Biz Buzz 413
Amplifying Voices in the Western Massachusetts Business Community
Episodes
This week on BIZ BUZZ 413, host Jill Monson is joined by Brandy Sullivan, UMass Dining Meal Plan Manager and they chat about the fabulous upcoming UMass 5K Dash and Dine. This event is more than just a run, it is a powerful example of community, wellness, and impact coming together in one event.
Hosted by UMass Dining, this annual race invites both campus and community members to get active while supporting a meaningful cause, with...
Jessika Rozki, owner and CEO of Rozki Rides, a small, woman-owned, and minority-owned certified business that provides professional and reliable transportation services for children and teens.
Spoiler alert – she shares BIG news with our audience first!!!
CONTACT INFO:
- Rozki Rides
- Jessika Rozki, owner and CEO
- Website: https://www.rozkirides.com
- Phone: (413) 314-3154
- Email: contact@rozkirides.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/...
Meet Sarah Tsisto, Executive Director at The Zoo in Forest Park and learn about their mission to inspire our community to respect and value the natural world through education, conservation and rehabilitation.
CONTACT INFO:
- Website: https://www.forestparkzoo.org
- Email: sarah@forestparkzoo.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thezooinforestpark
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forestparkzoo
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/...
Lynn Turner, Chief Explorer of Core Business XP Solutions. Helping individuals and organizations build a strong CORE (of People and Culture), so that they can weather this VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world!!
CONTACT INFO:
- Website: https://www.corebusinessxp.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynn-whitney-turner-256a5311
This week Jill is pumped to chat with Alex (Alexandria) Eberhardt, Executive Director of the Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce. They discuss...
- The Chamber’s drive for equitable economic development, how the Chamber helps strengthen regional competitiveness as a Commonwealth and how they promote and support Western Mass.
- Alex also shares thoughts about how becoming LGBTBE (LGBT Business Enterprise) Certified can give you a ...
The BIZ BUZZ 413 guest this week is Gordon Oliver, Director of Business Development with Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. Host Jill Monson and Gordon chat about how debt isn’t a failure, how just making minimum credit card payments can keep people stuck in debt, what someone can do to get out from under debt, the idea of a spending plan vs. a budget, about employer workshops, and more.
CONTACT INFO:
- Gordon Oliver, Director of B...
This week on BIZ BUZZ 413 we sit down with Gabrielle "Gaby" King Morse, the President & CEO for the Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE) for a sneak peek to the March 413 Entrepreneur Spotlight with our partner, Common Capital. They’re the guest – sign up now the event sells out each month (it’s free but all seats get reserved) > https://community.livinglocal413.org/event/413-entrepreneur-spotlight-march.
Gaby an...
Live from the 413 Entrepreneur Spotlight (February) with our partner, Common Capital.
Our guest is Ray Berry from White Lion Brewing Company. Check them out at https://www.whitelionbrewing.com.
Thank you to our Groundbreaker sponsor, Home City Development!
Live from the 413 Entrepreneur Spotlight (February) with our partner, Common Capital.
The Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA) is our featured partner this month. BECMA is dedicated to advancing the economic well-being of Black businesses and communities across the state.
Our guests are Jae’da Turner, Senior Manager of Development and Member Relations, and Chris Sonnie, Pipeline and Programs Manager at BECMA.
Live from the 413 Entrepreneur Spotlight (February) with our partner, Common Capital.
Our guest is Victoria Accorsi, Community Financial Coach at United Way Pioneer Valley. Here about the Thrive Financial Wellness program they offer plus lots more going on. Check them out at https://www.uwpv.org.
Thank you to our Groundbreaker sponsor, Home City Development!
We are joined by the remarkable Samalid Hogan, CEO of Greylock Management Consulting. She shares more about her company, about why the need for bilingual expertise is key to success, about a new and VERY exciting program called the BII GreenEdge Accelerator, plus other helpful tips and resources for small business owners here in Western Mass.
