Trustees

Brad Bradstreet – Brad and his wife, Linda, live in Bridgton, Maine on the shores of Long Lake. He is currently associated with Krainin Real Estate focused on real estate sales in the Sebago Lake Region of Maine. For over 30 years he worked for IBM living in multiple states and held many management positions. More recently he was responsible for application development for online banking and call center systems for a major bank in North Carolina. But, at every opportunity he and his family vacationed in northern New England.

Brad's love for Mount Washington and the Presidentials started when he was 13 years old. He was a member of a hiking group from Camp Mowglis in New Hampshire. The tall hotel with chains going up over the roof has been the image of the summit he remembered for years. At home in Maine he has a log book of his over 50 hikes to the summit.

In addition to being on the Observatory's Board of Trustees, he is Treasurer of his church in Fryeburg, Secretary and Treasurer of his road association, and Secretary of Camps Newfound and Owatonna in Harrison, Maine. One can find him as a regular participant on the Observatory's web forums as well as on anything to do with northern New England on Facebook. Besides hiking Mount Washington, Brad's interests include waterskiing (every morning if possible), sailing and photography.

Paul T. Fitzgerald – Paul and Cheryl Ann Fitzgerald live in Laconia, N.H. They have two grown sons, Shawn and Travis. Paul received his B.A. from St. Michael's College in 1972 and earned a law degree four years later in 1976. He is currently a director of the law firm of Wescott, Dyer, Fitzgerald & Nichols in Laconia. In addition to his law practice, Paul has been active in a number of community organizations and has served as both the Mayor of Laconia and Chairman of the Laconia Police Commission. Paul first became involved with the Observatory as an extension of being an avid hiker when he walked into the summit facility out of curiosity after climbing the mountain back in 1980. After serving on the Summit Operations Committee for several years he was elected a trustee in 1985 and has been active on the Executive Committee and long-range planning committees. Paul is a past president of the Board of Trustees and currently serves on the Observatory's Governance Committee.

Brad L. J. Griswold – Brad currently resides in Lancaster NH with his wife Valerie and their two children enjoying an unobstructed view of the Presidentials and the Observatory. The family's introduction to the Observatory was during the first Seek the Peak event, which has led to their continued involvement over the years. After attending Messiah College and then attending the College of Financial Planning, in 1994 Brad founded Concannon Wealth Management with offices in Pennsylvania and Florida, where he continues today as the managing partner. In this role, Brad focuses on developing and implementing a cohesive strategy by which their client's assets are managed and their long-term financial goals addressed. Currently Brad serves on a number of boards in various capacities including Moravian Academy in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Christian Camps and Conferences in Alton, New Hampshire.

Dick Hamilton – Dick Hamilton, of Littleton, N.H. has over 50 years experience in the travel and tourism industry including 35 years as CEO of the White Mountains Attractions Association, from which he recently retired. He was the first executive director of SKI 93 and is the founder of the N.H. Travel Council. He currently serves as the chair of the N.H. Scenic Byways Council, the chair of the Department of Resources and Economic Development Advisory Board, the chair of the DTTD Joint Promotional Committee (otherwise known as "tourism matching grants"), a member of the Old Man of the Mountain Legacy Fund, vice president of the Old Man of the Mountain Museum, a member of N.H. Travel and Tourism Development Advisory Council, a board member of the Flying Yankee Restoration Group and a member of the Littleton Chamber of Commerce. He also served 14 years as a member of the Board of Governors of the N.H. Community Technical College system. As he has been an active promoter of the White Mountains as a tourism destination, he is also an avid collector of vintage White Mountains memorabilia, thus his long love affair with Mount Washington. He has been married for 43 years to his best friend Sandra and has three grown children and six grandchildren aged 2-16. Dick was elected a trustee in 2005.

Hugh Jencks – Hugh is Vice President-Investments and Senior Portfolio Manager with UBS Financial Services, Inc. in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His three-decade career in the wealth advisory profession has also involved a combined 42 years of service on volunteer boards in the state of New Hampshire.

Hugh has served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Canterbury Shaker Village, President of the Board of Trustees of the Wentworth-Gardner & Tobias Lear Houses Association, Chairman of the Peirce Island Committee of the City of Portsmouth, and President of the Steering Committee of the Friends of the South End Neighborhood Association. He brings to the Observatory expertise in governance, financial management, and fundraising matters, as well as an advocate's understanding of the iconic status that Mount Washington owns among New Hampshire's landmarks, and the historic role of the Observatory on the summit.

