After introducing our staff through the Meet the Team series, we’d like to introduce our hardworking and dedicated Board of Directors. The following individuals are leaders from across the region who have committed to working together by lending their professional expertise and guidance to advance the common good of the Berkshire County community. They help make so much of our work growing the economy and promoting the Berkshires possible. Stay tuned for part 2 of our Meet the Board series!
James Birge
President, MCLA
James F. Birge, Ph.D. is the 12th President of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) in North Adams, Massachusetts and has worked in public and private higher education for more than 30 years. Although always an administrator, Birge has taught undergraduate courses in religious studies, writing, and leadership. Previously, he served as President of Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire. As a member of the Boards of Directors for MASS MoCA, LEVER, Inc., 1Berkshire, and the MountainOne Bank Community Advisory Board, Birge works to build collaborations between the College and the community. He earned his Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University in Washington, an M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling from Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, and a B.S. in Elementary Education from Westfield State University in Massachusetts. President Birge and his wife, Lisa, have three daughters.
John Bissell
President & CEO, Greylock Federal Credit Union
John Bissell joined Greylock in 2003 as Vice President of Marketing and Human Resources. He was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2007 and was named Executive Vice President in 2010. A native of Berkshire County, Bissell earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Amherst College in 1989, graduated from the New England School for Financial Studies program at Babson College in 2011, and is currently earning his MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Bissell’s volunteer roles have included serving on the Colonial Theatre Board, chairing the Berkshire United Way Board of Directors, and founding Pittsfield Promise, an early literacy initiative. He serves on the 1Berkshire Foundation Board and chairs the Berkshire Initiative for Growth. In 2015 he was named by Berkshire Magazine as one of “25 Most Dedicated, Most Creative, Most Influential” people in the county. Bissell received the Esther Quinn Award in Recognition of Exemplary Community Service from the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce in 2014, the Nancy Kaufman Service Award from Berkshire Children and Families in 2013, and the Robert K. Agar Volunteerism Award from Berkshire United Way in 2012.
Brenda Burdick
Director of Marketing and Strategic Communications, General Dynamics Mission Systems
Brenda Burdick is the Director of Marketing and Strategic Communications at General Dynamics Mission Systems. She was previously the Public Relations Manager, and then Senior Manager of Marketing and Public Relations. Before joining General Dynamics, the Adams resident served as the Director of Sales and Marketing for the former Swift River Inn in Cummington, and as both a Sales Manager and a Public Relations Assistant for Canyon Ranch in Lenox. She also served as a member of the Berkshire United Way Board of Directors from 2008-17, which included a term as Chair and two terms as Vice Chair. Burdick is currently the Chair of the Board of Trustees at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and has served as Chair of the Student Affairs Committee and Academic Affairs Committee, as well as Vice Chair of the Board. Burdick holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a double major in Marketing and Business Communications from Bryant University, and is vice chair of 1Berkshire’s Executive Committee.
Jonathan Butler
President & CEO, 1Berkshire
Jonathan Butler, President and CEO of 1Berkshire Strategic Alliance, has diplomatically and strategically guided the integration of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, Berkshire Creative Economy Council, Berkshire Visitors Bureau and the Berkshire Economic Development Corporation into a single economic-development agency to ensure business prosperity. An early success was the Berkshire Initiative for Growth, or B.I.G. Born and raised in Cheshire, Jonathan is driven by his passion for the Berkshires.
C. Jeffrey Cook
Partner, Cohen Kinne Valicenti & Cook
A graduate of Columbia Law School, C. Jeffrey Cook is senior member of the firm’s Business and Banking Group, and one of the leaders of the firm’s Crisis Intervention Group. Cook represents many of the leading businesses in Western Massachusetts. He has served on the boards of a wide variety of nonprofits, and was recently reelected as Secretary and member of the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, on which he has served for over 20 years. Cook was the organizer of the Berkshire Business Roundtable and served as Chair of that Roundtable for ten years. He currently serves as the Secretary and a Board Member of 1Berkshire Strategic Alliance Inc. Cook received the 2016 Robert K. Agar Jr. Volunteerism Award from the Berkshire United Way. He is also the recipient of the Lawrence W. Strattner Distinguished Citizen Award and the Massachusetts Bar Association Community Service Award. An avid outdoorsman, Cook enjoys skiing, kayaking, hiking, and biking with his wife, three children, their spouses, and eight grandchildren. He pursues his lifelong love of music by regularly attending concerts and programs at Tanglewood and at other venues, and by teaching bar and bat mitzvah students and serving as a prayer leader at Congregation Knesset Israel in Pittsfield.
