Boston Chapter Board of Director Candidates

Boston Chapter Board of Directors Candidates

Please take a moment to review the current candidates for the Chapter Board of Directors, and then click the big red button at the bottom of the page to place your vote.

Remember that you will need to sign into the National BMW CCA website in order to place your vote.

President

Larry Barbieri
		Larry has been a member of the BMW CCA and the Boston Chapter since 2002. During that time he has held numerous positions within the chapter, Membership Chair, Advertising Director and Vice President. As part of his participation in the chapter’s High Performance driving program he has been a member of the registrar committee and a driving instructor for both High Performance driving schools and Advanced Skills Schools, which includes Street Survival. As Vice President he increased chapter social events. He also brought in more people to help develop, coordinate and execute the chapter’s many social and tech events during the year. As president, Larry hopes to be able to continue the good work that Simon Cooper has overseen for the past many years.

Vice President

Audra Tella
		Audra Tella is a longtime avid BMW enthusiast and member of the Boston BMW CCA since 2007. She started with a 2005 MINI Cooper S, owned a 2008 BMW E92 M3 and currently has a 2017 M2. Audra assumed Chair / Co-Chair responsibilities for the popular / competitive autocross series from 2013 to 2022, during which time she made many improvements to the events based on member feedback and input. Her passion for the sport and commitment to the brand is unwavering, and she actively promotes the brand by serving as a liaison to other area clubs and car community. She co-hosted and produced an automotive focused podcast that provided valuable insights into activities and viewpoints that will help the Boston BMW CCA remain relevant with members of the chapter. She has also started supplementing her Autocross events with track focused driving including two successful 24-hour of Lemons races and has recently joined a new Lemons team with plans to compete in several events in 2023. She has served as a Director for the past year. Expanding her role with the club as Vice President will provide additional opportunities to implement new events that will attract new and improve engagement with existing members, while still maintaining the high standards that members continue to enjoy.

Secretary

Rachel Baker
		Rachel Baker has been a member of the BMW CCA since 2008 when she bought her 135i which is still going strong at 213K miles. Rachel has been an invaluable member of the Autocross team and has held multiple positions on the Board In her role as registrar she is often the first contact with members participating in Autocross, answering their pre-event questions, greeting them at the event gate, offering a warm welcome, advice and information about other Chapter events. She is actively involved in many Chapter activities, and as Secretary she will continue to help others find, share and develop their interests within the club and advocate for the Autocross community while keeping the Boston Chapter heading in a direction based on member feedback. The Autocross Team says Rachel is a dynamic force who brings people together and will leverage her energy and promote Autocross within the board and the general membership.

Treasurer

John Chiu
		John has been in high tech for 35 years in the Boston area. He started out in software development and moved to senior management over the years. John is currently VP of Engineering at a fintech startup. In college, he saw his neighbor’s BMW 635CSi and that was the start of his BMW journey. Over the years, John has had two BMW e36 M3s, 2002 325i, 2002 X5, 2008 335xi, 2008 535xi, 2011 Orange 1M. He recently purchased a 1999 Z3M roadster and it makes him smile every time he gets into it. John has been a member of BMW CCA Boston since 2008 and has great memories of participating in events from carting, auto crossing to HPDEs. He has always been appreciative and thankful of volunteers that make this club run and is currently in a position to offer help continue that tradition.

Membership Chair

Matthew Bagedonow
		Matt Bagedonow has been serving as the Membership Chair for the past 4 years. In that time, he has been working to increase the membership of our chapter and to respond to our members’ questions and concerns about their membership. He has organized Cars and Coffee events as well as worked on Concours. In addition, he has been working with dealers to raise our profile in the showrooms and with the sales staff to encourage BMW buyers to join the club. The strength of our chapter is the strength of our membership. Matt wants to continue as the Membership chair to serve all our members and increase that strength so we can continue to provide a great experience for all of us.

Directors

Valerie Caprigno
		Valerie Caprigno has been a lifelong BMW enthusiast and member of the Boston Chapter since 2017 when she acquired her first BMW, a 2017 X3 M Sport. She replaced her X3 with a 2021 X2 M35i in 2020 and is passionate about driving it anywhere and everywhere. Valerie joined the Board as the Communications Director in 2019 and has supported the development of various club publications including the quarterly Boston Bimmer as well as become a somewhat regular contributor. Valerie also serves as the Northeast Governor for the recently launched non-geographic X Chapter. In addition to sharing her passion for BMW’s X vehicles, Valerie hopes to increase visibility of the Boston Chapter across our social media platforms, provide an improved communications experience and support increased frequency and variety of club events for our membership.

Michael Mangini
		Michael Mangini became one of the original BMW CCA members when he purchased his first BMW, in 1974. Early in his membership, he served as a co-rallymaster and ran several rallies for the Chapter. He has served as the co-chair of the Boston Chapter Concurs d’Elegance and has been instrumental in the event’s growth in popularity by actively promoting the event online on BMW enthusiasts forums. As a member of the activities committee, he has worked to coordinate and promote the Chapter’s other events, and currently serves as the activities editor of the Chapter’s Facebook page. Michael has owned many great BMWs over the years including his Verona Red 1974 2002tii purchased new, but his current favorite is his 2011 M3 which he learned to more fully appreciate and drive after attending the BMW M Performance Driving School. With your support, Michael will continue his work for the Chapter with emphasis on expanding social and tech events. Michael has been principally managing the Chapter Facebook page.

Laura Rosen
		Laura has loved to drive ever since she got her first car, a little red sports car, after graduating from college. Laura bought her first BMW, an X3 3.5, in 2013, and soon after discovered Boston BMW CCA. Attending that first autocross was a “where have you been all my life” moment. Laura’s passion for driving fast and with precision grew with each event, and she’s been at virtually every autocross since 2013. Laura has also enjoyed participating in the HPDE events since her first one at Palmer in 2015. Laura is most grateful for the supportive community she’s found with her fellow members, whether it’s offering driving advice, making tire recommendations or providing zip ties during an ad hoc repair. Laura has been running timing for the autocross series since 2016. She has automated how we calculate year-to-date standings and has written numerous web pages for the new autocross website. She is looking forward to serving on the Board so she can help the club continue to be a positive environment that draws in new members and keeps them coming back. Let’s teach drivers how to be better on the road, faster on the course, and have fun along the way.

John Sullivan
		John Sullivan has been active in the Boston Chapter since 1989 and is the currently a Board of Director’s member and Chair of Social/Tech Activities. He served as Chapter President from 1991-1995, Vice President from 1989-1990 and again from 1996- 2019. For 10 years, he served as the North Atlantic Region Vice President of BMW CCA from 2006-2016, while continuing to plan and execute Boston Chapter activities. As a BOD member, John has organized and coordinated Social and Technical events, including Fun Rallies, Undercarriage Tech sessions, the Boston Chapter Concours d’ Elegance, Paintless Dent Removal Tech sessions, the RI Show & Shine car show, and many programs hosted by BMW dealers and Independent shops. He also organizes the Chapter General Meetings, for which he consistently recruits nationally recognized speakers. John always brings enthusiasm to the work that he does for the Chapter and is looking forward to another great year and serving the Chapter members.