life. Growing up, LGBTQ visibility just wasn’ t there. It wasn’ t even really discussed. I wasn’ t fully“ out” until I was 30. It feels wonderful that so much work has happened, particularly over the past ten years, to make the Berkshires a more inclusive place to the point where LGBTQ folks are opening businesses and have spaces where they can connect and flourish.
MAY 20 – JUNE 7 at The Unicorn Theatre The Larry Vaber Stage
( 413) 997-4444 BerkshireTheatreGroup. org
REGIONAL PREMIERE JUNE 18 – JULY 11 at The Unicorn Theatre The Larry Vaber Stage
TAYLOR: You established the City of Pittsfield’ s first Office of DEI and hired its first chief diversity officer. MICHAEL: Thank you for bringing this up! This is one achievement I am most proud of in my 13 years working for the city. To my knowledge, there aren’ t many similar positions or departments in the Berkshires, and even across Massachusetts they’ re still relatively uncommon in municipal government. That alone feels like a real victory. It positions Pittsfield in a unique way as an employer that is intentionally demonstrating its commitment to opportunity, access, and service for all residents.
Another important component of this work was creating the city’ s bilingual incentive policy. This recognizes the contributions of our bilingual employees who assist residents visiting our offices and help departments translate important documents and communications. It’ s a practical way to ensure members of our English as a Second Language community can access city programs and services. One of the challenges I anticipated early on was community reaction and the need to demystify what this work actually means. There are often assumptions or misconceptions about diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. I was fortunate to work alongside some strong leaders in the Pittsfield community to engage the public and share the research and reasoning behind creating the office. Ultimately, there was very little pushback, which I think speaks to the values of this community.
TAYLOR: You serve on the boards for Berkshire Community Action Council( BCAC), MassHire, and the Elizabeth Freeman LGBTQ + Advisory Committee. How do these different roles inform one another? Is there a lot of crossover? MICHAEL: There is so much intersectionality in the work being done by these organizations and boards. I believe, at the heart of them all, is the intent to uplift our most vulnerable communities and those that have been historically underserved. I often find myself referring to certain interactions or situations from one board to another, or perhaps finding ways to connect the two. Berkshire Pride and the EFC have a really strong relationship, having a joint initiative“ Educating Equity Project.” This project aims to co-create trauma informed, inclusive sexual health, health relationship, and violence prevention education for LGBTQ + and BIPOC youth.
music by a musical lyrics by
Andrew Lippa Tom Greenwald book by Tom Greenwald & Andrew Lippa directed by Gregg Edelman music direction by Nicolas Perez
Karen Allen
JULY 22 – AUGUST 23 at The Unicorn Theatre The Larry Vaber Stage
by Abi Morgan directed by David Auburn
Rebecca Brooksher
Shawn Fagan
David Garrison
111 South Street • Pittsfield, MA 6 East Street • Stockbridge, MA by Chess Jakobs directed by Gerry McIntyre
JULY 31 – AUGUST 23 at The Colonial Theatre a music-filled comedy
by Matthew López directed by Eric Hill choreography by Isadora Wolfe
860 AM 94.1 FM
YOUR HOMETOWN STATION FOR CLASSIC HITS
TAYLOR: Where can people find more information? MICHAEL: Anyone is always welcome to reach out to me at michael @ berkshirepride. org or mtaylor @ pittsfieldma. gov. Folks should definitely follow @ BerkshirePride and @ PittsfieldHR on social media! n
For a rundown of the 10th Annual Berkshire Pride celebration, go to berkshirepride. org.
HEAR EVERY GAME ON 94.1FM-WSBS
May / June 2026 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // 89