Shaun Cusson
President & CEO, Hillcrest Educational Centers, Inc.
Shaun Cusson currently serves as Executive Vice President for Hillcrest Educational Centers, Inc. in Pittsfield, MA. Joining Hillcrest over 20 years ago as a Youth Development Counselor, Cusson has remained committed to children and families by working to improve service delivery systems and developing staff. In addition to his current role as Board Member and Program Committee Chair for ACRC, Cusson serves on several local, state, and national boards and/or committees dedicated to human service. His background includes a Masters in Education from Cambridge College with a concentration in Psychological Studies, and a Bachelors of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from Westfield State University.
Leigh Davis
Director of Development, Construct
A native of Washington D.C., Leigh Davis moved from Ireland to Great Barrington with her three children in 2009. Before joining Construct, Davis was Director of Development of Eagle Mill Redevelopment LLC, a historic, mixed-use affordable housing development in Lee, MA. Before that, Davis was Director of Marketing of New England Newspapers, Inc., and Marketing Manager of The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. Currently, she serves as Vice Chair of the Great Barrington Selectboard and Chair of the Great Barrington Housing Subcommittee. Davis is also an appointed member of the Great Barrington Community Preservation Committee, Lake Mansfield Improvement Task Force, and W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Committee. She is amongst the founding leadership team of the Blackshires Community Empowerment Foundation and was elevated to Director of Communications and Community Engagement for Construct in 2023. Davis is a cinema and photography graduate of Ithaca College, holds a Master of Arts in Film Studies and Screenwriting from the National University of Ireland, and was a tenured film professor at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, also in Ireland. She resides in Great Barrington with her three children.
Gene Dellea
President, Fairview Hospital and BMC Hillcrest Campus
Eugene Dellea joined the staff of Hillcrest Hospital in 1962 as Chief Medical Technologist and was appointed Assistant Administrator of Hillcrest in 1980. One year later, Dellea was named President and Chief Operating Officer of the hospital, where he continued to serve in that capacity throughout the 1996 merger with Berkshire Health Systems and Berkshire Medical Center. In 1999, in addition to his role as President of the Hillcrest Campus of BMC, Dellea was named President of Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington. Dellea is past Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Berkshire Community College and the current President of the Berkshire Community College Foundation. He is also past President of the Pittsfield Chapter of UNICO and a current member of the Mayor’s Task Force for Economic Development. Dellea serves on the Boards of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce of the Berkshires, the Central Berkshire County Development Corporation and the Berkshire United Way. He is Vice President of the Community Health Association of Richmond and West Stockbridge, a Director of Lenox Savings Bank, member of the bank’s executive committee, and a corporator and director of the Legacy Financial Group. Also politically active, Dellea is currently the Moderator for the Town of West Stockbridge. He has collaborated with state and national lawmakers in the shaping of key healthcare legislation. Dellea earned his Medical Laboratory Technician diploma from the Carnegie Institute, an Associate’s Degree in Medical Technology from Carnegie College and a Master’s Degree in Education and Management from Cambridge College.
Jonathan Denmark
President & COO, MountainOne Insurance Agency, Inc.
Jonathan Denmark joined MountainOne Insurance in 2015 as President & Chief Operating Officer. He has over 16 years of experience working with individuals and businesses to manage their insurance portfolios. Denmark is a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Licensed Insurance Advisor (LIA), Commercial Insurance Service Representative (CISR), and Certified in Long Term Care (CLTC). He obtained his Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Massachusetts, Isenberg School of Management. In the community, Denmark serves as Vice President for Congregation Knesset Israel, and is a Board Member for 1Berkshire and the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority (PEDA). He is a member of the MBA Advisory Board for the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Denmark is a lifelong musician and performs on guitar, banjo and piano.
Alfred Enchill 
Co-Owner, Elegant Stitches
Alfred Enchill is the President and owner of Elegant Stitches in Pittsfield. Born in Ghana, his family came to the US in 1988, and eventually to Pittsfield in 1991. Six years later, Enchill and his wife opened Elegant Stitches. When arson destroyed the business in 2004, Enchill, along with community support, rebuilt the business from the ground up.
