Glockner Nominated As New Pittsfield Cultural Director

Staff Reports01:33PM / Wednesday, June 04, 2014Print Story | Email Story

Jennifer Glockner

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Jennifer Glockner has been nominated as the next director of cultural development.

Mayor Daniel Bianchi announced that a search committee is nominating Glockner to take over for Megan Whilden, who left for a position with Berkshire Community College. Glockner's nomination needs to be approved by the City Council on June 10.

"Finding a match for the position was not an easy task. Megan [Whilden], the past director of cultural development, brought unique creativity to Pittsfield. While having a background in business and marketing was important for the new director, it was absolutely crucial for the future success of the arts and cultural initiatives in the city, that we found a person well-versed in both arts and cultural development, and who understands the important business that the arts plays in our region," Bianchi said in a prepared statement released Wednesday.

Glockner is currently the city's tourism coordinator where she currently works with the cultural development office, visitor's center, RSVP, the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts and the Berkshire Visitors Bureau.

She has previously worked for the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, Winstanley Associates and the Berkshire Eagle.

The search committee consisted of Mike Taylor, personnel technician for the city, Peter Lafayette, of Downtown Pittsfield Inc., Andy Kelly, chair of the cultural development board, and Mary Rentz, president of the Berkshire Art Association.

"Jen is an excellent communicator, a skilled writer with personal warmth and charisma. She works well with others, as a leader and as a member of a team," Rentz said in a statement.

The position headed the Department of Cultural Development, which was created in 2005 by then Mayor James Ruberto. In that position, Whilden has been credited with being the driving force behind an art economy in the city. The most notable accomplishment out of that office was the creation of the Third Thursday street fairs.

Bianchi added the position needs to focus on "partnering with area businesses and successfully managing events."

"I was pleased when the search committee unanimously recommended Jennifer for the position. We had strong candidates; however, her experience in working with arts and culture in the Berkshires was unmatched," Bianchi said.

Tags: appointments, cultural economy, tourism,

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Social Service Organizations Highlight Challenges, Successes at Poverty Talk

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
08:04AM / Sunday, April 05, 2026

Dr. Jennifer Michaels of the Brien Center demonstrates how to use Narcan. Easy access to the drug has cut overdose deaths in the county by nearly half.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Recent actions at the federal level are making it harder for people to climb out of poverty.

Brad Gordon, executive director of Upside413, said he felt like he was doing a disservice by not recognizing national challenges and how they draw a direct line from choices being made by the Trump administration and the challenges the United States is facing.

"They more generally impact people's ability to work their way out of poverty, and that's really, that's really the overarching dynamic," he said.

"Poverty is incredibly corrosive, and it impacts all the topics that we'll talk about today."

His comments came during a conversation on poverty hosted by Berkshire Community Action Council. Eight local service agency leaders detailed how they are supporting people during the current housing and affordability crisis, and the Berkshire state delegation spoke to their own efforts.

The event held on March 27 at the Berkshire Athenaeum included a working lunch and encouraged public feedback.

"All of this information that we're going to gather today from both you and the panelists is going to drive our next three-year strategic plan," explained Deborah Leonczyk, BCAC's executive director.

The conversation ranged from health care and housing production to financial literacy and child care. Participating agencies included Upside 413, The Brien Center, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, MassHire Berkshire Career Center, Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Child Care of the Berkshires.

The federal choices Gordon spoke about included allocating $140 billion for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investing $38 billion to convert warehouses into detention centers, cutting $1 trillion from Medicaid over 10 years, a proposed 50 percent increase in the defense budget, and cutting federal funding for supportive housing programs.

Gordon pointed to past comments about how the region can't build its way out of the housing crisis because of money. He withdrew that statement, explaining, "You know what? That's bullshit, actually."

"I'm going to be honest with you, that is absolute bullshit. I have just observed over the last year or so how we're spending our money and the amount of money that we're spending on the federal side, and I'm no longer saying in good conscience that we can't build our way out of this," he said.

Upside 413 provided a "Housing Demand in Western Massachusetts" report that was done in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's Donahue Institute of Economic and Public Policy Research. It states that around 23,400 units are needed to meet current housing demand in Western Mass; 1,900 in Berkshire County in 2025.

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