In 2006, social worker Caryn Surkes moved to Pittsfield, MA to began work as a case manager for Community Enterprises, Inc./Project Aim, a non-profit organization offering services to individuals with disabilities. A graduate of Lesley College in Cambridge, MA, she began her counseling career at Beaverbrook STEP in Newton, MA. A recipient of the Silver Ribbon Award for Excellence in the Field of Social Work sponsored by the National Alliance of Mental Illness of Berkshire County, she dedicated her life to helping those with developmental and intellectual disabilities. She died in 2011 after a long battle with cancer. 

See also: We Remember Caryn Surkes.