Riverside Expands its Board, Sharpens Focus on Strategic Planning
New members will bring diverse experience to the board room as Riverside focuses on expanding programs and employment.
Easthampton, MA – Riverside Industries, Inc. (RSI) announced today four new members have joined its board of directors – all collectively beginning their terms of service with the start of the new year.
“Our board of directors strives to be representative of the community we serve,” said Lynn Ireland, President and CEO of RSI. “We offer programming to individuals of incredibly diverse backgrounds and all abilities. As we dig deeper into our strategic planning process and envision the future of this agency, I am excited to draw on the experiences and talents of an equally diverse board of directors. I am especially happy to continue RSI’s longstanding tradition of giving voice on the board to our program participants and their care givers.” Jacob Demling, a RSI program participant, and his mother, Rebecca Demling, are both new additions to the board.
Melissa Pike has renewed her commitment to serve as Chair of the Board for RSI, a position she has held since 2021. “I am honored to continue serving RSI in this way and thrilled to begin this term by welcoming new members to our board. Their input will be invaluable as we move into the final stage of strategic planning,” said Pike. “This cohort of new members adds an important perspective and diverse skill set to RSI’s governing body that will be necessary as we design the Strategic Framework and the organizational initiatives that will guide our work for years to come.”
All four new board members began their term with RSI effective January 2024. The four new board members are:
Kasey Corsello - Integrative Life and Entrepreneur Coach
Kasey partners with her clients to shine light on the internal barriers and blocks, focusing on the bigger vision so that they can shift from surviving to thriving. Kasey is a TedX speaker, an ICF Professional Certified Coach, an educator, an economic ecosystem builder, a writer, an ex-ex-pat, a possibilitarian and small business owner. She is Co-Owner and Founder of Corsello Butcheria, a whole-animal, Italian-style butcher shop in Easthampton, and founder and co-facilitator of the Business Blueprint Program. You can often find her at many of her kids' sporting events or at home with her two dogs and two cats.
Rebecca and Jacob Demling
Becky worked for the Amherst Public School's Early Education Center for 14 years before joining the Town of Amherst Recreation Department as the Outreach Director. She has been an active volunteer within the Amherst community since moving there in 2008. Her son, Jacob, joined Riverside in the fall of 2017 and currently participates in RSI’s community-based employment program and is employed at UMass Amherst.
Billy McBride - Associate Athletic Director for Diversity and Inclusion, the Director of Club Sports, and as a Senior Coach at Amherst College
An active member of the community, McBride is also the department’s liaison to the Center for Community Engagement, Admission Office, Human Resources Office and served as a NESCAC conference Diversity Inclusion Equity Committee Member in 2021 and as Amherst’s Diversity & Inclusion representative to the NCAA in 2019. Click here to read his full bio on the Amherst College staff directory and learn more about Billy’s work in the areas of Coaching, The Arts, Motivational Speaking, Philanthropy, and his career as a professional athlete.