1Berkshire Leadership Team
Michael Supranowicz, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, 1Berkshire
President and CEO, Berkshire Chamber of Commerce
Michael Supranowicz is president and chief executive officer of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce; formerly he held the position of vice-president, chief operating officer, which was created as a result of the 2001 merger of the former Northern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce of the Berkshires. Prior to the merger he served as the executive director of the Northern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce.
Supranowicz was selected to participate in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Workforce Preparation’s Workforce Development Leadership program in Washington D.C. and he worked with U.S. Department of Labor in the development of O*Net the National Occupational Information Network. A vice-president of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board, he created the Berkshire Vacancy Survey, a study of the county’s job vacancies, and worked closely with the BEDC on the Berkshire Employment Outlook.
Supranowicz was co-chair of the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative and serves on the Early Education for All Campaign Advisory Committee (CAC). Dr. Mary Grant, president of MCLA, tapped Supranowicz to serve on the executive committee and to lead one of the four groups implementing strategies from the Berkshire Compact for Higher Education.
On behalf of the Berkshire Chamber he has completed a 2002 Workforce Leadership Course at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C., and helped coordinate a data collection program for the U.S. Department of Labor. Supranowicz sits on the board and is the western regional vice-president of the Massachusetts Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. In May 2011, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick appointed Supranowicz to a five-year term on the Board of Trustees for Berkshire Community College.
Supranowicz serves on the board of directors of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board and on the steering committee for the Berkshire Leadership Program. He is a corporator for MCLA, co-chair of the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative Steering Committee, and serves on the Governor’s Regional Competitiveness Council Education and Workforce Task Force.
Supranowicz, a lifelong resident of the county, currently resides in Cheshire, Massachusetts, with his wife, Dianne, and son, Jonathon. He attended Berkshire Community College and is completing a degree in business administration at MCLA.
Michael Supranowicz can be reached at msupranowicz@berkshirechamber.com.
Lauri Klefos, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, 1Berkshire
President and CEO, Berkshire Visitors Bureau
In March 2008, Lauri Ostrander Klefos was hired as president and CEO of the Berkshire Visitors Bureau, the official regional tourism council for Berkshire County. Prior to coming to the Berkshires, she was president of the Arizona Tourism Alliance and director of Tourism Marketing for Moses Anshell Advertising in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1994 she was appointed as director of Travel and Tourism for the State of New Hampshire. In this role she was chair of Discover New England and the National Association of State Development Agencies’ Tourism Development Committee.
Prior to her career in destination marketing, Klefos worked for the State of New Hampshire’s Division of Economic Development for eight years beginning as a research analyst where she instituted the first statewide online site selection database which won national awards for innovation in state government. She served for five years as the assistant director of Economic Development, overseeing the development of the state’s International Trade Center and the Office of Business Development’s marketing efforts. As assistant director she created and supervised budgets and HR issues.
Klefos’ current boards and affiliations include Berkshire Film & Media Commission BOD; Berkshire Creative Council BOD; Housatonic Heritage Board of Overseers; Massachusetts State Advisory Council on Travel & Tourism BOD; Massachusetts Regional Tourism Council; Massachusetts Lodging Association Advisory; Discover New England Advisory; Destination Marketing Association International; Berkshire Audience Initiative Advisory; Berkshire Festival Task Force; Berkshire Blueprint Steering Committee; Berkshire Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Steering Committee; Sustainable Berkshires Regional Consortium; Housatonic RR Advisory; and MCLA Foundation, Inc.
Klefos’ interest in marketing started in 1974 when she went to work for the U.S. Forest Service, Smokey the Bear Headquarters in Washington D.C. Klefos is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University. She has strong ties to the Berkshires; both her parents were born and raised in the county and as a child she spent many vacations in the region. She currently resides in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and has two step-sons living in Cleveland, Ohio.
Lauri Klefos can be reached at lklefos@berkshires.org.
