Bernard Resigns From Berkshire United Way

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Thomas Bernard has stepped down from leading Berkshire United Way and says he is excited to explore the next chapter of his professional journey. 

On Tuesday, Board Chair Krystle Blake confirmed that he resigned as president and CEO to pursue other opportunities. Bernard was hired in January 2022 after serving as mayor of his hometown, North Adams. 

"It has been a privilege to work with Berkshire United Way's board, community partners, and especially with BUW's dedicated and talented team for the past 3 1/2 years," Bernard wrote to iBerkshires in an email. 

"Going forward, I remain focused on contributing to the work and the mission that I had the opportunity to advance through Berkshire United Way, locally, in partnership with my incredible colleagues in the United Ways of Massachusetts, and as part of the United Way Worldwide network." 

At the same time, he said he is excited to "explore and launch the next chapter of my professional journey as a consultant and thought partner." 


"And to leverage my experience in the education, municipal, and nonprofit sectors — all of which contributes to economic development — and continue to be what a colleague recently described The United Way as being: 'a force multiplier for good,'" he wrote. 

Blake, who stepped in as chair of the Berkshire United Way Board of Directors on July 1, said Bernard will continue to be available for consultation as needed during the transition. BUW works to improve equitable access to critical services for the people of Berkshire County. 

"We thank him for his service to our organization and the community, and we wish him the best in his new endeavors," she wrote, adding "we recognize that this is a uniquely challenging time in our community and in so many others across the country.

"Berkshire United Way is dedicated to being a community leader in understanding our neighbors' most pressing needs and bringing the key players together to implement meaningful short- and long-term solutions. We remain focused on building a stronger, more equitable community where everyone can thrive!" 

According to a 2022 profile on the BUW page, Bernard was raised and educated in North Adams, earned his bachelor's degree from Williams College, and his Master of Public Administration from Westfield State University.

Bernard was development officer at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art before his 10 years at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts as director of corporate, foundation and government relations, then executive assistant to the president, and eventually director of business affairs. He was the director of special projects at Smith College before becoming mayor in 2018. He spent four years in the corner office before deciding not to run for a third term. He was recently appointed to the Board of Trustees at MCLA. 


Tags: Berkshire United Way,   resignation,   

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Main & Mill: A Vibrant New Restaurant on Main Street

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — You can now enjoy another eatery on Main Street by well-known restaurant siblings Colleen and Sean Taylor.

Their restaurant Main & Mill opened for the first time Tuesday, bringing their vision of creating something vibrant and new to downtown North Adams.

"We have created Main & Mill to be part of our day. It's very seasonal ingredients, thoughtful cooking, beauty, beautiful presentation and dishes. And we really wanted to be part of the community, the downtown area, and start a vibrant area on this end, which has been shuttered for a while," said Colleen.

The building is owned by Ginko on Main Street LLC, which has granted 20 years exclusive possession of the property to Latent Builds as the developer. Jack and Suzy Wadsworth, behind Ginko, are development partners with Karla Rothstein and Salvatore Perry of Latent.

The bank closed in early 2021 and was purchased by Ginko late that year. Plans for the property unveiled three years ago envisioned a restaurant, retail, a park and rooftop bar. 

Colleen saw potential and said she initially wanted the building when it first went up for sale. Being good friends with Rothstein and Perry, she helped them design the kitchen and the bar before learning in March that she could lease it as a restaurant space, something she told them would be a great idea.

She said one of the most important things about the restaurant was the collaboration between Rothstein, Perry, and the Wadsworths, who put a lot of time and energy into the building.

"If Sean and I had done it, we would not be able to do what the collaboration supported. The collaboration of the three of us being able to really have that kind of money to put in down here. The design that the architecture firm that Carla and Sal own is stunning," she said. "The time and effort, everyone came together to do this in a really trusting manner."

The two wanted the restaurant to be an all-day venture, so people could eat at any point throughout the day, all week long.

"We wanted it to be open for coffee and socialization in the morning where people can meet, have their cup of coffee, have a quiche, a vegetarian quiche, or croissant or yogurt. Something intentional with their coffee," she said. "Then move into a lunchtime for the downtown business or anybody, and then go into supper, dinner, with drinks later into the evening. So have it really be open all day long, so that there wasn't a void on any particular day."

They also wanted to do something different than the other restaurants they owned.

"We didn't want to mimic any other restaurant in town. We wanted to bring something that was inspiring, something that had some familiar things that people would see, and other things that we would bring to them for them to experience," she said.

As a woman business owner, Colleen said she wanted to bring a female chef into the kitchen. 

Colleen brought on Chef Anna DeRose, who she said puts twists on a lot of her dishes.

"So we have a creme brulee, but our creme brulee is topped with marshmallow," she said. "Our creme brulee is like almost two desserts in one. It's a s'mores creme brulee. So you could have a s'mores, and you could have a creme brulee - but when you put both of them together, fireworks go off."

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