Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association Announces New Executive Director – Joanna Roche

Kelly Bernatzky • July 28, 2021

Helene Weld, the President of the Board of Directors of the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA), announced today that Joanna Roche will take on the role of MMA’s next Executive Director. According to Weld, “While our search allowed us to consider a number of excellent candidates from across the country, we are pleased to welcome a Nantucket resident to this critical role. We are certain Joanna is the person to take our organization to the next level in achieving our mission: to create opportunities for all to develop a life-long passion for science through education, research, and first-hand exploration of the sky, land, and sea of Nantucket Island.”

 

Joanna is a proven leader who has extensive experience in both the nonprofit and business world. In her past roles, she has led large teams, worked successfully with diverse boards, delivered strong financial performance, increased and strengthened revenue streams, and focused on providing exceptional guest experiences. Her past career successes will serve her well in carrying out the goals of the MMA.

 

Joanna has articulated a bold vision for the future and for what can be next for the organization, including raising the visibility of MMA not only on the island but nationally; enhancing the overall experience for those visiting and interacting with MMA; and building and diversifying the funding streams for the organization.

 

Joanna said, “I’m especially enthusiastic about using my passion to help continue to promote the legacy of Maria Mitchell. Mitchell was a true pioneer, not only as a woman scientist, but as a woman leader who was far ahead of her time in advocating for and supporting the next generation of the curious, and those who love nature and learning.”

 

She has a well-established network of connections on the island and has served on the Town of Nantucket Finance Committee for the past six years. She was also recently named to the Coastal Resiliency Advisory Committee, where she will advocate for and contribute her expertise on issues of importance to both the island and the MMA.

 

She was most recently the Executive Director of GSN Planet and Foundation, where she led two global nonprofits focused on sustainability and education in the wellness arena. She has consulted on numerous new capital and development projects, managing budgets, financial oversight, and revenue growth. She also served as an executive at the Westmoor Club where she led the vision, revenue growth, and staff of the Club’s Wellness Center. Earlier in her career, she was Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Strategist for Pierce Mattie Public Relations in New York.

 

Frances Symes, who serves on the MMA Board and co-chaired the search committee, said, “MMA is pleased and excited to have the talents and energy of Joanna as our new leader. With her understanding of the island combined with her passion for the environment, business expertise and commitment to a high-quality visitor experience, we know MMA’s future is in good hands.”

 

Originally from the Berkshires, in western Massachusetts, Joanna has always been active in the communities where she has lived, serving on many local boards and committees. She is also a well-known speaker, hosted a long-running radio show here on Nantucket, and is a wellness and meditation teacher. Roche loves the outdoors, and is a longtime runner. 

 

Weld concludes, “This is an exciting time for MMA, as we look to the future and find new ways to grow our impact and presence both here on Nantucket and nationally. Having Joanna as Executive Director will make us that much more successful in leading the organization into a strong and vibrant future. We are grateful to Interim Director Jason Bridges for skillfully leading the Maria Mitchell Association over the past year.”

 

The Maria Mitchell Association is a private non-profit organization. Founded in 1902, the MMA works to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages.

For Immediate Release

July 28 2021

Contact: Helene Weld, MMA Board President

hmweld@gmail.com

Recent Posts

Mallow!

By Jascin Leonardo Finger • August 31, 2026
I’m sure you’ve seen it as you trek about the island – near the beaches and ponds. This image is of the swamp or marsh mallow that we have on Vestal Street in our garden out front of the Observatory. It can grow in drier places – though it’s not as lush as at Capaum Pond or out in Quaise. It’s in the Hibiscus family – and is fairly tropical looking and always a delight to see.  “When in bloom, one of the most showy plants of the Island, for a mass of the magnificent, large flowers on the edge of a blue pond causes one’s heart to thrill at the wealth of deep pink colour . . .” from Nantucket Wild Flowers, Alice O. Albertson (cousin of Maria Mitchell), 1921. JNLF

A Piece of a Clay Pipe

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • August 24, 2026
I have always wanted to find a piece of a clay pipe. I know – weird – but if you have ever read any of my blogs here for the MMA then you know I have a thing for pottery shards. I sort of figured I would not find a piece of a clay pipe – not even a piece of a stem. But the other day, walking in a place where I have found quite a few shards, I found a piece of clay pipe! Now, I’m not talking about water pipes – I am talking about tobacco pipes. And I know very little about clay pipes. Yes, I am a curator of a historic house museum, but this family did not smoke. They were Quaker and among the many things they abstained from, tobacco was one of them. Therefore, I am not up on clay pipes so I am doing a bit more research.  For one, age can be determined by the width of the hole inside the pipe. So based on this one, I would say it’s fairly late. Since they were so fragile, and those holes pretty small, if it got filled with tobacco, the person just broke off the stem creating a shorter pipe and one that was not clogged with tobacco. Apparently, stems could be recycled – in fact, 15,000 broken stem pieces were uncovered at a historic walkway at Colonial Williamsburg – they were used as fill! And pipes were made into the early twentieth century – falling out of favor around World War One. It makes sense – they were cheap, easy to make, and affordable. Typically, one could last a few years – unless you dropped it of course. An,d pipes were used by men, women, and (eh, em) yes, children. I can see that Nantucket may not have had a lot of tobacco smoking residents – not just that some were Quaker – but because of the Quaker influence. I t does not mean people here do not smoke – I just think there may have been fewer smokers on the island in the nineteenth century and earlier. JNLF

Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • August 17, 2026
August 19 {1857}. There are four great men whose haunts I mean to seek, and on whose footsteps I mean to stand: Newton, Shakespeare, Milton, and Johnson. To-day I told the driver to take me to St. Martin’s, where the guide-book says that Newton lived. He put me down at the Newton Hotel, but I looked in vain to its top to see anything like an observatory. I went into a wine-shop near, and asked a girl, who was pouring out a dram, in which house Newton lived. She pointed, not to the hotel, but to the house next to a church, and said, “that’s it – don’t you see a place on the top? That’s where he used to study nights.” It is a little, oblong-shaped observatory, built apparently of wood, and blackened by age . . . .” Blackened no doubt by the wood ash and soot found in the air throughout over-crowded nineteenth century London. We always think about London being very foggy in the nineteenth century but frankly a lot of it was wood and coal ash as the nineteenth century grew older, particularly as factories developed and belched all of that into the air – think Sherlock Holmes in the 1880s. But Maria Mitchell, while starting in Europe as a young woman’s chaperone, also knew that this tour of Europe was a great learning experience – the equivalent of a college education she could not have. Doors were thrown open to her around Europe – in particular at all of the observatories that dotted the continent. She was not just well-known – she was famous. JNLF
Show More