Bay Colonies ASTD Board of Directors

Board of Directors

2/6/2012

Grasso Joyce Grasso, PHR - President

Joyce Grasso, PHR, currently serves our Chapter as President. She served on the Chapter's Board previously in the roles the VP Professional Development and President-Elect. As President, Joyce oversees the leadership of the Board of Directors and the operations of the Bay Colonies Chapter.

Joyce is Vice President, Training for The Washington Trust Company. For the past 16 years, Joyce has been responsible for the design, coordination, implementation and facilitation of a wide array of company training programs. Additionally, she is certified in the delivery of DiSC training and Situational Leadership.

Joyce is active in additional professional organizations including Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), and is also a National member of the American Society for Training and Development.

Joyce earned her Master of Arts degree in Psychology from Connecticut College, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and Psychology from Rhode Island College. Joyce and her husband, Mike, live in Westerly.

Jamie Millard – Immediate Past President

Jamie Millard serves our chapter as Past President, having served on the chapter’s board for 7 years as the VP Membership, VP Professional Development, President-Elect, Acting VP Communications, and President. Jamie was awarded the Therese Strik Volunteer Award for his service to the chapter. As Past President, Jamie serves as an advisor to the current President and is responsible for Special Projects, as determined by the board. Jamie has been selected to ASTD’s National Advisors for Chapters (NAC) for 2011 -2013.

Jamie is the co-founder and Executive Partner for Lexington Leadership Partners LLC, a leadership consulting firm focused on executive coaching, customized leadership training, strategic facilitation, business process improvement consulting and team building. Prior to Lexington Leadership, Jamie was the Managing Partner for the National Change Management Practice at CSC Consulting. Prior to that Jamie was a Partner at Harbridge House, Inc which was later acquired by Coopers & Lybrand, where he led the Change Leadership, Continuous Improvement and the Project Management Practices. Jamie is a proud veteran and served as an Army Captain, Airborne Ranger, and Jungle Expert.

Jamie earned his Masters in Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island and a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Jamie and his wife Ann live in East Greenwich and are active in the sailing community. Jamie is also a part-time musician, playing acoustic guitar and singing in local clubs.

Christopher J Forcino – Vice President of Professional Development

Christopher J. Forcino serves our chapter as Vice President of Professional Development. In his role, Chris partners with individuals and organizations to create meaningful Chapter events.

Chris is a Senior Training Partner for GTECH in Providence, RI. There he is responsible for the professional development of associates in the National Response Center. Chris is also an Adjunct Professor for the School of Management and the School of Technology at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. Chris is also a retired Major, having completed 22 years of service to the Rhode Island National Guard.

Chris holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Education from Johnson & Wales University and resides in West Greenwich, RI.

Michelle A. O’Brien, SPHR – Vice President of Communication

Michelle serves our chapter as Vice President of Communication and is charged with creating and sending out e-blasts via Constant Contact, coordinating announcements with the webmaster, developing promotional materials and media contacts, and networking with other organizations to market programs.

Michelle A. O’Brien, SPHR, is the Associate Director of Human Resources for Community College of Rhode Island. During her fourteen years at the College she has been focused in the areas of institutional advancement, workforce development, and human resources. She is also an Adjunct Faculty member in CCRI’s Business Department, teaching management courses for the last 7 years. Michelle is also certified to deliver Achieve Global training.

Michelle earned a Master of Education degree in from the University of Rhode Island and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education from Johnson & Wales University. She and her husband, Jamie, reside in Cumberland with their two children, Meagan & Daniel.

$C:\Users\freedmank\Documents\pictures\professional photo\34113_karenbestpic.jpg$ Karen Freedman - Vice President of Marketing

Karen Freedman serves the Chapter as Vice President of Marketing overseeing creation of a marketing campaign to create awareness of our chapter and building relationships with key organizations and individuals.

Karen Freedman is Vice President and manager of enterprise learning at FM Global, one of the world's largest commercial property insurers. Karen is responsible for the education and training of 5,500 employees and thousands of clients worldwide. As FM Global's youngest female vice president, Karen has transformed the company's entire approach to learning since 2005, both for employees as well as clients. Her innovative learning approaches for clients has recently earned her Risk & Insurance magazine's 2010 Risk Innovator award for the insurance industry - an award that recognizes those who demonstrate innovation and develop creative, out of the ordinary solutions for risk mitigation. Karen was also named to Providence Business News Forty under 40 class of 2010, which recognizes forty business and community leaders under the age of 40. FM Global's learning management system, which was approved and implemented under Karen's leadership, was highlighted in the 2010 release of Joel Kurtzman's latest business book: Common Purpose: How Great Leaders Get Organizations to Achieve the Extraordinary.

Karen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She and her husband, Jason, reside in Cumberland, RI with their children, Danny and Mackenzie.

Mary Chinn, PHR – Vice President of Finance

Mary F. Chinn, PHR serves our chapter as Vice President of Finance overseeing the chapter’s financial records by maintaining fiscally responsible budgets for the smooth operations of the Bay Colonies Chapter.

She is the Director of Learning & Development for Cox Communications in West Warwick, RI responsible for developing and executing the overall talent management strategy including the learning and development for employees in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Ohio for this broadband communications company since June 2008. Prior to joining Cox and relocating to Rhode Island, Mary was the Divisional Director of Training & Development for Charter Communication in Newtown, CT for 10 years. During that time, she maintained full responsibility for the learning and development of the 4500 employees within the 13 state East Division.

Mary is active in several additional professional organizations and also serves on the Executive Board of Directors as the Secretary for WICT (Women in Cable Telecommunications) New England Chapter. She is also a member of Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), and Society of Cable and Telecommunication Engineers (SCTE).

She earned a Master of Science degree in Human Resource Education from the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT. Mary is currently pursing her PhD in Human Capital Management from Bellevue University. An avid trivia buff (especially TV trivia), Mary and her husband Bob reside in West Warwick, RI.

JR Pimentel, SPHR – Vice President of Membership

Mariano Pimentel (JR), currently serves the chapter as our Vice President of Membership. In this function, JR is responsible for recruiting, enrolling, renewing members. In addition, he will work to engage members to provide feedback about their membership experience with the chapter.

JR is the Assistant Vice President, Training and Development Manager for Bristol County Savings Bank, headquartered in Taunton, Ma. In his role as Training and Development manager, JR is responsible providing a comprehensive employee learning and development program that enhances the knowledge, skills, and performance for all employees. In addition, he handles recruiting, employee relations, supervisory coaching, and other Human Resource related functions.

JR earned his Master of Science in Human Resource Management from Emmanuel College and his Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Stonehill College in Easton, MA.. He is involved in several local non-profit organizations and works extensively with area school systems facilitating planning and change management initiatives. JR lives in Taunton, MA with his wife and two daughters.

Become more involved with our chapter by volunteering to join our board. We currently have one opening.

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