About Us
Board members (pictured above) with Dr. Homer "Skip" Meade,II, Ed.D (center) at the 5th Annual Samuel Harrison Birthday Celebration, Second Congregational Church, Pittsfield, MA on April 20th, 2010.
SHS Board of Trustees Marlena Willis - President: Chairperson of the Westside Neighborhood Resource Center, Inc.; treasurer of the Women of Color Giving Circle; board member of the Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts; member of the Pittsfield Garden Tour; holds a masters degree in integrated studies from Cambridge College; employed as an outreach program director at the Gladys Brigham Community Center. Trustee since 2009. Blayne Whitfield - Vice President: Great, great, grandson of Reverend Samuel Harrison; established and administers the Samuel Harrison Society's website; a graduate of Pittsfield High School and called the Samuel Harrison House home between 1978 and 1986; employed as an engineer in Connecticut. Trustee since 2004. Churchill Cotton - Treasurer: Current member of the Second Congregational Church; Council Member of the City of Pittsfield; former City of Pittsfield School Committee; former Chairperson and current member of the Westside Neighborhood Initiative; and the Berkshire United Way Board of Directors; employed by Guardian Life Insurance Company. Trustee since 2004. Jeannie Williams - Trustee: Samuel Harrison Society program coordinator; holds a masters degree in nursing education; employed as the Director of Nursing at LaSalatte Ministries and is registered nurse in Connecticut. Trustee since 2004. Patricia Cotton - Trustee: Current member of Second Congregational Church; Member of the Westside Neighborhood Initiative; employed by Target. Trustee since 2004. Gail Krumpholz - Trustee: Chairperson of the Morningside Neighborhood Initiative; employed at the Highland Restaurant and Samel's Deli and Catering. Trustee since 2004. Dr. Frances Jones-Sneed, Ph.D - Trustee: Professor of history at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; co-director of the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail; former board member at MassHumanities; recent recipient of the Sarah A. Lewis Social Justice Award. Trustee since 2004. Rosanne M. Frieri - Trustee: Director of Veterans Services for the City of Pittsfield and the Town of Richmond; an active member of the Massachusetts National Guard 104th Public Affairs Office at Barnes ANG. Trustee since 2007. Sheila Irvin - Trustee: A resident of Pittsfield, MA; Chair of the Pittsfield Community Development Board; Chair of the Advisory Committee to the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority; Past Chair of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and now serving as Clerk; Retired Teacher. Trustee since 2019. Sandy Hamilton - Member: A by-coast resident of Carson, CA and Pittsfield, MA; Human Relations Commissioner, Carson, CA since 2017; NAACP, Berkshire County Branch since 2018; Volunteer & Employment for Marilyn Hamilton’s Sports/Literacy Program, Pittsfield, MA from 2007 to 2018; employee as Supervising Children’s Social Worker for the County of Los Angeles, Department of Children and Family Services, since 1988; CSUDH, MSW-Critical Race Theory (CRT) foundation, Field Practicum Professor, since 2017; Zeta Phi Beta, Sorority, Inc., Alpha Psi Zeta, Chapter, 1981. Member since 2019. Santha Willis - Member: Born and raised in Pittsfield, MA; Member of Second Congregational Church; Member and secretary of the Berkshire County Chapter of the NAACP from January 2012 to January 2013; employed as a Special Order Buyer for Land 'N' Sea c/o Brunswick Co. Member since 2019. Ruth Edmonds Hill - Honorary Member: Great granddaughter of Samuel Harrison; donated the Samuel Harrison House to the Samuel Harrison Society; employed as an oral historian at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study of Harvard University; researcher for conducting the Black Womtor, and historic preservation advocate. Member since 2004. Rev. John G. Wightman - member in memoriam. Don Quinn Kelley, Ph.D - member in memoriam. William Irwin - member in memoriam.
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