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Executive Director

Chris Freeman currently holds the position of Executive Director at The Parlor Room. Prior to this role, he spent a decade on the road as a founding member of the band Parsonsfield. He toured extensively across North America playing thousands of shows in venues large and small. The band released five albums under the Signature Sounds label.

Having transitioned into the Executive Director role at The Parlor Room in February 2022, Freeman played a critical role in guiding the organization through a significant transition to non-profit status. This transformation solidified The Parlor Room's commitment to supporting artistic growth and community engagement.

As a Northampton resident deeply rooted in the local music scene, Chris remains devoted to the well-being of the musical community. His position as Executive Director allows him to channel this commitment and apply his extensive musical background to benefit The Parlor Room and the wider artistic community it serves.

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President / Board Member

Randy Krotowski is a retired corporate technology executive who has a passion for music as an enthusiastic audience member. After growing up in Toronto and spending his career in cities across North America, Randy and his wife, Margaret, spent a year looking for a community with the perfect blend of culture, music, food and outdoor activities. They moved to Northampton in 2015 and immersed themselves in everything this region has to offer. In the last seven years, Randy has been very involved with supporting entrepreneurship in the Valley and brings his experience serving on a variety of public and nonprofit boards along with strong governance and business experience to the Parlor Room.

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Treasurer / Board Member

David has an undergraduate degree in Economics and a MBA in Finance and a lifelong passion for music. He and his wife are relative newcomers to the Valley, moving to Northampton 2 years ago to enjoy the vibrant cultural and music scene in the Valley. He currently works full time at HP Hood, a $3.5B dairy manufacturer and brings a strong corporate finance background including balance sheet, income statement and cash flow analysis along with experience in budgets, contracts and corporate governance to The Parlor Room.

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Board Member

Ruthie Oland earned her MBA from UMass Amherst in 2018, and now works as a residential Realtor in the Pioneer Valley.  The daughter of a bluegrass banjo player, Ruthie grew up regularly volunteering at the Hudson River Clearwater Festival, and enjoying live musical performances.  Ruthie is proud to serve on the board of the Parlor Room, which provides such a special place for artists and local audiences to enjoy live music together.   Ruthie is a member of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, sits on the board of Congregation B'nei Israel in Northampton, and is a fundraiser for The Movement Voter Project.  She lives in Haydenville with her husband, Dave, and children, Aviv, & Liora.

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Board Member

Harris Paseltiner is a multi-instrumentalist touring and recording artist, songwriter, producer, and engineer. He is a founding member of the indie folk band Darlingside, described by NPR as “exquisitely-arranged, literary-minded, baroque folk-pop”. The band began in 2009 in the Pioneer Valley and built a local following busking in downtown Northampton and playing farmers markets, until eventually becoming a mainstay at venues such as the Iron Horse and the Academy of Music. The vibrant local music scene was a springboard to international touring and critical acclaim including Folk Alliance International Artist Of The Year. Harris has produced and co-written records for Darlingside and other artists, written for Nickelodeon’s Big Heart World educational program for kids, taught workshops and masterclasses for songwriting and harmony arrangement, and collaborated with youth orchestras and school choirs to help encourage young musicians. He can be found hiking the Mill River with his dog or playing guitar and singing with his kids.

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Clerk / Board Member

Karen Sise has been a sound engineer at the Parlor Room since it first opened doors in 2013. But she has studied sound, music and acoustics for much longer. After studying and performing music on various instruments at Lawrence University, she completed a degree in sound engineering at Full Sail, and has mixed at the board for more than 20 years. Karen has coordinated logistics for hundreds of music and theater productions in the Pioneer Valley and beyond. Meanwhile, she completed undergraduate studies at Smith College and a Master of Education at UMass-Amherst, and has developed her career in higher education administration at Smith, where she serves as Associate Registrar. Karen lives in Easthampton with her daughter Zoe and two cats, Chica and Cleo. In her occasional spare time, she enjoys hiking, paddling, traveling and volunteering.

