Category Archives: Personnel Briefs

Flatley Read Inc., an environmental and community development services firm based in Schuylerville, hired Colin McKnight as director of community development programs.

McKnight, formerly the deputy director of the New York State Rural Housing Coalition, will be working with small municipalities across New York state on issues such as affordable housing, historic preservation and other challenges to thriving, vital neighborhoods. 

A graduate of the College of St. Rose and Hudson Valley Community College, McKnight is a HUD-Certified HOME Program trainer/compliance reviewer, a NeighborWorks-certified homebuyer group educator, and an experienced trainer and technical assistance provider in affordable housing development and preservation, economic development, and Main Street Revitalization.  

He has worked with the Housing Assistance Council of Washington, D.C. on assessment and capacity-building work for HUD grantees in California, Wisconsin and Indiana. 

McKnight has assisted communities to secure funding for historic preservation projects, tourism facilities, multifamily housing projects, single family rehabilitation, and nursing home expansion. He has also taught grant writing to community volunteers in partnership with USDA Rural Development.

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NBT Bank announced Mark Sidoti has joined the company as a community banker.

He is based at the NBT office located at 295 Broadway in Saratoga Springs.

As community banker, Sidoti will be responsible for managing customer relationships and serving as a financial partner for the Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls region.

Sidoti brings more than 30 years of business development and sales experience in the telecommunications, payroll, outsourcing, and employee benefits industries.

An active member of the community, he serves as the treasurer of the Glens Falls Civic Center Foundation board, and as an ambassador for the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.

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Upstate Agency LLC announced that Kevin Rucinski recently joined the team as commercial lines practice leader.

Rucinski will be responsible for the management, leadership and growth of the commercial lines division, including oversight of day-to-day operations, projects and profitability goals. He will develop and execute both strategic and tactical plans to ensure long-term success, client retention and growth of the commercial lines practice.

Rucinski brings more than 14 years of insurance experience in the greater Capital Region to the company.

He is certified through the International Risk Management Institute (IRMI) as a construction risk insurance specialist (CRIS), and through the National Underwriter Company as a commercial lines coverage specialist (CLCS). He is licensed with the New York State Department of Financial Services as a property and casualty insurance agent/broker.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I. He currently lives in Wilton.

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First New York Federal Credit Union announced that Brandon Talar has joined its Lending Department as a mortgage loan originator

Talar is responsible for new residential mortgages and identifying, developing, and maintaining a network of business relationships for the credit union. He will meet with prospective borrowers, analyzing credit and financial data and determining borrower financing objectives and goals.

His work experience includes Lia CJDR as a finance manager; NorthStar Chevrolet as a finance director/sales manager; Goldstein Auto Group as a finance manager and Northeast Acura as a sales associate.

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NBT Bancorp Inc. announced that Scott A. Kingsley has been appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Kingsley will join NBT’s executive management team and be based at the company’s headquarters in Norwich, NY.

He brings 35 years of experience to his new role, including 16 years as a member of the leadership team at Community Bank System, Inc. where he served as chief operating officer and prior to that as chief financial officer.

Kingsley started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers and was employed there for eight years before joining the Carlisle Companies, Inc., a large publicly traded manufacturer and distributor, where he served first as corporate controller and then as chief financial officer of its Carlisle Engineered Products operating division.

A Certified Public Accountant, Kingsley earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting at Clarkson University. He is a community leader and volunteer, serving on the Crouse Health Foundation Board of Trustees and on the Audit and Finance Committee for the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse. He also volunteers with OnMyTeam16, a nonprofit organization supporting children in the fight against cancer, and is currently training for the 2021 Boston Marathon as part of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute team.

Roohan Realty announced that Jeana Labas has joined the team as a licensed real estate salesperson.

Labas has been with Kodiak Construction for seven years as office manager and client selection representative. She helps new construction clients throughout the process of building a home. She also joins Roohan Realty as Kodiak Construction’s seller agent, while maintaining her office manager duties.

The Saratoga Springs native attended Clarkson University, and returned to the area after school to build a home in Wilton.

 

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Timothy E. Blow, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Ballston Spa National Bank (BSNB), has announced his retirement effective Dec. 31.

Since joining BSNB in 2005, his responsibilities include strategic financial planning and oversight of the finance, IT, operations, compliance, and facilities functions.  Blow’s leadership at BSNB caps a 33-year career in the Capital Region working in audit, advisory and corporate banking roles.

“Tim’s contributions have been instrumental in helping BSNB achieve high levels of fiscal and operational effectiveness, the development of a sophisticated technology infrastructure, market expansion, and record financial performance. Of particular note was Tim’s leadership in the development of the company’s new corporate headquarters building in 2011,” said Christopher R. Dowd, president and chief executive officer at BSNB.

