Staff

Matthew Powers: Executive Director

Matt received a MA in American and New England Studies from the University of Southern Maine. He has worked for over 22 years in several historical organizations including the Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm, Sandwich Historical Society, St. Johnsbury Athenaeum and currently the Woodstock History Center. He has been the Executive Director of the WHC since 2013 and loves art, local history, research, and education. He is currently a museum professional in The Vermont Historical Society’s League of Local Historical Societies & Museums (LLHSM) Mentors Program, member of the Vermont Curators Group, member of the Collections Care and Conservation Alliance, and member of the New England Museum Association.

Karla Kruse: Museum Ambassador/Digital Archivist

Becky Talcott

Becky grew up in Connecticut, and often visited Woodstock where her grandparents lived. Her mother was born and raised here, in a home built in 1801 that was filled with generations of family history and treasures. After earning a BA in History from Colby College, and an MBA from the University of Dallas, she spent her first career working in the telecommunications industry. Becky retired to Woodstock in 2004 and soon began working at the Woodstock Historical Society, learning to be a docent in the Dana House (which also has family connections, having been built for her great great grandparents). Currently, she is the Collections Manager, overseeing the items we have, accepting new donations, and researching their stories, while continuing to work as a docent.

Jennie Shurtleff: Director of Public Engagement

Jennie grew up in the Woodstock area and worked at the Woodstock Historical Society (present-day Woodstock History Center) as a tour guide for five summers during high school and college. This experience fostered her love of history and her desire to pursue a career in that field. She received a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Colby-Sawyer College and a master’s degree in American Civilization from Brown University. Her interests in history are eclectic and include genealogy, food ways, art, architecture, land use, and folklore.    

Jennie’s current responsibilities at the Woodstock History Center include educational programming and special events, as well as working on exhibits, publications, and historical and genealogical research.

Rose Mroszczyk

Rose has lived in Vermont for 43 years and has worked at the history center as a guide for twenty years. Her background includes early childhood/ elementary teaching and for most of her career, elementary/middle school counseling. Her mentor at Woodstock High School, Gina Moore, gave her a thorough grounding in the Dana House and its many treasures. In turn, she has a deeper appreciation of Vermont’s history and how Woodstock and the surrounding areas came to be what they are today. 

Rachel Kurland

Rachel has lived in South Strafford, Vermont 46 years and has worked with the History Center’s costume collection for over 30 years. With an MFA in costume design from Brandeis University, she designed period shows for regional and off-broadway theatres. The daughter of a scholar and a librarian, she has always reveled in research, so the History Center’s collection is her candy store. They say you should do for a living what you enjoyed as a child. Rachel made period clothes for her dolls instead of playing with them.