People on the Move

Michael Tucker, president and CEO of Greenfield Cooperative Bank (GCB), announced that Tony Worden was elected by the board to the new position of chief operating officer (COO). This will be in addition to his duties as executive vice president & senior commercial loan officer. As COO, Worden will be taking over some of Tucker’s day-to-day duties and direct reports to ensure GCB maintains continuity in its leadership ranks. And during a stressful period such as now with the COVID-19, the move gives the board the peace of mind of knowing that, should Tucker be unavailable for whatever reason, Worden will be available for major decisions. Worden has more than 21 years of experience in commercial lending and has been with GCB since 2008. He is a 1996 graduate of UMass with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and received his MBA from UMass Amherst in 2005. He is also a 2017 graduate of the Stonier School of Banking at the University of Pennsylvania. He is active in the community as a board member of United Way of Franklin County and a member of the town of Greenfield Cable Advisory Committee and the Turners Falls Downtown Working Group.

•••••

Elms College announced the appointment of three directors to its staff: Michael Crawford, director of Diversity and Inclusion; Andrea Holden, director of Alumni Relations; and Pablo Madera, director of Public Safety. As director of Diversity and Inclusion, Crawford is committed to the holistic development of students within and beyond the classroom via empowerment, education, support, and advocacy. He has experience in diversity programming and academic support in higher education at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, the University of Connecticut, nonprofit organizations, and as an independent consultant. Most recently, he was a research associate in a culture and mental-health-disparities lab at the University of Connecticut. He also has extensive experience with various social-justice and college-preparation initiatives for vulnerable populations, first-generation and low-income students, and diverse populations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Haverford College and a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Connecticut. He also earned a certificate in college instruction and a master’s degree in adult learning from the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. As director of Alumni Relations, Holden develops initiatives that increase alumni engagement and also advance the goals of the college. She has more than 20 years of experience in higher education, serving in a variety of roles within student affairs, including campus programs, campus-center management, new-student programs, leadership, and residential life. Most recently, she was a student-engagement specialist for the dean of students at the Community College of Rhode Island in Warwick, R.I., and the director of Student Activities, Involvement and Leadership at Wheaton College in Norton. She holds a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Worcester State College and a master’s degree in marketing from Webster University. As director of Public Safety, Madera manages the safety measures for the entire campus, as well as the administration of safety policies and protocols. He is a 37-year veteran of the Ludlow Police Department, where he progressed from patrolman to sergeant to lieutenant and, for the past seven years, served as the department’s chief of Police. He served as an adjunct professor of criminal justice at Western New England University (WNEU) for 23 years and also spent time consulting on multicultural-awareness issues and policing. He earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Westfield State University and his master’s degree in criminal justice administration from WNEU. In addition, he graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.

•••••

Western New England University (WNEU) General Counsel Cheryl Smith was honored at the 15th annual “Leaders in the Law” event presented by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. The event was held on March 5 at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel. Smith was chosen from a field of nominees across the Commonwealth for the 2020 In-House Leader Award. Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Leader Awards recognize general counsel and staff attorneys who are nominated by their colleagues, clients, and other legal professionals for being leaders in the community and forward thinkers. For the past two decades, Smith had managed all litigation commenced against WNEU. She also supervised the legal and contractual aspects of a complex new ERP for the university. Additionally, for the past two years, she has served as the Title IX coordinator. Smith began her academic career at Wellesley College and concluded at Western New England School of Law in 1983. At WNEU, she is a senior lecturer for “Human Resource Management,” “Legal Aspects of Human Resources,” “Business Law,” and “Business Communication.”

•••••

Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. (MBK) recently promoted Brittany Bird and welcomed Sarah Rose Stack to the firm. Bird was promoted to senior associate. She holds an associate degree in business administration and management from Holyoke Community College, where she was one of the school’s valedictorians, and a bachelor of business administration degree with a major in accounting from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. During her time at the firm, she earned the MBK Thought Leader 2019 Award for published articles on behalf of the firm. Prior to working at MBK, she worked in the customer-service industry. Stack is the firm’s new Marketing & Recruiting manager. MBK recently embarked on a rebrand, which included a new logo, interior design, and mission and vision statement. Stack will help bring this new mission to maturity and will implement a variety of new strategies and connections to actualize the firm’s vision. With 15 years of digital marketing, design, and communications experience, she will bring a fresh perspective to the firm’s social-media strategy, revamped digital presence, community involvement, thought leadership, and more. Stack studied music education at UMass Amherst, and has worked in website development and marketing on myriad products and services since 2005. She is a member of the Assoc. for Accountant Marketing.

