Board Updates
McKey Berkman BB ’11 first joined NBSS as a member of the inaugural Three Month Bookbinding Intensive class in 2008. She works in bookbinding and conservation from her bench in the bindery at the Miller Street Studios in Somerville. A former attorney, McKey has volunteered in the areas of low-income housing, homelessness and education. She previously served as chair of the boards of Landmark Trust USA and the Farm & Wilderness Foundation. She also did conservation work on the archives at Milton Academy.
Edward S. Cooke, Jr. is the Charles F. Montgomery Professor of American Decorative Arts in the Department of the History of Art at Yale University, with a focus on American material culture and decorative arts. At Yale, Ned teaches lecture courses on American decorative arts and domestic architecture from the seventeenth century to the present, and an introductory course on global decorative arts. He also offers seminars on a variety of topics including material culture theory, vernacular architecture, the American interior, American furniture, craft and design in post-World War II America, and the globalization of modern craft. Ned has served as Director of the Yale Center for the Study of American Art and Material Culture since 1992, and was the Chair of the department from 2000 to 2006.
Peder Johnson is a partner and portfolio manager for the Boston Family Office. He joined the firm in 2016 after running his own investment advisory firm, Roxiticus Partners, for several years. Peder was introduced to the wonders of NBSS by his friend, mentor, and past business partner S. Parkman Shaw. He also serves on the Board of the Shaw Fund for Mariners’ Children and is Chairman of its investment committee. Peder lives in Charlestown, Massachusetts with his wife and children.
Jim Marsh began his career upon completing studies at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. After designing and building houses on Cape Cod for eight years, Jim joined Turner Construction Company in the firm’s Boston office. He held several key executive positions in the construction industry, and later joined Columbia Construction Company in 1997, becoming a Partner in 2003. As Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Jim is involved with Columbia’s business operations, business development and the strategic growth and direction. He also serves as Principal-in-Charge on select projects, which involves preconstruction and construction activities, contract negotiations, and ongoing client relations. Jim and his wife, Cynthia, live in Andover, Massachusetts and have two grown children, Alex and Lauren.
Caroline Mortimer is a former Special Assistant to the Director (Editor) at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and also Curatorial Administrator at The Brooklyn Museum. She is a calligrapher and amateur book binder who currently serves as an Overseer to the DeCordova Museum, Overseer to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Dana Farber Trustee to the Hematological Oncology Visiting Committee, and former Anniversary Gala Dinner Chair for the Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery.
Nick Offerman was taught to swing a hammer and countless other tools by his dad, grandfathers, and uncles Dan and Don of Roberts Brothers Farms. In theatre school at the University of Illinois, he used these skills to begin working in the scene shop, under the tutelage of Kenny Egan. This paid off handsomely when Nick began his professional theatre career in Chicago, as he offset his meager acting income with building scenery and props for large equity theaters. After moving to Los Angeles, he opened his own modest shop in a warehouse and began collecting tools. He soon turned to building decks and cabins with his longtime friend Martin McClendon. Together, they fell under the spell of old-world furniture joinery, and, with Marty’s help, Nick opened his shop, where he continues to build furniture, small boats, and anything else that tickles his fancy. Nick was the 2015 commencement speaker at NBSS and is an enthusiastic advocate for the School.
Although based in Hackney in London for many years, Stefanie von Clemm has strong family ties to Boston and North Bennett Street School. In her art practice, Stefanie explores the making of artist’s books, which began some years ago when she took an introductory bookbinding class at NBSS. She is a Wellesley alumna and graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
John Zurick, a resident of the North End, is President of SALT and Executive VP of ASA. Formerly COO at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, he served eight years as the sole strategic planning and business consultant, helping to guide RFK Human Rights through a period of rapid financial growth and programmatic expansion. In 1994, John founded his consulting firm, ZQI, Inc., through which he has worked in close partnership with social sector clients on change leadership, board and executive leadership development, strategic planning, financial management, social enterprise initiatives, revenue generation, and hands-on operational turnarounds. He directed the $72 million public/private capital campaign to build the first public K-12 performing arts school in America, Cincinnati’s Erich Kunzel Center for Arts and Education. John began his career as a producer of off-Broadway plays that ran in Boston and London. He is the executive producer of the full-length documentary film Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass. He also has served as executive director of the Cincinnati Ballet and marketing director of the Cincinnati Symphony. He holds an M.F.A. from Brandeis University and a B.A. from the State University of New York, Brockport.
