Published: 8/5/2019 4:29:48 PM
Pathlight directoron statewideadvocacy board SPRINGFIELD — Ruth Banta, executive director of Pathlight, has been named to the board of directors of the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, a statewide advocacy organization.
The association’s mission is to promote and ensure the strength of community-based providers so provider members can be successful in improving quality, access and value of services in the community. It represents 130 private providers in Massachusetts.
Banta, who also serves on the boards of the Providers’ Council and Human Service Forum, has more than 30 years of management experience, including positions at JP Morgan and Aetna.
Pathlight is the parent organization of Whole Children in Hadley and Autism Connections in Easthampton.
Artifact Cideropens taproom NORTHAMPTON — Artifact Cider Project is opening a taproom in Florence on Thursday. Located at its production cellar, 34 North Maple St., Suite 15, the taproom will share the company’s approach to making cider. Opening weekend runs through Sunday.
Using local apples and innovative cider making practices, Artifact makes craft ciders and is committed to helping sustain local orchards.
Artifact’s taproom is just off of the Mass Central Rail Trail bike path that connects Florence to Northampton, Easthampton, Hadley and Amherst. The 850-square-foot space has a seated capacity of 46 and overlooks Artifact’s production cellar. It will feature up to 14 tap lines with Artifact’s ciders, as well as special, unreleased cellar projects, cider punch and occasional guest collaborations. Cans and bottles will also be available for customers to purchase.
Artifact is partnering with Wheelhouse, a farm-to-table caterer and food truck in Amherst, for the taproom food program.
Women’s Fundwelcomesnew board members SPRINGFIELD — The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts announces that Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, Luzed Guzman, Shela Levante, Dr. Martha Potvin, Lisa Ranghelli, Nancy Robinson, Karla Travieso, and Gwendolyn VanSant have joined its board of directors this year. New members will each serve a two-year term.
Amatul-Wadud is an attorney licensed to practice in Massachusetts, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the Northern District of New York. She is on the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, and in that role advocates before the Legislature to enact laws responsive to the needs of women and girls. She runs a law practice with focus areas in civil rights and domestic relations law.
Guzman is an insurance agent at Liberty Mutual Insurance and is the finance director on the Campaign to Elect Jesse Lederman to City Council At-Large. She was previously a bilingual PAGE counselor at the YWCA of Western Massachusetts.
Levante is the director of development at Berkshire Community College. Before joining BCC, Levante was a community engagement officer at Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and the database administrator at the Arizona Community Foundation.
Potvin has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Springfield College since 2016. She has more than 25 years of previous academic administrative experience. She is a founding board member and current president of the Association of Chief Academic Officers.
Ranghelli is a longtime advocate for social and racial justice. After many years serving on the grants committee of the Women’s Fund, she joined the board in 2019. Professionally she serves as senior director for assessment and special projects at the Washington, D.C.-based National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.
Robinson is the senior director of operations at The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts with oversight for administration and finance, programs and distribution. She has helped establish the Coalition to End Hunger, identifying innovative models to end hunger in our region. She is a member of the Food is Medicine, statewide planning council and an advocate for women in leadership.
Travieso is the development and communications coordinator for Gardening the Community. Before joining Gardening the Community, Travieso was a program lead facilitator at the Latino Education Institute.
VanSant is an experienced organizational change consultant and coach who works on the issues of diversity leadership, equity and inclusion, and strategic planning. She is the founding director of BRIDGE and the equity and inclusion team lead at Changemaker Strategies.
The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts is a public foundation with over 20 years of experience supporting women and nonprofit organizations that work on behalf of women and girls in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties.