Team Group: Board of Directors

Gail Belmuth has 30 years of experience in communications and marketing for a wide range of corporate, political, and nonprofit clients. Currently, she runs a communications consultancy, with a focus on helping organizations through major transformations, including mergers and acquisitions, automation and digitization, and other drivers of rapid expansion.

Gail’s current and recent clients include Marsh McLennan, CVSHealth, Novartis, Montefiore Medical Center, Siemens, Xerox, Alcoa, International Rescue Committee, Accenture, ITT/Xylem, Deloitte and Ingersoll Rand. Gail is the former global chief communications officer for International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. She also served in leadership roles at several global communications agencies, including Burson-Marsteller. 

Early in her career, Gail worked with reforming governments in the former Soviet Union and Latin America. She graduated from Brown University with a degree in Russian Studies and moved to the Berkshires from New York in 2015. Since moving to the Berkshires, Gail also served as Director of Advancement for Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires. 

Gail was introduced to the magic of Berkshire Pulse through her daughter, Cecelia, who was a tap and African drumming student here throughout middle and high school.

An entrepreneur, radical innovator, SUPERSTORYTELLER and motivator with 27 years of experience in visual computing technologies, complex software technologies, content creation, entertainment venues and production and business modeling that enable insights, solutions and strategies for leadership at the CEO level.

Dr. Jerome F. Errico is a Board Certified Chiropractic Physician practicing in Lenox, Massachusetts. He holds a bachelor of science degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; a doctoral degree in chiropractic from New York Chiropractic College; a master’s degree in human nutrition from the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and is certified in hypnotherapy from the American Hypnosis Association. Dr. Errico is also a Consulting Gerson Physician, having studied the Gerson Therapy for nutritional oncology under Charlotte Gerson at the Gerson Institute in San Diego, California. 

Charles Ferris has been a practicing attorney in Massachusetts and New York for 35 years. After graduating from St. John’s School of Law he served as a law clerk to the Justices of the New York Supreme Court. He then served as a Litigation Associate in the New York City offices of Weil Gotshal & Manges, where he represented major corporations, banks and brokerage companies in complex lawsuits throughout the United States. Following that position he served as Assistant General Counsel to Bank Hapoalim where he was responsible for a large portfolio of commercial loan transactions and in-house litigation and labor law matters. He then served as Counsel to Sotheby’s and Sotheby’s International Realty, before opening his own practice in Berkshire County in 1993.

He obtained a Masters of Law (LL.M.) from New York University, and has taught law courses at New York School of Law and Western New England School of Law. He has served as a member of Great Barrington Rotary since 1995, and has been a member of its Board of Directors, Fund Raising Committee and Scholarship Committee for more than 10 years. He was a founding member and former Chairman of the Eagle Fund, which raises money for grants that foster academic excellence and enhanced educational experiences in the Southern Berkshire School District as well as a Grant Committee member of the Janet Fund, a privately endowed fund which provided funds for projects in the Southern Berkshire School District. Since 2008 he has also been a member of the Board of Directors of Berkshire Pulse, a not-for-profit corporation in Great Barrington which provides dance and performing arts classes for children and adults.

Laurie Freedman began her dance training as student and later as assistant to renown modern dancer Jane Dudley. Laurie earned a BA in dance from Bennington College and MFA in Dance, Arts Administration, and Video-Production from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Laurie was invited to Israel to join the prestigious Batsheva Dance Company in Tel Aviv. She lived Israel for 18 years, performing and touring with the company, as well as creating original choreography and teaching dance for performing arts venues throughout the country.

Upon returning to the USA, Laurie was invited to direct the dance program at the Millbrook School. She later developed a digital video program for the arts department, served as technical director of the theater and interim director of the school’s Holbrook Art Center. Laurie has received various grants and awards for her work in dance and video production. She serves on the Board of Directors of Berkshire Pulse and CTSBTV.

