Haverhill and Lawrence, MA (July 27, 2021)-Nine local business and community leaders were recently appointed to the Northern Essex Community College Foundation Board.

New members include Tim Coco ’90, of Haverhill, president and general manager of WHAV; Frank Cousins Jr. of Newburyport, MA, former Essex County sheriff; Eduardo Crespo ’70, of Boca Raton, FL, founder and CEO of Hispanic Market Solution; Jose Cruz of Salem, NH, vice president and commercial loan officer, Reading Cooperative Bank; Derek Davoli of Haverhill, SVP/regional vice president, TD Bank; Mark Forman of Merrimac, director of business development, Bake’n Joy Foods, Inc; Travis Jacobs, ’98, of Quincy, founder/managing partner, Jacobs Law; Caroline Pineau of Haverhill, owner/CEO, Stem; and Dr. Kristyn Pistone, president/CEO, Pistone Foot Center.

Tim Coco is a graduate of Northern Essex who went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Lesley University. He has previously served on the college’s Occupational Advisory Board and the Graphic Arts Advisory Board and currently is a member of the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center Business Leaders Network, and a commissioner of the Essex National Heritage Commission. WHAV is a non-commercial radio station that serves Haverhill, MA.

Frank Cousins Jr. attended Northern Essex before transferring to Springfield College, where he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He served as Essex County Sheriff from 1996 to 2016 and was recently the president of the Newburyport Chamber of Commerce.

Also a graduate of Northern Essex, Eduardo Crespo earned a bachelor’s in economics from UMass/Boston. Based in Methuen, MA, his company, Hispanic Market Solution, helps businesses and institutions engage with Hispanics and other multi-cultural groups in the US. Crespo immigrated to the US from Ecuador.

Jose Cruz joined Reading Cooperative Bank in 2019. Prior to that, he had worked in financial and banking services for Enterprise Bank and Sage Bank. He is a member of the board of The Professional Center for Child Development and he coaches volleyball at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem. A graduate of Southern New Hampshire University, he is currently an MBA candidate at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.

A graduate of Merrimack College with an MBA from Suffolk University, Derek Davoli is current president of Haverhill Girls Softball and a former president of Riverside Bradford Baseball.

A member of the Northern Essex Board of Trustees from 2009 until earlier this year, Mark Forman is a graduate of UMass Amherst. He served as president of Boston Coffee Cake for 18 years, until 2010 when he took on his current position with Bake’n Joy Foods.

After graduating from Northern Essex with a Paralegal degree, Travis Jacobs earned a bachelor’s from Bentley University, a master’s from the London School of Economics, and a law degree from Suffolk University. A member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, his Boston-based practice focuses on corporate and business law. Jacobs currently serves on the NECC Alumni Board and is the alumni representative on the NECC Foundation Board.

Caroline Pineau is the former owner of The Yoga Tree and the current owner of Stem, a cannabis dispensary, located in downtown Haverhill. A graduate of the College of Charleston, she recently participated in the LEADS Fellowship, an executive leadership program offered in partnership with Harvard Business School.

Dr. Kristyn Pistone is a member of the American Academy of Podiatric Practice Management, board certified in podiatric surgery and medicine; and a staff physician at Holy Family Hospital. While she was earning her undergraduate degree from Stonehill College, she took summer courses at Northern Essex. She received her Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree from Barry University in Miami, FL.

The NECC Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that provides support for the college and its students. Incorporated in 1972, the Foundation assists NECC by making connections with the business community, foundations, and other potential revenue sources. It additionally hosts fundraisers and special events.

Funds raised are used for student scholarships, equipment purchases, program revitalization efforts, faculty and staff development, and other needs as they arise and as approved by the Foundation Board of Directors. Board members are appointed to multi-year terms.

For more information about the NECC Foundation or giving to NECC, contact Allison Dolan-Wilson, vice president of institutional advancement and executive director of NECC Foundation, Inc.at 978 556-3624 or adolanwilson@necc.mass.edu.

Northern Essex Community College has campuses in both Haverhill and Lawrence. It offers approximately 60 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth.  Each year, 6,000 students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and another 2,000 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley.  For more information, visit the website at www.necc.mass.edu or call 978-556-3700.