Square One has named Aundrea R. Paulk of Springfield to its governing board of directors. A graduate of Bay Path University, Paulk was recently promoted to vice president of marketing and communication at Caring Health Center. She is the founder and owner of Soiree Mi event planning service.
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After a brief hiatus, Arts Night Out, Northampton’s monthly events held downtown, is set to return. The Downtown Northampton Association has introduced its new Arts Night Out Coordinator, Mischa Roy, founder and owner of Spill the Tea Sis Apothecary and Home + Gift.
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The Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts’ Trustees of the Order of William Pynchon announced its selection of an area resident as this year’s Pynchon Medal recipient, Tonia Barber.
Brenda McGiverin, chairperson of the Pynchon Trustees, said, “This year’s recipient embodies what this award is about — a commitment to public service and improving the lives of everyone in our region.”
Barber, nominated by Yvonne Williams, will receive the medal in November.
Barber serves as president and CEO of Caring Health Center, a Springfield-based care provider of affordable and equitable healthcare services. Barber began her career with CHC as a part-time switchboard operator in 1996. Through regular promotions during her 24-year tenure, she rose to become the organization’s leader in 2013.
In addition to enhancing the organization’s service offerings, Barber expanded CHC’s reach with an expansion to three facilities, as well as the addition of mobile services and pharmacy delivery for those who are homebound or experiencing mobility issues.
She established the Tania M. Barber Learning Institute in 2023. Students of the institute will earn a salary as they receive training for careers in the healthcare field.
Barber also is the founder and pastor of Living Water Global Ministries, EST.HER, a leadership consulting firm, and Daughters of Shared Vision, a faith-based counseling service for women. She has also served on a local and regional boards, including the Springfield Technical Community College Science Degree Program Advisory Board, Health New England, Florence Bank and the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.
She was chosen from a pool of nominations received last spring by the Advertising Club. Medalists are chosen by unanimous decision of the Pynchon Trustees, who are the current and five past presidents of the Advertising Club. Pynchon Trustees for 2023 are Teresa Utt, David Cecchi, Mary Shea, Scott Whitney, Brenda McGiverin and Kelly McGiverin.
The presentation of the Pynchon Medal and celebration will take place on Monday, Nov. 13, with a 5 p.m. social hour and a 6 p.m. ceremony. The program will be held at the Top of Our City Conference Center on the seventh floor of Scibelli Hall, Springfield Technical Community College. Details can be found on the club’s website at adclubwm.org.
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After 25 years at the helm at The Care Center, Anne Teschner will begin a new chapter. Teschner will continue to serve as executive director to support succession planning with The Care Center’s Board of Directors to ensure a smooth transition to new leadership.
Under Teschner’s leadership, The Care Center has launched initiatives such as the Bard Microcollege Holyoke and the Moving Women Forward Endowment campaign, educational programs that support women and end the cycle of poverty. Each year, about 200 young mothers and other low-income women benefit from the support provided by The Care Center, based at 247 Cabot St. in Holyoke.
The center is home to Bard Microcollege Holyoke, the first college in the country tailored for young mothers. The Care Center has received the Presidential Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award and The Commonwealth Award.
The search for the next executive director is under way.
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Holyoke Community College criminal justice professor Nicole J. Hendricks was honored Oct. 6 with an Inspiration Award from the African American Female Professor Award Association.
Each year, the association celebrates a handful of Black female professors at its annual awards banquet, which this year was held at the Griswold Theater on the campus of American International College in Springfield.
Hendricks, a 17-year faculty member at HCC, was one of four Black female professors recognized.
Hendricks has served as chair of the Criminal Justice Department at HCC and teaches a variety of courses in that area, including criminology and women’s studies. She also teaches interdisciplinary courses as part of HCC’s Learning Communities program.
She and Orisich founded Western Mass CORE (Community, Opportunity, Resources, Education), a prison education program based at HCC that seeks to facilitate pathways to college for people impacted by the criminal legal system.
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Market Mentors LLC, a marketing, advertising and public relations agency, announces the promotion of Chelsea LeBlanc, a Baltimore native who now lives in Windsor, Conn. She was promoted to account director in the client services department after joining the agency in February as an account executive.
LeBlanc previously served as a channel marketing director at a hospitality and food services company. A graduate of Western New England University with a degree in marketing communications/advertising, LeBlanc is a Smartsheet Product Certified User, Project Management Institute member and Project Management Professional candidate.
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Melanie Laurin is the new director of early college initiatives at Springfield Technical Community College.
Laurin, who started in the position in July, is responsible for developing dual enrollment and early college partnerships with Springfield-area high schools and school districts.
She worked in the Admissions Department at STCC between 2017 and 2021. In that position, she oversaw international admissions and did communications and outreach. She also ran “College Now!” a dual enrollment program that allows students attending Springfield Public Schools or Springfield Public Charter Schools to enroll in one tuition-free, credit bearing course in each semester of their junior and senior years.
Anyone enrolled in the College Now! program attends STCC with students enrolled in degree and certificate programs.
Laurin, who has been working in higher education for about 10 years, holds a master’s degree in higher education administration from Northeastern University. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Assumption University.
