Gail Belmuth

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.

Alex Bloomstein

Alex Bloomstein began dancing in 1977.  He was a full scholarship and fellowship student at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.  He has studied ballet with Diana Byer, Benjamin Harkarvy, Choo San Goh, Marjorie Mussman, Janet Panetta, Igal Perry, and Rochelle Zide-Booth, among others.  Alex studied modern dance at the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio.  He also studied the modern technique of José Limon with Daniel Lewis and Hannah Kahn.  He has studied the Martha Graham modern dance technique with Mary Hinkson, Diana Hart and Norman Walker.  Alex has also studied composition and choreography with a variety of teachers, including Bessie Schoenberg and Lynne Taylor-Corbett.

Alex was the artistic director of Ballet Arts Studio in Beacon, New York, from 2006 through 2020.  At Ballet Arts, Alex taught ballet technique, pointe, variations, repertory and modern dance.

Alex has also taught ballet technique, modern technique, composition and choreography, improvisation, and movement for actors in a wide variety of settings, including locally, staff classes at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Williamstown Theater Festival, Williams College, Simon’s Rock of Bard College, and at Pulse!  He has also taught musculo-skeletal anatomy, kinesiology, and movement assessment.
 

Jennifer Daily, LICSW

Jennifer Daily, LICSW, is a graduate of The Silberman School of School Work at Hunter College and Cedar Crest College. She is a consultant for many Berkshire County school districts and regularly trains educators on topics including Anxiety, ADHD, and Trauma. Ms. Daily has a particular interest in the role of adverse childhood experiences, the effects of learning styles on school based behavioral issues, and the intersection of mental health and education.

A central tenet of her work is collaboration, and Ms. Daily has focused on building bridges between children, families, educators, providers, and wider community systems. She was an early part of the Southern Berkshire Collaborative Care Team, working to increase collaborative care between children, pediatricians, schools, and families. Ms. Daily has spent nearly two decades working in the Education and Mental Health fields, treating adolescents with complex mental health, trauma, and learning needs.

She has previously worked with the Allentown School District in Allentown, PA, Lehigh Valley Health and Hospital Network in Pennsylvania, The Andrus Children’s Center in Yonkers, NY, and currently practices in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. Ms. Daily is a co-author of the S.E.L.F. Psychoeducational Group Curriculum through The Sanctuary Institute, a world-renowned leader in Trauma informed care. Ms. Daily also develops group therapy protocols for iHope Network, a leading online mental health provider.

She serves on the Board of Berkshire Pulse — a community performing arts organization that focuses on the health, well-being, and leadership of its students, as well as The Center for Peace through Culture — a non-profit dedicated to creating communities that live peacefully and creatively, in addition to those non-profit boards, Ms. Daily also serves on the Parish Council at Monterey United Church of Christ, and the Planning Board for the Town of Otis.

Jeff Diamond

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

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 J. Ferris

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

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.

Alan Glackman, CPA

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 Humes

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 NewsEvening 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. 

Shana Parkeharrison

Shana ParkeHarrison grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She trained with Moscelyne Larkin and Roman Jasinski and was a member of Tulsa Ballet. During summer intensives she received additional training with dancers including, Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower, Marjorie Tallchief and Georgina Parkinson. While pursuing a BFA in Art she continued to dance and perform in productions including Oklahoma!. Shana has taught ballet at schools in Worcester, MA, at Flowering Child (the precursor to Berkshire Pulse) and at The National Dance Museum’s School for the Arts in Saratoga Springs, NY. Shana creates art with her husband Robert. The ParkeHarrisons have exhibited extensively nationally and internationally. Their works are in permanent collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, Musee d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, LACMA, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, and The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American Art.

Berkshire Pulse