•••••

Holyoke Community College (HCC) recently welcomed Dale Brown as its assistant director of Public Safety. Brown comes to HCC with more than two decades of law-enforcement experience, both as a military officer and as a civilian. He most recently worked for the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office in Northampton, where he was a deputy sheriff and corrections officer in the Hampshire County corrections system, while also serving in part-time positions at Greenfield Community College as a special state police officer and as a patrol officer in Sunderland. At HCC, Brown serves as second in command to campus Police Chief Laura Lefebvre, the director of Public Safety. He started in his new job in January. Brown is a 15-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, where he served in military law enforcement as a master sergeant, technical sergeant, staff sergeant, senior airman, and airman. During his service, he experienced multiple overseas deployments, including during operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Brown earned his associate degree in criminal justice from the Community College of the Air Force and his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from American Military University. He also holds a third-degree black belt in taekwondo.

•••••

Pilot Precision Products, the parent company of duMONT Minute Man Industrial Broaches and Hassay Savage broaching tools, and the exclusive American distributor of Magafor and GMauvaisUSATM products, announced that Marco Morgado has joined the team in the role of the director of National Business Development. In his position, Morgado is responsible for directing marketing, sales operations, management of the company’s independent sales representatives, and leading the business’ growth strategy. He brings more than two decades of experience to his new role, gleaned from previous positions at Atlantic Fasteners, Kennametal, and other industry players. Educated at Westfield State University in business management, Morgado is the recipient of business leadership awards from the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce and others.

•••••

Freedom Credit Union announced that Debra Mainolfi has been hired as branch officer at its West Springfield location. Mainolfi began her finance career as a licensed agent for major national insurance providers, working closely with businesses and families to design retirement and succession plans through both insurance and mutual funds. Following her later roles in banking, she joined Freedom in 2019. As part of her long commitment to community service, she serves on the executive board of directors for Unify Against Bullying, an organization working to end bullying through the celebration of diversity. In addition to serving on other boards, she previously facilitated a financial-literacy program at Sunshine Village and collaborated on a similar program for refugees with Catholic Charities and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

•••••

Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts (JAWM) announced that Nicole Fregeau has joined the organization as program manager. In her new role, Fregeau builds program expansion through strategic planning and presentations designed to recruit and renew commitments of teachers, schools, local businesses, and volunteers. To increase public awareness of JAWM programs, she creates departmental plans and develops and executes volunteer orientation programs. She coordinates the Business and Entrepreneurial Exploration (BEE) summer program as well. Prior to joining JAWM, Fregeau spent a year in Thailand teaching students at various levels to speak, read, and write in English. In addition, she screened candidates for open positions and consulted with potential students during the enrollment process, edited curriculum, and participated in school programs like English Camp and Scout Camp. As an established Junior Achievement volunteer in the U.S., Fregeau also taught JA’s “More than Money” program to sixth-grade students in Thailand. Fregeau is a graduate of Elms College with a bachelor’s degree in business management. She participated in Elms College campus ministry service trips to Nicaragua, where she worked on clean-water and education projects.

•••••

UniTech Services Group, a subsidiary of UniFirst Corp., recently announced that Michael Bovino was promoted to vice president, bringing 35 years of contamination-control and management experience to the leadership role. Over the past 23 years, Bovino has climbed the UniFirst management ranks from general manager to division general manager, and ultimately now to vice president of UniTech. He most recently served as division general manager for UniClean, a fellow UniFirst subsidiary, where he was responsible for profit and loss, while overseeing all facets of the business. The new vice president’s career began with Public Service Electric & Gas of New Jersey, where he acted as technical manager at various nuclear power stations for several years. He then joined UniTech in 1990, playing a vital role in the company’s success as manager of Health Physics and Engineering for six years before pursuing more senior management roles within UniFirst. Bovino holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental public health from SUNY Cortland, with minors in biology and geology; a master’s degree in environmental and nuclear engineering concentrated in health physics from the University of Florida; a prior certification by the American Board of Health Physics; and an MBA concentrated in business management and financial accounting from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. Since 2018, he has also served as a voting member of the SUNY Cortland Alumni Assoc. board of directors, as well as the board’s finance and Park Alumni House committees. Bovino replaces the newly retired George Bakevich, who served as vice president for 36 years. During Bakevich’s tenure, he oversaw major company expansions throughout the U.S., Europe, and Canada, including recent acquisitions in the area of radioactive-waste processing to support power-plant-decommissioning projects.

•••••

As part of previously announced organizational changes by OMG Inc. to accelerate growth, the company has named Geoff Medeiros vice president of Sales and Marketing for the Roofing Products Division. In this role, Medeiros is responsible for developing and executing the division’s overall sales and marketing strategy to support its three business units: Fasteners, Adhesives & Solar, and Metal Accessories, which includes Edge Metal. In addition, he is responsible for overseeing the company’s Marketing Communications and Customer Service departments. He reports to Peter Coyne, senior vice president and general manager of OMG Roofing Products. Medeiros joins OMG from Welch’s, where he was general manager, responsible for strategic growth and marketing for the company’s core product lines. Prior to joining Welch’s, he was vice president of Brand Management and Product Development with the Yankee Candle Co. He started his career at Nestle before becoming a brand manager for Hasbro. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Providence College and an MBA in international business from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.