BCC Hires New Faculty, Staff, Reorganizes Staff Positions

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College has hired new faculty and staff on campus.

Dr. Emily Williams has been hired as special assistant to the Human Resources director. Williams holds a master of arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Ph.D. from Clark Atlanta University. She received a certificate in management and leadership in education from Harvard University. Williams has worked in academia since 1990 in various capacities as provost/vice president of academic affairs, academic dean, department chair, and tenured professor. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in the early 2000s to the University of the West Indies (Mona Campus, Kingston). Williams has published six books with two additional works currently under contract.

Dr. Jose Colmenares has been hired as an associate professor of engineering at the college. Previously, Colmenares taught at Farmingdale State College and worked in the engineering industry for nine years on research and development of engineered industrial coatings. He has earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering studies at Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas, and his Ph.D. in materials sciences from SUNY Stony Brook.

Nolan Fernandez has been hired as the special programs coordinator for the STEM Starter Academy. Fernandez is an alum of the college, having received his degree in biology before earning his bachelor's and master's degrees from UMass Amherst. Fernandez previously worked and ran the mosquito control program for the town of Nantucket.

Colleen Hunkler has been hired as the Special Programs coordinator: data analyst nursing at the college. Hunkler has worked with the college in the past as a clinical adjunct instructor. Hunkler has many years of nursing experience in long term care and acute care as well as Informatics and IT experience. She received her bachelor of science in nursing degree from UMass Amherst and her associate's degree in nursing from BCC.

Kara Potter has been hired as an assistant professor of nursing and has previously worked as a clinical adjunct instructor with the college's ADN program. Potter has experience in both long term care and acute care. She also currently works at Berkshire Medical Center and has been teaching in the evening Certified Nursing Assistant program. Potter earned her bachelor of science in nursing degree from Drexel University and her associate's degree in nursing from Southern Vermont College.

Robin Cookis, another BCC alum of the ADN program, has been hired as an assistant professor of nursing. Cookis has worked in many different roles at BMC for years but most currently on the stroke unit. She also teaches in the evening CNA program. Cookis received her bachelor of science degree from the Elms College.

Pittsfield Celebrates Robert 'Bob' Presutti on Arbor Day

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:33PM / Friday, April 26, 2024

Bob Presutti, right, is presented the Hebert Award in 2017 for his volunteer efforts at Springside Park. He died in 2023 at age 88.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A tree has been planted next to the Berkshire Athenaeum in honor of local "giant" Robert Presutti.

Officials celebrated Arbor Day on Friday by installing a commemorative plaque next to the American elm sapling. This is a tree that James McGrath, the city's park program manager, said Presutti would have been particularly proud of.

"Today is a day where we yes, celebrate trees, but today is also a day where here in the city we intentionally try to acknowledge the good work of folks in our community who spend their time and their efforts and their talents to make Pittsfield a more beautiful place," he said to a crowd of about 20 people.

"Today we are honoring a longtime community volunteer named Bob Presutti. I'm sure a lot of you here know Bob and know his contributions to the city, not only when it comes to trees and parks but also to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program."

The longtime volunteer passed away last year at the age of 88. He contributed more than 10,600 hours to RSVP and had great impacts on the Parks Department over the years from sharing his knowledge and talents to ensuring that workers were safe when working on trees.

"This morning I went through my emails to see how many emails Bob Presutti sent me since the year 2001 when I started with the city. Bob Presutti sent me 14,000 emails and nearly every single one of those was about trees," McGrath said, prompting laughter and smiles from attendees.

One thread struck him as particularly important because it showed Presutti's empathy when it comes to the safety of city workers while caring for trees.

"There were multiple emails from Bob about the need to get the Parks Department maintenance guys into a program learning about chainsaw safety and learning about ladder safety. He was really into making certain that our city workers were well cared for and had all of the instruction that they needed and in fact, he even offered his own time and services after he became certified to teach our city workers," McGrath said.