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.
Joe Caracappa, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Peterborough, NH
Mr. Caracappa is a real estate investor and small business owner with two laundromats in Boston and a carwash in Nashua. He graduated from Columbia University with an undergraduate degree in Operations Research. Joe was the head of sales at a Boston-based robotics company, he was the Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Wholesale Grocers in the early 2000’s, and he was the Executive Vice President for the Footstar Corporation in the 90’s. Before that he also worked as the Senior Director of Information Systems at the Novartis Corporation from 1991 to 1993 and he was a Senior Manager at Anderson Consulting from 1984 to 1981. Joe is an avid volunteer and he served as President and Treasurer of Monadnock Art / Friends of Dublin Art Colony. Joe is also the Trustee (Stearns Farm, Finance & Strategy Committee Member) of Peterborough Players. He has been married to his wife Linda for 34 years and he is the father of three children.
Peter Imhoff, Vice Chair
Dublin, NH
Mr. Imhoff is a retired Managing Director who oversaw Public Finance. Mr. Imhoff is a graduate of St. Lawrence University (BA - Government) and Columbia University (MBA - Finance). He was the Managing Director at 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.
Robert L. Edwards, Treasurer
Antrim, NH
Mr. Edwards is an Antrim Selectboard member, and retired Loan Officer who worked at multiple banks and is responsible for the development and service of large loan portfolios totaling over $61MM, working in both Connecticut and New Hampshire. He attended the Graduate School of Savings Banking; Fairfield University, the National School of Commercial Lending; University of Oklahoma and he holds an AS from Becker College. He was also honorably discharged from the US Army. From April 1969 until his retirement in April 2011, Bob served as the VP-Commercial Loan Officer of People’s United Bank in Peterborough. From April 2011 to December 2014, Bob also held the position of VP-Commercial Loan Officer for Connecticut River Bank, NA, Charlestown, NH. Bob is a 40-year Lion’s Club member, Philanthropy Committee member, greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce member, and he is a trustee of trust funds, elder and manager of the First Presbyterian Church of Antrim. He is married to Sarah Edwards, and they have three children.
Beth Fernald, Secretary
Sharon, NH
Mrs. Fernald is an attorney who has worked privately in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire. 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. In 2020 she became a licensed Yoga Instructor. She is married to her husband Mark, and they have lived in Sharon for 30 years. They have raised two children.
Gerald M. DeBonis, M.D., Trustee
Sharon, NH
Dr. DeBonis is a retired Orthopedic Surgeon at Monadnock Community Hospital. He attended college at Colombia University and received his medical degree from Northwestern University. 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. 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; and he continues to serve on the Planning Board for the town of Sharon. He and his wife, Karen own a home in Sharon, they have two children and four grandchildren.
Gerald “Jerry” Galus, Trustee
Peterborough, NH
Mr. Galus is a retired Accountant. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii before moving to Philadelphia to attend 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 obtaining his MBA Jerry began his working career 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. 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.
Thomas Ferenc, Trustee
Hancock, NH
Mr. Ferenc has recently retired as a Public High School Principal. He has served in the public school system since 1996 and before that, he had various roles in the private industry. He is a licensed, certified teacher, principal, and superintendent in multiple states. Additionally, he holds degrees from Southern Connecticut State University, Antioch College, and Plymouth State University. He has garnered recognition as an award-winning, nationally recognized principal and has earned the Vermont Principal of the Year Award in 2012.
Mr. Ferenc resides in Hancock, NH, with his spouse Christie, whom he has been married to for forty-five years. He is a proud father of one son and has three wonderful grandchildren.
Cynthia McGuire, Trustee
Peterborough, NH
Mrs. McGuire is the President and CEO of Monadnock Community Hospital. Cynthia has a Master of Science Degree in Healthcare Administration from Sage Graduate School in Troy, NY. 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. 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 the 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.
Carole Monroe, Trustee
Dublin, NH
With over thirty years of experience in technology and leadership, Ms. Monroe is a valuable addition to the RiverMead Board. She has a strong background in organizational leadership, business operations, and technology, leading multiple organizations through change and establishing effective teams. As the former CEO at ValleyNet Inc., the Executive Director at New Hampshire FastRoads and in various roles at Franklin Pierce University, including Chief Information Officer, she has developed short-term and long-range strategic plans for all business units. Currently, she works as a Broadband Consultant with various municipalities and broadband providers in New Hampshire and Vermont.
