BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Kiki Smith, President
Kiki Smith is a professor at Smith College in the Theatre Department, where she has taught costume design and directed the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection since 1974. She has served as Chair of the department several times, as Dean of the Freshman Class and Associate Dean of the Faculty. She has over 80 professional design credits mostly for companies in New York and New England. She is a founding member of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox and works frequently with the Talking Band Company in New York. She received an Obie Award from the Village Voice for her designs for the Talking Band’s production of A Painted Snake in a Painted Chair. In 2003 she was the director of the symposium Silk Unraveled! which was part of the yearlong Northampton Silk Project. She served as a curatorial assistant in 1981 at the Costume Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She graduated from Smith in 1971, received her MA from the University of Virginia and her MFA from the University of Texas.
Stan Sherer, Vice-President
Stan Sherer has published five books of photographs, including Long Life to Your Children! a portrait of High Albania and Founding Farms. He was a Fulbright Scholar to Albania, a recipient of two Mass Foundation grants, and numerous other grants and awards. He has exhibited his photographs across the United States and in Europe. Exhibits/USA traveled his exhibition On the Land: Three Centuries of American Farmlife throughout the country for ten years. Sherer has worked as a photojournalist and documentary photographer in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean, and in Asia. He holds a B.A. from the City University of New York and an M.F.A. from the University of Massachusetts.
Kim Graham, Treasurer
Kim Graham joined the board of trustees in 2015 as a representative of the Parsons Family Association. Kim became chair of the Grounds Committee and by early spring initiated an extensive clean-up of the grounds. In spring 2016, Kim was elected treasurer. She works as an accountant at the Mullins Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Sara Lennox, Clerk
Sara Lennox received her B.A. from DePauw University and her doctorate in Comparative Literature from the University of Wisconsin. For thirty-eight years she taught in the German program at the University of Massachusetts, where she also directed the Social Thought and Political Economy Program, an interdisciplinary social justice program for undergraduates. Since her retirement in 2012 she’s increasingly been able to focus on what is turning out to be her true love, U.S. history. She is a committee member of the David Ruggles Center for Early Florence History and Underground Railroad Studies and a member of the shape note singing community. Originally from Indiana, Sara has lived in Northampton since 1974, and only a few years ago she was amazed to discover that a number of her ancestors were among Northampton’s earliest settlers. Sara functions as board liaison to Meadow City Historians and serves on the programming committee.
Barbara B. Blumenthal
Barbara B. Blumenthal is the rare book specialist in the Smith College Mortimer Rare Book Room. She has lived in Northampton since 1971, when she first arrived at Smith College. She graduated in 1975 with a degree in American Studies, having also studied typography and calligraphy. As an undergraduate, she also apprenticed with master bookbinder Arno Werner in Pittsfield, MA. Barbara has been a professional bookbinder since 1976 and has published five works under her own Catawba Press imprint. She edited and co-wrote Paradise Printed & Bound: Book Arts in Northampton & Beyond, published in 2004 for the 350th anniversary of the founding of Northampton. Her passion for local history and artifacts led her to be volunteer, docent, and hearth cook at Historic Northampton for nearly twenty years in the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Barbara first served on the Board of Trustees in the mid-1990s; she rejoined the Board in 2014.
Kevin Hale
Rabbi Kevin Hale was elected to the board of trustees for a term beginning October 2016. He received a BA in Classical Civilization from Yale College in 1984. From 2001-2005, he served an apprenticeship in Soferut (Jewish Sacred Scribal Tradition) with Dr. Rabbi Eric F. L. Ray and received certification as a Sofer STaM Torah Scribe. From 1981 to 1992, he worked as a craftsman and toymaker in Berkeley, CA and Rowe, MA. He served as a Congregational Rabbi in Wooster, OH and Northampton, MA from 1998 to 2001 and in St. Johnsbury, Vt (part-time, 2008-2013). From 2005 to 2007, he served as the Campus Rabbi (part-time) of Hampshire College. Since 2001, he has worked as a Sofer STaM Torah Scribe, writing restoration of handwritten scrolls, education, evaluation and appraisal. He served a two year term on the board of Congregation Bnai Israel and served on the former local chapter of the American Red Cross.
