EforAll Announces Prize Winners

12:04PM / Friday, June 24, 2022Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) Berkshire County awarded nearly $10,000 in prizes to the Spring 2022 Business Accelerator Cohort at an awards ceremony held on Zoom.

The awards were granted as follows:

Jenny Gitlitz (Dalton) of Berkshire Family Advocates received the Paula Buxbaum Award–established in honor of a member of the Fall 2021 cohort who died in a car crash in October 2021. This award in Paula's memory is granted to an individual making a career pivot and incorporating a social mission into their business.
$1,000 to Rachel Hailey (North Adams) for DEI Outdoors.
$2,300 to Deirdre Horan (Great Barrington) of Dri Ocean Products.
$2,500 to Jackye Stoddard (Hudson, NY) for Hierba Buena Foods.
$3,500 to Elizabeth Heller (Pittsfield) for The Kids Super Journal.

The celebration and gala began with remarks from Massachusetts State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier who spoke about the public-private partnership that supports EforAll's regional efforts and lauded the efforts of the 12 businesses that completed the program.

The Class Speaker, Rachel Hailey of DEI Outdoors was chosen by her colleagues and shared many of the lessons of the program for future EforAll participants.

The virtual event was also simulcast on Pittsfield Community Television. The recording is available to view here.

EforAll's next Accelerator class will begin in September 2022 and applications are due at www.eforall.org before August 25th.

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Pittsfield Council Revisiting DEI Office Restructure

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:11PM / Tuesday, October 13, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The conversation about the DEI office renaming that was halted by a charter objection will resume on Tuesday.

The City Council will discuss a request from Mayor Peter Marchetti to restructure the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

It proposes to rename the DEI office to the Office of Equity, Access, and Opportunity and merge the Human Rights Commission and Affirmative Action Committee into an Equity, Access and Opportunity Commission.

The Ordinance and Rules Subcommittee supported the changes in August, and in September, Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham delayed the vote with a charter objection.

Pittsfield's City Code prohibits charter states that "if a single member present objects to the taking of the vote, the vote shall be postponed until the next meeting of the city council." It also stipulates that at least four members must object if it is an emergency measure.

Cunningham also submitted a petition, which was referred to O&R under Rule 27, to replace the DEI Office and the Human Rights Commission with an equity, access, and opportunity coordinator in the Department of Community Development, with formal complaints and Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action functions assigned to Human Resources.

At the last meeting, he spent more than an hour querying the mayor and chief diversity officer about functions and effectiveness of the department, wanting more quantitative data. Cunningham proposed an ordinance that he says keeps Pittsfield's commitment to equity, access, and opportunity, "refocuses it on measurable results for our residents, and delivers it at a fraction of the current cost."

Under this petition, the equity, access, and opportunity coordinator would be a $60,000 to $80,000 per year position.

The DEI Office's fiscal year 2027 budget was about $200,000 after cuts during budget season; $106,700 for the chief diversity officer and $58,000 for the administrative assistant. The coordinator would be appointed by the director of community development and the mayor.

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