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About Us
Board of Trustees
Our Board of Trustees has always served as the visionaries behind the organizations. From our beginnings in the early 1980’s until today, the Trustees provide skilled and thoughtful leadership, and have made the NHCTF New Hampshire’s only organization dedicated to supporting programs that prevent child abuse and neglect and strengthen families.
Our Board includes five legislatively appointed policymakers with a special interest in the field of child and family welfare, and eleven elected citizens of New Hampshire with expertise in the fields of organizational development, financial management, child and family development, parent education, pediatric medicine, and program evaluation.
While diverse in background, personal interests, and professional credentials, every member of our Board shares a passionate commitment to our mission to ‘keep children safe and families strong. Their contributions have been, and continue to be, invaluable.
If you have questions about our organizational structure, please contact us via e-mail at info@nhctf.org or call us at 603-224-1279. You can also access our by-laws online.
Gail A. Barba
Gail Barba serves on the NH Citizens Commission on the State Courts, a 105-member commission appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in April of 2005. The Commission assesses how justice is delivered by the state court system from the perspective of the 1.2 million citizens of NH and make recommendations for improvements. Barba also serves as a public member of the Board of Medicine. Gail lives with her family in Concord.
“I served five years on a local Diversion Board, that provides an alternative to prosecution for juveniles who committed a first time offense, or a relatively minor offense. Juveniles, thereby, have an opportunity to take responsibility for their offenses and to make amends without going through a court process. I have seen abused and neglected children, and I sincerely believe intervening before any serious harm has come to the youth with counseling and community service makes it possible that a child might become a productive member of the community. What is done to a child will be done to society. The NHCTF provides help and support through the intervention process, and I am looking forward to working to meet their goals.”
Deborah F. Chase
Deborah Chase has taught in both private and public elementary schools in Massachusetts, New York and New Hampshire. She retired after teaching for 23 years in the Concord School District. Deborah was n active member of the Concord Education Association serving as Vice-President for many years. After retirement in 2003, she worked for the University of New Hampshire for three years as an Education Supervisor in the Graduate Internship program. She continues to sit on the NH-NEA Government Relations Board. Deborah and her husband, John Funk, live in Gilmanton where Deborah sits on the Historic District Commission. She and her husband have four grown children.
Senator Martha Fuller Clark
Senator Martha Fuller Clark was elected to the New Hampshire Senate in November of 2004. She currently holds the position of Majority Whip. She has been a member of the House of Representatives for six terms, over the course of which she has sponsored or co-sponsored more than 120 bills. Fuller Clark is the chairwoman of Energy, Environment, and Economic Development and is the vice chairwoman of the Executive Departments and Administration Committee. Fuller Clark is also a member of the Health and Human Services Committee and the Education Committee. The senator earned a master’s degree in art history from Boston University, and has studied at both New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts and Mills College in San Francisco. Fuller Clark lives with her family in Portsmouth.
“I am involved with NHCTF because [children] are our future.”
Melissa Correia
Melissa is the Administrator of the Bureau of Quality Improvement for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Children, Youth and Families. She serves as the liaison to the DCYF Advisory Board and is a member of the steering committee for the NH Research Group. Melissa is an active supporter of youth involvement in the performing arts and is involved with the Palace Youth Theatre, Hillside School Music Supporters, and the NH School of Ballet Company Boosters. Melissa received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Boston College and her Master of Arts in Sociology from the University of New Hampshire. Melissa resides in Manchester with her husband and daughter.
“The prevention of child abuse and neglect is achievable if families have the resources and supports they need. This requires a shift in priorities to adequately assess and address the root causes of child maltreatment. Effective services that enhance the well-being of all families are key.”
Janice Fitzpatrick
Janice Fitzpatrick has served as the VP and CFO of the NH Electric Cooperative, worked for 10 years in the banking industry, and holds a Masters in Accounting from Southern NH University where she received the Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 2000 for her leadership, dedication and loyal service to the college. Janice is a resident of Candia.
Representative Anne Grassie
Representative Anne Grassie is a resident of Rochester and represents Strafford County in the State Legislature. Grassie is the director of the Dover Children’s Center and a graduate of College for Lifelong Learning in Rochester. Grassie’s priorities include youth and children’s issues and environmental issues.
Courtney Herz
Courtney is a resident of Hopkinton and a graduate of Cornell Law School. She works in the litigation department at the firm of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green in Manchester. Courtney volunteers at Heritage United Way as an account executive.
