Editor’s Note: We had so much news this week that we decided to break Business Briefs into two parts. This is the second part.
Miss Hall’s School names Meghan Smith as the School’s inaugural Dean of Teaching and Learning
Pittsfield— Miss Hall’s School has named Meghan Smith as the School’s inaugural Dean of Teaching and Learning.
Smith comes to Miss Hall’s with more than 20 years of teaching and administrative experience, demonstrated success in designing and implementing curriculum, and a background in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-focused leadership.
Prior to Miss Hall’s, she worked since 2005 at Lawrence Academy in Groton, serving in several roles including Latin, History, and English Instructor; Language Department Chair; Director of the 9th grade interdisciplinary program; and Director of DEI Professional Growth and Practice. In 2021, Meghan was named LA’s Director of DEI Professional Growth and Practice, designing and implementing professional development around teaching and learning practices related to culturally responsive teaching, and guiding school leadership through a review of policy and curriculum as it related to DEI and the school’s mission.
As Dean of Teaching and Learning, Smith provides direction for academic life at Miss Hall’s, convening department chairs and faculty to spearhead a transformative academic program that develops vision, voice, interpersonal efficacy, and gumption in MHS students. She also models and implements best practices in girl-centered pedagogy, oversees hiring, retention, and evaluation of faculty, and serves on the School’s Senior Leadership Team, providing institutional vision and direction.
“What I appreciate most about Miss Hall’s is the commitment to providing a thriving school environment that strives to include the world outside the four walls of the classroom and engage with the Berkshire Community,” Smith said. “Making connections is an essential part of education, in terms of fostering interpersonal skills, as well as confident communication, and I am excited to join a community that values student-centered learning and community-centered growth.”
Smith holds an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College, an M.F.A. in Poetry from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and a B.A. in Classics, with a concentration in Music, from the University of Dallas. She is also certified in Teaching Mindfulness and brings this practice to her work.
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Three new Trustees elected to Berkshire Museum board at annual meeting
Pittsfield— Three new members have been duly elected to join Berkshire Museum’s Board of Trustees, bringing with them invaluable expertise in high-level finance management, leadership, public relations, and design, among many other skills. This increases the total number of Berkshire Museum Trustees to 19, alongside three lifetime Trustees. The new Trustees are Erin Hanson, Garth Klimchuk, and Jacqueline Parker Togut.
Erin Hanson has 25 years of experience in corporate communications and consumer marketing for some of the world’s most respected companies. She is currently a Senior Vice President at The Harris Agency (THA), where she specializes in brand strategy and reputation management for a host of business-to-business and technology companies. Prior to joining THA, she was a partner for ten years at HUNTER, a creative communications and marketing agency in New York City. Prior to joining HUNTER in 2012, Erin spent five years at the Publicis PR agency MSLGROUP where she was an SVP in the global consumer practice in New York City and later served as general manager of the MSL Singapore office. In 2021, she and her husband moved permanently to her husband’s hometown of Richmond along with her twin ten-year-old boys and seven-year-old daughter. Erin graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. degree in communications and currently sits on the board of the Cornell Club of the Berkshires.
Garth Klimchuk, Founder and Managing Partner, NorthRenew Energy LLC, has over 35 years of financial advisory and project development experience across the broad energy spectrum with the last 17 years dedicated exclusively to the renewable energy industry. Garth is responsible for the formation and management of NorthRenew Energy LLC and NorthRenew Energy Partners LLC, a joint venture partnership with GE Vernova (General Electric’s energy business), which focus on the development, construction, and operations of utility-scale wind and solar projects throughout the United States. Prior experience includes founding several advisory firms focused on the power, utility, and renewable energy sectors, leading Berenson Minella’s Power and Utility Group and serving as a senior banker in the energy groups of CIBC World Markets, J.P. Morgan, Chem Systems, and Kidder, Peabody. Garth holds an MBA from The Wharton School, an M.A. in Energy Management and Policy from University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Geology from Brown University. Garth and his wife Marianne have been a part of the Berkshire community since 1985, reside in Becket and have two grown children and a grandson.
Jacqueline Parker Togut began her career as a Ford model at age fifteen. She later moved to the business side of fashion handling marketing/public relations for such designers as Halston, Arnold Scaasi, Prêt à Porter for North America, and Christian Dior, where she was made director. Jacqueline holds a degree in Russian Area Studies as well as Political Science. She also spent time doing work for both The Rand Corporation and The Foundation for Florida’s Future, which is a progressive think tank dealing with young children and education. She then became the director of special events and major gifts at Home Safe Shelter Care Continuum for abused women and children. Today Jacqueline heads up her own interior design business, JPT Design Associates, LLC. She and her husband Al have two sons, Parker and Zachary. The family divides their time between New York, Palm Beach, and the Berkshires.
