Share YOUR Voice
Call for Submissions
Interested in becoming a contributing writer or guest blogger for Hilltown Families? We welcome writings that reflect the positive work and educational efforts activists, families, teachers, and artists work towards and accomplish and how that affects, supports and empowers our families. All writing styles welcomed. Send your query to hilltownfamilies@gmail.com.
Parent’s Bloggin’
Are you a parent who also blogs (or wants to blog) your adventures? Hilltown Families is looking for voices of parent’s surviving the struggles and challenges of parenthood to share with our readers. Cross postings and out of area experiences are warmly welcomed. Send a sample writing or blog URL to hilltownfamilies@gmail.com:
Photography and Art Submissions
Do you have an interesting photo from an event happening in the Western Mass? Has your child created a piece of art you want to share with the world? Do you have an illustration you would like to see featured on Hilltown Families? Send your query to hilltownfamilies@gmail.com.
Voices of Hilltown Families
Hilltown Families Editors
Sienna Wildfield, Editor & Writer
Sienna lives in West Chesterfield, MA, with her family. She is the editor, writer & photographer for Hilltown Families, Sienna is a community organizer & activist, and serves on the Chesterfield Cultural Council. She is a published poet and accomplished photographer, and hosts the Hilltown Family Variety Show on 103.3 FM every Saturday from 9-10am with her daughter. Sienna is also an herbalist/nutritionist and is currently working towards her master’s degree in nutrition. [LinkedIn] hilltownfamilies@gmail.com
Jim is the owner of Grendel Books, ABAA/ILAB and a member of the Anitquarian Booksellers’ Association of America. Born in Lesvos, Greece, his family moved to the States when he was less than two years old. Jim now lives in Western Massachusetts with his family and assists the editor for Hilltown Families. jim@grendelbooks.com
Hilltown Families Contributing Writers
Tom lives and works in Williamsburg, MA with his wife, two kids, dog maggie & cat charlie. He is a graduate of UMASS, Amherst and has over 15 years of experience in the fields of educational, commercial and corporate video production. In 1996, he founded Reelife Documentary Productions (1997 & 2008 Telly Award recipient). He is an active member of Hidden-Tech, the Chair of the Williamsburg Technology Committee and Chair of The Williamsburg Cultural Arts Committee. He is an accomplished photographer and a semi-professional drummer with the rock-freakout-jazz bands: NiL, Moschops & Loungehouse. He also masquerades as a prolific writer/poet & cartoonist named lester b thomas. The portal to Tom’s digital life is http://web.mac.com/reelifeproductions.
Jen is the Program Coordinator at Red Gate Farm in Buckland, MA. She lives in the woods with her husband, two teenage daughters, a trusty dog and a frisky cat. A gardener for much of her life, Jen enjoys cooking with her harvest, canning and preserving foods. She sees nature as her home and can be found outside during all manner of weather. A graduate of Goddard College (BA with an emphasis in Ecological Education), she is at her happiest when she is able to share her love of farming and nature with children and adults alike. Her column, Farmyard Tails, shares events and explorations that happen on the farm while educating children about farm life.
Bill teaches law school by day in Springfield. With his kids, he produces a radio show for kids, Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, which airs on Saturday mornings on 93.9 The River (7-9 AM, 101.5 in Brattleboro) and 103.3 Valley Free Radio (7-9 AM). He’s also a columnist for regional parenting magazines, covers music for Parenting magazine, and is a bi-monthly contributing writer to Hilltown Families. Contact him at show@sparetherock.com
Tony(a) is the director of Blazing Star Herbal School in Ashfield, MA and maintains an herbal practice in Northampton, MA. She is a graduate of Natural Therapy at Raworth College in England and has apprenticed with many influential herbalist, including Susun Weed. She is the vice president of the North East Herbal Association, and has taught at conferences and festivals all over New England, including Green Nations Gathering and the Women’s Herbal Conference. tlemos@noho.com
Nan is the proprietor of Elmer’s Store in Ashfield, MA. A New England transplant from the Deep South, Nan shares her southern wit, wisdom and charm every week in her column, “Notes from Nan.” Share dinner with her every Friday at Elmer’s. Menu’s are posted with her column. nanparati@aol.com
Hilltown Families Guest Artists
Kara is a public high school art teacher with a BFA from Mass Art and MEd from Lesley University, currently offering art workshops and individual instructions at her barn art studio. She is a mother of twins and lives with her husband in Plainfield, MA. zane_jaden@yahoo.com
Marie is the creative force behind ArtStar , an art enrichment studio in downtown Williamsburg, MA which offers art programs for kids and adults, including homeschool and after-school classes and workshops. She is an artist and art therapist and has been working for the past 20 years with people of all ages and backgrounds. She is especially drawn to working with girls and women to facilitate their expression, empowerment and connections through art. Marie is passionate about community, painting, cake decorating and collaboration with others doing anything creative or meaningful. She lives in Williamsburg with her husband and two daughers. Check out what classes she’s offering at www.artstarlounge.com.