GUEST CONTACT INFO & RESOURCES:
- Samalid Hogan, CEO & Principal Consultant, Grey...
This week host, Jill Monson, has a SWEET guest just in time to talk Valentine’s Day. She welcomes Tarah Warner, the 413’s very own Willy Wonka – chocolatier and owner of Truffles by Tarah.
This Berkshire-based business is a PERFECT solution for a Valentine’s (or Galentine’s) Day gift, but more than that, she’s doing big things for the local economy by supporting truly collaborative relationships.
Have you ever wondered how someone ...
Another episode of BIZ BUZZ 413 is LIVE and this is one you DO NOT WANT TO MISS! This week, Jill Monson, our host sits down (finally LOL) with founder and President of Living Local 413, Bill Cole.
They chat about a lot including…
- What does it mean when we say the organization is a regional Business Community Development Organization.
- What are the benefits of 413online.com – what Jill call’s our LinkedIn “local”.
- The VERY popular ...
Join Jill Monson with guest Elizabeth Staples; founder, president and co-owner of The Good Dog Spot. On this 'Beyond the BIZ Card' episode they go behind the scenes and discuss her background as an entrepreneur, balancing a family, and more; plus you can only imagine how many animals she has in her “zoo” at home.
Guest Contact Info
- The Good Dog Spot
- (413) 534-1333
- 35 C North Chicopee Street Chicopee, MA 01020
- 139 King Stre...
Welcome to Season 3 of BIZ BUZZ 413. Host Jill Monson is so excited to sit down with the new President & CEO of the Western Mass Economic Development Council (EDC), Aaron Vega, along with Xiomara DeLobato, Vice President and Chief of Staff. They have an awesome conversation (include a few laughs) about the goals under Aaron’s leadership, what Xiomara would like to see next, and of course you get a chance to know a bit more abou...
For this last episode of 2025 it’s a special episode - a ‘Beyond the BIZ Card’ feature with Angela Park, Executive Director & Co-Founder of Springfield Performing Arts Ventures at 52 Sumner ("SPAV"). Host Jill Monson takes you behind the scenes with Angela and they discuss, among other things, the conversion of a historic church to a venue, her background as an entrepreneur, and the upcoming 2026 line-up.
Contact info...
This week we chat with Emily Carlson, Agency Owner at We Do Travel Right. We discuss:
- The myths about working with a travel agent,
- Why WDTR’s tagline “Life is short… take the trip” is so much more than just a marketing line… it’s a mantra. And how everyone needs to consider making this part of their life.
- Cool places people should check out in 2026 (for families or grown-up only get-a-ways),
- Plus, Jill asks Emily what’s her favo...
Host Jill Monson shares about Dri Umbrellas.
- What exactly is a Dri umbrella?
- Why do you need one?
- And more specifically... What can getting this one umbrella do for the greater good?
GUEST CONTACT INFO
- Deirdre Bird
- Founder & CEO of Dri Umbrellas
- Website: www.dri.earth
- Email: deirdre@dri.earth
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deirdre-h-bird-0abbb087
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DriUmbrellas
- Instagram: https://...
This week’s BIZ BUZZ 413 episode drops a few days early because of the holiday. Jill, our host, had a blast welcoming Dawn Creighton, Liberty Bank’s Community Outreach Officer. They chatted about a very important survey that entrepreneurs are being asked to participate in, about the bank’s mantra “Be Community Kind” and what it really means for us who live here, and about their Academy for Small Business.
CONTACT OUR GUEST:
- Dawn...
Thank you to Bax from Rock’s “Bax and Nagle” morning show for joining host Jill Monson to share about their annual Mayflower Marathon. It returns this coming Monday for three days leading up to Thanksgiving!
Bax and Nagle will broadcast for 52 hours, from 6am on Monday, November 24th until 10am on Wednesday, November 26th from outside the South End Market at MGM Springfield!
Their goal is to fill as many trailers as possible with non...
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