image description — Leticia Smith-Evans Haynes is the Vice President for Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Williams College, a role she has held since 2015. Prior to her work at the college, Haynes directed the Education Practice at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.

Berkshire Health Systems Welcomes New Board Members

02:16PM / Tuesday, February 23, 2021Print Story | Email Story

Julianne Boyd is the founder and Artistic Director of Barrington Stage Company (BSC) in Pittsfield.

PITTSFIELD, Mass — Berkshire Health Systems announced the election of Leticia Smith-Evans Haynes and Julianne Boyd to the BHS Board of Trustees.

Haynes and Boyd were both elected in January 2021 to three-year terms.

"We are excited to welcome Julianne and Leticia to the BHS Board of Trustees," said President and CEO David Phelps. "Both have distinguished themselves as leaders in their respective fields, and we look forward to the insight and perspective that they will bring to our health system."

Julianne Boyd is the founder and Artistic Director of Barrington Stage Company (BSC) in Pittsfield. Since founding BSC in 1995, she has directed numerous productions including "West Side Story" (2018), Company (2017), "Cabaret" (1997). Beyond the Berkshires, Boyd also conceived and directed the Tony-nominated Broadway musical "Eubie!" and the Off Broadway musical revue "A… My Name is Alice." She has also created programs integrating arts, education, and the community including BSC's Playwright Mentoring Project, a program for underserved youth, the 10x10 New Play Festival in partnership with the City of Pittsfield's 10 x10 Upstreet Arts Festival, and the Musical Theatre Conservatory, a pre-professional training program for college-aged performers and directors. Boyd holds a Ph.D. in Theatre History and Criticism from CUNY Graduate Center.

Leticia Smith-Evans Haynes is the Vice President for Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Williams College, a role she has held since 2015. Prior to her work at the college, Haynes directed the Education Practice at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) where she advocated for equal access to educational opportunities for students of all ages. With more than two decades as an administrator, educator, civil rights advocate, and lawyer, her past experience includes serving as a judicial law clerk to the late Honorable Dickinson R. Debevoise of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, an associate at a global law firm, a policy advisor to former Wisconsin Governor, and a public elementary school teacher in New York City. Haynes holds a B.A. from Williams College and a J.D., M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

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Pittsfield Considers Repairing East Part Cemetery

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:57AM / Friday, October 02, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Historical Commission will consider grant opportunities for repairs to East Part Cemetery.

A resident reached out to the city with concerns about degradation in the half-acre burial ground at the top of Williams Street. East Part Cemetery was established in the early 1800s and has about 300 interments.

“It's a nice old cemetery, and basically, (the resident) had had concerns that the stone wall had taken some damage, the gravestones have taken some damage, and was wondering if there's anything that could be done to repair the gravestones and the wall," City Planner Kevin Rayner told the commission on Monday.

In cooperation with cemetery leadership and residents, the Historical Commission will consider applying for Community Preservation Act funds to support repairs. West Part Cemetery, on the other side of Pittsfield, has previously used CPA funds for revitalization work.

The 1080 Williams St. property is owned by the city and managed by the Pittsfield Cemetery Commission. Rayner presented photos of broken and overgrown gravestones, parts of the stone wall collapsing, and knocked-over obelisks.

Some aspects could use general maintenance and restoration, he observed.

According to the Pittsfield Cemetery and Crematory's website, East Part Cemetery was established around 1808 on land owned by Nathan Webb, who permitted and authorized its use as a public burying ground.

In 1842, Nathan Webb's son, also named Nathan Webb, deeded the property to the Methodist Episcopal Society of Pittsfield as a public burying ground, and in 1893 the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Society transferred their control of the cemetery to the Proprietors of the Pittsfield Cemetery. Their action was confirmed by the Berkshire Probate Court.