Amy F. Stern, Vice President

Amy and her husband, Steve, moved to Marshfield five years ago and immediately joined NRAS after learning about this unique and wonderful community organization. After volunteering to help at the Festival of the Arts and attending many art openings and events, Amy was excited to join the Board in 2019. Amy has spent 25+ years working to improve health services in the U.S. and international health sectors with an expertise in quality improvement methodologies and measurement. For the past 12 years, Amy has worked globally leading multi-disciplinary technical teams to support projects to sustainably strengthen systems and improve services in infectious diseases such as HIV and TB, primary care, and maternal and child health at all levels of the system in East and Southern Africa. Amy has volunteered at a range of non-profit organizations and served on the board for Maryland-based Mobile Medical Care, an organization that provides health care for uninsured and vulnerable populations. Amy holds a master’s degree in Health Science from Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and a BA in Communications/Psychology from McDaniel College. Amy is married with twin 24-year boys and loves to spend time with family and friends, travel, cook and read.

Phyllis Wenzel, Clerk

Phyllis and her husband, Bill, own and operate Image Resolutions in Norwell, MA, a full-service printing company which has been servicing local businesses and artists since 1991. Phyllis oversees the financial and day-to-day operations of the business. She previously held marketing and administrative positions for both Haemonetics Corporation and The Flatley Company, both located in Braintree. She has served as a member of the Board and past-Treasurer for the Norwell Chamber of Commerce, and as a Board Member for the Massachusetts Educational Foundation, which offered scholarships for women in transition. Phyllis enjoys gardening, painting and taking classes and workshops at NRAS. She holds a B.S. Degree in Business from The State University of New York.

Kristen Evan, Treasurer

Kristen Evan moved to Marshfield in 2019, after living in Needham, MA, for 20 years, and fell in love with the community. After attending the Festival of the Arts for the first time in 2022, Kristen became a NRAS member and began looking for ways to become involved with the wonderful organization. Kristen joined the Board as Treasurer in 2023, which is a natural fit, given her 25+ years as a financial professional. Currently, Kristen works as a credit risk analytics executive at TD Bank, N.A., with a focus on Credit Risk Reporting and analytics, Basel Ongoing Compliance, Override and Replication Testing and Governance and Control. Kristen holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Delaware and a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Kristen is mother to 2 young-adult sons and spends free hours hiking and running with her partner, Tim. While Kristen is not an artist, she is excited to join the NRAS Board and hopes to make meaningful contributions to the organization.

Maureen Smith, Executive Director

Maureen is delighted to join the North River Arts “family”.  She has always believed that participation in or appreciation of the arts is essential to a thriving community. Maureen has lived in Marshfield for nearly 30 years. Growing up in Westwood, MA, she spent every summer is this beautiful seaside community. Maureen is the former President of Laboure College in Milton and has spent the past 5 years consulting with non-profits.  She has assisted organizations in focusing on creatively and collaboratively addressing strategic challenges and opportunities. Maureen is currently serving on the Board of Trustees of Fontbonne Academy in Milton and is a former Board Chair of Special Olympics Massachusetts.

Allison (Aly) Arnone has spent most of her career as an educator and higher education administrator.  She has designed liberal arts, business, and vocational curriculum as well as taught classes for traditional students, vocational trades, and corporate education.  Aly has worked with many community organizations advocating for educational opportunities for non-traditional students and has been an advocate for continuing education for adults to better manage careers and overcome socioeconomic challenges.  Her career has included being an owner of two small businesses and she is currently a Senior Compliance Analyst with a west coast based financial services firm.  Aly’s appreciation for the creative arts began when she was a child and spent many memorable moments at her mom’s art studio. She is very excited to be joining North River Arts and engaging with the artist community. Marshfield has been her home since 2014.

Mike DiRado was born in a small, hill town in Abruzzo Italy.  Mike remembers creating art throughout his childhood, but believes it became a passion during high school. Mike received his BFA from Massachusetts College of Art & Design. While at Mass Art he studied painting with George Nick, Paul Celli, Rob Moore and Richard Yarde. They, along with other professors and the many artists he has met along the way, contributed to his development as an artist. Mike moved to New York City in 1983 where he lived and worked for 10 years. While in NYC, Mike worked as a studio assistant for the artist Al Held. He also completed graduate work in Art Education at Pratt Institute. Eventually Mike, his wife and growing family returned to Massachusetts and settled in Scituate, MA. Upon his return to Massachusetts, Mike began a 29-year long teaching career. First as a teacher in Boston and then in Abington, Mike taught art K-12, but most of his career focused on middle school grades. He eventually became the Director of Art (K-12) for the Abington Public Schools until his retirement in 2020. During both Mike's career as a teacher and as a director, he has been a passionate advocate for quality, innovative art education programs in K-12 schools.  Retirement provided Mike with the gift of time, and he will use this additional time to finally explore artistic ideas that were paused as he gave attention to his family and teaching career. Mike is also looking forward to exploring new directions in his own work and remaining active in art educational advocacy groups.

Heather Kinney has a strong belief in the power of art in connecting people to themselves, each other and their communities and is thrilled to be part of The North River Art Society. With her two children grown, Heather returned to school and earned a degree in Fine Arts in May. Painting is as fulfilling as her former life as a pastry chef before she was a stay at home mom. Her life feels most complete when she is attending a concert or museum, sewing/decorating, cooking, or dancing. Heather is a native of Leominster and currently live in Scituate with her husband of over 30 years.

Mary Anne McAuliffe has been a student member for over 20 years.  Raised in New Hampshire she is a long time Hingham resident. Her background includes a BA from Regis College and an MBA from Boston College.  She has worked as a CPA in public accounting and financial services in Boston and New York. Her clients have included not-for-profits, colleges and universities and financial firms.  She has worked as a financial consultant for a women’s shelter, a Greek American college and local CPA firms.  Her volunteer activities have included serving as treasurer of a music parents’ organization, member of the financial committee for her parish, income tax preparer at senior center and cancer society driver.  She looks forward to contributing to this wonderful arts organization.