Employment
Sobel, Glackman & Sobel, P.A. – 1971 to September 15, 2006
Admitted as a partner in 1978. Became Managing Partner in 1993.
Accounting, auditing and tax partner. Industry experience includes construction, manufacturing, retail, leisure, restaurant and professional practices including legal and medical.
Alan S. Glackman, C.P.A., P.C. – September 16, 2006 to present

Education
Graduate of Florida Atlantic University, B.S. from the College of Business and Public Administration, June 1970.
Successfully passed all parts of the Uniform CPA Examination in November 1975. MEMBER
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants

Boards and positions
Great Barrington Rotary Board Member and Treasurer
Great Barrington Rotary Student Assistance Fund and Treasurer
Berkshares Board Member and Treasurer – 2007-2013
Berkshire Pulse Board Member and Treasurer – Since 2013

Amy holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Drew University. Prior to moving to the Berkshires, she held numerous positions in theatre and television in New York City and Los Angeles. Notable companies include: Ellen Novack Casting, The Vineyard Theatre (Three Tall Women moved to Broadway in 1994), Classic Stage Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, CBS Morning News, Evening News with Dan Rather, and 60 Minutes. Most of her television work was on The Late Show with David Letterman, where she was an Assistant Director and Stage Manager for several years. Los Angeles credits include Friends, The X-Files, The Drew Carey Show, and others. She is most proud of her credit as Mother to Katherine and Spencer, who are now both away at school courageously pursuing their dreams. Amy lives in Great Barrington with her husband Bruce and their naughty cat Tasha. 

Diane recently produced the award-winning short film, A Tree A Rock A Cloud, based on the short story by Carson McCullers, written and directed by actor, Karen Allen, as well as the short film, You Have A Voice for the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus/Berkshire Section about young women, leadership and civic engagement. Her current slate of feature projects includes the refugee story, Weeping Under This Same Moon, by Jana Laiz, a screen adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel, Summer, by feature film art director/ production designer, Carl Sprague, and Mumbet: A Free Woman, the true story of Elizabeth “Mumbet’ Freeman, the first slave in Massachusetts to take her owner to court and win her freedom.

Diane has directed and produced projects locally for 1Berkshire, Berkshire United Way, McCann Technical School, Age Friendly Berkshires & the ROPE Program (Rites of Passage and Empowerment Program for young women of color in Pittsfield). She is currently partnering with Great Barrington Public Theater to direct/produce a series of original short films about nature by local Berkshire playwrights.

Diane served as Production Manager for the creation of a web-based health initiative for Canyon Ranch in Lenox, MA. She has also produced several industrial animation projects for Ben Hillman & Company of Sheffield, MA as well as the animated sequence for Spike Lee’s film, She Hate Me, directed by Hillman.

Diane was Executive Producer and General Manager of Mass.Illusion, a visual effects movie studio located in Lenox, Massachusetts and Alameda, California. From 1993 to 1998, she oversaw up to 200 employees and a through put of $8-$10 million per year on such films as The Matrix (Academy Award 2000, Best Visual Effects), What Dreams May Come (Academy Award 1999, Best Visual Effects), Starship Troopers, Evita, Eraser, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Judge Dredd, The Scarlet Letter, and Event Horizon.

In addition to her award-winning visual effects, Diane served as Supervising Producer for the production of three specialty films attractions for Circus Circus’ hotel, LUXOR LAS VEGAS. The $50M project was produced at The Trumbull Company, Lenox, MA. During that time, she produced the award winning behind-the-scenes documentary, “The Making of Luxor” for Director Scott Morris.

Prior to that, Diane worked for R/Greenberg Associates in New York City where she produced countless commercials and feature film title sequences.

Diane holds a degree from Vassar College and attended Princeton University and NYU Film School. She is Chairman of the Board of Berkshire Pulse, a performing arts center in Housatonic, MA. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the 1Berkshire Foundation. She is an active member of New York Women in Film and Television, The Massachusetts Production Coalition, New England Women in Film and The Visual Effects Society. Diane lives in Great Barrington, MA with her husband and two sons.

Emily received a B.A. in English Literature from Vassar College and a Master’s in Creative Writing from New York University.

Over the past 40 years she has taught poetry to children in grade schools and libraries in the Tri-State area and the Berkshires and published her poems in various journals and magazines including The Kansas Quarterly, Mudfish, Poet Lore, The New Yorker. She worked as an editorial assistant’s assistant at Alfred Knopf publishing, held various temp jobs in publishing (Viking, Scholastic, HarperCollins, Family Circle magazine), performed odd jobs, including reading, to a famous writer who is blind (Ved Mehta), and worked as an apprentice floral arranger at an Upper East Side flower shop. She wrote feature articles for The Berkshire Record and The Advocate, acted in plays in the Berkshires at Riggs Theater 37 (director, Kevin Coleman), and taught Creative Writing at Community Access to the Arts (CATA), where she serves on the Board of CATA since 1999, currently as Co-Vice President.

Emily met Bettina in the mid-90s when she saw her dance at the Richmond Furnace with Victory Girl. This was back when the seeds of Pulse were just stirring as The Flowering Child at Eden Hill. She’s been an ardent fan ever since.