Northern Berkshire United Way Names New Executive Director

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Northern Berkshire United Way Board of Directors has named Christa Collier as its new executive director.

Collier replaces interim director, Gerald Desmarais, who took over at the end of June. Desmarais took the temporary post after the resignation offormer NBUW Executive Director Joseph McGovern, who in June accepted a new position as executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County in Aberdeen, Maryland.

Collier received her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Southern Vermont College and her master’s degree in communications and information management with a concentration in nonprofit management from Bay Path University.

“Her education and work in nonprofit organizations within Berkshire County make her the perfect fit to lead NBUW,” said Amy Giroux, board president. “She is well poised to move our organization to the next level in fundraising and supporting the needs of our community."

Collier most recently served as the executive director Berkshire County Kids’ Place & Violence Prevention Center in Pittsfield and before that was the Program Officer of the Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center and Executive Director of Girls Incorporated of the Berkshires.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.