He lives with his wife, Dennett Page, a retired non-profit executive and their daughter in the historic Puddle Dock neighborhood of Portsmouth.

Kenneth A. Jones – Recently retired, Ken was the managing partner of Wilson/Reilly Associates, a technical sales firm in Nashua, N.H. He lives in Amherst, N.H., with his wife Suzanne. They have two grown children.

Active in many outdoor activities, Ken has always been keenly interested in weather. His introduction to the Observatory in the early 80s kindled a love of Mount Washington and its unique climate. He serves on other non-profit boards as well. Ken has been a member of the Mount Washington Observatory's Science Advisory Committee since 1995, and is a past president of the Board of Trustees. He holds an engineering degree from Penn State and an MBA from Syracuse University.

Robert C. Kirsch – Rob Kirsch received a diploma from Phillips Academy, Andover, received his B.S. from Middlebury College, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa in 1979 and a J.D., cum laude, from Cornell Law School in 1983. He is a partner in the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in Boston, where he leads the firm's environmental practice. His professional accomplishments have been recognized nationally: he was named a Massachusetts Lawyer of the year in 2008; he is a Board Member of the Environmental Law Institute; and a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers. Rob learned of the Observatory through hiking and climbing in the White Mountains with his father and brother, beginning in the 1960s. In January 1978 he served as a student intern at the Observatory, and he worked as an observer when not attending college or law school between 1978 and 1981. He has been a trustee since 1985. He is a past president of the Board of Trustees and serves on the Observatory's Executive and Governance Committees.

Joseph M. Kwasnik – Joe lives in Jackson, New Hampshire. He holds a B.A. in Geology and a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Connecticut and the University of Massachusetts, respectively. Joe spent 30 years as an environmental professional with National Grid as Vice President of Environment and Head of Climate Change with the company. Joe is currently a Senior Advisor at Ceres, Inc. in Boston. Joe is active in his community through membership in the Kiwanis Club, Director of the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative and President of the Franconia Soaring Association. Joe enjoys all outdoor activities including skiing, hking, fishing, flying sailplanes and biking.

Maureen Kelliher – Maureen Kelliher is no stranger to the Mount Washington Observatory. She is a five-year member and has participated in numerous events. She is responsible for the investment team of Citizens Bank's investment department in New Hampshire and has over 27 years of investment industry experience and 18 years in investment portfolio management. Previously, Kelliher was Chief Investment Officer for a state-chartered trust company in NH as well as money desk manager for a regional bank. She occasionally conducts economic seminars and writes investment articles for the Boston Business Journal.

Gail Langer – Gail lives in Stoneham, Maine on a mountaintop in clear view of Mount Washington. Now retired, Gail enjoyed her career with Pfizer and Dupont Pharmaceuticals working in R&D, sales, marketing, manufacturing, quality and business development. She graduated from Merrimack College in 1972 with a B.S. in Chemistry and received an M.S. in Organic Chemistry from Southern Connecticut University. Always a lover of the outdoors, Gail's interests include sea kayaking, skiing, swimming, snorkeling, bicycling and especially hiking. She has hiked in Peru, Alaska, Western Canada, Nepal and Switzerland, but especially loves the White Mountains. In fact, she has climbed Mount Washington 14 times. Gail has volunteered for various Mount Washington Observatory fundraising events in the past few years and looks forward to continuing this effort. Gail was elected a trustee in 2005.

Robert Larsen – Bob Larsen graduated from St. Olaf College in 1970, obtained a master's degree in Biological Anthropology based on high altitude research in Peru in 1974, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1979 where he was the editor of the Wisconsin Law Review. Bob recently retired from the Sulloway & Hollis law firm where he worked since 1979 and concentrated on the defense of doctors and hospitals in state and federal court and on the representation of health care providers in regulatory matters. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America and has received numerous honors including Merrimack County Lawyer of the Year. Bob is a trustee of The NH Nature Conservancy, on the Advisory Board of the Art Gallery at UNH, President of the Board of the Friends Program, and trustee emeritus of the Mayhew Program. He is the Chair of the United Way Campaign in Merrimack County for 2007. Bob lives with his family in Concord, N.H. He was named a trustee of the Observatory in 2001 and was a co-chair of the Observatory's capital campaign New Horizons.

