BOARD OF TRUSTEES |
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Historic Northampton
Board of Trustees Shara Denson
President Hannah E. Ray Vice-President Larry Snyder Treasurer Barbara B. Blumenthal Clerk Mary Beth Brooker Sara Lennox Tom Navin Elaine Reall Julie Starr |
Shara Denson, President
Shara Denson is the former Human Resources Business Partner for Student Affairs & Campus Life, College of Education, College of Humanities & Fine Arts and Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Hannah E. Ray, Vice-President Hannah E. Ray is co-owner of Workroom Design Studio in Northampton, Massachusetts. With a BFA in textile design, she was Tack Upholstery Studio’s sole upholsterer and proprietor for seven years prior to co-founding Workroom Design Studio in 2018. Larry Snyder, Treasurer Larry Snyder is Associate Vice President for Campus Services, Operations, and Maintenance at Smith College. He joined the board in 2024. Barbara B. Blumenthal, Clerk Barbara B. Blumenthal is an independent bookbinder and book studies historian. 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. Barbara has lived in Northampton since 1971, when she first arrived at Smith College. She graduated in 1975 with a degree in American Studies, also having studied typography and calligraphy. As an undergraduate, she 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 was the rare book specialist in the Smith College Mortimer Rare Book Room for 35 years and occasionally teaches classes in bookbinding, book arts, and book history. Mary Beth Brooker Mary Beth Brooker joined the Board of Historic Northampton in 2023. An artist, performer, and playwright, Mary Beth received an MFA in theater from Smith College, and an MA in European history from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is also a board member of School of Contemporary Dance and Thought (SCDT). She is a former teacher of children’s art and theater, and U.S. and European history, and art history. Mary Beth has lived in Northampton since 2000 after having moved from the San Francisco Bay Area. She lives with her husband, James Lowenthal, astronomer and dark skies advocate, and their daughter Melle, who studies choreography and video at Bennington College. Mary Beth is especially interested in how the arts inform sensibilities of care, of environment, and of human and other species. She hopes that in the years ahead, visitors to Historic Northampton will find in the archives of our times a vibrant arts community that inspired and enriched daily life. Sara Lennox Sara Lennox taught in the German program at the University of Massachusetts, where she also directed the Social Thought and Political Economy Program (STPEC), an interdisciplinary social justice program for undergraduates. Since her retirement in 2012 she's focused her energies on Northampton. She is a founding member of NN, a Historic Northampton board member, a committee member of the David Ruggles Center for History and Education, and a member of the Western Mass 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. Tom Navin Tom Navin is Director of Development at Community Legal Aid, which provides free legal services to low income and elderly residents of central and western Massachusetts. He has been in the field of nonprofit fundraising for over 25 years, having served as Vice President of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement at World Learning/ School for International Training, in Brattleboro, VT; preceded by his 18-year tenure at his alma mater, University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he was Director of Annual Giving. Tom earned a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, and a Master’s Degree in Education from UMass Amherst. Tom lives in Northampton with his husband and their lab/hound mix. He and his husband have long been fascinated by the history of Northampton, and are collectors of early Northampton imprints, maps, photographs, ephemera, and early material history of Northampton. Elaine Reall Attorney Elaine Reall is a local lawyer who has served as both City Solicitor and long time Labor Counsel for the City of Northampton. She is a former Trustee of Forbes Library and currently serves on the Lathrop Community's Board of Directors. Julie Starr Julie and her spouse relocated to Northampton from NYC in 2006 with their 2 young children, seeking a vibrant, liberal leaning community, similar to where she grew up in Woodstock, NY. She started a new career as a realtor in 2009 - which allowed her to combine her love of real estate with the enjoyment of meeting new people and helping them make important (meaningful) connections within the greater Northampton area. She has served on the board of the Hampshire Regional YMCA and Safe Passage. Julie loves learning about the history of Northampton and its environs. She looks forward to helping forward the mission of Historic Northampton. |
STAFF
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Laurie Sanders
Co-Executive Director Elizabeth M. Sharpe Co-Executive Director Emma Bresnan Museum Educator & Programming Coordinator Pippa Comfort Business Operations & Development Coordinator Margy Jessup Collections Assistant Jules Levine Gallery Assistant Kelsy Sinelnikov Collections Manager |
Laurie Sanders, Co-Executive Director
Email Laurie Sanders Laurie Sanders became co-executive director of Historic Northampton in 2016. Sanders is a naturalist, writer, and the former host of Field Notes, a weekly natural history series that aired on NEPM (then WFCR) for a decade. She holds a B.A. from Smith College and a master’s from the Field Naturalist Program at the University of Vermont. Elizabeth Sharpe, Co-Executive Director Email Elizabeth Sharpe Elizabeth Sharpe became co-executive director of Historic Northampton in 2016. Sharpe is an historian and the author of In the Shadow of the Dam: The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874 and the former director of education at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. She holds an M.A. from the Cooperstown graduate program in museum studies and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Delaware. Emma Bresnan, Museum Educator & Programming Coordinator Email Emma Bresnan Emma joined Historic Northampton in 2026. Previously, she worked as a tour guide manager at the Cyrus Dallin Art Museum in Arlington, Massachusetts. In addition to museum education, she has a background in living history and historic clothing-making. She holds a B.A. in history from the College of William & Mary and an M.A. in history museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program. Pippa Comfort, Business Operations & Development Coordinator Email Pippa Comfort Pippa Comfort joined the staff in 2026. She brings over 25 years of experience in development and advancement services, most recently serving at the Emily Dickinson Museum. Pippa holds a Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) from Simmons University and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Jules Levine, Gallery Assistant Margy Jessup, Collections Assistant Email Margy Jessup Margy Jessup joined the staff in 2021. For 25 years, she had been an archivist in Smith College Special Collections where she focused on digital preservation and access. She holds and MLS from Simmons College and a B.A. from UMass Amherst. Kelsy Sinelnikov, Collections Manager Email Kelsy Sinelnikov Prior to becoming collections manager, Kelsy Sinelnikov was curator of the Museums of Oglebay Institute in Wheeling, West Virginia. She holds an MA in Public History from Duquesne University in Pennsylvania. |