Pittsfield Cooperative Bank Hires Vice President

08:02AM / Friday, October 25, 2024Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Cooperative Bank (Coop Bank) announced the hiring of Gina Vallone to its retail banking team as a Vice President and Branch Manager of its Dalton Avenue location.

She has significant experience in branch management, financial advising, personal insurance sales and management, relationship management and customer service.

Vallone joins Coop Bank after working for the previous fifteen years at Lee Bank in their retail and community banking departments. For the last five years, Vallone has been managing Lee Bank’s Pittsfield and Lenox branches. Prior to banking, she worked in personal insurance line sales and customer relations with Minkler Insurance Agency.

"Coop Bank is excited to add Gina to our growing team," said CEO J. Jay Anderson. "She has significant experience in branch and relationship management, customer service, and consumer banking and insurance product sales and development."

Vallone has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Elizabeth Freeman Center. She was born and raised in Berkshire County and currently resides in Pittsfield with her family.

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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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