Sarah Long – Sarah Long has worked at both mountaintop and sea level. She has served as the chief meteorologist and summit manager for the Mount Washington Observatory. After four years of living and working on the summit of Mount Washington, Sarah traded in her commute up the mountain to start her broadcasting career. Since 2002 Sarah has worked for WGME13 NewsChannel 13 in Portland, Maine.

Sarah earned her degree in meteorology from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She has served as a board member of the American Meteorological Society's Board on Women and Minorities, and a mentor for DataStreme course where she trained weather education resource teachers.

Sarah and her husband Tom, a high school science teacher, live in Portland. She was elected a trustee in 2005 and serves on the Education and Development Committees.

Peter Middleton – Peter has worked in commercial construction since graduating from UNH in 1981 and is currently the president of Martini Northern General Contractors and Construction Managers in Portsmouth, NH. He is an avid skier and spent over 20 years supporting youth ski racing as a coach and board member of the Attitash Alpine Education Foundation. During summer breaks from college, Peter worked on various construction projects in the Mount Washington Valley area and spent two summers helping with the construction of the Sherman Adams Building at Mount Washington State Park in 1979 and 1980. In addition to sitting on the Observatory's Facilities Committee, Peter also serves on the board of Plan NH as treasurer and as President of Friends of UNH Skiing. He lives in Portsmouth with his wife Meg and their two children, Abby and Ben.

Samuel Miller – Sam received a diploma with honors in weather forecasting from Chanute Air Force Base (Rantoul, Ill.), a B.S. in physics summa cum laude, an M.S. in Earth Science-Oceanography, and a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the University of New Hampshire. His research interests include mesoscale meteorology (especially coastal circulation, air-sea interaction, and air pullution dispersion) and practical forecasting problems (such as precipitation type and local winds).

Prior to joining the faculty at Plymouth State University in 2005, he worked as a meteorologist for the U.S. National Weather Service (NOAA), Alaskan Region, Anchorage Forecast Office. At UNH, he served as an instructor/lecturer, a research scientist for the Climate Change Research Center, and a research scientist/programmer for the Ocean Process Analysis Laboratory. He worked as weather observer for the Pease Air National Guard Base Weather Station (Portsmouth, N.H.) and as a weather forecaster for the U.S. Airforce at Incirlik Air Base (Adana, Turkey); Plattsburgh AFB (N.Y.); Travis AFB (Calif.); and Loring AFB (Maine). Miller has and continues to serve as a meteorology and physics consultant and software developer for the C-10 Research and Education Foundation (Newburyport, Mass.).

Douglas Nelson – Doug has worked in financial services in the New Hampshire seacoast area for more than 20 years and serves as a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. In addition to managing investments for affluent families, Doug provides Art Advisory services regionally. He lives in Rye Beach with his wife Karin and two daughters. Doug was educated at Carnegie Mellon and the University of New Hampshire. He is a Trustee and Chairman of the Restoration Committee of The Music Hall. Doug is a past President of the Board of Directors of Crossroads House. He has served for the last three years as a Sunday River Ski Ambassador. Doug is a member of Senator Judd Gregg's Leadership Council for the Arts. As a collector of period paintings of New Hampshire's White Mountains & the Isles of Shoals, Doug has been a lecturer, editor, and art historian; he is currently assisting in the preparation of a documentary film on the artists & writers colonies at the White Mountains during the 19th Century. Doug enjoys skiing, hiking & travel and looks forward to working on the Observatory's Board of Trustees.

Gail Paine – Gail is a retired Program Coordinator for the University System of New Hampshire College for Lifelong Learning, now Granite State College, having worked in the North Country of New Hampshire from 1980 until 2004. She is a University of Michigan graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Gail formerly served on the NH State Board of Education from 1995 - 2005, was a member and Chairman of the New Hampshire Juvenile Parole Board from 1995-2006; Member of the New Hampshire Distance Learning Commission 1994-2003 ; Former board member of the Northern NH Charitable Foundation, Mt. Washington Valley School-Career, Bartlett School Board, NH Farm Museum Board, Memorial Hospital (past president) 1774-1996, YMCA Camp Nellie Huckins board, 1984-1995. Presently she serves as a board member on the Goldberg Foundation, Walker Foundation, New Hampshire Electric Cooperative Foundation, and Tillotson Foundation, Visiting Nurses of Northern Carroll County, Mt. Washington Valley Economic Council from 1991 - present; Mt. Musictop Music Advisory Committee; and Secretary of the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative. Gail represents New Hampshire on the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association board in Arlington, Virginia and serve on both the Administrative Committee and as chairman of the CEO Evaluation Committee for that organization. She is currently a Credentialed Cooperative Director and taking courses towards the Credentialed Leadership Director degree for the National Rural Electric Association directors. Gail is active in the Town of Bartlett, serving as the Chairman of The Lower Bartlett Water Commission ZBA, and Chairman of the Supervisors of the Bartlett Voter Checklist Her hobbies are fly fishing, ornithology, golf, hiking, skiing and traveling.