Amanda Herman
Amanda Herman was elected to the board of trustees for a term beginning October 2016. She received a BS in Photography and Education from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and an MFA in Social Practice from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. She is founder and producer of Live Art Magazine in Northampton, 2013-2016, director of programs at Laurel Park Arts in Northampton from 2013-2014 and curriculum designer, Fostering Art & A Home Within in San Francisco, 2013-2015.
Tom Riddell
Tom Riddell was elected to the board of trustees for a term beginning October 2016. He is professor emeritus at Smith College in the department of economics. He received his PhD in Economics at the American University in Washington, DC and a BA in Economics at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Since 1980, he has taught at the economics department at Smith College and developed a first-year proseminar on the economic re-development of the former Northampton State Hospital property. He is author of Economics: A Tool for Critically Understanding Society with Steve Stamos and Jean Shackelford and Efficiency in Death: The Manufacturers of Anti-Personnel Weapons (1970).
Rachel Simpson
Rachel Simpson was elected to the board of trustees for a term beginning October 2016. She grew up in Northampton and is a Realtor at Goggins Real Estate. She has expertise in writing, editing, and communications, and has worked as a newspaper reporter and editor at the Daily Hampshire Gazette, as an editor at Wondertime Magazine, and as an outreach and communications director for two product development firms. She is a four-time spelling champion at the Northampton Education Foundation annual spelling bee. Rachel was an Ada Comstock Scholar at Smith College, graduating in 1988 with a BA in American Studies.
W. Michael Ryan
W. Michael Ryan is a fourth generation Northamptonite. His father's family settled in Florence in the 1850s; his mother's French- Canadian grandparent's emigrated by foot to Northampton in the 1880s. An Army veteran, he graduated from the University of Massachusetts and Western New England School of Law. He practiced law in Northampton for twenty years, is a retired Massachusetts District Court Judge was twice elected District Attorney of Hampshire & Franklin Counties in 1982 and 1986. He has been studying, writing, and lecturing on local history topics for over forty years.
Elizabeth Stone
Elizabeth Stone is a contemporary figurative artist who works at her home studio in Florence, Massachusetts. She began painting in the late 1990’s when she inherited her grandfather’s set of pastels. In May 2014, she curated the exhibit: Nightingale Uncaged: Jenny Lind in Northampton and was subquently chosen to serve on the steering committee for Contemporary Art at Historic Northampton.
Richard S. West
Richard West was elected to the board of trustees for a term beginning October 2016. He is the owner of Periodyssey, a business that deals in old American paper including magazines, historical prints, illustrated broadsides, cartoons and caricatures. West is an authority on American political cartooning and American humor magazines. He is the author of five books on American political cartooning and the editor of four collections of political cartoons. He is the founder and editor of the three publications devoted to political cartooning and the cartoon arts. He has curated five cartoon exhibitions at venues in Washington, DC, New York City, San Francisco and Columbus, Ohio. He is a fellow of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, MA. Born in Washington, DC, he graduated from Kenyon College in Ohio with a BA in political science and has lived in Northampton since 1995. He previously served as president of the board of the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence.
Kiki Smith is a professor at Smith College in the Theatre Department, where she has taught costume design and directed the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection since 1974. She has served as Chair of the department several times, as Dean of the Freshman Class and Associate Dean of the Faculty. She has over 80 professional design credits mostly for companies in New York and New England. She is a founding member of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox and works frequently with the Talking Band Company in New York. She received an Obie Award from the Village Voice for her designs for the Talking Band’s production of A Painted Snake in a Painted Chair. In 2003 she was the director of the symposium Silk Unraveled! which was part of the yearlong Northampton Silk Project. She served as a curatorial assistant in 1981 at the Costume Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She graduated from Smith in 1971, received her MA from the University of Virginia and her MFA from the University of Texas.
Stan Sherer, Vice-President
Stan Sherer has published five books of photographs, including Long Life to Your Children! a portrait of High Albania and Founding Farms. He was a Fulbright Scholar to Albania, a recipient of two Mass Foundation grants, and numerous other grants and awards. He has exhibited his photographs across the United States and in Europe. Exhibits/USA traveled his exhibition On the Land: Three Centuries of American Farmlife throughout the country for ten years. Sherer has worked as a photojournalist and documentary photographer in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean, and in Asia. He holds a B.A. from the City University of New York and an M.F.A. from the University of Massachusetts.
