People in the news

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) has announced that William J. Ryan has been appointed to its Board of Directors as Chairman. Mr. Ryan was formerly Chairman of the Board and CEO of TD Banknorth. The Company also announced that Lawrence A. Bossidy has retired from Berkshire's Board of Directors. Mr.

Sentinel Investments announces the appointment of Tom Hirschmann as President and CEO of Sentinel Financial Services Company, responsible for the company’s distribution efforts through financial intermediary channels, including national wirehouses, regional and independent broker--‐dealers, and registered investment advisors. Mr.

Pine Computers, Inc. announced today the promotion of Michael Ferland to the position of Enterprise Engineer. In this role, Ferland will oversee and manage all aspects enterprise commercial IT services at Pine, as well as day to day operations.

Ferland has been with Pine Computers for four and a half years and had held the position of Systems Technician.

Catherine McKeen, Director of Center for Teaching and Learning at Southern Vermont College, has been selected as a Summer Scholar of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) from a nationwide applicant pool to attend one of 30 seminars and institutes supported by NEH.

BMA Architects & Planners has announced that Jeddadiah R. Pellerin has joined the firm as a principal architect.

Hickok & Boardman HR Intelligence is pleased to announce its recent hire of Greg Paradiso as its Director of HR Technology. Paradiso will be responsible for running the firm’s HR Technology practice area and implementing HRIS solutions for Vermont businesses.

Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) announced today that Patricia Loller, Director of Administration, will be retiring from the agency effective July 15, 2014. Concurrently, Maura Collins will be promoted to the position of Director of Administration and Policy.

The Eastman Benz manufacturing team; Karl Benz, Casey Gifford, and Chris Hovious, achieved IPC-A-610, Acceptability of Electronics Assemblies Certification after successfully completing a recent 3-day intensive hands-on practicum and testing workshop. IPC – The Association Connecting Electronics Industries – is recognized as a global leader in industry and certification standards.

The Board of Trustees at Southern Vermont College appointed Marjorie Gregg Swain, Psy.D., as a new board member at its recent meeting. A resident of New York City and Vermont, Swain has a strong history of involvement with non-profits.

The Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (VABVI) would like to welcome the following esteemed members of the community onto our Board of Directors:

John Wiley & Sons, Inc, a global book publisher and education company whose roster of authors includes more than 450 Nobel laureates, has announced that it will take over the publishing and book sales of Winthrop H Smith Jr’s book Catching Lightning in a Bottle: How Merrill Lynch Revolutionized the Financial World.

“Dr. Knapp is a welcome addition to Central Vermont Medical Center’s staff,” said Judy Tartaglia, president and CEO. “He has a strong background from the work he did in Wisconsin, which encompassed both inpatient and outpatient psychiatry.”