“Celebrating Women
This year, Massachusetts celebrates the 200th anniversary of Susan B. Anthony’s birth, and the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment. We spoke with Cassandra Peltier, executive director of the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum in Adams, about upcoming activities to celebrate these historical milestones.
Cassandra, tell us about your background and your work at the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum.
My work with the Museum began in 2015 when I interned as a student at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA). As part of my internship, I created the black dress currently on display at the museum, based on photographs of Susan B. Anthony with Elizabeth Cady Stanton from the 1880s. From that point, my childhood love of museums and my long-time interest in women’s history and textiles became inseparable. I transferred to Mount Holyoke College, where I completed two internships and an assistantship at the Mt. Holyoke College Art Museum and Joseph Allen Skinner Museum before graduating in spring of 2018.
I am proud to be the Executive Director at the Museum at this most pivotal moment. This year is the most momentous anniversary for U.S. women’s history in our lifetime. In addition to spearheading the museum’s centennial programming, I am working with the Vermont Suffrage Centennial Alliance, the Northern Berkshire Suffrage Centennial Coalition and the Adams Suffrage Centennial Celebration Committee to ensure the histories of our community, state and region are shared through programming and exhibits.”
Read MA Spotlight: Cassandra Peltier in its entirety on Massachusetts Vacation.