Kim Graham, Treasurer
Kim Graham joined the board of trustees in 2015 as a representative of the Parsons Family Association. Kim became chair of the Grounds Committee and by early spring initiated an extensive clean-up of the grounds. In spring 2016, Kim was elected treasurer. She works as an accountant at the Mullins Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Sara Lennox, Clerk
Sara Lennox received her B.A. from DePauw University and her doctorate in Comparative Literature from the University of Wisconsin. For thirty-eight years she taught in the German program at the University of Massachusetts, where she also directed the Social Thought and Political Economy Program, an interdisciplinary social justice program for undergraduates. Since her retirement in 2012 she’s increasingly been able to focus on what is turning out to be her true love, U.S. history. She is a committee member of the David Ruggles Center for Early Florence History and Underground Railroad Studies and a member of the shape note singing community. Originally from Indiana, Sara has lived in Northampton since 1974, and only a few years ago she was amazed to discover that a number of her ancestors were among Northampton’s earliest settlers. Sara functions as board liaison to Meadow City Historians and serves on the programming committee.
Barbara B. Blumenthal
Barbara B. Blumenthal is the rare book specialist in the Smith College Mortimer Rare Book Room. She has lived in Northampton since 1971, when she first arrived at Smith College. She graduated in 1975 with a degree in American Studies, having also studied typography and calligraphy. As an undergraduate, she also apprenticed with master bookbinder Arno Werner in Pittsfield, MA. Barbara has been a professional bookbinder since 1976 and has published five works under her own Catawba Press imprint. She edited and co-wrote Paradise Printed & Bound: Book Arts in Northampton & Beyond, published in 2004 for the 350th anniversary of the founding of Northampton. Her passion for local history and artifacts led her to be volunteer, docent, and hearth cook at Historic Northampton for nearly twenty years in the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Barbara first served on the Board of Trustees in the mid-1990s; she rejoined the Board in 2014.
Kevin Hale
Rabbi Kevin Hale was elected to the board of trustees for a term beginning October 2016. He received a BA in Classical Civilization from Yale College in 1984. From 2001-2005, he served an apprenticeship in Soferut (Jewish Sacred Scribal Tradition) with Dr. Rabbi Eric F. L. Ray and received certification as a Sofer STaM Torah Scribe. From 1981 to 1992, he worked as a craftsman and toymaker in Berkeley, CA and Rowe, MA. He served as a Congregational Rabbi in Wooster, OH and Northampton, MA from 1998 to 2001 and in St. Johnsbury, Vt (part-time, 2008-2013). From 2005 to 2007, he served as the Campus Rabbi (part-time) of Hampshire College. Since 2001, he has worked as a Sofer STaM Torah Scribe, writing restoration of handwritten scrolls, education, evaluation and appraisal. He served a two year term on the board of Congregation Bnai Israel and served on the former local chapter of the American Red Cross.
Amanda Herman
Amanda Herman was elected to the board of trustees for a term beginning October 2016. She received a BS in Photography and Education from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and an MFA in Social Practice from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. She is founder and producer of Live Art Magazine in Northampton, 2013-2016, director of programs at Laurel Park Arts in Northampton from 2013-2014 and curriculum designer, Fostering Art & A Home Within in San Francisco, 2013-2015.
Tom Riddell
Tom Riddell was elected to the board of trustees for a term beginning October 2016. He is professor emeritus at Smith College in the department of economics. He received his PhD in Economics at the American University in Washington, DC and a BA in Economics at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Since 1980, he has taught at the economics department at Smith College and developed a first-year proseminar on the economic re-development of the former Northampton State Hospital property. He is author of Economics: A Tool for Critically Understanding Society with Steve Stamos and Jean Shackelford and Efficiency in Death: The Manufacturers of Anti-Personnel Weapons (1970).
