WHY “FIVESPARKS”?
The name “Fivesparks” resulted from a town-wide campaign to more meaningfully re-title the organization. The alignment of arts and astronomy was a natural fit when it came to re-naming the HCC. In a very real sense, astronomy gives us a sense of both our place and potential in the universe.
Harvard is no stranger to the wonders of the sky. Harvard University’s Oak Ridge Observatory, built in 1933 on the high glacial ridge of Pinnacle Road and operated jointly with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, was an incubator of astronomical discovery. Until the observatory’s closing in 2005, scores of asteroids and minor planets were identified and catalogued, and other research studies on the universe were conducted.
And so it was precisely here, our celestial Harvard annals, that served as inspiration for HCC’s re-naming. “Fivesparks” is an asteroid discovered at Oak Ridge in 1982, likely named by Oak Ridge Director and Harvard’s own astronomer, the late Mac McCrosky, to honor R. Newton and Margaret Walton Mayall, local husband and wife astronomers and authors.
Margaret Mayall was one of the earliest women astronomers, earning an MA in astronomy from Radcliffe in 1927. Determined, persistent and visionary, Mayall led the American Association of Variable Star Observers, today the largest organization of star observers in the world. The Mayall home, located at 5 Sparks Street, Cambridge (hence “Fivesparks” ), was a haven of inspiration and education in the quest for knowledge of the eternal cosmos.
Art, too, is that explosion of cosmic imagination and creativity that makes the invisible visible. Culture creates community and informs our empathy and humanity. As the late astronomer Carl Sagan succinctly observed, “The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”
JOIN US!
Fivesparks aspires to do just that in its dedicated commitment to inspire, support and advance community culture. education and the arts. We at Fivesparks look forward with excitement and anticipation, and invite you as explorers to discover the vast universe of the arts and ignite the “star-stuff” of creative humanity in all of us.
We’re all ears!
Have an idea and need to bounce it off somebody? Feedback about an event you attended? A recommendation about how we can better serve the community?
Drop us a line at admin@fivesparks.org and let us know what’s on your mind.
Executive Director
AnaMaria Nanra – In 2022, Fivesparks appointed AnaMaria as its Executive Director. AnaMaria has been volunteering at Fivesparks since she moved to Harvard from New York with her husband and daughter in 2017. In this role, AnaMaria oversees all programming, exhibits, and volunteers, in support of Fivesparks’ mission.
AnaMaria holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, with minor studies in Chemistry, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish, with minor studies in Portuguese, all earned from the University of Northern Iowa. Having grown up in Iowa, moving to Harvard was like slipping on a pair of comfy shoes, it felt like home right away. Professionally, she worked as a Waste Reduction Specialist at the Iowa Waste Reduction Center at the University of Northern Iowa. After moving to NY, she continued as an environmental consultant specializing in assisting all types of small manufacturers reduce waste and comply with State and Federal environmental regulations.
Her interest in supporting Fivesparks comes from a love of community and a life-long passion for the arts. Since childhood, she has been involved in artistic disciplines ranging from visual arts, crafts and sewing to the musical realm, having played five instruments and participated in Jazz bands for almost 10 years.
Board Members
Jane Biering (Board Member) – Jane and her husband Peter Shepard moved to Harvard in 1997 and raised their three children here. Once the chaos of a career at Staples and child-raising subsided, she began her involvement in a continuing series of town activities, including membership on the Transfer Station Committee, the Planning Board, and the Harvard-Devens Jurisdiction Committee. She currently serves as treasurer of the Community Preservation Committee. She is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Business School.
Cary Browse (President) – Cary Browse has lived in (3 different houses in) Still River since 1988. She retired a short time ago from working at the front desk at Town Hall. Before that she worked as office manager for her husband’s AV Consulting Business. Cary served on the public fundraising committee for the new library and has been very active in the Harvard UU Church. She was one of the founders of the Glean Team that picks up surplus food from Roche Bros in Acton and delivers to local food pantries 6 days each week.
