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.
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.
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.
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.
Beverly Bolden - Trustee, Member since 2023.
Roberta McCullock Dews - Trustee, Member since 2023.
Colin Adams - Trustee, Member since 2023.
Churchill Cotton - Retired from the Board.
Patricia Cotton - Retired from the Board.
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. Wightman - Member in memoriam. Don Quinn Kelley, Ph.D - member in memoriam. William Irwin - Member in memoriam.
Patricia Cotton - Retired from the Board.
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. Wightman - Member in memoriam. Don Quinn Kelley, Ph.D - member in memoriam. William Irwin - Member in memoriam.
Other sites of interest
Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail
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