Rachel Simpson
Rachel Simpson was elected to the board of trustees for a term beginning October 2016. She grew up in Northampton and is a Realtor at Goggins Real Estate. She has expertise in writing, editing, and communications, and has worked as a newspaper reporter and editor at the Daily Hampshire Gazette, as an editor at Wondertime Magazine, and as an outreach and communications director for two product development firms. She is a four-time spelling champion at the Northampton Education Foundation annual spelling bee. Rachel was an Ada Comstock Scholar at Smith College, graduating in 1988 with a BA in American Studies.
W. Michael Ryan
W. Michael Ryan is a fourth generation Northamptonite. His father's family settled in Florence in the 1850s; his mother's French- Canadian grandparent's emigrated by foot to Northampton in the 1880s. An Army veteran, he graduated from the University of Massachusetts and Western New England School of Law. He practiced law in Northampton for twenty years, is a retired Massachusetts District Court Judge was twice elected District Attorney of Hampshire & Franklin Counties in 1982 and 1986. He has been studying, writing, and lecturing on local history topics for over forty years.
Elizabeth Stone
Elizabeth Stone is a contemporary figurative artist who works at her home studio in Florence, Massachusetts. She began painting in the late 1990’s when she inherited her grandfather’s set of pastels. In May 2014, she curated the exhibit: Nightingale Uncaged: Jenny Lind in Northampton and was subquently chosen to serve on the steering committee for Contemporary Art at Historic Northampton.
Richard S. West
Richard West was elected to the board of trustees for a term beginning October 2016. He is the owner of Periodyssey, a business that deals in old American paper including magazines, historical prints, illustrated broadsides, cartoons and caricatures. West is an authority on American political cartooning and American humor magazines. He is the author of five books on American political cartooning and the editor of four collections of political cartoons. He is the founder and editor of the three publications devoted to political cartooning and the cartoon arts. He has curated five cartoon exhibitions at venues in Washington, DC, New York City, San Francisco and Columbus, Ohio. He is a fellow of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, MA. Born in Washington, DC, he graduated from Kenyon College in Ohio with a BA in political science and has lived in Northampton since 1995. He previously served as president of the board of the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence.
STAFF
Laurie Sanders, Co-Executive Director
lsanders@historicnorthampton.org
Laurie Sanders became co-executive director of Historic Northampton on May 1, 2016. Sanders is a naturalist, writer, and the former host of Field Notes, a weekly natural history series that aired on NEPR for a decade. In 2014 she completed an ecological assessment of all of Northampton’s city-owned conservation areas, which include more than 30 properties and over 2,500 acres. In fall 2015, she presented a six-part lecture series, Rediscovering Northampton: Local History Viewed Through An Ecological Lens. She first came to Northampton in 1983 as a Smith College student and in 1988 she discovered the only known hybrid cross between jack-in-the-pulpit and green dragon, found only in Northampton. She brings a wealth of fundraising and programming experience to the position, writing grants for her own work and as co-chair of the private capital campaign for the Westhampton Public Library.
Elizabeth Sharpe, Co-Executive Director
emsharpe@historicnorthampton.org
Elizabeth Sharpe became co-executive director of Historic Northampton on May 1, 2016. Sharpe is an historian, writer, educator and museum consultant. She is the author of In the Shadow of the Dam: The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874. She has family roots in this area which sparked her research on Connecticut Valley history, architecture, history of technology and material culture for her PhD in History from the University of Delaware. She is the former director of education at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Since she moved back to the Connecticut Valley, she has consulted for museums, written the history of the Mill River Flood, taught history and public history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and at Greenfield Community College in person and online. Most recently she has taught Social Responsibility in Museums at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has been board president of the Amherst Historical Society and the Swift River Historical Society.
Marie Panik, Museum Manager
mpanik@historicnorthampton.org
Marie Panik joined the staff of Historic Northampton in June 1993, becoming a full-time staff member in May 1994. She compiled the booklet A Guide to Jonathan Edwards’ Northampton for visitors to Northampton seeking Jonathan Edwards-related sites and curated the exhibit, The Florence Brush Factory, an exhibit chronicling the history of the Florence Manufacturing Company, later known as the Pro-phy-lac-tic Brush Company. She is a committee member of the David Ruggles Center for Early Florence History and Underground Railroad Studies. She holds a degree in history from Smith College. Her staff position is underwritten in part by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.
