BRPC's Public Health Program Announces Recent Hires

11:48AM / Thursday, April 25, 2024Print Story | Email Story

Matthew Bryan, Monasia Ceasar, Daniel Hassett, Sophie Carnes Jannen and Nikki Lewis

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) announced the expansion of its Public Health Program through the recent hiring of staff members Matthew Bryan, Monasia Ceasar, Daniel Hassett, Sophie Carnes Jannen, Nikki Lewis, and Jazu Stine.

The BRPC Public Health Program supports Berkshire County and its municipalities in areas including emergency preparedness and response, substance use prevention and harm reduction, community health planning and education, climate resilience, and infectious and chronic disease prevention.

BRPC also provides public health inspectional services and public health nursing to municipalities through the Berkshire Public Health Alliance, applied local public health training through the Berkshire-Hampden Training Hub, and supports the local boards of health through Berkshire County Boards of Health Association (BCBOHA).

Matthew Bryan

Matthew Bryan has joined BRPC as a senior planner in the Public Health Program. He holds a BS in Behavioral Neuroscience, a BA in German, and recently acquired a master's in public health, with a concentration in Rural Health. With previous experience in infectious disease field epidemiology, toxic hazards epidemiology, and state-wide Public Health Emergency Response planning, Matthew now manages BRPC's Emergency Preparedness and Healthy Aging projects and will manage the Berkshire and Franklin County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) starting in FY 25.

Monasia Ceasar

Monasia Ceasar works as a public health trainer for the Berkshire-Hampden Training Hub hosted by BRPC. In this role, Monasia facilitates training efforts for Hampden County communities in accordance with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's workforce standards. She holds a bachelor's degree in environmental science and a master's degree in public health from the University of Bridgeport and is a Registered Sanitarian (RS).

Daniel Hassett

Daniel Hassett is the Public Health Housing Specialist within the Berkshire Public Health Alliance. Thanks to a state Public Health Excellence (PHE) grant, Hassett is available to Berkshire Public Health Alliance member municipalities for assistance in conducting environmental health inspections and enforcing the housing code and local regulations. He also helps to administer the Berkshire Country Board of Health Association septic installer certification program and assists with the Berkshire-Hampden Training Hub. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology with a chemistry minor from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and is currently pursuing his designation as a Registered Sanitarian.

Sophie Carnes Jannen

Sophie Carnes Jannen is a public health nurse educator at BRPC. She holds bachelor's degrees in psychology and nursing and a master's degree in nursing. As a nurse, Sophie has worked in community health, with experience in mobile health and harm reduction. She has also taught health and nursing classes at the college level. In her current position, Sophie will assist in county-wide health promotion through local education and wellness programs.

Nikki Lewis

Nikki Lewis has been hired as a senior planner at BRPC. Lewis holds a bachelor's degree in health science and a Master of Public Health degree in biostatistics and epidemiology. For the past five years, she's worked with community coalitions on substance use initiatives, including in her previous role as the Community Data Manager for the HEALing Communities Study in Pittsfield and North Adams. In her current role, Lewis co-manages substance use initiatives, including grants focused on youth substance use prevention and overdose prevention and cofacilitates the Berkshire Overdose Addiction Prevention Collaborative (BOAPC).

Jazu Stine

Jazu Stine recently joined BRPC as a Public Health Food Specialist, Inspector, and ServSafe instructor. In addition to providing health inspections to Berkshire Public Health Alliance member municipalities, Jazu will concentrate on food safety training with the Berkshire-Hampden Training Hub. With 15+ years in the restaurant and food service/retail industry, he brings a wide range of food handling experience. He previously owned a small, regionally sourced, whole-animal butcher shop that was USDA-inspected and State Certified for restaurant wholesale. He has spent most of his life educating, from home building to studio arts. As a food specialist, he has taught topics including knife skills, cooking techniques, charcuterie production, and whole animal processing, always prioritizing safety and the pursuit of knowledge.

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Advocates Request Pittsfield Office of Neighborhood Safety

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:23AM / Monday, August 31, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Advocates want an office of neighborhood safety within the City of Pittsfield following a string of gun violence incidents this summer.

Last week, during a virtual meeting, the Pittsfield Freedom Project called for public health interventions, such as violence interrupters, hospital violence intervention, and a neighborhood trauma response team.

"I'm sure everyone is aware; there have been at least four shootings. I've heard from people in the community that there have been more than that, but these are the ones that have resulted in injuries," said filmmaker Jenny Herzog.

"Resulting in one homicide and at least seven injured over the last couple of months."

Recent shooting incidents in Pittsfield ranged from June 18, when a person died after being shot in the area of Tyler Street and Pleasure Avenue, and another person was injured, to August 18, when one person was injured after shots were fired on Circular Avenue.

Herzog produced the documentary "Hear Me," which explores the impact of poverty and gun violence on young people in Berkshire County. Attendees also heard from local advocate and fourth-generation Pittsfield resident Kamaar Taliaferro, CEO of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence Ruth Zakarin, and Ben Snyder, a sociology professor at Williams College.

"Here we are again in another cycle of gun violence, without the tools we need, seemingly without the will to demand the tools, and even if we did, without leadership that would even understand what we're asking for," Taliaferro said.

"And it's not like we don't have the resources to build what we need. At least $1.3 million has come into Pittsfield every year for the past six years, targeted to interrupt the cycle of gun and gang violence that we are in this moment. And dating back even further, Pittsfield has received gun violence prevention money and has received gang violence intervention money since like 2014. Since the last time there was this like emergent cycle of gun violence in our community."