CCS’s Board of Directors possess the business acumen, vision, and experience that will allow CCS to thrive for decades to come. They have built nationally recognized non-profits, managed art schools, and spearheaded ambitious real estate ventures.

Warren Bingham (President) was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University and served for nine years on the research staff at the Harvard College Observatory and the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics before straying from the rich groves of academe for the siren call of publishing and entrepreneurship. Mr. Bingham’s business career has been largely in the publishing and creative sector where he has international experience as: a business founder; in senior management, including CEO, of several publicly traded companies.

Harry Bliss is an award-winning cartoonist and cover artist for The New Yorker magazine. He studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and illustration at The University of the Arts (BFA) and Syracuse University (MA). Bliss is the New York Times bestselling illustrator of Diary of a Worm and Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin, A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech, and Which Would You Rather Be? by William Steig. He is also an award-winning, internationally syndicated cartoonist and a cover artist for The New Yorker magazine.

Roger E. Bloomfield is a lawyer who counsels family-owned businesses, nonprofit and charitable organizations, and individuals in New Hampshire, Vermont and Ohio.  He is the former general counsel to Wittenberg University, and is special counsel for gift planning to a statewide foundation in Ohio.  Bloomfield has served as a trustee and officer of arts, religious, health and education organizations and currently is a director of the Hartford Development Corporation.  He holds a B.S. in Business from Wittenberg University and a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University.  His private law practice is in White River Junction.

Martin Butler is currently the Business Manager for the retail store, The J List, in Norwich, Vermont. A former educator in both private and public k-8 schools, Martin holds a graduate degree in education. He is involved in the local community serving on the boards of the Montessori School in Hanover, NH, and The Norwich Public Library. Martin lives in Norwich, Vermont, with his wife Jill and two children, Lillie and Henry.

Bayle Drubel is a commercial real estate developer focusing her efforts on White River Junction, Vermont. She is a graduate of Simmons College and Hofstra Law School. Prior to attending law school she worked at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. In the early eighties she was an attorney in the Regulatory Litigation Section of the Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. Drubel is an active member of the community and has served as President of four nonprofit organizations.

Matt Dunne has focused his life’s work on bringing together the worlds of entrepreneurship, service and politics. Elected to the Vermont House at the age of 22, he served 7 years before joining the Clinton Administration as the Director of AmeriCorps*VISTA overseeing 6000 full-time people working in the fight against poverty. In 2002 he returned home to Vermont and was elected to two terms in the Vermont Senate. Outside of the legislature, he as worked in high-tech marketing and before launching Matt Dunne Consulting was the Associate Director of the Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College creating programs to support students who wish to pursue careers in the nonprofit and public sector.

Ann Hargraves (Treasurer) began her relationship with CCS before it opened as a counselor with SCORE, where she volunteered for eight years. Ann is the current president of Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth (ILEAD), and has previously served as Vice President and Treasurer. She also serves as the DHMC Auxiliary Treasurer. Ann was Treasurer of New England College from 1994-2000, and Dartmouth Bank’s Senior Vice President, Corporate Control from 1986-1991. Ann received her MBA from Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, Dartmouth College in 1977.

Peggy Kannenstine is a Vermont painter and printmaker. She is currently a Board member of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and of the New England Creative Economy Council. She serves on the Arts Initiative Committee of the Upper Valley Community Foundation Advisory Board, the Pentangle Council of the Arts, the Norman Williams Public Library (as incorporator and former Board member), and North Universalist Chapel Society (as Board chair). Past affiliations include board membership on the New England Foundation, and chair of the boards of both the Vermont Studio Center and the Vermont Arts Council.

Charles G. Lief (Secretary) is a co-founder of the Hartland Group, a Burlington, VT based company engaged in developing stimulating places for people to live and work in downtowns and emerging New Urbanist Communtiies. The Hartland Group also partners with nonprofits involved in affordable housing and community economic development. He is the Chair of the Board of the Social Enterprise Alliance, the premier international association supporting organizations that advance their social missions through entrepreneurial earned income activities. Lief served as President of Greyston Foundation from 1992 to 2003 developing $45 million of affordable housing and community development projects. During his tenure as Greyston’s President the organization grew from a small non-profit with a handful of employees into a multi-entity organization with 180 employees and an annual operating budget of $14 million. He is a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Lief received a BA from Brandeis University and a JD from the University of Colorado School of Law.