Tyler Fairbank
CEO, The Fairbank Group
SnowGun Technologies and various other endeavors. In addition, Fairbank serves as the President of Jiminy Peak, overseeing day to day operations. In addition to serving on the 1Berkshire, Board of Directors and Executive Committee (2016-present), Fairbank serves on the Berkshire Business Roundtable, Board of Directors and Chair (2016-present); Honorary Board Member of STRIDE (2017-present); and the Board of Directors for the Alliance to Cure Cavernous Malformation, (2019-present). Fairbank has also been involved as a volunteer in a variety of not-for-profit organizations over many years, working to grow the Berkshire economy. Fairbank has an MBA, a certificate in Advanced Graduate Studies, a Bachelors in Economics, and a Bachelors in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Additionally, Fairbank is the leader of Berkshires-based band, T Bone Daddy.
Tyler Fairbank is the CEO of The Fairbank Group, LLC, the entity that manages Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, LLC (Hancock, MA),
Cranmore Mountain Resort, LLC (North Conway, NH), Ski Bromley, LLC (Peru, Vermont), EOS Ventures, LLC (Hancock, MA), Bullwheel Productions, LLC,
Lori Gazzillo Kiely
Sr. VP & Director, Berkshire Bank Foundation
Lori Gazzillo Kiely, Senior Vice President and Regional President of Berkshire Bank Foundation, is responsible for coordinating collaboration amongst all business lines in the Berkshire County region to grow and expand customer relationships. She also serves as Berkshire’s leader in the local community to drive brand awareness and increase market share. In addition to her responsibilities as Regional President, Kiely continues to serve as Foundation Director, providing strategic oversight to the Berkshire Bank Foundation’s philanthropic activities across the Bank’s seven-state footprint. Kiely joined Berkshire Bank after its acquisition of Legacy Banks, where she spent five years overseeing marketing and working with the Legacy Banks Foundation. Prior to her banking career, Kiely worked for nine years at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, overseeing public relations and communications. Kiely is a graduate of the ABA School of Bank Marketing and Management, holds a M.Ed. from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and a B.A. from Keene State College. She serves on the Boards of the 1Berkshire Alliance and Foundation, the Brien Center, and Berkshire Community College.
Danielle Gonzalez
Chief Human Resources Officer, Williams College
Danielle Gonzalez serves as the Chief Human Resources Officer at Williams College, where she has been a member of the HR leadership team since 2008. She is responsible for leading Williams’ overall human resources strategy, talent acquisition, learning and development, organizational design, policy development, compensation and benefits, HR operations and technology, and employee relations. With twenty years of HR experience, she provides strategic partnership to the senior leadership team as well as manage a group of HR professionals responsible for supporting the campus community. Prior to Williams, she served as the director of human resources for the National Patient Safety Foundation. Areas of interest include the future of work, building an inclusive culture, and effective internal organizational communications.
Barbara Guido
Senior Vice President of Retail Banking, Adams Community Bank
Barbara Guido, Adams Community Bank’s Senior Vice President of Retail Banking, graduated from the New England School for Financial Studies Graduate School of Banking Program held at Babson College. Guido previously served as First Vice President and Regional Branch Manager for Berkshire Bank.
She holds a B.B.A. in Management/Marketing from North Georgia College and State University. She serves on the Board of the Berkshire United Way and is an active volunteer at other local non- profits in the Berkshires.
Margaret Keller
Executive Director, Community Access to the Arts
Margaret Keller is Executive Director of Community Access to the Arts (CATA), an arts organization that nurtures and celebrates the creativity of people with disabilities. She took the helm at CATA in 2014, following the retirement of the organization’s founder and bringing with her more than 20 years of experience in arts and humanities nonprofit leadership. Margaret has since led the organization through a period of dramatic growth, increasing the number of people CATA serves by 70% while expanding community partnerships and forging collaborations with major cultural organizations. Under her leadership, CATA has been recognized with the Arts and Humanities Award from New England Public Radio, the Nonprofit Excellence Award from Mass Nonprofit Network, and the Berkshire Trendsetter Award. In 2019 Margaret was recognized as the Entrepreneur/Visionary of the Year by 1Berkshire. She lives in Lenox with her husband, the writer Brendan Mathews, and their four children.