“The importance - to an individual child and to society as a whole - of intervention and prevention of child abuse is what makes the work of NHCTF so valuable”
Peirce Hunter, MD, Vice Chair
A resident of Bow, Peirce is a practicing pediatrician in Bedford, NH. He brings clinical skills and expertise in child development to the NHCTF Board of Trustees. He is also a member of the Board of Deacons at the South Congregational Church in Concord. Peirce is a graduate of SUNY Downstate Medical Center and the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
“The campaign to improve the future of New Hampshire children, and especially to eliminate child abuse and neglect, is performed every day by concerned and dedicated citizens and organizations who educate, support and empower our children’s caregivers. I am pleased to be part of the NHCTF and to support these important efforts across our state.”
Kristina Ickes
Audrey Knight, ARNP
Audrey is the Child Health Nurse Consultant for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services, Maternal and Child Health Section. In addition to her work with many of the state-funded programs that provide health services to uninsured, underinsured, and low income children, she is Coordinator of the NH Sudden Infant Dealth Syndrome (SIDS) Program, and supervises the state Newborn Screening Program, the Early Hearing, Detection and Intervention Program and the Preschool Vision and Hearing Screening Program. She also serves on a variety of state and regional committees including the NH Child Fatality Review Committee, the NH Child Health Month Coalition, and the Advisory Board of the New England Regional Genetics and Newborn Screening Collaborative. Audrey received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree from Northeastern University and her Master of Science in Nursing Degree from Yale University. She resides in Hopkinton with her husband and daughter.
Sandra Matheson
As Director of the State Office of Victim/Witness Assistance since it was created legislatively in 1987, Sandra was responsible for developing and overseeing a homicide victim unit which provides 24-hour statewide direct services in all of the state’s homicide cases, from death notification throughout the judicial process.
She serves as Chair of the Attorney General’s Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Advisory Board, the Domestic Violence and Child Fatality Review Committees and is a partner of the NH AmeriCorps Victim Assistance Program. Sandra has been active working on all major pieces of victim’s Right’s legislation, including actual writing of the NH Crime Victim Bill of Rights. In April of 1994 she received a National Victim Services Award from President Clinton and was honored at a Rose Garden ceremony for “outstanding service on behalf of victims of crime.”
Representative Karen McRae, Secretary
Karen is in her 11th term in the legislature and a member of the Education Committee. She has a BS from Georgetown University, and attended Antioch, New England. Karen has two grown children and resides in Goffstown.
“Children are our future, and we need to give them the best start possible.”
Lynne Bartlett Merrill, Chair
Currently Lynne is a Real Estate Broker and a commercial and residential sales agent for The Merrill Bartlett Group. Before forming the Merrill Bartlett Group Lynne was the managing Broker for the Kingston office of a large New Hampshire real estate firm. Lynne has over 25 years experience leading Merrill Associates, Inc., a public relations, advertising and marketing firm. She has worked across the US and locally with clients in the healthcare, utility, financial services, education, hospitality, manufacturing, government, automotive and business sectors. A magna cum laude graduate of the Boston University College of Communication, Lynne has counseled clients on communication planning, development and management; crisis avoidance and management; issue anticipation; reputation management; leadership communication; organizational change communication; coalition building; media relations; community relations; and political campaigns. Lynne has presented programs on public relations and women in the workplace before numerous local, regional and national public relations organizations and business management groups. She has won numerous awards for her dedication to and work for professional business and community groups, and for her creative writing and production of television, radio, newspaper advertising and collateral materials and public relations concepts. Among others, she is the secretary of the board for Leadership NH, Vice Chair of the Sanborn Regional School District Budget Committee, member of the NH Association of REALTORS Public Policy Committee and the RPAC and the coordinator of the Kingston Business Group.
Brenda Tibbetts
Brenda is a resident of Columbia representing the interests of the North County. She believes in the strength of serving our local community and has become involved in a variety of North Country projects. She currently serves as the Board President for the Indian Stream Health Center, a federally qualified health center; Chair of the North Country Chamber of Commerce Moose Festival, celebrating its 16th year in 2007; President of the Colebrook Garden Club, a Charter Member of the NH Master Gardener’s Association, and author of Gardening in the Great North Woods. She serves as Assistant Moderator for the town of Columbia and Sunday school superintendent of the Monadnock Congregational Church.
“As the mother of two and a grandmother of nine, I am deeply aware of the value of a stable loving home and the diversity of wholesome methods for nurturing children. As a District Court Clerk in the NH court system for 24 years, I experienced the heartbreak of abused and neglected children and their families during times of court intervention. Working with the New Hampshire Children’s Trust Fund allows me to participate in the prevention possibilities for these tough family and community issues."