Board of Trustees
The Volunteer Board of Trustees is comprised of residents, residents’ family members, waitlist members and local people with varied and expansive backgrounds in finance, business, law and medicine. These dedicated board members volunteer their time to help set the strategic plan and guarantee RiverMead's fiscal health and operational success for decades to come.
Susan W. Peters, Chair
Dublin, NH
An attorney, Ms. Peters clerked for Justice Neil Lynch on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and practiced business law in Massachusetts before moving to New Hampshire to raise a family. She is a water testing volunteer for Dublin Lake, and has served on other Town Select Boards. She is an active member of the Bar in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and serves on the Phillips Academy Alumni Council. As a caregiver for her parents, she was closely involved from both the medical and personal financial perspectives. A graduate of Middlebury College and Boston University School of Law, she earned a Certificate in Strategic Management from Harvard Extension School in 2015.
Joe Caracappa, Vice-Chair
Peterborough, NH
Joe was born in Brooklyn and raised on Staten Island. Joe attended Columbia University, undergrad Operations Research. Joe has been married to Linda for 34 years and they have three children; Joseph Jr. (29), Alexander (26), and Leanna (17).
Joe is a Real Estate Investor and owner of several small businesses (two large laundromats in Boston and a carwash in Nashua). From 2013 to 2017, Joe was the Head of Sales/Business Development at Symbotic, a Boston-based robotics company. He was responsible for all sales and business development activities for this warehouse automation company. Joe held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for C&S Wholesale Grocers from 2005 to 2013 and was responsible for all aspects of technology and process improvement within the company.
From 2003 to 2005, he was employed by Ann Taylor as the Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer, responsible for all aspects of technology and process improvement within the company. Joe worked for Footstar Corporation from 1993 to 2003 as their Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, responsible for all aspects of technology and process improvement within the company.
From 1991 to 1993, Joe worked at Novartis Corporation as the Senior Director of Information Systems, and was responsible for software development for all supply chain areas. Joe worked for Anderson Consulting from 1984 to 1991 as their Senior Manager, as a management consultant.
Joe currently holds several volunteer positions in the community. He is the President and Treasurer of Monadnock Art / Friends of Dublin Art Colony (2016 to present). Joe is the Trustee (Stearns Farm, Finance & Strategy Committee Member) of Peterborough Players, (2018 to present). Joe’s hobbies include oil painting, reading, chess, and traveling.
Robert L. Edwards, Treasurer
Antrim, NH
Bob and his wife, Sarah live in Antrim, NH. They have 23 year old twin boys (recent college graduates), and a daughter who resides in Hancock, NH.
From April, 1969 until his retirement in April, 2011, Bob served as the VP-Commercial Loan Officer of People’s United Bank in Peterborough. He was responsible for the development and servicing of a $35MM commercial loan portfolio in the Greater Contoocook Valley and Monadnock Region. Loan origination of business credit lines, Irrevocable Letters of Credit, term loans for equipment, real estate and other fixed asset purposes. Peoples United Bank was the successor of Ocean Bank, formerly Ocean National Bank, Granite Bank, Primary Bank, and its original bank, Peterborough Savings Bank.
From April, 2011 to December, 2014, Bob held the position of VP-Commercial Loan Officer for Connecticut River Bank, NA, Charlestown, NH (aka Mascoma Bank), where he was responsible for the development and servicing of a $26MM commercial loan portfolio in the Greater Peterborough and Keene markets. Bob was responsible for the oversight and development of a lending assistant with the principal responsibility of preparing loan document in compliance with the Bank’s and US Small Business Administration’s 504 and 7(a) commercial lending programs. Bob retired again on December 31, 2014.
Bob is a graduate of Peterborough High School, The Graduate School of Savings Banking; Fairfield University, the National School of Commercial Lending; University of Oklahoma, and holds an AS from Becker College (Leicester Junior College by merger). Bob was honorably discharged from the US Army, Non-commissioned officer, Sargent E-5 and is a current member of Myers-Prescott-Olson Post #50, American Legion, Antrim, NH.
Bob’s community service includes the Antrim-Bennington Lions Club (40 year Lions Club Member), Member of the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, Trustee of the Trust Funds, Manager and Elder – First Presbyterian Church of Antrim. Bob serves on the Philanthropy Committee at Monadnock Community Hospital, and is the Chair of the Regional Board’s Grant Committee of the NH Charitable Foundation, is an Advisory Member of the Thornton Wilder Center for the Arts at ConVal High School (Performing Arts Initiative) and is the Treasurer and Trustee of the Maplewood Cemetery Association, Antrim, NH.
