Meet Our New Board Members

February, 2008

Attorney Michael Tule of Milford; Public relations practitioner Doris C. Burke of Goffstown; attorney and businessman Jeffrey D. Gilbert of Rye; and former N.H. Commissioner of Agriculture, Markets and Food Stephen H. Taylor of Plainfield have joined the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance board of directors.

Michael Tule  recently rejoined the law firm of McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, Professional Association after more than 10 years serving as a business executive and inside general counsel at two New England-based companies, WPI Group, Inc. and Rock of Ages Corporation.Mike focuses his practice on business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, securities, and business formation and counseling. 

He received his B.A. from the University of Vermont and his J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.  He has served on the Board of Advisors for the New England Legal Foundation and on the Board of Directors for the New Hampshire International Trade Association, and he currently serves as a Trustee for the Wadleigh Memorial Public Library. Mike has an avid interest in history and historic preservation, and most recently served on the selection committee for the organization's 2008 "Seven to Save" endangered properties list. 

Doris Burke is community development manager for Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH), a subsidiary of Northeast Utility System, and the state's largest electric utility.  A native of Manchester, Burke is a public relations practitioner with a concentration on community relations.  She has been employed in the high-tech, banking, and nonprofit sectors, in addition to the utility industry, developing corporate citizenship, contributions, and communication strategies.

Burke is currently a member of the board of advisors for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and a member of the boards for the N.H. Center for Nonprofits and Concord Community Music School.  She serves on the advisory board of the Hannah Grimes Marketplace and is an advisor to the N.H. Creative Economy Network.

Jeffrey Gilbert is a broadly-experienced businessman who practiced law for 14 years, primarily as a business lawyer, and then spent a number of years as an investment banker. Currently, he is a general partner of W.J.P. Development, LLC, which owns and manages three community shopping centers in New Hampshire.

Gilbert has been active in politics since 2000, serving as a State Representative until 2005. From 2002 to 2005 he was vice chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Currently, he is vice president of the board of trustees of the Housing Partnership, a local organization providing affordable housing in the Seacoast region, and is also chairman of the board of trustees of Strawbery Banke Museum.

Stephen Taylor, a lifelong New Hampshire resident, has been a farmer, newspaperman, and public official.  In November, 2007, he concluded 25 years of service as the state's Commissioner of Agriculture, Markets and Food.

Taylor and his family operate a commercial dairy and maple farm in the Meriden village section of Plainfield.  He has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and, as a freelance writer, has contributed to many publications on topics ranging from politics to rural life.  For 27 years he has been Plainfield's town moderator and he has long been involved in numerous community and charitable activities. Taylor is keenly interested in protecting and preserving New Hampshire's landscapes, architecture, and cultural heritage.

Complete List of Board of Directors

John W. Merkle, AIA, Chair, Portsmouth
Robert O. Wilson, D.D.S. Vice Chair, Hopkinton
Peter Labombarde, Treasurer, Bedford
Michael Bruss, Secretary, Bradford
Doris Burke, Goffstown
Colin Cabot, Loudon
Jeananne Farrar, Keene
Jeffrey D. Gilbert, Rye
Etoile Holzaepfel, New Castle
Stephen Taylor, Meriden
Michael Tule, Milford
Bill Veillette, Amherst
Ken Viscarello, Manchester
Christopher P. Williams, AIA, Meredith