Caring Health Center announced the expansion of its executive leadership team and welcomed Yedalis Ruiz to the position of chief access and equity officer and executive lead of the new Learning Institute.
Ruiz received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and education from Mount Holyoke College, a master’s degree in policies studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Ph.D. from UMass.
**************
Beth D. Cohen, of Belchertown, professor in the Western New England University School of Law and former associate dean for academic affairs, has been named the interim dean of the School of Law by Maria Toyoda, vice president of academic affairs and provost.
Cohen will provide interim leadership following the departure of current dean Sudha Setty, who will become dean of the City University of New York School of Law on July 1.
A law professor since 1990, Cohen has also served as the director of the legal research and writing program since 1999. Cohen was associate dean for academic affairs from 2009 to 2020 and the director of the academic support program from 1994 to 2008.
Cohen graduated cum laude from Suffolk University Law School and earned a diploma in advanced international legal studies in Salzburg, Austria, from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge Law School. Cohen also cofounded and codirected the popular civic education Mini-Law School Program at Wester New England.
A search committee will be appointed to conduct a national search for a new law school dean, and Cohen will hold the interim position until an appointment is made.
**********************
The Westfield State University Alumni Association has elected Chris Montemayor to serve as its representative to the university’s Board of Trustees.
Montemayor is senior vice president of rental assistance programs at Way Finders. Prior to joining Way Finders in 2011, Montemayor was chief financial officer for Holyoke-Chicopee-Springfield Head Start.
In addition to a bachelors’ degree in business management that he earned in 1990 from Westfield State, Montemayor also holds a master’s degree in public administration, also from Westfield State University.
Montemayor is member and co-chair of the rental assistance committee for the Regional Housing Network and also head men’s basketball coach at Holyoke Community College.
*****************
The Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce welcomed five new board members at its first meeting of 2022. The two women and three men bring broad skills and deep experience in financial services, transgender health, entrepreneurship and business services.
The new board members are:
Jennifer Ewers, of Northampton, who is an insurance broker at Finck & Perras Insurance. She holds a leadership position on the chamber’s Investor and Ambassador Committee, having twice co-chaired the membership drive-Connect Campaign. She is also chairing the Partners Committee. Ewers is an active community volunteer, wife, mother and business person, serving on the boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County and the Easthampton Chamber of Commerce. She is an active member of the Northampton Rotary Club. Additionally, Ewers is current chair of the board of Cancer Connection. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst;
Christopher Gallivan, of Agawam, who is a business solutions consultant with Complete Payroll Solutions of Springfield. A member of the chamber’s Investor and Ambassador Committee, Gallivan co-chaired the membership drive-Connect Campaign. He is a member of other area chambers through his work. Gallivan earned his bachelor’s degree in business from Keene State University;
Doug Gilbert, also of Agawam, who is a vice president and commercial loan officer at Florence Bank. Gilbert earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting at Westfield State University and his master’s of business administration degree in finance from the University of Connecticut. Additionally, he is a certified public accountant;
Randy Krotowski, of Northampton, who is a retired technology executive and community volunteer. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Toronto and his master’s degree in business administration at Golden Gate University. His experience spans executive, for-profit board and nonprofit board memberships. He is an active member of the chamber’s Economic Development Committee; and
Katie Wolf, of Northampton, who is the chief operating officer of Transhealth, a comprehensive trans healthcare center. Wolf earned her bachelor’s degree in women and gender studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and her master’s degree in business administration from Simmons University.
*************
Attorney James F. Martin has joined the Springfield office of Pullman & Comley, the law firm announced. Martin has more than 43 years of experience practicing in the areas of corporate and business counseling, commercial real estate, real estate planning and permitting, solar and wind and litigation.
Martin is also an automotive franchise attorney throughout New England, having handled the purchase and sale of numerous car dealerships and related real estate, franchise negotiations, floor plan and real estate financing, in addition to litigation arising from the operation of a dealership. He is a member of the National Association of Dealer Counsel and the Massachusetts Automobile Dealer Association.
Martin earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. He previously practiced with the law firm Robinson Donovan.
He brings with him to Pullman & Comley his paralegal Sara M. Winniman Rossman and administrative assistant Lori Baru. Rossman has nearly 40 years of experience working in both commercial and residential real estate, as well as in corporate work including formation of entities and maintenance of stock books, and trusts and estates. Baru has worked with Martin for the past 16 years and has more than 30 years of experience, both in Springfield and New York.
Martin is a former chair and trustee of Baystate Health and was recently appointed as a trustee for Springfield Museums, where he also serves as vice chair of the Museum Committee. He serves on the Springfield Riverfront Development Commission and is the chairman of the board of directors of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic.
link