Bob is currently a member of the Antrim Select Board, an ex-officio Member to the Water and Sewer Department, and an appointed member to the NH Assessing Standards Board Sub-committee to study and recommend a formula for assessing NH PUC regulated multi-jurisdictional NH Public Utility companies. Bob is also an ex-officio member to the Antrim Planning Board. Bob was previously an ex-officio member to the Select Boards Advisory Committee (SAC) for SAU#1, previous chair, and Trustee of the Trust Funds, Town of Antrim for 28 years. Bob served 2 separate terms as Chair of the Antrim Planning Board, and was a member of the Antrim Town Hall Restoration Committee ($800,000 bonded Town Hall Restoration project).
His previous community service experience includes Monadnock Community Hospital, 2008-2016, Board Member, and Board Chair positions. Bob was the Chair of the Monadnock Community Hospital CEO Search Committee in 2012-13, a member of the Antrim Advisory Budget Committee in 2013, the ConVal Principals’ Community Advisory Committee 2014-15, the ConVal Builders Charitable Trust-Building Trades Program, trustee and treasurer, VP and Co-Chair of Development, ConVal Visual and Performing Arts Center, LLC and the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce Business Support Member and Co-secretary.
Bob has received several recognitions throughout his career. He is the 2008 Business Leader of the Year-Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce; received special recognition in 2011 for Service to the Town of Antrim by the Antrim Grange #98. In 2013, he was the Key Note Banquet Speaker for ConVal’s Student ACE Awards – Franklin Pierce University. Bob was a finalist in 2016 for the Community Man of the Year – Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce. Bob previously held Board Chair and Treasurer positions with the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce and begin an 8-year service in 2015 as an Intervenor with the NH Site Evaluation Committee for the Antrim Wind Farm Initiative. Bob also received the Melvin Jones Award from the Lions Clubs International Foundation.
Richard (Rick) M. Hance, Secretary
Peterborough, NH
Mr. Hance (Rick) moved to Peterborough with his wife Patti in 2005. Their interest in community, and the fact that their house is immediately across from the Peterborough Players, initiated their commitment to the theater, as well as arts and culture throughout the Monadnock Region. His extensive management experience started in the hospitality arena, in Director, Regional and Executive positions with the Marriott, Westin, and Starwood organizations. Before retiring, he was Executive Vice President of The Urban Land Institute in Washington DC. Since that time, he has served actively in the regional and statewide non-profit communities as trustee and President of the Peterborough Players board, as member of the Monadnock Worksource board, President of Monadnock Art/Friends of the Dublin Art Colony, and as a member and current Board Chair of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation -Monadnock Region.
Gerald M. DeBonis, M.D., Trustee
Sharon, NH
Dr. DeBonis has been a resident of the Monadnock Region for forty years. He and his wife, Karen, have a home in Sharon, NH. They have two children and four grandchildren.
Now retired, Dr. DeBonis was in private practice in orthopaedic surgery at Monadnock Community Hospital. Prior to coming to NH, Dr. DeBonis was in private practice in the New York metropolitan area where he also served as Associate Clinical Professor and assistant director of Hand Surgery Clinic at the New York Medical College.
Dr. DeBonis was in college at Columbia University and in medical school at Northwestern University. Following surgical residency and fellowship, he is certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery and is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery.
In the time he has lived in the Monadnock area, Dr. DeBonis has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Monadnock Community Hospital where he continues to serve on the Philanthropy Board; he has been a Board member of the Scott Farrar Home; he has served on the Pastoral Council of the Divine Mercy Parish; he continues to serve on the Planning Board for the town of Sharon.
Beth Fernald, Trustee
Sharon, NH
Beth Fernald and her husband Mark have lived in Sharon for over 30 years, where they raised their two children, Matthew and Katrina. Beth is a graduate of Wheaton College (MA) summa cum laude and earned a JD from Boston College Law School, magna cum laude. After nearly 20 years in private practice, first in Boston and later with the Bradley Law Firm in Keene, Beth began a second career as a diplomat with the U.S. State Department and served in Guatemala, the Czech Republic, Washington, DC, Belize, Paraguay, and the U.S. UN Mission in Kenya. Beth has also served on the Boards of Andy’s Summer Playhouse, and the Parent Guidance Center, and Chaired the Sharon Zoning Board of Adjustment. She currently serves on the Sharon Conservation Commission. She enjoys painting and hiking and filled some of her 2020 COVID lockdown time obtaining Yoga Teacher Certification.
George B. Foote, Jr., Trustee
Dublin, NH
Mr. Foote holds a PhD in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He retired as President of Advantec, Inc. Prior to moving to Dublin, he and his wife Lisa lived in Carlisle MA where he served on the Conservation Commission, chairman of the Planning Board, member of the long-term capital requirements committee and chairman of the Carlisle Land Trust and Carlisle Conservation Foundation. In the Monadnock Region, he has served on the board of the Sharon Arts Center, and currently serves on the boards of TriPyrarnid Structures Inc, and Dublin School.
