Board & Committees

Linda Dunlavy, President, serving since 2001
Linda Dunlavy is the Executive Director of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG).  Over her 30-plus year career, Linda has worked with many regional partners to improve the conditions of Franklin County and western MA.  In addition to being chair of the board of RDI, Linda is the gubernatorial appointment to the Board of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute and Massachusetts Rural Policy Advisory Commission, which she chairs.

Clare Higgins, Treasurer, serving since 2011
Clare is the Executive Director at Community Action Pioneer Valley — the federally designated anti-poverty agency serving more than 30,000 of our neighbors in Franklin, Hampshire, Western Hampden, and North Quabbin regions. Clare worked as an early childhood educator, and is perhaps most widely recognized for her lengthy political career after having served three terms on the Northampton City Council and six terms as Mayor of the City of Northampton from January of 2000 to September of 2011. Clare is currently a trustee of Greenfield Community College, and a member of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center and Way Finders boards.

Regina Curtis, Secretary, serving since 2000
Regina retired in 2021 from her position as Executive Director of Institutional Advancement at Greenfield Community College, having served for 16 years. Prior to joining the college, she worked in the Massachusetts General Court, serving on the legislative staff of State Representative Stephen Kulik (D-Worthington) as District Coordinator for six years, a position she accepted after twenty years working in the fields of municipal government and human services. She is a proud alum of Greenfield Community College, Mass College of Liberal Arts and Fitchburg State University. Regina has also supported her community through decades of involvement in several community activities, including serving on the Boards of LifePath and Greenfield Savings Bank.

Leslie Brown, serving since 2014
Leslie is a life-long resident of Franklin County, growing up in Conway and living in Erving for the past 43 years. Her career has focused on finance. Ms. Brown has worked at both the Greenfield Housing Authority and at HRA, in addition to finance roles at local private schools. Leslie was invited to become a Commissioner for HRA in 2010 and currently serves as the Treasurer. She is an active member and the moderator of the First Congregational Church of Montague and is the warden for the Town of Erving elections and recently became a member of the Erving Cultural Council. Her greatest joy is spending time with her young grandsons.

Levi Roman, serving since 2017
Levi is currently the Senior Principal at Citizens Disability, LLC., headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, which helps people to secure social security disability benefits nationwide. He also maintains a private practice in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, focusing on social security disability benefits and appeals. Previously, Attorney Roman was an Associate at the Northampton based firm Green Miles Lipton, LLP.

Bill Breitbart, serving since 2019
Bill has worked in the field of nonprofit affordable housing for over 40 years. He began his career as a staff attorney at Western Massachusetts Legal Services, specializing in public benefits and housing issues. He served as Executive Director of HAP, Inc. (now Way Finders), then became a founding partner of MBL Housing and Development, which provides consulting services to organizations that are engaged in the development of affordable and supportive housing projects. In 2004, he joined the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) as Director of Housing for Central and Western Massachusetts. Since his retirement from CEDAC, he has served as an advisor to a number of housing and community development organizations.

Faith Williams, serving since 2021
Faith has worked in the field of affordable housing for over 30 years. She oversees 811 units of affordable housing in 23 properties owned and/or managed by Way Finders. Beyond a commitment to maintaining properties that support residents’ well-being, Faith oversees Resident Services and collaborates with the Real Estate Development Division to ensure the overall success of properties in their development pipeline.

Shaundell Diaz, serving since 2022
Shaundell Diaz is a Latina and a Person with Lived Experience who works as the Coordinated Entry Specialist for the Three County Continuum of Care/Community Action Pioneer Valley. She serves as a co-chair for the Communities that Care Coalition’s Racial Justice Workgroup, co-founder of the Hampden County Resource Network, a consultant for the National Coalition for the Homeless and serves as a Board Member for Craig’s Doors.

Real Estate Development Committee

In 2022, the RDI Board formed a Real Estate Development Committee to help refine and guide our development pipeline. Committee members include:

• Joanie Bernstein, retired
• Bill Breitbart, RDI Director, retired
• Peter Graham, Valley Housing Consultants, LLC
• Peter Serafino, Home City Development, Inc.