Ethan Klepetar, Board of Trustees Vice President, said of the new Trustees, “We are thrilled to welcome three distinguished members of the community to the Museum’s Board of Trustees. Berkshire Museum remains dedicated to serving the community and we look forward to a new chapter in the Museum’s long history.”
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Berkshire Bank welcomes Rob Nichols, SVP to the business banking team
Berkshires—Berkshire Bank, a leading community bank with financial centers in New England and New York, welcomes Rob Nichols as SVP, Business Banking Team Leader.
At Berkshire Bank, Nichols will lead the sales team for business banking within Central and Eastern New York, Berkshire County and Southern Vermont. His extensive background covers a wide range of corporate and commercial banking leadership and management positions, including overseeing Business Banking departments at Citizens and First Niagara banks. Most recently, he served as the chief credit officer for a community bank. Nichols joins Berkshire with over 33 years in commercial banking.
“Berkshire Bank’s commercial lenders are there to support and build businesses with responsive, personal service. Rob will be a great addition to the Berkshire Bank team as he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience within commercial banking, industrial lending, and commercial real estate to help service our customers,” stated Senior Managing Director – Business Banking, Scott J. Houghtaling.
Nichols resides in the Albany, New York region and is active in the community. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee and treasurer for the Capital District YMCA. He also serves as a member of the board for the Albany Black Chamber of Commerce. His passion includes mentoring and supporting entrepreneurs – this includes teaching Entrepreneurship Finance at Siena College.
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Ilana Steinhauer announced Berkshire Regional Planning Commission’s 2023 Kusik Award winner
Pittsfield— Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) is pleased to announce Ilana Steinhauer, FNP, Executive Director of Volunteers in Medicine, as the 2023 Charles Kusik Award Winner. The Kusik Award recognizes outstanding contributions to Berkshire County. Ilana has led Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) since 2014 as the Executive Director and Director of Medical Services. Under Ilana’s leadership, VIM has increasingly considered the social determinants of health (housing, education, food security, employment, childcare, etc.) as key components of an individual or family’s health.
Ilana first moved to the Berkshires in 2006 after graduating from Wesleyan University. She began interning at Volunteers in Medicine and quickly realized she wanted to do patient care with this population. After taking prerequisites at Berkshire Community College, Ilana moved to the Boston area to complete her Nurse Practitioner degree and began her career as a nurse with The Medical Group/Harvard Vanguard Associates-Beverly. In 2014, Ilana moved with her family (including 1-year-old twin boys) back to the Berkshires to become Executive Director at VIM. Bilingual in Spanish, Ilana continues to provide direct patient care in addition to being the Executive Director.
Throughout the pandemic, under Ilana’s leadership, VIM ensured that not a single one of their patients died or was hospitalized from COVID-19. VIM added hundreds of new patients, provided $500,000 to patients to help with rent, food, and utilities, and developed a hybrid in-person and telehealth patient treatment model, teaching patients how to set up Zoom on their smartphones. VIM provided stipends to patients when they contracted COVID-19 and needed to stay home, and they arranged childcare during the summer so parents could continue working. 98% of VIM’s patients are fully vaccinated. These efforts helped the entire community by limiting the burden on the local hospital system and keeping the workforce healthy so businesses could keep operating.
Despite the demands of running such a large organization and spearheading the new campaign, Ilana continues to make a mark in the larger community. She works with numerous organizations to help ensure collaboration, reduce duplication and fill gaps. Ilana was one of the founders of The Berkshire Alliance to Support the Immigrant Community (BASIC), a group of 15-20 agencies in the Berkshires that work with the growing immigrant community. BASIC meets monthly to identify specific immigrant needs and the appropriate agency to address each need to avoid duplication and increase collaboration and coordination. Ilana is also a board member of the Southern Berkshire Rural Health Collaborative, Lee Bank, and the Public Health Institute of Western Mass, and a member of the County Health Initiative (CHI), among other organizations.
The Charles Kusik Award was instituted to recognize projects, groups, or individuals who have made outstanding contributions to planning in Berkshire County. BRPC inaugurated the Kusik Award in 1996 to honor Charles Kusik, a resident of the Town of Richmond, who, for over three decades, placed his expert imprint on the zoning bylaws of nearly every town in the Berkshires as a volunteer “citizen planner.” More information about Charles Kusik and past recipients of the award named in his honor can be found online. Ilana Steinhauer will be recognized at the joint BRPC and Berkshire County Selectmen’s Association Annual Meeting and Reception on October 5th, at 4 p.m. at Berkshire Hills Country Club in Pittsfield. Tickets are $25 per person and are available online or by calling 413-442-1521 x10.
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The Berkshire Food Co-op presents a talk by social entrepreneur and food systems expert Ismail Samar
Great Barrington— The Berkshire Food Co-op presents a lunchtime talk on Tuesday, September 26th by social entrepreneur and food systems expert Ismail Samad. Samad is focused on economic, environmental, and racial justice. He has founded several successful enterprises, and speaks from experience in both nonprofit and for-profit sectors.
