BIC YouTube Videos

MCLA biology professor Ann Billetz reflects on a difficult first semester of college, the mentors who encouraged her to continue, and her decision to pursue teaching. She shares how those experiences shape her support for students today. Professor Ann Billetz joins Dr. Dennis Rebelo to discuss her path from growing up in Akron, Ohio, to teaching biology at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), where she also coordinates the Berkshire STEM Network and serves as faculty athletic representative. As an only child who loved reading science fiction and fantasy, Ann entered Walsh College planning to become an optometrist, but after skipping classes and struggling academically during her first semester, she considered leaving college altogether. Encouraged by her then-boyfriend, now husband, and her parents, she returned for another semester, attended classes consistently, studied more, set boundaries, and saw her grades improve. Supportive professors later invited her to become a teaching assistant, an experience that led her to consider teaching, and an advisor at Cleveland State University encouraged her to continue beyond a master's degree to a PhD. Ann then spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute, where she enjoyed the laboratory work but missed the collaboration and direct contact with students she had experienced in graduate school. She explains how that realization helped her choose a career centered on teaching and how her own early academic difficulties allow her to reassure students that one unsuccessful semester does not define them. At MCLA, she supports student-athletes as a liaison between academics and athletics and describes how early clinical observation placements help freshmen and sophomores test their interests before committing further to a career path. She also discusses the importance of approachable faculty, tutoring and academic support resources, and making students comfortable asking for help, particularly when college is unfamiliar to them. Reflecting on what she wants to be known for, Ann says she hopes students remember that she helped them achieve their goals, and she describes keeping her office open for conversation, encouragement, and even a little chocolate. Links Ann Billetz faculty profile: https://dev.mcla.edu/about-mcla/faculty/ann-billetz/ Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts: https://www.mcla.edu/ Berkshire STEM Network: https://mcla.mass.edu/mcla-in-the-community/berkshire-stem-network/index.php Berkshire Health Systems: https://www.berkshirehealthsystems.org/ Berkshire Innovation Center: https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/ Narrative Research Group: https://narrativeresearchgroup.org/ Contributors Ann Billetz, Dr. Dennis Rebelo, Nate Christy, Shannon Rebelo. #AnnBilletz, #MCLA, #MassachusettsCollegeOfLiberalArts, #Biology, #BerkshireSTEMNetwork, #StudentAthletes, #FacultyAthleticRepresentative, #Akron, #WalshCollege, #ClevelandStateUniversity, #ClevelandClinic, #LernerResearchInstitute, #GraduateSchool, #PhD, #Teaching, #Mentorship, #AcademicSupport, #ClinicalObservation, #CareerExploration, #StudentSuccess, #ScienceEducation

Promotional video for TEDx Berkshires 2026 produced by BIC Studios.

For Chris Meador, the Berkshire Innovation Center represents a “glimmer of the future” and what can happen when a community comes together to build on what it already has. Chris sees tremendous opportunity in bringing new innovations to the Berkshires and creating something meaningful around the strengths that already make the region special. “I think BIC is about community, it’s about resources, about all those things. But to me it’s about this glimmer of what, as a community, we could create and dream up if together we invest in it.” Founder Stories | BIC Accelerator highlights the entrepreneurs, technologies, and companies that have grown through the Berkshire Innovation Center’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. Applications are now open for the BIC Founders’ Accelerator. Apply by October 5. Learn more: https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/accelerator-program #BICFoundersAccelerator #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #Startups #Massachusetts

Jack Duffy-Protentis, Founder & CEO of eSki, is working to bring cleaner, electric technology to personal watercraft. Having participated in a number of accelerators and incubators, Jack says the BIC Founders’ Accelerator stood apart because of the tangible support behind the program. From providing access to tools and software his company couldn’t otherwise afford to helping support the continued development of the business, BIC became an important resource for eSki. But for Jack, that support goes beyond equipment and resources. He points to BIC’s investment in the founders themselves, helping them grow as individuals while supporting the companies they’re building. Founder Stories | BIC Accelerator highlights the entrepreneurs, technologies, and companies that have grown through the Berkshire Innovation Center’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. We are now accepting nominations for the BIC Founders’ Accelerator. Learn more: https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/accelerator-program #BICFoundersAccelerator #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #Startups #Massachusetts