Ana Merino (Vice President) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese at the University of Iowa, specializing in Creative Writing. Prior to relocating to Iowa, she was Assistant Professor of Latin American and Spanish Literature and Culture at Dartmouth College. She has published a scholarly work on comics titled El Cómic Hispánico (Cátedra, 2003) and seven books of poetry and a youth novel entitled “El hombre de los dos corazones” (Anaya, 2009). She has won the Adonais and Fray Luis de Leon awards for poetry. She is a member of the executive committee for the International Comics Art Festival and member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Comic Art. Her articles on comics, now numbering over 40, have appeared in Leer, DDLV, The Comics Journal, International Journal of Comic Art, and Hispanic Issues. She has served as curator for two comics exhibitions, one in the US titled Comics Release, and another in Spain dedicated to Fantagraphics for La Semana Negra (she was the author of the bilingual catalogue entitled Fantagraphics creadores del canon). Ana Merino seven books of poetry are: Preparativos para un viaje (1995), Los días gemelos (1997), La voz de los relojes (2000),Juegos de niños (2003), and Compañera de Celda (2006). Cell Mate (translated by Elizabeth Polli), Harbor Mountain Press, 2007), Hagamos caso al tigre – illustrated by  Spanish comic artist Max-(Anaya 2010) and Curación (Visor 2010).

Administration

Michelle Ollie (CCS President) is cofounder of The Center for Cartoon Studies. Prior to CCS Ollie was a director and faculty at Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), and the development manager for Banta Corporation (now RR Donnelley). She has an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and taught for both MCAD and New York Institute of Technology’s graduate degree program. She serves on the board of the Vermont Community Loan Fund,  advisory board for the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth College (ILEAD), and on the board of the Vermont Higher Education Council.

James Sturm (CCS Director) is an internationally recognized cartoonist. He is cofounder and Director of The National Association of Comics Art Educators. His writings and illustrations have appeared in scores of national and regional publications including The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Onion, The New York Times and on the cover of the The New Yorker. He is also a co-founder of The Stranger, a Seattle arts and news weekly. His book, The Golem’s Mighty Swing, was named the 2001 Comic of the Year by Time Magazine and has been translated into three languages.

Board Member Emeriti

Shelley Hadfield over 20 years experience in the planning field working with businesses, communities and regional entities on community and economic development. Ms. Hadfield holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Policy and a Master’s degree in Resource Management and Administration. Currently Hadfield is the President of Hadfield Associates, a consulting firm specializing in community development including fundraising, facility development and permitting, administration, and event planning. Hadfield Associates provides services to municipalities and businesses in NH and VT. Ms Hadfield has been a resident of the Upper Valley for over 20 years and lives in Meriden, NH with her husband and two sons.

Byron Hathorn is a real estate investor and developer with 30 years experience in the Upper Valley market. Most recently he has focused on investment in commercial real estate projects from the Upper Valley to Boston. He has been an active part of the community serving on the Board of Northern Stage and as a member of the Vermont Transportation Authority. In addition, Byron is a master alpine competitor.

Tom Ketteridge is former Managing Director of the Upper Valley Haven, a private, non-profit human services organization located in White River Junction, Vermont, offering emergency shelter for families, a food shelf, clothing room, and educational programming to those struggling to meet their basic needs. Before coming to The Haven in 2000, Tom worked for White Mountains Insurance Group in Hanover for 6 years. Prior to that he worked in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical fields. Tom grew up on Long Island, and served in the Army for 3 years. He has a BS from SUNY at Stony Brook, an MBA from Rivier College, and is a CPA. He has lived in the Upper Valley since 1985, and currently lives in Lyme Center with his wife, Darlene, and Arrow. An avid runner, Tom ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. in 1999.

John Slorp (1937-2011) was Professor Emeritus, Minneapolis College of Art and Design and served as president of Minneapolis College of Art and Design from 1990 to 2002: previously he served for eight years as president of Memphis College of Art. An artist by training, he has taught painting, calligraphy and computer design courses. Prior to moving to Memphis, Prof. Slorp served on the faculty of the Maryland Institute, College of Art, where he held the Chair of the Foundation Studies Department for eight years. Prof. Slorp has been on the Board of Trustees ART Today (Memphis Brooks Museum) and Opera Memphis and has served as a trustee of the BRAVO Scholarship Fund for Performing Arts. He was the initial planner for the program in Visual Arts of the Baltimore High School for the Arts, where he initiated the first instructional program. He served on the Committee for Advanced Placement: Visual Arts, The College Board, which established the current standards for advanced placement portfolios in art. Prof. Slorp has served on the Commission for Accreditation of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design as well as being part of and leading accreditation and certification teams for several regional and State entities.