Hancock Shaker Village Appoints Director and CEO

Staff Reports 02:07PM / Monday, October 23, 2023Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Board of Trustees of Hancock Shaker Village announced that Carrie Holland has been appointed Director and CEO, following a 2- 2-month term as Interim Director.

Prior to serving as Interim Director, Holland served on the board of Hancock Shaker Village since 2020 and most recently served as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees.

"We are thrilled Carrie has agreed to stay on as the Director for the next couple of years to continue providing leadership for the operation of the Village as well as shepherding the plans for the new Visitor Center from the current design development phase to completion," said Bob Plotz, Chairman of the Board at Hancock Shaker Village. "Carrie brings a great amount of leadership, enthusiasm, a fresh perspective, and diversity of professional experience to the role which is uniquely well-suited to guide the organization through this particular chapter at the Village."

Holland, a Pittsfield native, returned to the Berkshires in 2015 following time spent in the Washington D.C. area focused on a career path in the National Security field. In 2017, Holland joined Mill Town Capital as a Managing Director and was part of the leadership team responsible for designing strategy, executing investments, and successfully operating several non-profit and for-profit community development projects throughout the Berkshires region.

Holland became more involved with programming at Hancock Shaker Village through her leadership at Mill Town Foundation where the two organizations collaborated on several high-impact projects from 2019-2023. She joined the Village's Board of Trustees in 2020, and has served on several committees over her tenure, affording her a more robust familiarization of both the strategic and operational functions of the historic museum.

"Since returning home to the Berkshires, I have been so impressed with the expansive scope of programming at Hancock Shaker Village," said Holland. "The exciting points of engagement with both the local community and visitors here in the Berkshires continues to place the Village at a very compelling point of intrigue for local, national, and international audiences. The three-year vision for our campus and programming is very exciting with real potential to elevate our ability to authentically connect with a broad range of audiences. In addition, we currently have so much momentum across several critical areas of development at the Village and I am eager to help see these phases through."

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Pittsfield Treats Lakes for Eurasian Milfoil

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:15PM / Saturday, July 18, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — How does Pittsfield keep its lakes from being overtaken by weeds? Specifically, Eurasian milfoil.

This was one of the many topics covered during the inaugural Lake Management Commission on Thursday. Both Onota and Pontoosuc Lakes were treated last month; 218 acres of Onota were treated with ProcellaCor on June 23, and 53 acres of Pontoosuc were treated with Diquat on June 17.

Before 2021, Diquat, a contact herbicide, was used on Onota Lake. In 2022, Pittsfield invested $220,000 for a 260-acre treatment with a new systemic herbicide, ProcellaCOR, that specifically targets milfoil.

Control had been pretty decent for about 2 1/2 years, and there were spot treatments in 2024. In 2025, only about 15 acres could be treated.

"We're targeting Eurasian milfoil. That's really the concern and not only at Onota Lake, but the other lakes that are in our region," Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath said.

"We followed up with annual spot treatments in 2023 and 2024, but we were finding that, in the initial application, the concentrations were a little bit lower than they perhaps should have been, and we were learning a lot about ProcellaCOR and its efficacy, and also some of its limitations."

"Last summer in 2025, there were some budget constraints, and we saw milfoil really growing to some really nuisance levels. We did a very small treatment in 2025, and really, we were looking to 2026 to be the year where we really had to do something."

ProcellaCor specifically targets species like water milfoil and is classified as "reduced-risk" by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, though it is more expensive.

Last year, about 220 acres of very dense milfoil were found, primarily in the center and northern parts of the lake. A color-coded map from June, displayed at the meeting, shows one long, dense area on the North side of the lake and three dense areas on the southern side.

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