Staff Spotlight: Sarah Lipinski

Controller

Sarah Lipinski was drawn to United Counseling Service (UCS) as the next chapter in her career by its division of United Children’s Services (UCH), which administers Head Start and Early Head Start of Bennington County. She previously worked as Finance Director at Child Care of the Berkshire based in North Adams, MA, an organization focused on providing a holistic approach to supporting children and families in Berkshire County. Before her role at Child Care of the Berkshires, she worked as a tax accountant at various accounting firms in Berkshire County. Interested in trying something new, Sarah made the leap to UCS in September of 2025. Now, as Controller at UCS, she ensures the accounting, billing and Human Resources systems work together efficiently to serve staff who rely on these resources for their daily work. She also oversees the billing team, a crucial part of the agency responsible for ensuring accurate and timely issuance and payment of client bills.

“I can’t wait to see how I can be of service to all staff doing this work,” says Sarah. “That’s my job—giving them all the tools they need every day. Every manager is a little bit different and they need things a little bit differently.”

Sarah enjoys working at mission-driven organizations dedicated to serving others and working alongside team members who care deeply about their work. She believes that while her job does not include direct client-facing tasks, her role is to keep things running smoothly in the background so that managers have what they need to help their programs thrive. “I enjoy figuring out solutions to problems and optimizing technology to get the most out of it so that we can put that information back in the hands of our managers,” says Sarah. “That includes how much revenue programs earn, their expenses, and what resources they have available so that they can run their programs to the best of their abilities and do all this great work out in our community.”

Sarah is someone who enjoys learning and experiencing new things, and the wide spectrum of programs and services at UCS offers her the opportunity to expand her knowledge of not only early childhood programs, but adult mental health and substance use, developmental and crisis services as well. “I saw the opportunity to learn something completely new in the field of mental health, which is so important for the community,” says Sarah. “There is such a variety of programs here.”

Her passion for learning does not end at the close of the workday. She is about to graduate with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) in North Adams, MA, having earned her bachelor’s degree from University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMASS Amherst)’s Isenberg School of Management. Outside of work and school, Sarah loves spending time outside, whether growing flowers in her garden, cross-country skiing, or taking beach vacations on Cape Cod with her family.

Sarah brings positivity to the work she does and is motivated by the drive to do good that she sees in the UCS team. “I really like working with people who are really passionate about what they are doing and who really care about what they are doing, and doing what I can to make their jobs easier, because their work is so important.”