STAFF & BOARD

Executive Director – Liana Toscanini

liana@npcberkshires.org

Contact Liana if you have an idea for a webinar, partnership or collaboration, need advice or help with starting a nonprofit, have questions about membership, registration, fiscal sponsorship, volunteering for the NPC or joining the board.

Kim Baker

Kim Baker is a Senior Account Executive at the Toole Insurance Agency. She has been with the agency for 20 years, focusing on their business clients, particularly nonprofits, working closely with them to understand their operations, risks, and goals. With that knowledge, she collaborates with her clients to design insurance and risk management programs specific to their needs. Kim is a graduate of Michigan State University and is a certified Worker Compensation Advisor. Kim has over twenty years of board experience, including Berkshire Business & Professional Women, where she served as chair for two years, the United Cerebral Palsy Board, Berkshire County Kid’s Place Board, and Berkshire Family and Individual Board, where she is currently the Co-Chair. This past board experience includes serving in various capacities. Kim is an avid runner completing several marathons, and very active in the community. She would love the opportunity to bring her work and non-profit board experience to NPC to continue its mission of helping to sustain non-profits within the Berkshires.

Brian Berkel (TREASURER)

Brian Berkel has spent most of his life in Berkshire County, where he and his wife, Jennifer, raised their two daughters and started a small business. Brian retired from the Massachusetts State Police as a Detective Lieutenant in 2021.  During his 25 year career, he was involved with various local nonprofit organizations and volunteered as a mentor to at-risk youth through Big Brothers of Berkshire County and 18 Degrees.  Affiliated with the Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention since 2009, he currently serves as the board President. He also serves as Treasurer on the board of Berkshire HorseWorks and for the Pittsfield Lions Club.  He is a graduate of Berkshire Community College and Westfield State University. Having been drawn to the nonprofit sector in retirement, he has engaged in opportunities such as the Transformational Nonprofit Leadership Retreat at the Kripalu Center and the 1Berkshire Leadership Program, where he now sits on the BLP steering committee. Brian recognizes that the Berkshires are best served when nonprofit organizations collaborate to achieve their goals and realize their missions. He believes the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires can support that effort.

Julia Dixon

Julia Dixon is a cultural and strategic planning consultant, educator, writer, and artist based in North Adams, Massachusetts. She is an expert in rural creative economy strategy and has worked extensively in western Massachusetts and Bennington County, Vermont. In addition, she is an adjunct professor in the Fine and Performing Arts Department at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and has taught and lectured graduate students at New Hampshire Institute of Art and Purchase College. Previously, she served as managing director of Berkshire Creative and creative economy specialist at 1Berkshire. Julia has extensive community engagement and volunteer experience and has served as a member of the BerkShares board of directors, North Adams Makers’ Mill founding board, Berkshire Cultural Resource Center advisory board, North Adams Cultural District core group, and was an appointed founding member and chair of the North Adams Public Arts Commission. She earned her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2014 and BFA from Purchase College in 2005.

Dr. Kevin Fleming, PhD 

Kevin has 20 years of expertise in alumni engagement, non-profit management and teaching. He has led transformations of alumni boards of directors, overall alumni engagement and communications strategies, volunteer programs, signature events, staffing alignments, and cross-departmental collaborations at several institutions. An excellent meeting facilitator, he is also a thought leader in the areas of alumni engagement and fundraising, having authored a ground-breaking theory of alumni engagement in the peer-reviewed Journal of Philanthropy and Education, entitled “The Pots of Water Framework for Alumni Engagement.” He also served as a member of the Council and Support of Education (CASE) District I Board of Directors, and serves as the co-chair of the Horizon Issues Committee.

RANDY KINNAS

Randy Kinnas currently serves as the CEO of UCP of Western MA. Prior to this role, he held the position of COO at the Alliance of MA YMCA’s, where he led numerous plans, board governance projects, and strategic partnerships. With a 19-year tenure as a CEO at the Northern Berkshire YMCA and the Pittsfield Family YMCA, Randy orchestrated their merger in 2016 to form the Berkshire Family YMCA. His YMCA journey began at the Merrimack Valley YMCA. Randy holds a Master’s Degree in Human Service Administration from Springfield College and completed a course in Strategic Perspective in Nonprofits Management at Harvard University. Beyond his professional achievements, Randy is an enthusiastic New England sports fan who enjoys camping with his family and delving into a good book. Guided by the mantra “Be Better Not Bitter,” he resides in Lee, Massachusetts, with his wife, Lisa, and their four children, Alexis, Tia, Cameron, and Kai.

Cassey Santos-China (she/her)

Cass graduated from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts with an Interdisciplinary Studies Degree in Business Leadership.  She has also completed several certificate programs specializing in Senior Services and End-of-Life doula work, currently she works as the Coordinator for Rainbow Seniors of Berkshire County, a 60+ group of LGBTQ+ seniors and their allies.  Cass also serves Berkshire Pride as their President and Executive Director.  Cass has learned so much from The Nonprofit Center of The Berkshires and truly believes in their mission and vision and would be proud to serve on the Board of Directors.  She is celebrating her 10th year of marriage in 2023 and loves to travel with her wife and dachshund-terrier mix, George.  She has recently become a first-time grandmother and spends much of her free time with her granddaughter Hazel.  Cass truly sees the world in rainbows, glitter, tacos and tequila!

Emily Schiavoni 

Emily is Community Outreach Coordinator for North Adams Public Schools. She had a role in the launching of TEDx North Adams and has been a strong advocate for Berkshire Nursing Families.  She has also served on the boards of Louison House and Berkshire Family YMCA. Previously, held the role of Major Gifts Coordinator for Williams College, Director of Residence Life for Southern Vermont College, and Residence Director at MCLA.  She lives with her husband Ben Lamb (of 1Berkshire) and two children in North Adams.

Tom Sharpe

Tom Sharpe is the Relationship Builder and Co-Founder of Mungy, a creative design studio that he operates with his partner, Susanna, in the Berkshires. He excels in identifying promising partnerships and nurturing them to yield lasting results. Drawing from his life experiences and building Mungy from scratch, Tom is dedicated to supporting local businesses and entrepreneurs. One of Mungy’s most recent projects is The Massachusetts Founders’ Network, a platform designed to provide startup founders across the state of MA with equitable access to resources essential for scaling their companies.

Dan Stanyon (President)

Dan Stanyon is a Vice President and Trust Officer with Salisbury Bank and Trust Company and holds the Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor designation. He moved to the Berkshire area in 2014 from Burlington, Vermont where he met his wife Dawn Stanyon and raised two children. While in Burlington, he served on several boards in varying capacities including HomeShare Vermont Board Chair, Converse Home Board Chair, Foster Grandparent Program Board Chair, and National Alliance on Mental Illness finance committee member. Dan joined the Berkshire County Estate Planning Council in 2016 and has served as Vice President and Clerk. Dan enjoys time with his family and likes to hike, camp, do yard work, and smoke meat.

Laurie Werner

Laurie Werner has been working in nonprofit management and development since 1994, as both staff member and consultant, with a focus on capital and annual fundraising and organizational strategy. She was employed in senior fundraising positions at The Mount, MASS MoCA, and the Berkshire Museum. Prior to this, she was a research analyst in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and a marketing research director in the corporate sector where her experience included design and analysis of surveys, business strategy, and brand development.  Laurie graduated from Barnard College (Columbia University), and has a Ph.D. in Economics from City University of New York Graduate Center.  She is a resident of Pittsfield and is currently serving on the board of the Berkshire County Historical Society at Arrowhead.