Marsha Rich – Marsha Rich lives in Chichester, NH, with her children Claudia and Alex. She received a B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1980 and a Masters of Education from the University of New Hampshire in 1985. She taught middle school earth science and served as the science department chair at the Derryfield School in Manchester, New Hampshire. Currently, Marsha serves as a resource agent for the American Meteorological Society's educational outreach program, facilitating teacher enhancement courses and offering professional development workshops on meteorology and weather for K-12 teachers. She also teaches meteorology courses on-line and in the classroom for Granite State College and the New Hampshire Technical Institute. Marsha also regularly leads Observatory EduTrips. Marsha loves to ski, hike, bike, garden and travel with her family. She is also a retired sea captain, having skippered charter sailboats in the Virgin Islands in the 1980s. Marsha has been an Observatory trustee since 1995, and currently serves as chair of the Observatory's Education Committee.

Mary Stampone – Mary Stampone is an Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of New Hampshire and has been the New Hampshire State Climatologist since August 2008.

Originally from Michigan, Mary received a B.A. degree in Geological Sciences from Albion College and received a M.S. degree in Geography and a Ph.D. in Climatology from the University of Delaware. After a year teaching in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Shippensburg University in central Pennsylvania, she accepted a faculty position in the Department of Geography at the University of New Hampshire. As a UNH faculty member, she teaches courses on weather, climate, natural hazards and land surface processes and her research interests include climate system science with a focus on climate modeling and cryospheric processes. She also serves as the New Hampshire State Climatologist, providing the public with information on weather and climate though research, education and outreach activities. She is the point of contact for the two NOAA Climate Reference Network (CRN) stations located in southern New Hampshire, co-coordinator of the NH Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network and NWS cooperative observer for Durham, NH.

Mary and her husband Dan live in Dover, NH and enjoy a variety of outdoor activities with their two dogs.

Brian C. Underwood – Brian C. Underwood, CRE is the principal of a regional real estate counseling and appraisal firm that performed assignments throughout the northeastern United States. The firm specializes in complex property types and provides real estate counseling services to developers, attorneys and lending institutions. He has been admitted as an expert witness in New Hampshire Superior Courts and the Federal Court.

Mr. Underwood has been awarded the CRE designation from the Counselors of Real Estate and is one of only four CREs in New Hampshire. Membership in the organization is awarded by invitation only through peer, employer and client review. In 2008, Governor Lynch appointed Brian to the New Hampshire Real Estate Appraiser Board. He also served as Chairman of the Wolfeboro Zoning Board of Adjustment for over 13 years.

Brian became involved with the Observatory through serving as a volunteer on the summit in 1993. His interest came from his interest in weather as a pilot. Since then he has assisted the Observatory in a number of ways and was elected to the Board of Trustees in 1994. Brian was instrumental in the success of the Observatory's volunteer program which resulted in significant benefits to the Observatory over the years. He has served as Treasurer of the Board of Trustees, Vice President, and Chairman of the Finance Committee. He is a resident of Rye, New Hampshire.

Howie Wemyss – Howie Wemyss ("weemz") was born in Cambridge, Mass. and raised in Biddeford, Maine where he graduated from Biddeford High School. After several years at Colorado State University, he spent two years in the Army, mostly in Germany, before returning to New England and settling in the Mt. Washington Valley in 1971. Howie was employed by the Mt. Washington Auto Road in the late 70s as a stage driver while working on the ski patrol at Wildcat Mountain in the winter. He later worked for the Merrimack Valley YMCA at their Bear Island facilities on Lake Winnipesaukee. In 1987 he took over as general manager of the Auto Road upon the retirement of Doug Philbrook and in 1995 began managing the Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center as well. He and his wife Sue spend the summer in Green's Grant, and move north for the winter to Randolph, N.H. Howie has a daughter Cory, who is a licensed Massage Therapist in the Conway area. Howie and Sue enjoy cross country skiing, trail running and mountain biking. Howie was elected a trustee in 2005 and chairs the Observatory's Facilities Committee.