Leah Penniman to Speak at BCC Earthseed Series.

08:00AM / Sunday, March 30, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College (BCC) will host Leah Penniman as part of its Earthseed Speaker Series & Skillshare on Thursday, April 10, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The event, which is open to the public, will take place in the Koussevitzky Arts Center, Room K111. Registration is available at www.berkshirecc.edu/earthseed.

Penniman, co-founder and co-executive director of Soul Fire Farm in Petersburg, NY, will speak about her work in food justice and sustainable agriculture. Soul Fire Farm, established in 2010, focuses on addressing racial disparities within the food system and promoting land access for Black and Brown communities. Penniman's work includes farmer training programs, food distribution initiatives, and advocacy for equitable food systems.

Penniman holds a Master of Arts in science education and a Bachelor of Arts in environmental science and international development from Clark University. Her experience includes farming since 1996, teaching high school biology and environmental science for 17 years, and training in organic farming practices. She has received recognition such as the Soros Racial Justice Fellowship, Fulbright Program, and James Beard Leadership Award. She is the author of "Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land" (2018) and "Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists" (2023).

A Skillshare: Work-and-Learn Day will follow the speaking event on Tuesday, June 24, at Soul Fire Farm. Participants will learn about farming practices and support Soul Fire Farm's operations. Soul Fire Farm utilizes Afro-indigenous agroforestry, silvopasture, wildcrafting, polyculture, and spiritual farming practices. The farm produces fruits, plant medicine, livestock, honey, mushrooms, vegetables, and preserves, with a focus on providing food to communities experiencing food apartheid. Registration details for the Skillshare event will be announced later.

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Tina Packer, Founder of Shakespeare & Company, Dies at 87

Staff Reports 06:51PM / Saturday, January 10, 2026

LENOX, Mass. — The doyenne of Shakespeare's plays, Tina Packer, died Friday at the age of 87.

Shakespeare & Company, which Packer co-founded in 1978, made the announcement Saturday on its Facebook page.

"It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Packer, Shakespeare & Company's founding artistic director and acclaimed director, actor, writer, and teacher," the company said on its post and in a press release.

Packer, who retired a the theater company's artistic director in 2009, had directed all of Shakespeare's plays, some several times, acted in eight of them, and taught the whole canon at more than 30 colleges, including Harvard. She continued to direct, teach, and advocate for the company until her passing.

At Columbia University, she taught in the master of business administration program for four years, resulting in the publication of "Power Plays: Shakespeare's Lessons in Leadership and Management with Deming Professor John Whitney" for Simon and Schuster. For Scholastic, she wrote "Tales from Shakespeare," a children's book and recipient of the Parent's Gold Medal Award.

Most recently her book "Women of Will" was published by Knopf and she had been performing "Women of Will" with Nigel Gore, in New York, Mexico, England, The Hague, China, and across the United States. She's the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees, including the Commonwealth Award.

"Our hearts are heavy with the passing of Tina Packer, a fiery force of nature with an indomitable spirit," said Artistic Director Allyn Burrows. "Tina affected everyone she encountered with her warmth, generosity, wit, and insatiable curiosity. She delighted in people's stories, and reached into their hearts with tender humanity. The world was her stage, and she furthered the Berkshires as a destination for the imagination.

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