Who We Are

The Mt. Washington Valley Habitat for Humanity affiliate is part of Habitat for Humanity International, a global, nonprofit housing organization operated on Christian principles that seeks to put God’s love into action by building homes, communities and hope. We are a state chartered non-profit organization – a 501 (c)(3) IRS tax-deductible organization. We are dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all.

The MWV Habitat for Humanity Geographic Service Area consists of the following towns: Albany, Bartlett, Chatham, Conway, Hart’s Location, Jackson, Madison and Tamworth in the State of New Hampshire.

Officers

Barbara Reilly

President

Barbara is a Paralegal having received her degree from Johnson and Wales University in Providence, RI. She has been a resident of Mt. Washington Valley for the past 20 years. For ten years Barbara has worked as a family law paralegal in a private law office in the Valley. In February, 2012 she started her own paralegal business, Legal Eagles, LLC in Conway, NH.

Well schooled and experienced in domestic matters, civil litigation, legal research, and general psychology, she has been chosen to serve on the board’s Family Support Committee whose mission is to provide families with the support and skills necessary to become successful long-term homeowners.

Barbara also volunteers her time as a SCORE counselor and as a member of the Kiwanis Club of Mt. Washington Valley. She serves on the Kiwanis Board of Directors and was recently elected Vice President and has been serving for several years in support of the Kiwanis K-Kids organization at Pine Tree Elementary School.

Anthony Ruddy

Vice President

Anthony J. Ruddy comes to Habitat with a B.S. degree in Engineering from the University of Rhode Island, Anthony has had a 25 year career in both Engineering and Project Management for manufacturing companies.

He is currently Owner and Manager of ALM Automations, LLC, providing assembly automation sales and consulting services in the electronics, packaging, oil/gas and consumer products sectors.

Anthony also volunteers his time and services for SCORE as a counselor; MWV Board of Directors; Kiwanis, serving the children of the Valley; and the Memorial Hospital Foundation as a Trustee. Additionally he served as project/ construction manager for the Children Unlimited facility and oversaw renovations to the former Starting Point building.

In his spare time, Anthony is a race car driver, having recently completed the Mt. Washington Auto Road racing event. He and his wife, Lisa live in Jackson with their daughter Grace and two dogs.

Russell “Russ” Seybold

Treasurer

Russ will tell you that he has had the pleasure of thoroughly enjoying two diverse, challenging, and tremendously rewarding careers. As a graduate of Ohio State University, he joined the Bethlehem Steel "Loop" management training program and spent the next 24 years in Marketing & Sales at various locations, including Bethlehem, PA. In 1990, he moved to North Conway and became President & General Manager of the Conway Scenic Railroad. In 2018, Russ and his wife Dorthea (Dot) sold their property and Russ retired. Since joining Habitat in July of 2013, he has volunteered on Thursdays at the house construction sites where he loves working primarily as an electrician with the other wonderful volunteers. Over the years, Russ and his wife Dot have been involved in numerous community programs in the Mount Washington Valley. In addition to Habitat, Russ is an active member of Kiwanis, having served on the board of directors and participating in numerous fund-raising activities. He also spent many years on the Executive Board of the White Mountains Attraction Association, a regional marketing organization.

Teri Costentino

Secretary

Teri Cosentino is a retired biochemist and Middle School Science teacher. She and her husband of 39 years, Tom, moved to the MWV five years ago, and enjoy the beauty of each season. Along with cooking for friends and feeding people in need, Teri also quilts, hikes, bikes, and kayaks. In the winter, she enjoys skiing and snow shoeing. Teri is so very thankful to live amongst nature within a welcoming community.

Board of Directors

Sam T. Johnson

Sam retired from Fidelity Investments at the end of 2005. He has been a MWV home owner since 1988 before moving to Bartlett in May 2007 from greater Boston. He has been a regular volunteer builder since 2007. He has been on the Habitat Board of Directors since 2009. He participates in furniture, appliance and building material pick-ups donated by local residents and has managed Habitat’s indoor yard sales, our major fund raising events. He reports much satisfaction from the fellowship of working with a great group of other Habitat volunteers who are collectively striving to fulfill the Habitat mission to provide decent and affordable housing to qualified MWV residents/workers.

Sam’s personal interests include hiking, bicycling, telemark skiing and travelling to experience scenic vistas and other cultures.

Marie Lee

Board member Marie Lee moved to the Mount Washington Valley ten years ago from Massachusetts. She has been a member of the MWV Kiwanis Club for nine years, is a past president, and is co-director of the Angels and Elves program which provides gifts of toys, boots and warm clothing to over seven hundred local underserved children each Christmas.

Marie is a retired senior mortgage loan officer and regional sales manager of a large east coast bank. She served many years as a board member of the Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership and Haverhill Neighborhoods Association, two non-profit agencies dedicated to the revitalization of inner city neighborhoods and the education and financial assistance of low-to-moderate income first time homebuyers.

In addition, she served fifteen years as an instructor of the Fannie Mae required First Time Home-Buyer classes, where she enjoyed working with families, explaining the qualifications and requirements necessary for homeownership.

Marie looks forward to serving as an active board member and continuing to be involved in helping families secure safe and affordable homes. She lives in Intervale with her husband Jack, is a member of the Wentworth Ladies Golf League, and enjoys kayaking on our local lakes and rivers.

