Our Board

Our Board of Directors is comprised of local individuals with a vested interest in the mission of Our Place NH. Members serve from one to three-year terms.

Laurie mcintosh, MS/OT,Chair

Laurie attended Boston University and got her Masters of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of New Hampshire. She was certified as an Assistive Technology Professional through the Rehabilitation Engineering and Technology Society of North America. Recently retired from 38 years as a school occupational therapist. Laurie is the mother of two adult children with developmental disabilities. She loves sailing and is a board officer of Great Bay Yacht Club.

Mike Bennett, vice chair

Mike Bennett is a retired United Church of Christ Pastor, having served congregations in Connecticut, Massachusetts and, most recently, First Parish Church in downtown Dover. He is married to Sue Frost, Pastor of the Hampton United Methodist Church. Mike and Sue have an adult son with special needs.

Janette desmond, treasurer

Owner of Sunshine Sweets LLC, dba Kilwins, a sweet shop in downtown Portsmouth, NH.  Co-owner with her husband, Phil, Argus Surveillance Technologies, LLC.  Current board member of the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth.  Mother of one adult child with a developmental disability.

Maria cousins, secretary, chair development committee

Community Volunteer, Yoga Instructor

Maria is a former teacher, wife of 40 years, mother of two beautful daughters and grandmother of two. Her youngest daughter, now in her 30’s, has Down syndrome and currently lives with Maria and her husband on the seacoast. Maria loves spending time with her grandchildren and daughters, traveling with family and friends, walking, reading and cooking. Maria teaches chair yoga to seniors as a member of the staff of Yoga in Action and is an active member of the Exeter Area General Federation of Women’s Clubs since 2005. Maria enjoys volunteering to make the seacoast a better place for all, especially for adults in the IDD community. 

Leigh Rohde

Leigh is a longtime resident of the New Hampshire seacoast. She lives in South Hampton and is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Salem State University. She is mother to three adult children, including her son Peter, who has Down syndrome. Leigh serves on the Governance Committee and is excited to have joined a group working to find positive residential opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities.

Amy Ferris

Amy is a life-long resident of the NH seacoast and graduate of UNH. She works in Early Supports and Services at Waypoint at the Richie McFarland Center. Amy has two adult sons, one on the autism spectrum. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, watching her son play baseball, spending time with her family, and volunteering.

daniel richard

Our Place NH is pleased to announce that Daniel Richard has joined our board of directors.  Dan was born and raised in the NH seacoast area and has lived here most of his life. Dan attended Saint Thomas Aquinas High School followed by Syracuse University and then Boston University.  

The first half of his career was in the enterprise software field with Lotus Development and later by acquisition IBM managing a small team of engineers across the globe. Dan has extensive experience shuttling large complex projects from definition and funding to completion. 

The second half of his professional life has brought him back into the family business that he grew up in, which has served the seacoast community since 1932.  Dan has been married for almost thirty years and is the proud father of two wonderful young men.  Dan's oldest is on the spectrum and currently lives at home.  Like many of us he fully understands the challenges of living with a disabled adult and the concerns for their housing and wellbeing as we all get older.  

"I, like the rest of the board, volunteers, and larger community, look forward to helping our loved ones obtain the safe, comfortable and supportive housing that they deserve."

John Tarabocchia

Our Place NH is pleased to announce that John Tarabocchia has joined our board of directors.  John was born and raised in New Jersey but has made New Hampshire his home for the last 10 years. He went to East Stroudsburg University for his Bachelors degree and then Walden University for his MBA.

With 25+ years in the Healthcare industry, John has extensive experience in operations, sales, marketing and executive leadership. He has been married for 25 years and has two amazing children in college. John has a passion for helping people and has a sister-in-law who has a developmental disability and lives in Philadelphia. She is fortunate enough to have a wonderful housing situation which is not the case for all individuals with developmental disabilities in New Hampshire. He would like to use his high energy and time to help create stable and supportive housing where they can flourish independently. He looks forward to supporting the mission of Our Place NH and solving the housing challenges in NH for this population.

Patrick Shannon

Patrick Shannon, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Social Work at the University of New Hampshire. He obtained his BA in Health and Human Services and Master of Social Work degrees from the University at Buffalo in 1990 and 1993, respectively, and his PhD in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2000. He has worked with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since 1986. He has both direct care experience in residential programs in Buffalo, N.Y., administrative experience as the Director of Research and Evaluation at the Virginia Institute for Developmental Disabilities, and research and teaching experience at the University at Buffalo and UNH. He brings expertise in the areas of advocacy, direct care, grant writing, policy analysis, and program evaluation and research. He has numerous publications in child welfare, disability, and social work journals. He is coordinator of the Graduate Certificate in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities program and is a faculty member on the New Hampshire/Maine-Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (NH-LEND) program at UNH. Finally, Dr. Shannon is a former member of the State of New Hampshire’s Governor’s Commission on Disability.

Peggy Mace

Peggy has found home, and a welcoming community for her three children, in Dover, NH, for the past 27 years. She has experience with residential renovations and pouring over floor plans and designs is a favorite pastime. She also loves hiking, yoga, traveling, and spending time with her family and pets. Peggy's two youngest children, now 20 and 24, have Down syndrome and live with her. She brings a passion and energy to helping Our Place NH build creative housing solutions for individuals with disabilities to live and thrive inclusively within their community and reach their full potential.