GREENFIELD — Greenfield Community College recently announced Michelle L. Dwyer, Class of 2003, as its 2019 Distinguished Alumnus for her commitment to the community.
GCC President Yves Salomon-Fernández said she is “pleased with the decision of the selection committee and thrilled” for Dwyer, who has served as president/CEO of Franklin First Federal Credit Union since 2016.
“Her passionate commitment to the well-being of her community has been clearly demonstrated over time,” Salomon-Fernandez said. “Her compassion, intelligence and focus on supporting the economic health is clear in every step of her journey and especially in her support of the development of GCC’s Ideation & Entrepreneurship Center.”
In her nomination of Dwyer, GCC Business Department Co-Chair Michelle Barthelemy described her as someone who “directs everything she does in support of her vision of a better Franklin County.” She said Dwyer creates opportunities for the community through events that develop entrepreneurship, raise money for local charities and support the arts.
Dwyer began at Franklin First in 2007 as a teller, was promoted to lead teller and then to accounting specialist in 2013 before becoming president/CEO in 2016. According to a GCC press release, she graduated from Greenfield High School in 2000, earned an associate’s degree in liberal arts from GCC in 2004, graduated from Leadership Pioneer Valley in 2018 and is completing her bachelor’s degree in business finance at Southern New Hampshire University.
“GCC provided me an opportunity to continue my education in a situation where I felt that I was not ready to go to a large college,” Dwyer said, reflecting on her time at the community college. “GCC is an amazing resource for anyone of any age to continue their educational journey.”
Dwyer’s community service activities include serving as Relay For Life team captain for Franklin First, as a volunteer at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Regional Dog Shelter in Turners Falls and as either board member, volunteer, donor or dedicated booster for the Children’s Advocacy Center, Franklin County Big Brothers Big Sisters, Franklin County Rotary, Franklin County Young Professionals, The Entrepreneurial “Take the Floor” Pitch Competition and GCC’s developing Ideation & Entrepreneurship Center.
GCC is not the first to honor Dwyer, who has also been recognized by the Children’s Advocacy Center as its 2019 Volunteer of the Year; by Banking New England Magazine as a 2019 “Woman of FIRE”; and by Business West as a “40 Under 40 Awardee” in 2017, among other accolades.