Meet the Panelists
Jamie Trowbridge
President and CEO
Yankee Publishing, Inc.
Jamie Trowbridge is President and CEO of Yankee Publishing, Inc. The company, based in Dublin, New Hampshire, publishes Yankee, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, New Hampshire Magazine, Family Tree Magazine, and other publications and websites. As a grandson of the founder, Jamie is committed to keeping the company independent. In 2022 YPI completed its transition from family ownership to 100% employee ownership. The company recently celebrated its 90th anniversary.
Jamie is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College. Before joining Yankee Publishing in 1988, he worked in the publishing field for several years in Seattle, Washington, and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
He currently serves on the Board of MacDowell, America’s premier artist residency program, located in Peterborough, New Hampshire, where he and his wife live.
He previously served on the Boards of the N. H. Travel Council, the N. H. Business Committee for the Arts, Monadnock Community Hospital, the Greater Monadnock Collaborative, and the Monadnock Rotary Club. In 2012 Jamie was recognized with the Business in the Arts Award by the N. H. Business Committee for the Arts. In 2019 Franklin Pierce University awarded him an honorary degree.
Beth Slepian, MBA, PT
President & CEO, Granite VNA
Beth Slepian, MBA, PT, is the President and CEO of Granite VNA, the largest home health and hospice organization in New Hampshire. Under her leadership, Granite VNA serves thousands of patients and families each year, supported by a dedicated and compassionate team of employees and volunteers. The organization’s not-for-profit mission is central to Slepian’s vision of providing high-quality care to the community, fostering workforce development, and building impactful partnerships.
As CEO, Slepian works closely with the Leadership Team and Board of Trustees to design and execute the agency’s strategic plan, which prioritizes community care, innovation, quality services, and a talented workforce. She emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and professional advancement to both strengthen community health and enhance workforce retention and sustainability. Slepian has expanded patient care services and improved clinical management for those with complex health needs, further advancing the organization’s mission.
Beyond her role at Granite VNA, Slepian is a committed community leader and serves on numerous local boards. She is an active member of the Board of Directors for National Alliance for Care at Home, where she is also on the Governance/Nominating Committee. Additionally, she is a board member of Wolfeboro Area Meals on Wheels, Inc. and participates in several state and national workgroups.
Slepian holds a Bachelor of Science in physical therapy from the University of Vermont and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in nonprofit leadership from New England College.
Marty Sink
CEO and President
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of New Hampshire
Marty Sink is the CEO and President of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of New Hampshire, which recruits, trains and supervises volunteer guardians ad litem to advocate on behalf of children who have experienced abuse and neglect. Motivated by her own experiences as a foster parent, Sink founded CASA of NH in 1989, beginning with 10 volunteers in two courts. Today, 600-plus volunteers advocate for children in every district and family court in the state. Under Sink’s leadership, CASA of NH has trained more than 3,000 volunteers who have advocated for more than 13,000 children.
She has served on numerous state and national boards and task forces, including Chair of the National CASA Board of Directors, the Attorney General’s Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, the New Hampshire Child Fatality Review Team, an executive committee member on both the Merrimack County Model Court Project and the New Hampshire Court Improvement Project, the New Hampshire Access to Justice Commission, the New Hampshire Oversight Commission on Children’s Services, and Gov. Shaheen’s Judicial Selection Commission. Her efforts have strengthened New Hampshire’s child welfare and judicial systems while amplifying the voices of the children CASA of NH serves.
Peter Ramsey
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Palace Theatre Trust, Manchester
Peter Ramsey is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Palace Theatre Trust in Manchester, NH. Peter grew up in New London, New Hampshire next to a summer theatre which instilled in him a love for show business at a young age. His love of theatre, his passion for New Hampshire and his desire to improve Manchester make him the perfect person for the job of Palace Theatre President and CEO.
Peter’s time with the Palace began in 1999 when the Board hired him to re-open the theatre which had just gone dark and closed due to financial hardship. Under his leadership for the last 25 years, the Palace Theatre has grown into an incredibly successful organization that now includes 5 performance spaces and is currently re-branding as The Palace Theatres.
For 20 years, Peter Ramsey’s name has been synonymous with the historic Palace Theatre’s success. In addition to the 834 seat historic Palace Theatre, the Palace Theatres now includes The Spotlight Room, Forever Emma Studios, The Rex Theatre and in 2025 The Singer Center for the Arts.
