Lauren McCormack takes over as Executive Director after retirement of Patrice Todisco
Materials written and shared by the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area.
(August 1, 2026) – The Board of Directors of Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area, which encompasses 45 communities in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire, is pleased to announce that Lauren McCormack has assumed the role of Executive Director after the retirement of long-time Director, Patrice Todisco, in early July.
Lauren McCormack comes to Freedom’s Way after a career in history museums, most recently serving as the Executive Director of Marblehead Museum on the North Shore of Massachusetts for over 8 years. While there, she oversaw an award-winning project to identify, research, and disseminate stories of free and enslaved people of African descent and the purchase, rehabilitation, and interpretation of the 1768 Jeremiah Lee Slave Quarters, one of only three detached slave quarters owned by an historic site in New England. Prior to her time in Marblehead, McCormack worked at the USS Constitution Museum, Old Sturbridge Village, and the Howard County Historical Society in Maryland.
McCormack brings an understanding of the promises and challenges of small heritage institutions, as well as a track record of success in institution-building, as well as fostering community relationships and partnerships. Her immediate focus will be to expand Freedom’s Way’s reach to more residents and institutional partners in the 45 communities in the Heritage Area, encompassing portions of Central Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire.
About Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area:
Massachusetts and New Hampshire communities in the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area. Source: www.freedomsway.org/area-map
The 994-square-mile Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area (FWNHA) includes 45 towns and cities in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire and is home to over 750,000 people. FWNHA connects people, places and communities through educational and interpretive initiatives that protect and promote shared resources and encourage residents and visitors to explore its landscape, history and culture.
Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area works in partnership with the National Park Service to protect and promote the regional identity of 45 communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, including:
Acton, MA; Amherst, NH; Arlington, MA; Ashburnham, MA; Ashby, MA; Ayer, MA; Bedford, MA; Bolton, MA; Boxborough, MA; Brookline, NH; Carlisle, MA; Clinton, MA; Concord, MA; Devens, MA; Dunstable, MA; Fitchburg, MA; Gardner, MA; Greenville, NH; Groton, MA; Harvard, MA; Hollis, NH; Hudson, MA; Lancaster, MA; Leominster, MA; Lexington, MA; Lincoln, MA; Littleton, MA; Lunenburg, MA; Malden, MA; Mason, NH; Maynard, MA; Medford, MA; Milford, NH; Nashua, NH; New Ipswich, NH; Pepperell, MA; Princeton, MA; Shirley, MA; Sterling, MA; Stow, MA; Sudbury, MA; Townsend, MA; Westford, MA; Westminster, MA; Winchendon, MA; Woburn, MA
Below, the Amherst, NH, Town Common, one of the 45 Massachusetts and New Hampshire communities that make up the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area.