Hilltown Families Guest Writers
Rachel Besserman and Damon Arthur Blanchette
Rachel Besserman and Damon Arthur Blanchette live in Northampton, MA with their son and are partners in Emmet’s Essentials, an organic body care line. Rachel is a graduate student in Education at Smith College, a certified yoga instructor, a trained Stillpoint Massage Therapist, and serves as Hebrew language tutor and classroom educator, innovating movement and technology (www.otiyot.com) in Hebrew language instruction. Damon is a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, currently on staff at Smith College programming websites and databases in the Educational Technology Services department, and is a freelance graphics and web designer.
Ellen lives with her husband and son in Williamsburg, MA. She holds degrees from Stanford in biology and international relations, and a master of public health degree from Boston University in epidemiology and biostatistics. In previous incarnations, Ellen has worked as a research scientist in molecular biology and, most recently, as an infectious diseases epidemiologist. As a stay-at-home-mom, Ellen’s current passion is conducting independent medical and environmental research in order to get her own blog up and running. ellen_doyle@hotmail.com
Amy is an award winning author, and a consultant and grant writer for arts organizations. She has new and forthcoming poems in New England Watershed and Orion, as well as the anthology Sweeping Beauty: Contemporary Women Poets Do Housework (University of Iowa Press). She’s a former Associate at the Five College Women’s Studies Research Center at Mt. Holyoke College, where she looked at the impact of motherhood on the work of women poets, and completed her latest book of poems, as yet untitled. She lives in Conway, MA, with her husband and two children and leads writing workshops in the community. adryansky@comcast.net
Connie is a mother, teacher, songwriter and performer. As an advocate for the Earth, she performs with her musical partner, Alice Weiser, with Constant Wonder: Interactive Kids Music with a Green Message. Connie has taught as a K-1 public school teacher since 1985, developing district-wide curriculums. She is currently teaching a Kindergarten Enrichment class in the seaside village of Northport, NY, where she lives with her family. contact@constantwonder.com
Princess Katie is the singer, songwriter and sole tiara-wearing member of the kiddie rock band, Princess Katie & Racer Steve. Residing in an often damp, yet gigantic castle, she spends her days writing songs, chasing her ever-escaping unicorn, Pointy, and wondering how to get in on the whole “Princesses don’t do chores” thing. She’s thrilled to be guest writing for Hilltown Families, but wonders if anyone has ever thought of somehow putting the ink into the quill itself. She’s finding the whole, “write two words, dip dry quill into inkwell, write another two words, dip dry quill into inkwell” a bit tedious.
A Yankee living in enemy territory, Lauren transplanted from NJ to VA and somehow ended up even further south in Georgia, marrying a good ol’ Georgia boy. Together they have three children age four and under. Any spare time Lauren has, she dedicates to supporting women and their families as they experience Postpartum Mood Disorders. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from LaGrange College (even further south than she is now!) and hopes for acceptance to UGA’s Social Work Graduate program for fall of 2009.
Born and raised in Calcutta, India, and moved to the U.S. for her undergraduate work in chemistry, Saborna lives in Massachusetts, and teaches at the Swampscott High School. Her short fiction has appeared in New York Stories and Quality Women’s Magazine U.K. and been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her novel The Distance Between Us has been accepted for publication by Monfakira Publishers.
Sheri is a volunteer and board member at the Center for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW). She aspires to write articles for local publications on diverse subjects relating to the reduction of negative human impact on wildlife and wildlife habitat. She lives in Plainfield, MA. slrosenblum1@yahoo.com
Lynne Marie is a karate black belt, a certified personal trainer and a feminist mama. She holds a B.A. in Women’s Studies and American Literature from the City University of New York. Lynne Marie blogs at www.mindbodymama.com, where you can also learn more about her personal training practice. She lives in a dilapidated house in western Massachusetts with her wife and daughter.
Steve Weeks is an award winning children’s musician and creator of the Alphabet Songs series which includes such hits as “If I Were a Cup”, “Kiki Kangaroo”, and “Someday”. His songs are upbeat acoustic-based tunes for kids and their families alike and can be heard on radio stations across the US. He currently lives in Colorado with his wife and two children where he writes, records and produces his music. www.steveweeksmusic.com
Victoria is a board member of the Ashfield Community Preschool, and the Cummington Family Center. She is an organizer of many community fundraisers and events in the Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts, and is currently spearheading the Voices of Motherhood project. She lives in Ashfield, MA, with her family in a beautifully restored New England farmhouse. vkworth@gmail.com
Shoshana lives in Northampton with her husband, Rabbi Saul Perlmutter. She is the Director of the Sulamot Family Education Initiative of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and an instructor in the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School in Northampton.