Located right next to the Palace Theatre on Hanover Street, The Spotlight Room is an event center that is perfect for parties and small musical acts. Forever Emma Studios on Pine Street is the center for the Palace Theatre’s Youth Theatre Program. The PYT Program is one of the biggest Youth Theatre programs in New England featuring camps, full musical productions, plays, master classes, voice lessons, and a unique training program for students interested in pursuing careers in musical theatre. Peter is incredibly passionate about the youth theatre program and how it builds the kids’ confidence and creates future generations of performers and audience members.
In 2018, Peter saw a unique opportunity to expand the Palace Theatres even further with the opening of the Rex Theatre. Originally a movie theatre, The Rex Theatre is located one block over from the Palace Theatre. As of 1989, its life as a movie house had ended, and the theatre had become a series of night clubs until it closed and was an abandoned building on Amherst Street for years. Purchased by the MDC in 2016, the building would soon be brought back to life. Always a visionary, Peter saw the opportunity to re-open the Rex Theatre as a way to bring 75,000 more people to downtown Manchester a year. When he was approached by Mayor Joyce Craig, the Manchester Development Corporation and the Board of Alderman, Peter immediately saw the potential the Rex had to offer. Thanks to Mayor Joyce Craig, the Board of Aldermen, Manchester Development Committee, Palace Theatre Board of Trustees, Palace Advisory Board, the Rex Committee, and Peter Ramsey, the history of Manchester was re-written when The Rex Theatre officially opened its doors on October 30, 2019. The Rex Theatre provides the Palace Theatres with an opportunity to do shows that can’t be done at the Palace. It will feature a variety of music shows and comedians and will help the Palace extend its reach to new audience members while simultaneously bringing more people downtown to local restaurants and businesses, making the Rex a win for the Palace, the city of Manchester and the New Hampshire economy.
2024 brought a fifth performance space to the Palace Theatres’ growth by acquiring the 77 Amherst Street property and subsequently developing a partnership with Manchester businessman Robert Singer and creating the Singer Center for the Arts.
In addition to expanding the Palace Theatres, Peter is always aware of the financial difficulties of running an arts organization, and he is continuously working to insure the future of the Palace Theatres through the procurement of sponsorships, donations, endowments and grants. He has led incredibly successful capital campaigns and has established the Palace Theatres reputation as a successful arts organization. His leadership, vision and understanding of show business have established Peter Ramsey as an exemplary citizen who has forever changed the history of the Palace Theatre, an organization that is loved and cherished by many.
Richard Ober
President and CEO
New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
Dick Ober leads the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the largest private provider of nonprofit grants and student aid in northern New England. The Foundation manages more than $1 billion in charitable funds donated by hundreds of families and individuals, and awards some 8,000 grants and scholarships exceeding $80 million annually.
Dick has 40 years of experience in nonprofit management and civic affairs. Before coming to the Foundation, he held senior staff positions at the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and the Monadnock Conservancy. He has served on numerous nonprofit boards and public commissions, including several Gubernatorial appointments.
Dick is the co-founder and past chair of the Community Foundation Opportunity Network (CFON) and a past chair of CFLeads. He has also served on the board of directors for the Center for Effective Philanthropy.
Dick has written and lectured widely on community philanthropy, civic life, and the connections between people and the places they live. His work has been published in books, book chapters, magazines, and journals. He has been recognized with awards from the Environmental Protection Agency, the State of New Hampshire, and Plymouth State University, and has repeatedly been named as one of the state’s most influential people by leading New Hampshire business publications.
Dick lives with his wife and daughter in Dublin, New Hampshire.
Moderator
Mike Cote
New Hampshire Editor
NH Business Review, New Hampshire Magazine, 603 Diversity
Cote oversees New Hampshire Magazine, a monthly magazine on interesting people, places and happenings in the Granite state, and NH Business Review, a biweekly publication, covering all business-related news and events in New Hampshire. Additionally, Cote lead the editorial effort at 603 Diversity, a quarterly publication that shares the cultural contributions made by New Hampshire’s diverse communities. Cote also co-hosts the weekly “Down to Business” podcast with Managing Editor Amanda Andrews.
A Manchester, New Hampshire, native, Cote has worked for newspapers and magazines in both Colorado and Florida, such as ColoradoBiz and Naples Daily News. He started as a business and city editor at the New Hampshire Union Leader in July 2012 before being promoted to senior editor in May 2020. Cote also wrote a weekly column in the business section throughout his 11 years at the New Hampshire Union Leader. He received a bachelor’s degree in English and communication from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Colorado Boulder. Cote is also a member of Make-a-Wish New Hampshire’s board of directors.
