years or 10. The book is a culmination of Harris’ expertise and anecdotes detailing why a business owner should have a proper valuation of a business well before deciding to sell it. The book also offers a guide on how to structure a business so as to dramatically increase its owner’s income.
“I have bought a business. I have sold a business. I have built a business,” said Harris. “… I live and breathe this stuff, and I know what a buyer looks for when inspecting a company for sale. I really wanted to share this with my fellow business owners.”
–E.E.
