Berkshire Green Drinks Feature BEAT Update

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Join Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) for their final Green Drinks presentation of 2024, where BEAT staff will talk about the organization's work of this past year and explore what comes next as the new year approaches. 

The virtual gathering will take place by Zoom on Wednesday, Dec. 11, from 6:00 to 7:15 PM. 

Be part of the discussion and hear about the ongoing air quality monitoring work BEAT's Breathe Easy Berkshires program is doing, the organization's continued work in improving aquatic and terrestrial wildlife connectivity, progress made on BEAT's Environmental Leadership & Education Center, the continuing campaign to end fossil-fueled peaker plants, the fight to prevent the expansion of the Enbridge Algonquin pipeline through Project Maple, and some of their favorite 2024 highlights from BEAT-organized events.

Registration is required to attend this virtual event. Register at https://tinyurl.com/Dec2024-Berks-Green-Drinks.

Berkshire Green Drinks (formerly Pittsfield Green Drinks) is an informal gathering on the second Wednesday of the month that is free and open to everyone with any environmental interest. A guest speaker talks about an environmentally related topic for approximately 30 minutes beginning at 6 PM; the presentation is followed by a discussion and Q&A. 

Berkshire Green Drinks is sponsored and organized by the Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT). For more information regarding Berkshire Green Drinks, contact Chelsey Simmons, chelsey@thebeatnews.org, (413) 464-9402.

Berkshire Community College Names Presidential Finalists

Staff Reports 11:05AM / Thursday, February 19, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The state's first community college has narrowed down the field to replace retiring President Ellen Kennedy. 

 

Presidential Search Committee has recommended four finalists who will be participating in on-campus interviews and forums in the coming weeks. 

 

The finalists, "identified ... from a strong initial pool of applicants," according to a college statement, are Hara Charlier, president of Central Lakes College in Minnesota; Nicole Esposito, chief executive officer of Manchester Community College in New Hampshire; Karen Hynick, acting provost for Connecticut State Community College; and Albert Lewis Jr., chief of staff / executive vice president at Northwest State Community College in Ohio. 

 

The finalists were screened and evaluated using the "Presidential Profile" that was developed through conversations and listening sessions with members of the campus community and executive search firm Academic Search.

 

"From the outset, this search has reflected the very best of BCC — openness, collaboration, and deep engagement with our community," said Julia Bowen, chair of the BCC Board of Trustees, in a statement. "I have been incredibly impressed by the strength, experience, and passion of the candidate pool. These four finalists are exceptional leaders, and I am genuinely excited for our campus community to meet them and help us welcome the next president who will guide BCC into its next chapter."

 

Biographies: 

 

Albert Lewis Jr. 

Lewis holds a doctorate in education from Gwynedd Mercy University in Pennsylvania, a master's in industrial/organizational psychology from Grand Canyon University in Arizona, and a master's in education administration from the University of Akron in Ohiol.