Miss Hall's Slates 114th Commencement Exercises

10:38AM / Wednesday, May 30, 2012Print Story | Email Story

Tiffany Dufu

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Miss Hall's School will welcome Tiffany Dufu, president of The White House Project, as keynote speaker of the school's 114th commencement on Sunday, June 3.

Ceremonies begin at 11 a.m. at the Holmes Road school.

A leading advocate for the advancement of women's leadership, Dufu joined The White House Project in 2006 as vice president of development and administration and became president in January 2011, working to ignite the leadership of women in business and politics. Founded in 1998, The White House Project is a national nonprofit organization that coaches, connects, and educates a growing alumnae network of 14,000 nationwide. With a focus on women early in their careers, The White House Project encourages the ambition, creativity, and skills necessary for innovative and effective leadership.

Dufu was previously major gifts officer at Simmons College in Boston, where she managed a portfolio of more than 150 donors and worked in recruitment to create a more diverse student body. From 2002 to 2004, she was associate director of development at the Seattle Girls' School, a fifth- through eighth-grade middle school in Seattle. Dufu has raised nearly $20 million in support of women and girls and has been featured in The Seattle Times and The New York Times and on National Public Radio.

A frequent speaker on nonprofit fundraising and women's leadership, Dufu currently serves on the board of Harlem4Kids and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in English and a Certificate in Fundraising Management, all from the University of Washington.

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Pittsfield Housing Project Adds 37 Supportive Units and Collective Hope

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:01PM / Monday, December 29, 2025

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— A new chapter in local efforts to combat housing insecurity officially began as community leaders and residents gathered at The First on to celebrate a major expansion of supportive housing in the city.

The ribbon was cut on Thursday Dec. 19, on nearly 40 supportive permanent housing units; nine at The First, located within the Zion Lutheran Church, and 28 on West Housatonic Street. The Housing Resource Center, funded by Pittsfield's American Rescue Plan Act dollars, hosted a celebration for a project that is named for its rarity: The First.

"What got us here today is the power of community working in partnership and with a shared purpose," Hearthway CEO Eileen Peltier said.

In addition to the 28 studio units at 111 West Housatonic Street and nine units in the rear of the church building, the Housing Resource Center will be open seven days a week with two lounges, a classroom, a laundry room, a bathroom, and lockers.

Erin Forbush, ServiceNet's director of shelter and housing, challenged attendees to transform the space in the basement of Zion Lutheran Church into a community center. It is planned to operate from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. year-round.

"I get calls from folks that want to help out, and our shelters just aren't the right spaces to be able to do that. The First will be that space that we can all come together and work for the betterment of our community," Forbush said.

"…I am a true believer that things evolve, and things here will evolve with the people that are utilizing it."

Earlier that day, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus joined Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and her team in Housatonic to announce $33.5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funding, $5.45 million to Berkshire County.

He said it was ambitious to take on these two projects at once, but it will move the needle. The EOHLC contributed more than $7.8 million in subsidies and $3.4 million in low-income housing tax credit equity for the West Housatonic Street build, and $1.6 million in ARPA funds for the First Street apartments.

"We're trying to get people out of shelter and off the streets, but we know there are a lot of people who are couch surfing, who are living in their cars, who are one paycheck away from being homeless themselves," Augustus said.

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