Stan Sherer, Program Director
stansherer@historic-northampton.org
Stan Sherer, Historic Northampton's vice president, functions as Program Director in an unpaid capacity. He focuses primarily on the Contemporary Art at Historic Northampton series, and on developing public programs and lectures. See above for bio.
Mary La Liberte, Gallery Attendant
info@historicnorthampton.org
Mary LaLiberte joined Historic Northampton in September 1989 through the volunteer docent program, giving tours to museum visitors and school groups of the Parsons, Shepherd and Damon houses. Since 2002, she has been a familiar face to weekend museum visitors. In 1963, Mary was a silver medalist in humorous prose in the Massachusetts State Speech Festival representing Holyoke Catholic High School. She attended Elms College, where she was active in dramatic productions. In 1980, she was one of the founding members of the Sidewalk Theater Company, acting in outdoor performances in Pulaski Park and special bookings through 1984. She led the summer story hour of the Forbes Library in 1983 and was a storytelling volunteer in the Easthampton Public Schools for kindergarten through 4th grade classes.
lsanders@historicnorthampton.org
Laurie Sanders became co-executive director of Historic Northampton on May 1, 2016. Sanders is a naturalist, writer, and the former host of Field Notes, a weekly natural history series that aired on NEPR for a decade. In 2014 she completed an ecological assessment of all of Northampton’s city-owned conservation areas, which include more than 30 properties and over 2,500 acres. In fall 2015, she presented a six-part lecture series, Rediscovering Northampton: Local History Viewed Through An Ecological Lens. She first came to Northampton in 1983 as a Smith College student and in 1988 she discovered the only known hybrid cross between jack-in-the-pulpit and green dragon, found only in Northampton. She brings a wealth of fundraising and programming experience to the position, writing grants for her own work and as co-chair of the private capital campaign for the Westhampton Public Library.
Elizabeth Sharpe, Co-Executive Director
emsharpe@historicnorthampton.org
Elizabeth Sharpe became co-executive director of Historic Northampton on May 1, 2016. Sharpe is an historian, writer, educator and museum consultant. She is the author of In the Shadow of the Dam: The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874. She has family roots in this area which sparked her research on Connecticut Valley history, architecture, history of technology and material culture for her PhD in History from the University of Delaware. She is the former director of education at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Since she moved back to the Connecticut Valley, she has consulted for museums, written the history of the Mill River Flood, taught history and public history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and at Greenfield Community College in person and online. Most recently she has taught Social Responsibility in Museums at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has been board president of the Amherst Historical Society and the Swift River Historical Society.
Marie Panik, Museum Manager
mpanik@historicnorthampton.org
Marie Panik joined the staff of Historic Northampton in June 1993, becoming a full-time staff member in May 1994. She compiled the booklet A Guide to Jonathan Edwards’ Northampton for visitors to Northampton seeking Jonathan Edwards-related sites and curated the exhibit, The Florence Brush Factory, an exhibit chronicling the history of the Florence Manufacturing Company, later known as the Pro-phy-lac-tic Brush Company. She is a committee member of the David Ruggles Center for Early Florence History and Underground Railroad Studies. She holds a degree in history from Smith College. Her staff position is underwritten in part by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.
Stan Sherer, Program Director
stansherer@historic-northampton.org
Stan Sherer, Historic Northampton's vice president, functions as Program Director in an unpaid capacity. He focuses primarily on the Contemporary Art at Historic Northampton series, and on developing public programs and lectures. See above for bio.
Mary La Liberte, Gallery Attendant
info@historicnorthampton.org
Mary LaLiberte joined Historic Northampton in September 1989 through the volunteer docent program, giving tours to museum visitors and school groups of the Parsons, Shepherd and Damon houses. Since 2002, she has been a familiar face to weekend museum visitors. In 1963, Mary was a silver medalist in humorous prose in the Massachusetts State Speech Festival representing Holyoke Catholic High School. She attended Elms College, where she was active in dramatic productions. In 1980, she was one of the founding members of the Sidewalk Theater Company, acting in outdoor performances in Pulaski Park and special bookings through 1984. She led the summer story hour of the Forbes Library in 1983 and was a storytelling volunteer in the Easthampton Public Schools for kindergarten through 4th grade classes.