Gerald “Jerry” Galus, Trustee
Peterborough, NH
Jerry was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii before moving to Philadelphia to attend the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and, immediately thereafter, to Ann Arbor to attend the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. After attaining an MBA, his working career began in New York City, where he joined the audit staff of a major accounting firm and, in the following year, attained his Certified Public Accountant license. He ultimately became a partner in the firm of Ernst & Young, located in NYC. The last 18 years of his career were centered on coordinating his firm’s services to multinational companies throughout the European and the Asia-Pacific regions while based in Amsterdam, Hong Kong & Singapore. He retired in 2006 and moved (with his wife, Françoise (a/k/a Caroline)) to Peterborough from Singapore. In retirement he continues to be a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.
In Peterborough, Jerry has been a member of the Peterborough Planning Board, the Peterborough Economic Development Authority, and chairs two town advisory boards to the Board of Selectmen. One of those boards is that of the South Peterborough Tax Incentive Funding commission which advises regarding infrastructure improvements in the district in which RiverMead is located.
Jerry is the originator and Board Chair of the Monadnock Area Employers’ Forum. The Forum periodically brings together representatives of the largest employers in the Peterborough area to discuss business issues and help find solutions to their problems.
Prior to moving overseas, Jerry was an active member of and received awards from numerous NYC-based not-for-profit organizations, including the Arts & Business Council of New York and the New York City Reading Council.
Peter Imhoff, Trustee
Dublin, NH
Mr. Imhoff is a graduate of St. Lawrence University (BA - Government) and Columbia University (MBA - Finance). Married with three adult children. Mr. Imhoff was a Managing Director in charge of Public Finance with Dillon, Read & Co. Inc., a NY-based investment bank. He was primarily responsible for over $40 billion in financing programs for entities such as the NY Metropolitan Transportation Authority, NYC Municipal Assistance Corporation, NYS Local Government Assistance Corporation, numerous toll roads, healthcare, and educational facilities.
After moving to New Hampshire, he served on multiple local not-for-profit boards and town committees. His primary efforts were on behalf of the Dublin School, where as Board President, he oversaw the revitalization of the physical and financial health of the school. Later he served as the Dublin School’s first Communication Director and Chief Financial Officer. He can often be found on Beach Hill with his wife Teresa and their two loving German Short-Haired Pointers.
Carl Amos Johnson, Trustee
Greenfield, NH
Mr. Johnson is the owner and Global Investment Fiduciary and Financial Planner with Grove Street Fiduciary, LLC based in Peterborough. He is skilled in using his fiduciary expertise in tax, investment and estate planning concepts to create prosperous and coordinated strategies with clients in the Monadnock Region and beyond. He and his wife and family moved to Greenfield, NH in 2001. His lifelong and continuing commitment has been in the U.S. Navy in which he served actively until 2000, followed by his active role with the Navy Reserves. He will be retiring shortly, as Captain serving on the Joint Staff Military Delegation to NATO, and at the Pentagon, and having received a number of Navy Meritorious Service, Commendation, and Humanitarian Service Medals. His community involvement has included active co-founding of the ConVal Community Scholarship Foundation for disadvantaged youth, as board member of the Dublin Christian Academy and Greenfield Historical Society.
Cyndee McGuire, Trustee
Peterborough, NH
Cynthia joined Monadnock Community Hospital as President and CEO in February of 2014. She has over 25 years of experience working in a variety of healthcare settings and was previously the Chief Operating Officer with Adirondack Health based in Saranac Lake, NY. Cynthia has a Master of Science Degree in Healthcare Administration from Sage Graduate School in Troy, NY. She is certified as a Healthcare Quality Professional and is a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives. She has served on many nonprofit boards over the last several years including the Russell Sage Evening College Alumni Board of Trustees, the YMCA, the Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, N.Y., the Adirondack Housing Development Corporation, and the NYS Health Care Managers Association (ACHE Chapter). Cynthia is Past Chair of the New Hampshire Hospital Association Board, Past-Chair of the NHHA Advocacy Task Force, Chair Elect of the NHHA Rural Health Coalition and is a member of the Section Small or Rural Hospitals Regional Policy Board 1 of the American Hospital Association and currently serves on the Peterborough Players Board. She and her husband, Harry, currently reside in Peterborough, NH.
Kenneth Messina, Trustee
Hancock, NH
Ken was born in NYC, raised in Long Island.
He holds a BA from St. Francis College (University of New England) and a Masters Degree in Management (Public Administration) from Northeastern University.
