Board of Directors

Board President

Sharon grew up in Warwick, RI. She graduated from UCONN in 1972 with a BS from the School of Physical Therapy. While practicing PT, Sharon and her husband,Ted, along with their 9 month old daughter left Long Island, NY and purchased the Bernerhof Inn in 1977, knowing the MWV was where they wanted to raise their family. This was the first of many entrepreneur projects they pursued as their family grew to four children. She continued to practice PT in 1980’s and helped start Children Unlimited.

Sharon values the sense of community that she has here in the Valley. Ted and she co-chaired the Capital Campaign Committee for the first phase of MWVTA Rec Path. Sharon enjoys nature and the outdoors to include biking, walking, gardening and snowshoeing all from her backyard! She has many interests including knitting, reading and sewing, but cooking remains high on her list. Sharon and Ted have always enjoyed the adventures of travel, but enjoy coming home. A long time patron and supporter of the library, late in 2020 Sharon joined the Pope Memorial Library as the Chair of the Capital Campaign and late in 2021 she joined the board.

Nancy Ekse
Vice President

Nancy grew up in Southern Maine and here in the MWV. She has had a career in banking and mortgage origination with Wells Fargo Bank, Alaska. She has two adult children with husband Robert, who they raised in Alaska and the Seattle area. They moved back to the MWV in 2022 owing in no small part to Robert’s company’s 100% WFH policy.

Nancy enjoys gardening, traveling, reading and cooking.

Diane Ryan
Treasurer

Diane grew up in Beverly, MA, and raised her family in Boxford, MA. The majority of her career was spent as the CFO of an R&D company in MA. Diane and her husband Dan have always loved the Mt. Washington Valley and brought their family here for vacations. They eventually bought their own weekend retreat 20 years ago and moved here full-time more than ten years ago. Diane has served on the Town of Conway’s Budget Committee and as the Town Treasurer. She currently works part-time at the MWV Economic Council as their Business Manager. In her spare time, she loves playing pickleball, mah jongg, bike riding and, of course, reading. Diane is excited to be on the library’s board to help support its mission and to continue to be a contributing member of the community.

Robert (Bob) Cordy
Board Member

Bob grew up in New York, attended Dartmouth College and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1974. After 50 years of practicing law in Massachusetts, which included 16 years of service as a Justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Court, he retired in 2024 and moved permanently to a condominium on Mount Cranmore that he has owned since 1995, where his four children learned to ski, and where hopefully his three grandchildren will follow their lead. He has always loved libraries and has been an avid book collector his whole life, and he looks forward to contributing to the wonderful programs of the Pope Library - from which he has borrowed books for decades.

Jake Crabbs
Board Member

A native of Hanover, Pennsylvania (home of Utz Chips and Snyder's Pretzels), Jake moved to the Mount Washington Valley with his bride--a Bartlett girl and proud Kennett Eagle. Jake is an attorney at Cooper Cargill Chant, just up the road from the Pope Memorial Library. Jake is a fan of classic literature, comic short stories, and Greek philosophy. His three children are fans of the excellent books in the Library's children's room (to say nothing of the toy trains!)

Jake joined the Library's Board in 2023 as a way to both give back to and become more involved in the Valley community that has welcomed him so kindly.

Amalia (Molly) Maletta Haydock
Board Member

Although a native of Washington, DC, Molly's heart belongs to the White Mountains. An avid hiker and outdoorsperson, Molly moved up to the Mt. Washington Valley in 2023 with her husband, daughter, and dog. Pope Memorial Library quickly became her family's go-to hub for community (and a source of wonderful children's books!). Molly is a language teacher and school counselor by trade and an avid reader of all things true crime and mystery related. Her favorite is the Montalbano murder mystery series by Andrea Camilleri.

Molly joined the Pope Memorial Library board in early 2024 because she is passionate about supporting the library's mission, services, and community.

Paula Jones

Member

Paula grew up in southern Maine before moving to Mt. Washington Valley in the early 80’s. She works part-time as a freelance graphic designer after retiring from a full-time position with the Chamber of Commerce in 2020. Paula assisted with the capital campaign for the renovation and expansion of the library and is proud to serve on the current board of directors as secretary. Paula also serves on the board of M&D Playhouse and can occasionally be seen on stage.

She lives in Center Conway with her husband, Fred, and enjoys gardening, home improvement projects, painting, and photography. She loves spending time with her five siblings and is a proud auntie to seven amazing young women, one of whom is a 2022 Olympic silver medalist in snowboarding.

Nate Ramsbottom
Board Member

Originally from Little Compton, Rhode Island, Nate grew up traveling every weekend in the winter to Mount Washington Valley to ski at Wildcat Mountain - a family tradition as his parents had also grown up doing the same. After completing college, he moved to MWV to pursue his dream of working in the marketing department at Wildcat. Since then, he has held various positions within the ski industry and digital advertising world. He briefly moved away from the Valley to Vermont, but it wasn't long before he realized that there was only one place where he truly belonged. He was able to return to the place that he calls home and hasn't looked back.

As someone who grew up in a small community, Nate understands the value of involvement and giving back. A believer in libraries and their importance to the community, he first volunteered at the library before being asked to join the board. In his free time, he loves to read.

Linda Walker
Board Member

Linda moved to North Conway with her husband David (Doc) Walker in 1968 and has three adult children and five grandchildren. Linda is still selling real estate after 42 years and taught in the local school system for 32 but has retired from teaching. Linda is active in the White Mountain Board of Realtors, in Arts Jubilee, in Mt Top Music and the Mt. Washington Valley Band. Linda heads up Christmas Stocking Project whose goal is to get sponsors for 40-50 local children to assure them a happy Christmas. She participates in two book clubs as reading is great interest. Linda is enjoying being on the board of the Pope Memorial Library along with the other wonderful, dedicated members.

Susan Wilcox
Board Member

Sue moved to the Mount Washington Valley from Castro Valley, CA. She fell in love with the beauty of the area, as it changed from season to season. Sue met her husband, Ben, at the Jack Frost shop in Jackson in 1987. They have one daughter and they all love spending as much time in the outdoors as possible.

Sue graduated from UNH in 1993 and became an English teacher and dorm parent at Fryeburg Academy. In 2002, she became a remote copywriter for Dover Saddlery in Littleton, MA. Reading, writing, biking, skiing and photography are Sue’s passions. Sue continues to cherish the access to these activities in the beautiful Mount Washington Valley.

Sue joined the board in 2024. She is excited to be part of an organization that values her love of reading, writing and community.