About Us

Members pictured from left to right; Roberta McCulloch Dews, Gail Krumpholz, Sandy Hamilton, Blayne Whitfield, Frances Jones-Sneed, Marlena Willis, and Beverly Bolden (Gala 2025).

Members pictured from left to right; Gail Krumpholz, Jeannie Williams, Marlena Willis, Blayne Whitfield, Beverly Bolden, and Colin Adams (Westside Legends Block Party 2024).

SHS Board of Trustees

Doris Jean "Jeannie" Williams - President: Samuel Harrison Society program coordinator; holds a masters degree in nursing education; retired Nurse Educator and is Registered Nurse in Connecticut. Trustee since 2004. Roberta McCulloch-Dews - Vice President: The Vice President of Marketing at Greylock Federal Credit Union. A communications professional with more than 25 years of multi-industry experience, Roberta began her career as a newspaper journalist in 2000, and later transitioned to marketing communications/public relations, higher education, and most recently, local government. In addition to her service on the Samuel Harrison Society board, Roberta serves as a Trustee on the Norman Rockwell board and the Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick Trust, Roberta is on the Board of Directors for Girls Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts, Berkshire Immigrant Center, and 2nd Street Second Chances. She is a longstanding youth mentor with the Rites of Passage Empowerment Program (R.O.P.E). Roberta is also a member of the Western Massachusetts chapter of Jack and Jill. She is a former member of the board for the Elizabeth Freeman Center and a former Commissioner for the Berkshire County Commission on the Status of Women. Roberta graduated from New York University (NYU) with a bachelor’s degree in Print Journalism and earned a master's degree in social and public policy from SUNY Empire. Trustee since 2023. Blayne Whitfield - Treasurer: 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. Aretha Whitehead - Administrator: Administrator for the Sheffield Historical Society. Trustee since 2026. Marlena Willis - Trustee: 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. 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. Sandy Hamilton - Trustee: 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, Trustee since 2023. Colin Adams - Trustee: An Associate Professor at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, MA; Specializes in Humanities, Behavorial, and Social Sciences. Trustee since 2023. Beverly Bolden - Trustee: A member of the Westside Legends (WSL) in Pittsfield, MA. The WSL improves quality of life and creates a stronger future for Pittsfield's West Side. Trustee since 2023. Jocelyn Jones Arnold - Trustee since 2024. Dee Johnson - Trustee since 2026 Dawn Morin - Trustee since 2026

Retired Board Members

Gail Krumpholz - Trustee Churchill Cotton - Former President and TreasurerPatricia Cotton - TrusteeSheila Irwin - TrusteeIvan Newton - Former Vice PresidentLinda Tyer Clairmont - 1st President

Board Members in Memoriam

Ruth Edmonds Hill - Honorary Member in memoriam: Great granddaughter of Samuel Harrison; donated the Samuel Harrison House to the Samuel Harrison Society; An oral historian at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study of Harvard University, and an historic preservation advocate.
Rev. John G. WightmanDon Quinn Kelley, Ph.DWilliam Irwin

Historical Sites

Second Congregational Church Pittsfield Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail Hyde Park Historical Society W. E. B. Du Bois and Great Barrington The Ashley House Ventfort Hall Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area Connecticut Freedom Trail Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark Smithfield Community Association Western Reserve Academy Samuel Harrison Memorial Page at Find A Grave

Local sites of interest

NAACP Berkshire County Westside Legends R.O.P.E.