Ms. Monroe has achieved several milestones throughout her career. She managed the development of a 1,500 mile broadband network in Vermont, the construction of a 247-mile fiber-optic broadband network in western New Hampshire, organized an annual institutional scholarship and need-based financial aid budget of $19.3 million, and developed an acclaimed integrated approach to student services.
Ms. Monroe was co-chair of Monadnock Connect, a predecessor to New Hampshire FastRoads, founded in 2001. She was also a member of the Monadnock Economic Development Corporation board of directors and served as the Chair of the Monadnock Community Hospital board. She holds an MBA in finance from the University of Connecticut and a bachelor's degree in marketing from Western Connecticut University.
John H. Morison, III, Trustee
Mont Vernon, NH
Mr. Morison currently holds the positions of Chairman, CEO, and President at Hitchiner Manufacturing. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of New Hampshire in 1976. His career began as an inside sales representative in the Stellite Division of Cabot Corporation. In 1978, he was promoted to the position of regional sales manager in France, and in 1980, he became the regional sales manager in Brazil. He was later appointed as the regional sales manager for all of Latin America in 1981. He joined Hitchiner in 1983 and rose through the ranks to become the organization's president in 1994.
Aside from his role at Hitchiner, Mr. Morison has been involved in various area organizations such as the New Hampshire Business and Industry Association, Currier Museum of Art, New Hampshire Public Television, UNH Foundation, and Upland Farm LLC.
Nancy Rhei-Gorer
Peterborough, NH
Nancy is a highly experienced advertising, marketing communications, public relations and brand management professional. She is dedicated to the development and progression of town government, community relations and supporting excellence in public education.
Nancy held marketing communications and brand management leadership positions at financial institutions, such as Citigroup and American Express. She also worked in advertising and brand management for direct marketing advertising agencies, including Ogilvy & Mather and Lowe & Partners
She has served as a School Committee Member in Brookline, MA, where she worked on various subcommittees, including capital improvements, finance, communications, and government relations. She was a School Committee liaison to the Brookline Council on Aging/Senior Center, Transportation Board, and the Brookline High School Innovation Fund. She was one of the founders of the Brookline Parents Organization. Nancy also served as Brookline, MA Town Meeting Member.
Nancy graduated with a B.S. from the NYU Stern School of Business. She and her family joined the Peterborough community in 2022.
Peter Rotch, Trustee
Peterborough, NH
Mr. Rotch is a retired Business Lawyer. He attended Dartmouth College and the University of Chicago Law School. 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. 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 resident-run Saturday hikes, RiverMedia, the fitness committee, and the current issues committee. Prior to moving to RiverMead, he and his wife Susan lived in Amherst, NH for 37 years.
Mary Ellen Spencer, Trustee
Peterborough, NH
Mrs. Spencer is a retired Business Leader, Higher Education Worker, and has held roles in Public Accounting. Her degrees include a B.A. from SUNY Cortland and an M.Ed. from Boston University. Her professional career spanned a variety of industries including secondary and higher education, public accounting in non-accountant roles and 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.
Mary Vallier-Kaplan, Trustee
Peterborough, NH
Ms. Vallier-Kaplan brings years of experience and knowledge in community health systems and strategic planning from local, state, and national perspectives to RiverMead. She holds a B.S. in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master's Degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
Ms. Vallier-Kaplan has founded Community Hospice of Greater Nashua and was the founding COO & VP of the Program for Endowment for Health. Additionally, she has served as a consultant for the Southern NH Medical Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Being an active member of the Monadnock Region Community, she has been associated with various organizations such as the Mariposa Museum and the Nubanusit Neighborhood & Farm. She currently serves as a Trustee of the Peterborough Players. She has also contributed her services to organizations across the state, including Home Health and Hospice Care, NH Oral Health Coalition, the Governor's Commission on Medicaid Managed Care, and the Hollis School Board/Budget Committee.
Ms. Vallier-Kaplan is an active resident of RiverMead and has served on the Residents' Council.
