NORTHAMPTON — Valley Community Development last month hired Alexis Breiteneicher as its new executive director.
Breiteneicher comes to Valley Community Development after almost eight years at Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), where she served as director of development. Before that, she was the development manager for the Trustees of Reservations and worked for the Melville Charitable Trust in Boston. Breiteneicher also has considerable experience working with nonprofit organizations that support low-income communities, with an emphasis on finding solutions to homelessness.
Breiteneicher began in her new role on Dec. 20.
NORTHAMPTON — Two new members have joined the Northampton Dollars for Scholars board of directors.
Alison Schoen works at Smith College in The Class Deans Office. She holds a bachelors of art in elementary education and a master’s of science in higher education administration.
Prior to working at Smith College, Schoen worked in liberal studies and admissions at Bay Path University. In her spare time, she enjoys golfing at Northampton Country Club, skiing, playing cards, collecting “Golden Girls” memorabilia and spending time with friends and family.
Howard Sasson is an attorney at the law firm, Sasson, Turnbull, Ryan & Hoose, where he specializes in estates and wills. He has served as a VISTA lawyer in Boston and, for many years, was on the board of Western Massachusetts Legal Services, now community Legal Aid, and served eight years as its board president. Sasson’s three children are all Northampton High School graduates.
Since its start in 1974, Northampton Dollars for Scholars has awarded more than $1.4 million in scholarships to over 2,600 Northampton High School and Smith Vocational High School graduates to aid them in furthering their education. In 2021, Northampton Dollars for Scholars awarded over $140,000 to 188 students, all from funds donated by local individuals, families, and businesses.
NEPM TV
director honored
SPRINGFIELD — New England Public Media’s TV director Marc Rhinehart has been inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ “Silver Circle.” Established in 1993, the Silver Circle Award honors television professionals for 25 or more years of service to the television industry.
Rhinehart has directed countless TV broadcasts in the field, including the nationally recognized 2012 debate between Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Desmond Tutu’s visit to the region, the Dalai Lama’s visit to Smith College, and Al Gore’s visit to Hampshire College.
In-studio at NEPM’s headquarters in downtown Springfield, he has directed hundreds of episodes of “Connecting Point,” “The State We’re In,” “Presencia,” “Together in Song,” and more.
ORANGE — Sarah Cleveland, of Sunderland, a member of the Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, was promoted last month to the grade of second lieutenant.
Promotion to second lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol comes after hundreds of hours of hard work and study in the organization’s professional development program. Cleveland joined the squadron in May 2021.
Cleveland is a certified medical assistant in the Mass General Brigham Health Care System. Her office is in Amherst.
Civil Air Patrol is the longtime auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. In its auxiliary role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 single-engine aircraft and more than 2,100 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. It performs about 90% of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 82 lives annually.
CAP’s 56,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Operating as a nonprofit organization, CAP also plays a leading role in STEM/aerospace education, and its members serve as mentors to more than 23,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs.
The Brigadier General Arthur J. Pierce Cadet Squadron meets on Monday evenings from 6-8:30 at the Airport in Orange.
HOLYOKE — The Cannabis Education Center at Holyoke Community College has announced its schedule of industry training programs for the spring 2022 semester.
The CEC will offer four 12-hour, introductory Cannabis Core educational training courses. The first set of courses have passed, but additional courses will run Feb. 19-20, March 19-20, and April 5-6.
The Cannabis Core program provides an overview of the cannabis industry in Massachusetts and is geared for people looking for general knowledge as they consider a cannabis career. During four, three-hour sessions, students will interact with cannabis experts and guest speakers in reviews of the plant, various cannabis products, the endocannabinoid system, laws and prohibition, growing and plant care, labeling, packaging, testing, employment considerations, and more.
The Cannabis Core program is a foundational course and a prerequisite for the following career track courses: patient services associate (classes start Feb. 5), cultivation assistant (starting Feb. 26), extraction technician (April 2), and culinary assistant (April 19).
The cost of the Cannabis Core training is $599, but scholarships are available to those who qualify. To register, please go to: hcc.edu/cannabis-core
The Cannabis Education Center is a partnership between HCC and Elevate Northeast and based out of HCC’s Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development.
More information on these and other cannabis industry programs can be found on the Cannabis Education Center’s website — cannabiseducationcenter.org or by calling 413-552-2320.