HCC names former Rep. Vega to trustees
HOLYOKE — Former state Rep. Aaron Vega, an HCC alum and now the president and CEO of the Western Mass Economic Development Council, has been appointed to the Holyoke Community College Board of Trustees by Gov. Maura Healey.
Until the end of 2025, Vega, a Holyoke resident and city native, was the director of the Office of Planning and Economic Development for the City of Holyoke. From 2013 to 2021, he represented the 5th Hampden District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He started his career in public service in Holyoke as a two-term city councilor at large.
His five-year term runs until March 2031.
No stranger to HCC, Vega is an alum from the class of 1990 and received a distinguished alumni award from the college in 2015. He is the son of the late Carlos Vega, the Holyoke social activist and co-founder of the nonprofit Nueva Esperanza, himself a 1971 graduate of HCC who was honored with a Distinguished Service Award at Commencement in 2004. Vega’s daughter, Courtney Joaquin, graduated from HCC in 2018. Vega’s work for Holyoke as a city councilor and director of economic development has also kept him in close contact with the college through the years.
He and his wife, Debra, are the owners of Vega Yoga & Movement Arts in Holyoke. Aside from the HCC Board of Trustees, Vega serves on the boards of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, Mass Humanities, and New England Public Media, and is chair of the Carlos Vega Fund for Social Justice.
Northampton Jazz Festival welcomes board members
NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton Jazz Festival has welcomed two new board members who bring broad skills and experience in marketing, design, music production and fundraising.
The new members are John Anz, who joined in January, and Jack Brown, who came on the board in January 2025.
Anz, a resident of South Hadley, is currently the director of development and community engagement for The Loomis Communities. An alum of Williston Northampton School and Trinity College in Hartford, he moved permanently to western Massachusetts in 2002 from his native New York City and deeply involved himself in the local music, arts, and culture scene.
He has served on several boards of arts organizations, including the Northampton Community Music Center and the South Hadley Cultural Council, including two years as chair. Anz has also created, produced, and presented live music in the area as co-chair of the SHOWCASE South Hadley arts and culture festival and, under Jazz Productions, produced Music Mondays Cafe at the Gaylord Memorial Library in South Hadley.
Brown, of Greenfield, is the marketing director at the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce and the Hampshire County Regional Tourism Council. He’s worked in Northampton’s cultural circles for three decades as an artist, writer, and musician, and promotes the region in his current role.
Brown creates and executes the strategies for marketing to constituents of both organizations across all digital, social and print communications channels. His expertise also includes content creation, graphic design and setting and analyzing marketing metrics across all channels.
Brown is also a musician (guitarist), illustrator and graphic designer, having earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at University of Hartford’s Hartford Art School.
Dakin names new director of development, marketing
SPRINGFIELD — Dakin Humane Society has named Molly Biechele director of development and marketing.
Biechele joined Dakin in 2017 as an associate director of development. Her primary duties included overseeing the annual giving program and donor data management. In her new role, Biechele will lead the creation and execution of Dakin’s fundraising and marketing plans, as well as oversee eight staff members who comprise both the development and marketing departments at Dakin.
Previously, she served as director of donor services for HelpMeSee in New York City, where she was responsible for strategically growing HelpMeSee’s donor base by managing the donor acquisitions and stewardship programs. Prior to that, she was operations manager for Lupus Research Alliance in New York City, where her duties included managing the general operations of that organization’s fundraising program, which included 18 events and over 10,000 participants.
In addition to her work at Dakin, Biechele also volunteers as board president for the nonprofit Women in Philanthropy. She is a resident of Springfield.
Auditor DiZoglio visits downtown Northampton
NORTHAMPTON – State Auditor Diana DiZoglio visited Northampton this month for a walking tour of the city’s business district, meeting with small business owners and local leaders to hear firsthand the successes and challenges facing the city’s downtown area.
DiZoglio was hosted by Vince Jackson, executive director of The Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce. During the visit, the auditor learned about the history of Thornes Marketplace, browsed for boots at Footbeats and earrings at Positively Africana, grabbed a cup of coffee at Share Coffee & Cafe, and stopped into Paul & Elizabeth’s to speak with owner Nate Sustick about how his parents’ pescatarian restaurant has served the community for nearly half a century.
Popping into several businesses along Main Street — including Beryl, 25 Central, and Assemble Made & Curated — DiZoglio learned about the “Picture Main Street” project and viewed the series of murals by artist Sabrina Dorsainvil.