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MCLA Foundation Elects New Officials at Annual Meeting

NORTH ADAMS, MASS. —At its annual meeting, held virtually on Oct. 5, 2020, the MCLA Foundation unanimously elected foundation corporators and board members, including one Foundation board member seeking a second term.

 

Foundation Board Members 

  • Maureen Baran, North Adams, senior vice president of lending at Adams Community Bank
  • Jameek Clovie ’11, Andover, Mass., provider relations manager at Amwell and former student trustee
  • Marc Morandi ’90, North Adams, MCLA senior director of development and advancement operations and vice president of the MCLA Foundation, Inc.
  • Gwendolyn VanSant, Great Barrington, Mass., chief executive officer and co-founding director of Multicultural BRIDGE
  • Robert Ziomek ’89, Cheshire/South Hadley, Mass., MCLA vice president of institutional advancement and president of the MCLA Foundation, Inc.
  • Robert Zuber ’79, Lenox, Mass., commercial insurance agent for Cross Insurance of Pittsfield

 

New Foundation Board Directors 

  • Anthony Barbosa ’15, Worcester, Mass., owner of youth mentorship organization American Pyramids
  • Kimberly Boyden-Briones ’89, Charlestown, Mass., chief human resource officer, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance
  • JamieEllen Moncecchi, Windsor, Mass., senior vice president and chief administrative officer for Greylock Federal Credit Union
  • Charlie O’Brien, Williamstown, Mass., president and CEO, Adams Community Bank

 

Foundation Board Director, second term:  

  • Dr. Jean Clarke-Mitchell ’00, Lee, Mass., Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) and practicing psychotherapist, clinical director at the Elizabeth Freeman Center

 

Other Business 

 

  • Michelle Hansen ’08 of Oneonta, N.Y., coordinator of affinity programs and reunions for SUNY Oneonta, was selected as the Alumni Board representative to the foundation for 2020-2021. She has served on the MCLA Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2018.
  • Denise Marshall ’81 of Hinsdale, Mass., was appointed the Board of Trustees representative to the Foundation for 2020-21. Marshall, who served as executive vice president of Adams Community Bank until her retirement in 2017, has served on the MCLA Board of Trustees since 2012.

 

The Foundation Board elected its 2020-21 slate of officers:

  • Julie Arnold ’94, owner, Gajda, Arnold & McConnell, PC, will serve as Foundation chair.
  • Jason Dohaney ’04, investment advisor, MountainOne Financial Services, will serve as vice-chair.
  • Billie Jo Sawyer, partner/owner of Sawyer LLC, will serve as treasurer.
  • Amy Smith ’96, chief operating officer of Inland Management Corp., will serve as clerk.

 

“I’m thankful that so many community members and MCLA alumni are committed to serving with the MCLA Foundation,” said MCLA Vice President of Institutional Advancement Robert Ziomek ’89. “I’m excited to welcome new board members and congratulate new and returning directors to the Foundation board for 2020-21.”

 

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Foundation, Inc. is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to the growth, development and support of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and its faculty, staff and students, with special emphasis on academic quality and the assurance of access to higher education through the receipt, management, and disbursement of funds and other charitable contributions secured through private sources and grant funding. For more information, visit https://www.mcla.edu/administration/administrative-offices/institutional-advancement/mcla-foundation-inc.php.

 

About MCLA:
At MCLA, we’re here for all — and focused on each — of our students. Classes are taught by educators who care deeply about teaching, and about seeing their students thrive on every level of their lives. In nearly every way possible, the experience at MCLA is designed to elevate our students as individuals, as leaders, communicators, fully empowered to make their impressions on the world. In addition to our 125-year commitment to public education we have fortified our commitment to equitable academic excellence. For eight of the last 10 years, MCLA has been named a Top Ten College by U.S. News and World Report. MCLA also appears on the organization’s list of top National Public Liberal Arts Colleges, as well as on the top 50 schools in U.S. News’ Social Mobility Ranking, which measures how well schools graduate students who receive Federal Pell Grants.