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Board Member

Mark has worked at D.A. Sullivan since 1988. He enjoys the variety and challenges of construction, and appreciates the relationships that he and DAS have built with local municipalities, schools, architects and owners. Mark is active in the community and is a former 2-time chairman of the Northampton Planning Board, as well as the Northampton Survival Center, where he also served as chairman. He lives in Northampton with his wife, Robbie, and they have 3 children: Julia, Joni & Liam.

she/they

Board Member

Kaliis Smith is a radio host and producer for NEPM's The Fabulous 413, an arts and culture focused radio program that features conversations and performances of folx from all around the four counties of western Massachusetts. Originally from Roxbury, she was previously a host and producer at The River 93.9/WRSI where she hosted weekday evenings.

Outside of radio, she mostly does music and writing. She is the author “Finger and Thumb” and co-wrote the picture book “Sir Morien,” with New York Times bestselling author Holly Black. She is currently in a lot of bands, (Ex-Temper, Soul Magnets, The Brass), but if you've got a metal project that needs a guitarist, she's open to joining at least one more. 

Do not ask her about board games unless you have a lot of time to listen to her wax poetic about them. 

He/Him

Board member

Henry White is a Music Historian and longtime community advocate born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut. He has been a resident of Northampton, Massachusetts, for over 20 years, where he has dedicated himself to uplifting local voices through media, arts, music, and education, especially through his love of live music and community-based performance. Henry is known for his deep appreciation of all genres of music, with a special passion for funk, R&B, jazz, and classic soul. His passion for music began in childhood as a drummer in his church and continued through his involvement in various bands spanning gospel, funk, and R&B. Henry believes in the power of live performances to bring people together, preserve cultural traditions, and create shared community experiences. His work centers on preserving musical history while connecting it to contemporary culture and community storytelling.
After moving to Northampton, Henry continued his commitment to community engagement by joining Northampton Community Television (formerly Northampton Open Media), where he later served as board president. At NCT, he hosted and produced the public access talk show Spotlighting Paradise, highlighting local artists, musicians, and community leaders.

She/Her

Board Member

Emily Eagan is the Director of Special Events and Experiences at the UMass Amherst Foundation, where she plans and executes donor and alumni engagement events. Previously, Emily held events and advancement roles at Vivo Performing Arts (formerly Celebrity Series of Boston), managing its annual gala and supporting its annual fundraising and stewardship efforts. She cherishes her early career moments with Farm Aid, where she assisted with volunteer coordination, merch, and other festival details. Emily earned her Bachelor of Science in Music Industry from Northeastern University in 2016, and she has performed with the band Muswell Hillbillies since its founding in 2010. She lives in Northampton with her cat, Smokey.

She/Her

Board Member

Western Massachusetts “writer-songsinger” Heather Maloney is an internationally touring artist with deep roots in the Pioneer Valley. Her work has garnered praise from publications including the New York Times, Boston Globe and Spin Magazine. Her live appearances have aired across the globe on syndicated programming like eTown, Mountain Stage and AudioTree. She has toured as a headliner throughout the US and Canada and also in support of acts including Anais Mitchell, Lake Street Dive, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Shawn Colvin.
Having spent much of her childhood living under the poverty line in rural places where there is little to no access to the arts, Heather has a deeply personal passion for creating points of access for artists and musicians. She believes in the importance of engaging with and creating art now more than ever, as statistics show the percentage of working class creatives has been plummeting in an industry that increasingly favors those with financial privilege. She has lately been channeling some of that passion into her songwriting workshops through the Parlor Room Collective, which cover not only the craft of songwriting and performance, but are also building artistic community. Heather is dedicated to creating and fostering spaces for our local artists to grow, inspire, connect, access resources and share knowledge.

She/Her

Board Member

Beth Balmuth Raffeld recently retired having served more than four decades as the head of the Development & External Engagement programs for Smith College, MIT, Harvard College, Museum of Science, Williams College and The Chicago Historical Museum. Throughout her professional career, Beth also has served on boards and consulted with arts organizations including Shakespeare & Company, The Vermont Jazz Center, and recently recruited to The Chester Theater board. Beth is an active musician with wide experience performing in musical theater and genres of classical music. She currently sings jazz with instrument ensembles and plays classical oboe. 

A new grandmother, Beth enjoys time with her husband Philip Khoury and family - as well as traveling, gardening, hiking, cooking and an assortment of crafts. She is inspired by all there is to learn and believes deeply that education and the arts are essential to living a full and meaningful life and to building community.