Master printmaker and artist Gary Lichtenstein reflects on 50 years of silkscreen printing, from his early days at the San Francisco Art Institute to Gary Lichtenstein Editions at MASS MoCA. He shares how collaboration, hands-on analog work, and human imagination continue to shape his studio and its future. Gary Lichtenstein joins Dr. Dennis Rebelo to reflect on a 50-year relationship with silkscreen printing, a medium he first encountered while studying at the San Francisco Art Institute in the early 1970s. After asking artist and teacher Robert Fried if he could help in his studio, Gary became immersed in the physical process, the possibilities of color, and the collaborative relationship between artist and printmaker. He describes the print studio as being to visual artists what a recording studio is to musicians: a place where an artist brings a roadmap, and the artist and printer work together to execute a new visual idea rather than simply reproduce an existing work. Gary traces his studio life from the Bay Area, through a barn in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and Jersey City, to Gary Lichtenstein Editions on the MASS MoCA campus in North Adams, where he says the surrounding creative community has made the studio a rewarding place to work every day. He also explains why he stayed committed to hands-on silkscreen printing as digital printing grew, emphasizing his desire for movement, physical engagement, and direct work with ink and equipment. Looking ahead, Gary and Melissa Marr are considering how to formalize the studio as a broader platform for contemporary collaboration in printmaking, learning, and the preservation of knowledge across generations. Gary also discusses work with FreshGrass Foundation around the statement “human imagination is greater than artificial intelligence,” while making clear that tools are tools and human imagination remains distinct. Asked what he was raised for, Gary answers: to be a free thinker, to be creative, kind, fair, and generous; and he says he hopes to be known for creating experiences that leave a lasting positive effect on other people. Links Gary Lichtenstein Editions: https://www.gleditions.com/ MASS MoCA: https://massmoca.org/ FreshGrass Foundation: https://freshgrassfoundation.org/ Contributors Gary Lichtenstein, Dr. Dennis Rebelo, Nate Christy, Shannon Rebelo #GaryLichtenstein, #GaryLichtensteinEditions, #Silkscreen, #Screenprinting, #Printmaking, #MasterPrinter, #FineArt, #LimitedEditions, #Collaboration, #Artists, #Analog, #SanFranciscoArtInstitute, #MASSMoCA, #NorthAdams, #Berkshires, #Studio, #Color, #Painting, #CreativeProcess, #Teaching, #HumanImagination, #ArtificialIntelligence, #FreshGrassFoundation, #ContemporaryPrintmaking

Building an early-stage company can sometimes feel like working on an island. In this Founder Story, Marc shares how the BIC Accelerator has given him a network of people he can turn to for advice, encouragement, and ideas about what comes next as he continues developing his company. For Marc, having people who understand where he is in the process has been an important part of moving the company forward. Whether it’s reaching out for guidance or simply having someone who understands the challenges of building at this stage, those relationships have helped him maintain momentum. The connections continue to grow beyond the program itself. Through events at the Berkshire Innovation Center, Marc has met new people who are interested in what he is building and willing to introduce him to others who may be able to help. For a founder who says it can sometimes feel like you’re “on an island,” that network has made a significant difference. Founder Stories | BIC Accelerator highlights the entrepreneurs, technologies, and companies that have grown through the BIC’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Artist Ben Miller shares how a childhood spent fishing the rivers of Darrington, Washington, eventually led him to create Fly-Cast Painting, a process that uses a fly rod and handmade “fly brushes” to paint rivers. He reflects on teaching art, leaving a comfortable path behind, and using his work to bring people together around rivers, streams, and the stories connected to them. Ben Miller grew up in Darrington, Washington, where his father encouraged him and his brothers to get outside, and where fishing, rivers, mountains, and imaginative play became part of daily life. His grandfather introduced him to fly fishing at eight years old, and Ben remembers tying early flies from materials he could find and experiencing the excitement of seeing a fish strike near his fly for the first time. In high school, Ben played football, basketball, and baseball, while a teacher encouraged his imaginative ideas through a school feature called “Ben’s World.” He later attended Washington State University, chose to pursue art, and found that his strength often began with the concept and story behind a piece. After earning his teaching degree, Ben returned to Darrington and taught high school art for 12 years, but eventually realized that the years were blending together and that he wanted a different story for his life. While painting trout and river stones at home, a conversation with his older brother Sam sparked the idea of painting with a fly rod; an early experiment with a paint-covered sock convinced him there was something worth pursuing. Ben developed that experiment into Fly-Cast Painting, using materials associated with fly tying to create “fly brushes,” casting paint onto acrylic, and often working directly beside the rivers he is depicting. He describes the process as both a creative practice and a way to connect people with bodies of water, including through gatherings where conservation groups and other participants share stories about the rivers that matter to them. Ben says he wants to expand the art world, bring different cultures into stories around streams, create something that was not there before, and ultimately be known as someone who brought positivity into the world. Links: Ben Miller: https://benmillerartist.com/ MASS MoCA: https://massmoca.org/ Washington State University: https://wsu.edu/ Contributors: Ben Miller, Dr. Dennis Rebelo, Nate Christy, Shannon Rebelo, Narrative Research Group, StoryWerks #BenMiller, #FlyCastPainting, #FlyPainting, #FlyFishing, #FlyRod, #FlyBrushes, #RiverArt, #Rivers, #Streams, #DarringtonWashington, #WashingtonStateUniversity, #ArtEducation, #Painting, #PleinAir, #Creativity, #Meditation, #Conservation, #EnvironmentalStorytelling, #RiverStories, #Nature, #ArtInnovation, #HumanConnection, #Collaboration, #HoosickRiver, #MASSMoCA

