BCC hires new faculty and staff

Maryann Carnes has been hired as an Assistant Professor of Nursing. Carnes recently retired from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs where she worked as the Risk Manager and subsequently as the Diabetes Educator and the Program Manager of Care Coordination and Telehealth. She also has previously worked as an Adjunct Nursing instructor at BCC and has an Associate degree in Nursing from BCC, a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Elms College, and a Master of Science degree in nursing from the University of Phoenix.  

Amanda Osgood has been hired as the Assistant Nursing Professor Practical Nursing. Previously, she worked at Berkshire Medical Center for the past 18 years in a variety of nursing roles. She also worked for Berkshire Health Systems as an instructor for Certified Nursing Assistant Program for the past four years. She currently still holds these roles along with her work at BCC. Amanda lives in Pittsfield and has her Associate degree in nursing degree from BCC and her Bachelor of Science in nursing degree from University of Phoenix. 

Karen Hines has been hired as an Associate Professor of Business. She previously worked at Holyoke Community College. Hines lives in Lee and has her Bachelor in Science degree from Albright College Reading Pennsylvnaia where she majored in marketing with a minor in communications, and she has her Master in Business Administration degree from American International College. In addition to teaching, Hines speaks at national conference about the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) that are freely accessible, openly licensed text, media, and other digital assets that are useful for teaching, learning, and assessing as well as for research purposes.

Andy Ottoson has been hired as the new Administrative Assistant to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at BCC. He previously worked for NADAP, which is a social services agency contracted by NYC’s Human Resources Administration to connect Public Assistant Applicants and Recipients to treatment services for Substance Use Disorders and as a freelance director/producer/stage manager in theater and opera. He lives in Pittsfield and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater from Webster University in St. Louis.

Sarah Polo has been hired as an associate professor of Nursing in the ADN program, and she currently works as an IV therapist at Berkshire Medical Center. Polo lives in Pittsfield and has two associate degrees from BCC in theater and nursing, a Bachelor in Education degree from SUNY Albany, and a Master in Science degree in nursing leadership from Walden University.

Joshua Costa has been hired as the Institutional Security Officer III at the College. Previously, he worked as the College’s Facilities/Evening Crew Leader. He is a graduate of the New Hampshire Part-Time Police Academy class and the New Hampshire Campus Safety Academy Class. Costa is also a Certified Mental Health Worker issued by New Hampshire State Hospital. He is currently working on completing his associate’s degree in Criminal Justice at Eastern Gateway Community College.

Alicia Starsja, a recent BCC graduate, earning her associate’s degree in social work, has accepted the position of Program Assistant for TRIO at the College.  Starsja brings three years of TRIO experience and national certification as a Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Counselor. She is studying to earn her bachelor’s degree in social work at the Elms College.

Heidi Bailey, who was an Administrative Assistant II in the Human Resources office, has moved to become an Administrative Assistant II in Student Financial Services Office at the College.

Deborah Carderella, who was an Administrative Assistant in the Humanities division, has moved to become an Administrative Assistant in the Student Engagement Center.