Rachel Roberts

Rachel Roberts remembers being a kid in Gill. Her mother would take the family car into Greenfield every Saturday for errands, and the one that she looked forward to the most was a stop at the library. Fast forward to 2008 when she learned that her beloved place needed financial support and she organized a very successful fundraiser, donating it all to the Friends. Then in 2013 when the new building was just a glint in the eye of a few she was one of three people who volunteered to create an advisory group to get things started. Today as the Foundation’s paid Coordinator and still a proud Friend she provides essential leadership to Team Library. We’re pretty sure that she is just getting started.

Jessica Day

While her parents were building the house in Conway that Jessica Day was raised in they kept a small apartment in Chicopee. The library was close enough that her mom could put her in a stroller three or four times a week, bring her to the library, and read to her. Family legend is that one day when she was three Jessica pronounced that she could read the book her mom was reading aloud, and did so. Today Jess is the Director of Communications at Deerfield Academy. She says that she still loves learning people's stories, and she loves sharing those stories. As one of our jobs as a Foundation is to tell the story of our library she is a welcome addition to our board.

Jeanne Canteen

We joke that Jeanne Canteen represents the corporate world on our board. She had five careers in 30 years, all working for the company now known as Verizon. At one time she oversaw more than 5,000 telephone operators and 300 managers in the state of New York. She also had senior leadership roles in sales, marketing and corporate planning. Along the way she earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Lucky for us when she and her late husband Richard drew a 4-hour wide circle around Manhattan they chose Greenfield as the perfect place to retire. Today we benefit from her deep leadership skills and experience by relying on her as our president.

Terry Ruggles

Terry Ruggles was born in Greenfield. When they were young he and his wife Vanna explored other places to live, but by the time their first-born started school they knew that his birthplace was where they wanted to call home. He’ll wax poetic about how green and lush our beautiful hamlet is, and how it’s located just close enough to big city culture, but what really inspires him is community. From starting a semi-pro baseball team to serving on multiple nonprofit boards, Terry has been helping to better the community for decades. Though the city has changed a lot since Terry was a boy here, it’s his hope that we always keep our neighbor-supporting-neighbor spirit. It helps that he has never met a stranger.

Jeremy Lajoie

Jeremy Lajoie is from Holyoke, and his wife Erin is from Turners Falls. He says that when their relationship started to get serious the decision to settle in Greenfield was easy. He’s a community banker with the Greenfield Cooperative Bank, and he likes being able to know the people he helps. He calls his approach hands-on, he likes to see the results of what he’s doing. “It’s special,” he says “to walk on a piece of land before a house that we’re financing is built. It’s really nice to know the people who are going to be new neighbors.” He brings the same approach to his work with the Foundation. He’s our treasurer, so we lean on his careful and deliberate style. It’s nice to know the people who support our library.

Mitch Anthony

Mitch Anthony grew up in Pittsfield but chose to build his career and raise his family in Greenfield. “Community is very important to me,” he says, “and Greenfield is a community that values and invests in community.” He has served as a brand strategist for companies large and small on four continents. He’s also been a trustee at the Conway School of Design and served on the board of the Greenfield Community College Foundation. When he saw that some community members didn’t understand the value of building a new library he knew he had to help. “Apparently libraries have a branding problem”, he says, “and that’s where I come in.”

Bill Benson

Bill Benson has spent much of his life helping communities organize around the things that matter most. From the anti-war and No Nukes movements to three terms in the Massachusetts Legislature and years of local and regional public service, he has consistently believed that lasting change begins when neighbors work together toward a common purpose.

After arriving in Franklin County in the early 1970s, Bill quickly became part of the region's civic life. Whether working in public health, organizing neighborhoods, serving as a county commissioner, or helping launch innovative regional initiatives, he has always been drawn to the work of building stronger communities.

Libraries embody the same values that have guided Bill throughout his life: access to knowledge, civic participation, and opportunity for everyone. Bill serves on the Greenfield Public Library Board of Trustees and represents the Trustees on the Greenfield Public Library Foundation, helping strengthen the partnership that keeps the library growing, thriving, and serving the entire community.

Lexi Turner

Lexi Turner has devoted her career to strengthening communities through public service. From her early work in public policy to decades of leadership in affordable housing and organizational development, she has been drawn to the challenge of building institutions that help people and neighborhoods thrive.

After moving to Greenfield, Lexi quickly discovered what so many residents already knew: this is a community where neighbors look out for one another and where civic life still matters. That spirit, combined with the town's extraordinary natural beauty, made Greenfield feel like home.

For Lexi, libraries are among our most important public spaces. They welcome everyone, encourage lifelong learning, and provide enrichment opportunities available to every member of the community. She is honored to support the Greenfield Public Library Foundation's work to ensure that this remarkable Greenfield institution thrives for generations to come.

Lisa Gaimari

Lisa Gaimari has loved libraries for as long as she can remember. As a child, they opened worlds of imagination and discovery. As a parent, they became a place to nurture curiosity in her own children. Today, she delights in watching her grandchildren make those same discoveries in the Greenfield Public Library's Children's Room.

A graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a degree in art history, Lisa has spent more than 25 years at Deerfield Academy, where she works in the Development Office supporting philanthropic initiatives that strengthen the school and its future. Her professional life has been built around careful research, thoughtful relationships, and helping people invest in institutions they believe in.

For Lisa, libraries are among a community's greatest gifts: welcoming places where everyone belongs, learning never ends, and every generation has the opportunity to grow. She is honored to help ensure that the Greenfield Public Library continues to inspire readers, learners, and families for years to come.

Nathaniel Hussey

Natty Hussey believes that strong communities are built through service. Whether volunteering at his hometown library as a child, serving in the Peace Corps, helping patients in the emergency department, or contributing to local nonprofit organizations, he has always been drawn to work that connects people and strengthens the places they call home.

Originally from Northfield, Natty returned to the Pioneer Valley after serving in the Peace Corps in North Macedonia, where he met his wife, Maja. Today, he is a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones Investments and is active in a number of local organizations dedicated to building a vibrant and resilient community.

For Natty, the Greenfield Public Library is one of those essential places where people of every age and background can learn, connect, and discover new possibilities. He is proud to support an institution that helps create opportunity—not only for today's residents, but for generations still to come.