LEE, Mass. — Ilana Steinhauer, executive director of VIM Berkshires, has been elected to the board of trustees of Lee Bank, and five new corporators have been named.

 

Steinhauer, a family nurse practitioner, worked in a private medical practice in the Boston area before joining VIM, a nonprofit based in Great Barrington. She earned her master's degree in nursing from Simmons College and a bachelor's degree in religion from Wesleyan University. She lives in Sheffield with her husband and two sons. VIM provides health care, free of charge, to low-income adults in the Berkshires who are uninsured or underinsured.

 

New corporators, nominated by the board's governance committee, include:

 

Nicole Antil of Richmond, owner of Antil Creative, a consultancy specializing in branding, communications, culture, and strategy. She also serves as chief creative officer for Graham-Pelton, a nonprofit fundraising and management consulting firm. A graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a degree in design, she is also a 2017 graduate of the Berkshire Leadership Program. She has previously worked in marketing roles at Maxymillian Technologies and began her career as an interior architect in the Washington D.C. area. She is also a member of the board of Community Health Programs and she volunteers for EforAll.

 

Melissa Agosto, a resident of Pittsfield, is director of finance for Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge.  An accountant, she has also held financial leadership positions at Canyon Ranch, the College Internship Program and in private accounting practice. She earned her accounting degree from the University of Puerto Rico. She is also a graduate of the 2019 class of the Berkshire Leadership Program. 

 

Michelle Decepida of Pittsfield, systems engineer, is deputy program manager for engineering at General Dynamics Mission Systems in Pittsfield. A graduate of the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, she earned her undergraduate engineering degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She worked previously at Pratt & Whitney and other firms. She serves as executive board member and treasurer of Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity and as event coordinator for the General Dynamic Mission Systems Early Career Employee Resource Group.

 

Mauer Desai, Pittsfield native and resident, entered the hospitality business full-time in 2009 after graduating from Bridgewater State University. He converted the Ramada Inn in Pittsfield to a Best Western Plus and serves on the governor's committee within the Best Western brand. In 2019, the Desai family bought the Black Swan Inn, a lake-side boutique in Lee, and he helped oversee construction and brand management for the Courtyard by Marriott in Lenox. Desai also holds a certificate in hospitality administration from American Hotel and Lodging Association, one of the most prestigious certificates in the hospitality sector. He lives with his family in Pittsfield.

 

Tannya Romero, a Pittsfield resident and native of Ecuador, works as a quality assurance specialist for Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing.  As a digital training management technician, she has worked for Achieve TMS East. She worked previously in residential support for Berkshire County Arc. Romero earned her bachelor's degree in biology with a concentration in pre-medical professions from MCLA, and she earned her associate's degree in biology from BCC.  She completed the Bio-Diversity URM Intern leadership program with Partnership Inc., a Boston-based leadership program focused on multicultural leadership development. She is a Spanish-language interpreter for VIM, and has mentored science students at BCC, and has served on the BCC Alumni Board. She has volunteered for Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) and for Berkshire Community Action Council. She is the co-founder of Latinas413, a nonprofit dedicated to igniting the collective power of Latinas to expand their social and economic capital across Berkshire County. 

 

Corporators are responsible for electing the trustees and officers of Berkshire Financial Services (Lee Bank's holding company). They approve any changes in the company's bylaws and changes in the corporate structure, but they have no financial stake in the corporation