While studying environmental biology in college, Samad worked in some of the top restaurants in Cleveland, developing a passion for the culinary arts. He opened his first cafe, Crust and Crumbs, at the age of 23. Ismail relocated to Vermont, becoming involved in the farm-to-table movement. Exploring creative solutions to the problem of food waste, Ismail founded The Gleanery, a concept restaurant in Putney eliminating waste and showcasing culinary artistry while buying from local farms. Ismail later served as culinary director and was pivotal in the planning and early activities of Daily Table, a nonprofit grocery in Roxbury and Dorchester focused on addressing interrelated issues of food insecurity, nutrition, and wasted/surplus food for those in need. He is also the former director of Contract Manufacturing and Culinary Operating for Commonwealth Kitchen, a nonprofit business incubator located in Boston specializing in a just food economy. Having returned to his hometown, Samad now brings his experience to Loiter, a nonprofit developing an urban farming ecosystem in East Cleveland in which every part of the supply chain will be locally owned, and he is leading Loiter’s Marketplace and its Farms & Apiaries enterprise.
Ismail will give a brief talk in the Food Co-op’s new Great Barrington community space, followed by a Q&A. This smaller gathering follows a lecture Ismail will deliver on Tuesday, September 26th at Williams College. The Berkshire Food Co-op lunchtime talk is open to Members of either BerkShares, Inc. or the Berkshire Food Co-op. Please register as space is limited.
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Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires earns a four-star rating from Charity Navigator
Great Barrington— The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires is proud to announce that its strong financial health and ongoing accountability and transparency has earned a Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator. This rating designates Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires as an official “Give with Confidence” charity, indicating that the organization is using its donations effectively based on Charity Navigator’s criteria.
Charity Navigator analyzes nonprofit performance based on four key indicators, referred to as beacons. Currently, nonprofits can earn scores for the Impact & Results, Accountability & Finance, Culture & Community, and Leadership & Adaptability beacons.
“We try to model best practices for nonprofits,” said Liana Toscanini, NPC’s Executive Director. “Third-party accreditation encourages the community to support our work, knowing that we operate from a place of excellence with regard to governance, transparency and impact. We are grateful to State Representative William “Smitty” Pignatelli for recognizing these strengths and securing a $50,000 earmark for NPC in the FY24 Commonwealth budget.”
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Berkshire Visiting Nurse Association has earned the 2022 SHPBestTM “Superior Performer” patient satisfaction award
Pittsfield— The Berkshire Visiting Nurse Association has been recognized by Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP) as a “Superior Performer” for achieving an overall patient satisfaction score that ranked in the top 20% of 3,200 eligible SHP clients for the 2022 calendar year.
“SHP is very excited to have the opportunity to recognize the hard work and dedication of our top-performing customers with the annual SHPBest awards. We commend these organizations for their determination to provide top-notch care to the patients and caregivers that they serve”, said Kevin Vogel, President of SHP.
“We deeply value our skilled and compassionate staff at the Berkshire VNA, and we are proud that this team has been nationally recognized for the excellent care that they provide to patients in our community,” said Darlene Rodowicz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Berkshire Health Systems.
“Our clinicians at the Berkshire VNA are proud of the care they provide to our community, and this honor is truly deserved,” said Priti Shah, Administrative Director of the Berkshire VNA.
Read more about the SHPBest awards program, including methodology and award recipient lists online.
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Adams Community Bank expands reach into Great Barrington
Great Barrington— Adams Community Bank announces the Bank’s expansion into Great Barrington with its newest branch opening at 342 Stockbridge Road. This is the second branch opened by the Bank within the past ten months with the Merrill Road location opening in Pittsfield in December of 2022.
The Great Barrington branch opened for business on Monday, September 18th. It will enhance the Bank’s presence in the South County area, offering a wide range of banking products and services to meet local residents’ and businesses’ diverse financial needs. With state-of-the-art technology, a modern and welcoming interior, and a team of friendly and knowledgeable staff, we are committed to delivering banking as it should be: personal, convenient, and community-focused.
Charles P. O’Brien, ACB President & CEO said, “Adams Community Bank remains committed to our overall mission of being a trusted partner in the financial success of our customers.” The new branch will have the strong leadership of Branch Officer Julie Zdon, who oversees the new branch with her 17 years of banking experience. She is supported by Assistant Branch Manager Ava Joy and Community Banker Matt Curly. The Bank is expanding its network of Interactive Teller Machines (ITM) called Customer Connect by adding two machines at this new location. Customer Connect offers a 2-way video conference between the user and a live Customer Connect Specialist. This technology allows customers to make loan payments, deposits, cash checks, complete credit card payments, redeem Coin Machine receipts, and more.
The Great Barrington Branch will be open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. In addition, expanded hours are offered through Customer Connect Services, which are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
