Vanessa Smith Named Chair of HCC Board of Trustees

HOLYOKE — Vanessa Smith, former chief legal officer for Baystate Health, has been named the new chair of the Holyoke Community College board of trustees.

Smith has served on the HCC board since 2021. She was recently reappointed by Gov. Maura Healey to a five-year term and also designated as the permanent chair. She has been serving as interim chair since former chair Robert Gilbert stepped down in November 2023. Her term runs until March 1, 2030.

“As a first-generation college student, I have experienced firsthand the value of education, the power of education to change lives,” Smith said at a recent HCC board of trustees meeting. “As a member of this board, I’ve gotten to see directly the challenges that our students face, and it’s reinforced my commitment to student access and student success.”

Smith is a lawyer with more than 35 years of legal experience. Until March, she had served as the chief legal officer for Baystate Health in Springfield for nine years. Before that, she was a partner in the Springfield law firm Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas. She started her career in Upstate New York, where she worked as a judicial law clerk and an assistant attorney general.

She is a graduate of Syracuse University College of Law and holds a bachelor’s degree in French language and literature from Wells College. Over the years, her volunteer work has included serving on the boards of Friends of the Homeless, the Center for Human Development, and the Springfield Public Forum.

“I want to be part of an institution that helps people change their trajectory, not just for themselves, but for their families and for their communities,” Smith said. “Serving on this board feels like a good fit.”