Didi Chadran (Board Member) has lived in Harvard since 2001. Born in Takoma Park, Maryland, raised in Arlington, Virginia, and having lived in Washington DC and New York City, he now gratefully calls Massachusetts his home. Moreover, he feels that preternatural forces have drawn philosophical and spiritual leaders over the centuries to build their utopias within what now constitute Harvard’s town boundaries. Didi is a cloud software product marketing manager by profession and serves as chair of Harvard’s Community Preservation Committee and a board member of the not-for-profit Harvard Schools Trust and Jhamtse International. He dabbles in poetry, prose, and storytelling; posts unapologetically on Instagram and Twitter; and crafts a sambal-style hot sauce whose flavor arcs from sweet to umami to scorching within two seconds. Didi holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree from Ohio University.
Judith Eissenberg (Board Member) – A resident of Harvard since 2008, Judith is Professor of the Practice of Music at Brandeis University, and is a founding member of the critically acclaimed Lydian String Quartet. In addition to performing and teaching (at Brandeis and the Boston Conservatory), she founded and directs MusicUnitesUS, whose mission is to further the understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures through music. She is co-founder of Music From Salem, a summer music festival in upstate New York.
Pamela Erdos (Board Member) – A Harvard resident since 2003, Pam is a practicing attorney specializing in the areas of trusts, estates, gift tax planning and probate, real estate transactions and charitable giving. A long-time supporter of community outreach, she has served as an officer and director of various non-profit organizations in Greenwich, CT and Harvard, MA, including Community Centers, Inc., Greenwich YMCA, the Community Advisory Council, United Way, the Junior League of Greenwich, Village Nursery School, Bare Hill Rowing Association and the Harvard Schools Trust. Professionally, she is a member of the Connecticut and Florida Bar Associations.
Spencer Holland (Board Member) – A Harvard resident since 2020, Spencer is a partner at the law firm of Mirick O’Connell, where he specializes in commercial real estate and environmental law. While living in Boston, Spencer was a volunteer at Soul Train, a running-based mentoring program. Since moving to Harvard, Spencer has enjoyed coaching his daughters’ youth sports teams. Spencer also previously served on the board of Family Services of Central Massachusetts, now an affiliate of Seven Hills Foundation.
Mark Mikitarian (Board Clerk) – Mark has lived in Harvard since 1991, and has participated in various Town activities and initiatives, including the Old Library Pilot Project, the Harvard Public Library Fundraising Committee, and the Fourth of July Committee, and has worked and written for the Harvard Press. He is also an Associate Trustee with the Harvard Conservation Trust. His professional background is in human capital management and information technology, with an emphasis on consulting, writing, and project management.
Willie Wickman (Board Treasurer) – Willie has lived in Harvard since 1989, and was chairman of the Old Library Pilot Project. She served 11 years on the Harvard School Committee and was a member of the Municipal Building Committee, Bromfield School Council and the Devens Education Advisory Committee. She has been active as a member of the Harvard Flea Market Committee and Harvard League of Women Voters. She has a professional background in banking and finance.
Heidi Hunter Siegrist (Board Member) – Heidi has lived in Harvard for 28 years in what is known as “the old goat farm.” She holds a Bachelor of Science from Middlebury College and a Masters of Science in Administration and Education from Wheelock College. In her 20+ year tenure at the Stride Rite Corporation, Heidi served as Director of the Stride Rite Intergenerational Center, one of the first corporate sponsored non-profit intergenerational centers in the United States, professionally combining her passions across the age spectrum. Heidi is actively involved in several non-profit organizations in Harvard, including leadership roles in the Harvard Woman’s Club and the Friends of the Council on Aging. She currently serves on the Harvard Schools Trust board, the Fruitlands Museums property committee, the Virginia Thurston Healing Garden advisory board, Friends of Harvard Soccer board, the Harvard Lions, and is a Corporator of Emerson Hospital.
Mamie Wytrwal (Board Member) – Mamie moved to Harvard in 1997 with her husband Dave Caponera and a houseful of dogs and cats. She is a graduate of Colgate University and Harvard Graduate School of Design. Mamie is a landscape architect, recently and happily retired, whose firm designed projects throughout New England and the mid-Atlantic region. She served on the school board of her hometown in New York and on the board of the Acton Arboretum.