Susan Bernhard, Board Chair

sbernhard@thechmm.org

Susan Bernhard, a lifelong learner and enthusiastic world traveler, enjoys history, art, gardening and outdoor sports. Owner of Northeast Tactical Sales Inc. she has thirty years of experience developing and promoting domestic and international companies specializing in mechanical and electromechanical manufacturing. Her love of the Merrimack River began while at Lowell Technological Institute (aka UMASS Lowell) as a biology and environmental engineering student.

Susan was a member of the first Merrimack River Watershed Commission, as well a researcher on the Aswan Dam Project Egypt when acquiring her master’s degree. Susan’s volunteering background includes Custom House Maritime Museum Current Chairperson; past Vice Chair; Wakefield Food Pantry BOD; Girl Scouts; St Joseph’s School Finance Board; School Board and PTO, Tewksbury Conservation Commission. Susan and her husband Jeff reside in Newburyport.

Susan Bernhard, Board Chair

sbernhard@thechmm.org

Joan received her B.A. in Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Boulder and a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester England’s Distance Learning Program. Her expertise in collections care and museum operations is a result of more than thirty years of professional experience (eleven years at Peabody Essex Museum, and twenty at the MIT Museum). Joan has also served as a grant reviewer for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and is currently on the Board of Directors at the Danvers Historical Society.

As the Executive Director Joan will bring the weight of her vast experience in order to care for and rehabilitate the museum’s largest collection object: the historic granite building in which the museum resides. Joan views this as an opportunity to build collaborative relationships, and implement fresh ideas and initiatives within this tightknit community, while continuing to demonstrate history’s relevance in our contemporary world.