He recently retired from Thermo Fisher Scientific, where he held a series of lead staffing positions in several international divisions. He received several awards for developing and implementing staffing strategies for several key development projects.
In 2005, he moved from Massachusetts to New Hampshire to become Director of Staffing at C&S Wholesale Grocers, a position he held for three years.
Previously he was with Raytheon Corporation as Staffing Development Lead: Operations, for the Integrated Defense Systems Division.
Prior to Raytheon Corporation he was Vice President, Staffing and Member of the Founding Team for Cereva Networks, growing the company to over 200 employees.
Working with several Venture Capital Firms, he developed the initial staffing plans and HR structures for a number of zero stage technology companies.
Additional positions included: Vice-President, Chestnut Hill Partners, a retained Executive Search firm, Vice-President, Richards Consultations, an international retained search firm and Human Resources and Staffing roles with Data General Corporation.
Ken is currently Vice-President of the Devine Mercy Pastoral Council and a member of the Hancock, NH Telecommunications Committee.
Previously, he was a member of the Contoocook River Local Advisory Committee, Chairman of the Reading, Massachusetts Planning Board, an elected position, and Vice-Chairman of the Rivers Edge Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society.
An avid fisherman and outdoorsman, he and his wife of 44 years, Susan, reside in Hancock, NH. They have two daughters and four grandchildren.
Deborah S. Roody, Trustee
Peterborough, NH
Mrs. Roody is a native of New Hampshire, born in Antrim and brought up in Laconia. Her husband, Randy Roody, is also a N.H. native from Concord. After living in Europe at the beginning of their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Roody returned to the U.S.A. and lived most of their married years in Merrimack and Bedford, N.H. They moved to RiverMead in 2015. In her early professional life, Mrs. Roody focused on special education as a teacher and administrator for Hudson and Litchfield, N.H. public schools. She then worked for The NETWORK, Inc., a non-profit, educational R&D organization in Andover, Mass. There she directed a regional supported employment and independent living project for people with disabilities after which she worked nationally and internationally as a consultant, trainer, and facilitator in school improvement, and teacher development. More recently, she continued this work as a private consultant in N.H. with a special concentration on the mentoring of new teachers. She helped establish the N.H. affiliate of Learning Forward, a national teacher development professional organization and served as Board Member, Board Chair, and Executive Director until her retirement. Ms. Roody holds a B.A. degree in Sociology and M.Ed. in Guidance and Counselling from Clark University in Worcester, Mass., and a C.A.G.S. degree in Special Education from Temple University in Philadelphia, Penn. At RiverMead, Mrs. Roody chairs the Village Advisory Committee, helps organize the annual Country Store Tag Sale, and participates fully in RiverMead life and activities. She also volunteers in the library and on Medal Day at the MacDowell Colony.
Peter Rotch, Trustee
Peterborough, NH
Mr. Rotch grew up in New Hampshire. He practiced law, and was a shareholder/director, with McLane Middleton, a Manchester, NH law firm. His practice focused on business and financial transactions including representing banks and commercial lenders. He dealt with all aspects of commercial real estate and development, land use matters and securing and liquidating collateral. He attended Dartmouth College and the University of Chicago Law School.
Prior to moving to RiverMead in 2013, he and his wife Susan lived in Amherst, NH for 37 years. Susan currently resides at the Health Center in the Memory Support neighborhood.
Mr. Rotch serves on the board of the Monadnock Conservancy, a land trust in the Monadnock Region. He has served on the board of The White Mountain School, the NH chapter of The Nature Conservancy and the New Hampshire Symphony. He has been a member of the Amherst, NH Village District and the Amherst, NH Historic District Commission. At RiverMead, he has served as a member of the Residents’ Council including terms as president and treasurer. He has also been involved with leading the resident-run Saturday hikes, RiverMedia, the fitness committee, and the current issues committee.
Mary Ellen Spencer, Trustee
Peterborough, NH
Mrs. Spencer moved to RiverMead in 2016 from Shelburne, VT. At RiverMead she chairs the Performing Arts Committee and has been actively involved with the Tag Sale, Greenhouse Committee, and the water aerobics program. Her professional career spanned a variety of industries included secondary and higher education, public accounting in non-accountant roles and the in the field of aging. In Vermont, she was the Director of the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging, Director of the Vermont Office on Aging and the Director of The Converse Home, a non-profit assisted living and memory care facility. Mary Ellen was also an active community volunteer and held leadership roles in including serving as President of the United Way Board, President of the First Congregation Church and President of the Fund-Raising Board of Fletcher Allen Health Care, the local medical center. She is a recipient of the City of Burlington’s Allen F. Gear Award for Public Service. Her degrees include a B.A. from SUNY Cortland and an M.Ed. from Boston University
