MCLA Professor Named Outstanding Educator of the Year by Massachusetts Society of CPAs

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — North Adams resident and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts assistant professor Tara Barboza has been selected as the 2020 Outstanding Educator of the Year by the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants, the professional association of certified public accountants, representing over 11,000 members. 

Each year, the MSCPA recognizes a full-time accounting educator at a college or university who has demonstrated excellence in a classroom teaching, motivating students and inspiring educational innovation.

Barboza was selected for her excellence in teaching and motivating students, as well as her contribution to the accounting profession, active participation in the society and her efforts in serving as a liaison between the classroom and the business world.

An assistant professor of accounting, business administration and economics, Barboza joined MCLA in 2016 and serves as the coordinator of entrepreneurial programs and on the Academic Policies and Curriculum Committee. She formed an IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program in 2019, creating numerous on-campus internship opportunities for students and providing valuable service-learning experiences. In response to the closure of several area VITA programs because of the coronavirus, Barboza brought the program online, and her students have continued to serve their communities and increase early access to the economic stimulus payments virtually. 

A valued advisor working with students who are studying public accounting, Barboza is actively involved in the college and local community, working to strengthen ties between MCLA, the Berkshire community and the accounting profession. She co-created the Principals of Accounting Certificate for nontraditional students at MCLA and has created courses in financial literacy and entrepreneurial accounting. 

Additionally, she is the faculty advisor for the MCLA Accounting Club and works with area accounting firms to create internship opportunities for students. Furthermore, Barboza serves as corporator of the MCLA Foundation and a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. She is also an active member of the MSCPA's Academic and Career Development Committee.

"The MSCPA is thrilled to celebrate the achievements of this remarkable woman for her outstanding contributions to her students, her community and the accounting profession," said Amy Pitter, president and CEO of the MSCPA.

Barboza has three children with her husband, Michael Hernandez. She is looking forward to her first grandchild this summer.

Vegan Restaurateurs Offer North County New Options

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:49AM / Monday, August 12, 2024

Above, a cold Lithuanian beet soup featured on the website of North Adams' Wish Tree; below, a green curry made with fava beans, cubanelle pepper, bamboo shoot and basil and served with jasmine rice.

 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Six years ago, Benjamin Dinsmore and Tracy Rackauskas saw a hole in the restaurant market that hit very close to home.

 

"Denver needed good vegan tacos," Rackauskas said, referring to the Colorado city she and Dinsmore called home at the time. "We felt a need."

 

"So, our youngest son has a lot of allergies," Dinsmore picks up the story. "[Rackauskas] was a vegetarian before, and because [their son] has a milk allergy and an egg allergy and, for ethical reasons, everyone in our family became vegan.

 

"I was the last one to join them, which was like the day before we opened the taco truck."

 

That business, dubbed Migration Taco, later migrated itself from Denver to southern Arizona and, finally, to the Steeple City, where Rackauskas and Dinsmore established a new base of operations for the mobile eatery in 2023.

 

This year, the family took on a new challenge, purchasing the historic West End Market building at 437 West Main St. and opening the city's first vegan restaurant, Wish Tree.

 

The journey that began in 2019 has confirmed both the need for vegan dining options and the ability of Dinsmore and Rackauskas to fill that void.