Our Board brings a wide range of talents that help guide our work and facilitate a collaborative relationship with our partner organizations and municipalities. If you are interested in Board service please contact us.

Sylvia Snape

Sylvia Snape recently rejoined the CDC board, where she had served as a member for three years. She lives in Westhampton Woods, where she also serves on the local board. Sylvia retired as an administrative assistant in a graduate program at UMass Amherst. She then earned a certificate in expert knitting from WEBS, where she also taught knitting and crochet for several years. She has three sons and six grandchildren, all of whom live nearby. Sylvia is also vice president of the Williamsburg Grange.

Kris Zdaniwiecz

Kris is a resident of Chesterfield, where she lives with her husband and two sons. She has spent her entire life in the Hilltowns and has long admired the contributions of the HCDC to the Hilltown Communities. She feels energized being part of an organization whose programs do so much to address significant needs in the Hilltowns and continues to grow.

Liam Gude, Chair

Liam, who has lived in Williamsburg for many years, now resides in Ashfield. He currently works as a land use and environmental planner at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. His main areas of interest are strengthening ecosystems, promoting smart growth to create vibrant town and village centers, enhancing democratic governance structures, and progressing toward bioregional economics. Liam is dedicated to the Hilltown CDC because it shares a vision of making the Hilltowns resilient, beautiful, and connected communities.

Michele Morris

Michele Morris lives in the scenic Williamsburg with her husband, Chris. She is currently employed at Citizens Bank as a mortgage lender. Since 1995, she has been involved with Hilltown CDC in various roles. Her passion for affordable housing has been driven by her background working at Valley CDC and other homeownership centers, before becoming a mortgage loan officer. Beyond the picturesque appearance of our rural hill towns, many of our neighbors struggle to find and maintain safe, affordable, and decent housing in our small communities. Gardening, ocean kayaking, and sailing are her passions in late middle age.

Sarah Hamilton, Clerk

Sarah and her husband moved to Chesterfield in 2019, after purchasing a property there in 2015. A former VP for planning and development at a nonprofit collaborative in Boston’s Longwood Area, she supported 22 major academic, scientific, healthcare, and cultural institutions by leading district plans and improvements in transportation (bus, subway, walking, and biking); district signage; parks and open spaces; and the innovative placemaking Outside Program. She also worked on emergency preparedness, energy, climate change, and childcare. In this role, she collaborated with many community organizations, City and State agencies, and legislators. Previously, she worked in the delivery of low- and moderate-income programs for the State and a local anti-poverty agency. She is passionate about community planning, equity, and economic development, and is a trained mediator.

Conan Deady

Conan and his wife, Cindy Berliner, relocated to Chesterfield in 2021. They now divide their time between Chesterfield and Arizona. In his professional career, Conan was a business attorney who worked at a major Boston law firm and for publicly traded companies in Massachusetts and Maine. After retiring from law, he earned a Master's in Social Work from Boston College. Conan has served in town government, on nonprofit boards, and as a volunteer lawyer and mediator. He is an avid cyclist and cares about justice, economic development, conservation, and public health. Through his work with Hilltown CDC, he aims to help create and maintain a high quality of life in the Hilltowns.

Michelle Moreau

Shelley lives in Haydenville with her husband, Jim. She has been working at Florence Bank for the past 41 years, with most of her time spent in residential mortgage lending—originating, underwriting, closing loans—and is currently the Vice President and Mortgage Compliance Officer. She has served on the Hilltown CDC board for over 13 years. As a resident of the Hilltowns, Shelley has witnessed the positive impact the CDC has had on individuals living in or wanting to move to the area, providing affordable housing, childcare, elder support, and other essential services. I genuinely believe our Hilltowns have thrived and remain a great place to live because of the support from the entire Hilltown CDC staff, who work diligently to secure funding for all these valuable programs.