For an early-stage company, the right relationships can be transformative. In this Founder Story, Hamid Pishdadian of SQE.io shares how the BIC Accelerator helped connect his company with potential customers, industry leaders, and the broader Massachusetts innovation ecosystem. With its first prototypes completed only about a year ago and products still in development, the company has already built significant recognition across Massachusetts. Through relationships developed at the Berkshire Innovation Center, the team has gained access to organizations, events, and specialized communities, including opportunities to present its technology directly to leaders in the quantum field. For Hamid, the impact extends well beyond any single introduction or event. It is the residual effect of becoming part of a larger network, creating relationships and opportunities that continue to build on one another. Founder Stories | BIC Accelerator highlights the entrepreneurs, technologies, and companies that have grown through the BIC’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Christian Trujillo shares how a planned break before law school unexpectedly became a 22-year career in the automotive business, ultimately leading him to Porsche. He reflects on his Colombian-American upbringing, his father’s pivotal suggestion to sell cars, the mentors and family members who believed in him, and why doing the right thing remains central to how he leads. Christian grew up in Middletown, New York, the son of Colombian immigrants who came to the United States in the early 1970s in pursuit of the American dream. Raised in a multicultural community and surrounded by family, Christian developed an early love of cars and began working young, first as a paperboy and later at a swimming pool store, where an unexpected conversation with the owner moved him from the warehouse into sales at age 16. While attending SUNY Albany as a pre-law student, he continued working in sales, but after graduating in 2004, Christian decided he needed a break before pursuing law school. During a family vacation, his father asked a simple question that changed the direction of his life: “You love cars. Why don’t you try to sell cars?” Christian returned home determined to do exactly that and eventually landed an opportunity at Toyota of Clifton Park after initially being told he was overqualified. He began by handling the dealership’s emerging internet leads, but within his first two weeks, a busy Saturday and a customer ready to buy gave Christian the opportunity to sell his first vehicle. He quickly became the dealership’s top salesperson and one of Toyota’s leading salespeople in the Northeast, turning what was supposed to be a temporary job into a career. Christian recounts the mentors who helped him move through finance and sales management and the opportunity in 2011 to take on a Porsche dealership at a moment when success was far from guaranteed. With a newborn son, a new home, and a recent serious illness behind him, Christian struggled with the decision until his wife told him, “You have to do this.” Today, after more than two decades with the same automotive group, Christian is preparing to lead the transition from New Country Porsche of Clifton Park into the new Porsche Latham facility, while continuing to build the team he has helped grow over the years. Throughout the conversation, he returns to the principles he credits to his upbringing: integrity, family, taking care of people, and doing the right thing even when it is difficult. Asked what he ultimately wants to be known for, Christian’s answer is simple: “Being a good human.” Links: Porsche Latham: www.porschecliftonpark.com/ New Country Motor Car Group: www.newcountry.com/ Narrative Research Group: narrativeresearchgroup.org/ For more information or to share a question or insight, please email Shannon [at] narrativeresearchgroup [dot] org Contributors: Christian Trujillo, Dr. Dennis Rebelo, Nate Christy, Shannon Rebelo #ChristianTrujillo, #Porsche, #PorscheLatham, #NewCountryPorsche, #AutomotiveIndustry, #CarSales, #CustomerService, #Leadership, #CareerTransition, #CareerGrowth, #SUNYAlbany, #Toyota, #Mentorship, #Family, #AmericanDream, #Integrity, #TeamBuilding, #AutomotiveCareers, #MyStoryVault