A&F Team Celebrates Connection, Collaboration, and Community at Biannual Town Hall

On June 10, the Administration & Finance (A&F) team came together for its biannual Town Hall, a morning focused on sharing updates, highlighting accomplishments, and strengthening connections across the organization.

Senior Vice President, Administration & Finance and Treasurer Lisa Calise opened the program with welcoming remarks and introduced guest speaker Chancellor Mark Fuller from the Dartmouth campus. Kelsey McCauley played a key role in MC’ing the event, helping guide the morning’s program and keep the Town Hall moving smoothly. Fun walk-up music added to the upbeat energy and helped create a lively, welcoming atmosphere for attendees.

Chancellor Fuller’s presentation offered valuable perspective from across the UMass system and helped set an engaging and thoughtful tone for the day.

Throughout the morning, colleagues heard updates from several departments across A&F. Presenters shared important information, recent accomplishments, and upcoming initiatives from their respective areas.

Presenters included Sudharshan Baswa, Deirdre Delaney, Neha Ajgaonkar, Sara Veilleux, Susie Morneault, Erika O’Malley, Patrick Lynch, Joseph Skrzek, Patrick Hitchcock, Mike Greer, Anne Zuev, and Sean Curry.

The event also featured a fun and memorable interactive moment as LeeAnn Pasquini shared highlights of her completed mission to sit at every desk throughout Washington Street. Attendees then put their knowledge to the test during a lively Kahoot! competition, answering questions about LeeAnn’s favorite workspace, best view, loudest location, where headphones are most needed, and even the best place to sneak out early.

Congratulations to the top three winners, Deirdre Delaney, Kelly Gregroy and Ruth O’Keefe for their impressive guessing skills!

To close out the morning program, Senior Vice President Lisa Calise and the Executive Management Team surprised attendees with UMass A&F team shirts. The gesture brought an added sense of excitement and unity to the event, and colleagues soon gathered in the rotunda wearing their new shirts for a team photo that captured the spirit of collaboration and community across A&F.

The Town Hall concluded with a luncheon, giving colleagues time to connect, reflect on the updates and accomplishments shared throughout the morning, and celebrated another successful gathering together.