Roohan Realty announced that Jaime Williams has joined the team as a licensed real estate salesperson.

For more than 17 years, Williams has worked at Franklin Community Center, a nonprofit human service agency in Saratoga Springs. She was involved in program management, fundraising and development.

During her tenure, she had the opportunity to form many lasting relationships with both donors and clients, and those relationships were the highlight of her time there. In addition to her involvement with Franklin Community Center, she also serves on the board of directors for the Ballston Spa Education Foundation.

Jaime is originally from Massachusetts and moved to Ballston Spa in 2003.

Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP announced six new partners: Erin Callahan, Rochelle Cavanagh, Jon Crain, Cianna Freeman-Tolbert, Charles Gottlieb and Daniel Hubbell.
Callahan joined Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP in 2014 and is a member in the firm’s education, labor and employment, and litigation and appeals practice groups.
He works with employers on managing a broad array of employee-related matters and represents public and private employers in federal and state litigation, administrative proceedings and alternative dispute proceedings.
A member of the firm’s matrimonial and family law practice, Cavanagh is an experienced civil litigator who has focused her practice on matrimonial law, family court matters including custody, support and divorce actions.
Crain is an experienced trial lawyer and commercial litigator with the firm’s litigation and appeals practice group. He has litigated and arbitrated a broad range of matters, including corporate shareholder disputes, litigation regarding trade secrets and proprietary business information, commercial real estate and construction litigation, First Amendment and constitutional claims, business-to-business collection and breach of contract claims, and complex personal injury and products liability actions.

Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP announced that Donald T. Kinsella has joined the firm as senior counsel and Robert J. McLaughlin has joined as of counsel.
Kinsella joins Whiteman Osterman & Hanna with more than four decades of experience in complex criminal and civil litigation. He prosecuted and defended several significant high profile federal and state criminal cases in New York. He is a former chief of the Criminal Division of the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York.
McLaughlin will continue to focus his practice on gaming and lottery law, financial transactions and government compliance.
McLaughlin counsels gaming vendors, online gaming providers, state lotteries, and other entities in matters involving compliance with the complex federal and state regulation governing the gaming industry.
As bond counsel, he has represented the state Dormitory Authority, the state Environmental Facilities Corp., where he was the former general counsel, and the state Energy Resource and Development Authority/New York Green Bank. He has also represented numerous industrial development agencies and municipalities in the state.

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The Arrow Family of Companies recently announced the appointments of senior vice president Christine Snow to director of customer experience and senior vice president Marc Yrsha to director of relationship banking for Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Co. and Saratoga National Bank and Trust Co.
In her new role, Snow will oversee the customer experience unit, which includes the call center, and deposit, loan and branch operations. Together these teams care for our customers and ensure a positive and unified customer experience across many different business lines.
Snow joined the company in 2016 and most recently served as senior vice president of branch administration, overseeing all branch and call center functions.
In his new role, Yrsha will oversee the retail banking unit which includes frontline sales teams for retail, consumer, business and municipal banking, as well as small business and home equity lending. Together these teams will continue to focus on the customer and growing relationships in all our communities.

The Towne Law Firm PC announced the addition of recently retired state Appellate Division Justice Eugene Devine and attorney Jessica A. Rounds to its team.
Eugene, an Albany native, has been in private practice for more than 30 years, with a focus in the fields of pension/health insurance, labor, commercial, banking, real estate, and criminal law. He was elected justice of the New York Supreme Court in 2006. In 2014, he was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court, Third Department.
Before taking the bench, he was the Albany County public defender overseeing a staff of 35 attorneys and was also the chief attorney for the Albany County Department of Social Services.
Rounds is an associate attorney in the firm’s Albany office, focusing in the areas of civil litigation, commercial litigation, professional malpractice, personal injury, and general negligence.

Morgan Stanley has named Rhonda Viapiano as branch manager of its Albany branch office.
The Albany branch is part of three locations in the capital region for which she has oversight, including the Latham, and Saratoga Springs branch offices.
Viapiano has spent her entire 35 year career in financial services, performing a variety of roles in capital markets, sales, operations and field management.
Outside her role as branch manager, she is co-chair of Morgan Stanley’s National Diversity and Inclusion Council. In September 2018, Viapiano was named among the Top 10 branch managers by On Wall Street. In 2019, she was named a Morgan Stanley MAKER, a class of trailblazing women of accomplishment nominated by their peers. She has also spearheaded several educational forums in support of women business owners.

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Saratoga Hospital’s Saratoga Community Health Center has added a fifth primary care provider, Dr. Sophia Conroy, to help keep pace with increased demand for these services.
She joins Drs. Renee Rodriguez-Goodemote and Alexander Cardiel, family nurse practitioner Claudina Ashelman and physician assistant Kelly McAree on the primary care team.