Barbara Plonski

Barbara began her career as an environmental researcher, working in locales ranging from the Bering Sea to the Adirondack Mountains. After working with a national laboratory and several universities she decided to heed her father’s suggestion “you know you’d make a good teacher”. That advice led to her career in the educational, scientific/mathematic and environmental fields that has included the roles of instructor, teacher and curriculum director at the pre-K -12, junior college and college levels. Since 2013 Barbara has served as Director of New York City Advanced Placement Expansion/Advanced Placement (AP) for ALL, National Math and Science Initiative. Barbara has a BS in Biology, a MS in Oceanography and a CAGS in Educational Leadership. She has authored scientific journal articles and numerous grants including a $4,000,000 grant request/award to implement a teacher training program through Race-To-The-Top for public schools throughout Massachusetts. Barbara and her husband, Mike Albarelli serve on the board of directors of the Kiwanis Club of Mount Washington Valley, have been active in several fund raising activities and reside in Hales Location. Both she and Mike are enjoying semi-retirement which allows time for volunteering as well as exploring the Mt Washington Valley with their faithful canine companion Ringo.

Kerry MacDougall

Tired of sitting in traffic on weekdays and then driving to the White Mountains every weekend to ski or hike, Kerry moved to the Mount Washington Valley in 1999 after working in technology in Boston and Portland. Spending her initial years in the valley selling real estate, in 2003 Kerry decided to leave the working world to focus on non-profit work and starting a family. She returned to real estate in 2014. A big believer in the importance of giving back to her community, Kerry directed the “Get A Running Start” road race for women and has served on the Board of Directors for the Eastern Slope Ski Club, Mount Washington Children’s Museum, Starting Point, Arts Jubilee, the Lilliputian Montessori School, North Conway Public Library, Mount Washington Valley Housing Coalition and the New England Nordic Ski Association. A founding board member of the MWV Children’s Museum, Kerry helped establish the popular non-profit museum and fundraise for it from the ground up. A graduate of Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, when not working, Kerry happily focuses her time on her two teens and two dogs with a little hiking, skiing and golfing mixed in.

Dot Gilbert

Dot has been coming to the North Conway since 1989 and became a permanent resident in 2013 after retiring from 30 years in IT. With a Master and Bachelor Degrees in Computer Science, Dot has worked in Financial Services as a Software Engineer and as a Contractor. Her work experience was in programming, analysis, design, and website development.
Over the years, Dot has enjoyed volunteering and has helped other charitable associations in her home state and New Hampshire. She started volunteering at MWV Habitat for Humanity in 2018.

She currently resides in Center Conway with her husband Bob, and enjoys skiing, horseback riding, boating, kayaking, swimming, and hiking. And in between all that, she loves playing and walking her dog!

Catherine McDonald

Cathy was born and raised in Conway, NH. Having lived in Conway most of her life she has an extensive background in Financial Management. Which includes over 20 years in Financial Management as well as excellent Customer Service skills. A couple of years ago she became a Mortgage Loan Officer and brings a wealth of knowledge to the MWV Habitat for Humanity team.

In Cathy’s free time, she enjoys going to her Camp up in Errol, which brings her opportunity to Hike, Kayak and go boating in the Summer, Snowmobile in the Winter and in the Spring she likes to fish. Just this year she has become a grandmother for the first time. John Parker was born July 16th, and he will call her “Meme”. “JP”, his mom, and dad, live in Florida so she will have to fly and visit with them often. She and her husband Wayne have 2 dogs Luna, and Jake.

John Little

John is currently serving as a senior executive at Fortinet Federal in Reston, Virginia. Throughout his career, he has gained extensive experience in diverse technology fields such as Semiconductors, Biometrics, Robotics, Telecommunications, and Cybersecurity. Over the past two decades, John has been dedicated to leadership roles supporting the Federal Government and the US Defense Industrial Base, particularly in the Washington DC area.

Having recently relocated back to the Mount Washington Valley after spending the last 9 years in the DC area. John is also an active member of the MWV Kiwanis. Outside of his professional pursuits, he finds enjoyment in biking, skiing, and woodworking. His leisure time is often shared with his wife Linda, who is also a Kiwanis member.

John holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Northeastern University in Boston. Additionally, he has earned a Certificate in Cybersecurity from the MIT CSAIL Executive Education Program, showcasing his commitment to staying at the forefront of technology and security advancements.

John Tedeschi

John comes to Habitat following a career in the reinsurance industry as an actuary. During his career he had the opportunity to help insurance companies around the world manage and reduce the risk of their portfolio. This included catastrophic risk from natural perils and man-made risk such as credit default risk for massive mortgage portfolios. John regularly worked with C-suite staff to quantify their risk and develop solutions to mitigate the risk. Clients included global conglomerates and government agencies.

John and his wife Mary moved to Glen in 2020 and John retired soon after. Both have been involved with Habitat affiliates in Charlotte and Northern New Jersey. Locally, John helps the Bartlett-Jackson Ambulance squad as an EMT. He is also active with Memorial Hospital’s PFAC group. John enjoys the outdoors and can be found ice climbing, hiking and skiing. He also helps with local Search and Rescue squads including a recently created one to help rescue dogs from the backcountry.