Gwendolyn VanSant

CEO &  Founding Director
Gwendolyn VanSant is a trainer & facilitator in diversity leadership, cultural competence and coalition building for justice and equity. She is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founding Director of Multicultural BRIDGE and contributes to several teams across the region to promote safety, equity and trust in communities and workplaces. Gwendolyn has worked with corporations, schools, colleges and universities, law enforcement, hospitals, teaching and leadership institutes, and more.  In addition to designing cultural competence trainings, Gwendolyn is a frequent speaker and long-time activist deeply rooted in gender equity and positive psychology. Since 2012 Gwendolyn has served as an appointed official on the Berkshire County Commission on the Status of Women.

Most recently her work in honoring Dr. W.E. B. Du Bois has taken centerfold as co-curator and co-designer of the Du Bois 150th birthday festival commissioned by the Town of Great Barrington. In spring 2017, Gwendolyn spearheaded the county-wide campaign and coalition "Not in the Berkshires" and, in partnership, stewarded the crafting and passing of her town’s Trust Policy, a step towards a statewide Safe Community Act. In 2016, Gwendolyn served as the Founding Director of Equity and Inclusion at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, her alma mater. In 2015/2016 she was recognized as a “Berkshire Trendsetter” finalist and was named one of her county’s most dedicated and creative social entrepreneurs by Berkshire Magazine. In 2018 she is recognized as an Unsung Heroine by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. Gwendolyn is on the board of UU Mass Action Network and is a reactivation and annual member of the Berkshire County Bank of the NAACP.
JV Hampton-VanSant has worked with BRIDGE in many capacities since 2008. Originally as a volunteer, they would help at events during summer breaks from college. Since their college internship days JV stay connected to his hometown. They have helped design, coordinate and run the BRIDGE Summer Educational Programs at Hevreh since 2011 . On their own high school and college campus, JV was a youth organizer and leader for LGBTQ education and events. Since graduating from Lesley University in 2012 with a B.A. in Holistic Psychology and minor in Expressive Arts Therapy, They have worked as a part of the administrative team as well as the primary youth leadership trainer and IT coordinator. JV received his diversity training certification from the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) in the summer of 2012 and Best Youth Worker in 2016. JV is also the host of 3 podcasts, an actor and voice actor, writer and children’s book author working to encourage kids to actively engage with the world around them and make positive choice around diversity, environmentalism, and leadership. JV has co-designed the positive education program, Happiness Toolbox, that BRIDGE hosts as a summer program and in and out of school time activities.

JV Hampton-VanSant

Youth Diversity Leader & Engagement Coordinator for Internal  Operations Coordinator

Safara Fisher

Business Development & Engagement Coordinator
Safara Fisher is the Business Development & Engagement Coordinator for Multicultural BRIDGE. She supports existing community partners and new collaborations through outreach for Multicultural BRIDGE to the Pioneer Valley region of Massachusetts.  

In 2015, Safara joined Multicultural BRIDGE as a facilitator for cultural competence and diversity training through Berkshire County, Massachusetts while providing staff development with work-life balance training coaching practices in supervision for BRIDGE. Through her participation in BRIDGE events she has work to foster our community relations.
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Ms. Fisher (M.A. Teachers College, Columbia University) has over 10 years experience in rural and urban school systems with applied studies and teaching including alternative education strategies, curriculum development in multicultural education theory and practice, social inequality, race and gender, difference, sociological perspectives on institutional change in education, public policy, conflict resolution and positive psychology.  Safara’s personal profile as a daughter of a former U.S. diplomat with extensive international background, biracial identity along with her health and well-being resilience practices explored through publications and teachings extend through her work for BRIDGE. 
Stephanie Wright has been with Multicultural BRIDGE for about seven years. She became acquainted with the organization through cultural dinners, dances, and talks given at The Dewey Hall in Sheffield. She is the granddaughter of Minnie Golden who lived to be 104 years of age in Sheffield. Her family goes back in the archives in Sheffield to the mid 1880’s. Stephanie is a second career changer going back to school receiving a Masters of Education and getting certified and licensed to teach Middle School English in 2011. She is employed in the Southern Berkshire Regional School District as a Permanent Substitute Teacher and working with elementary students has been her mainstay. For almost two years she has been teaching grades 2-6 in various schools in Berkshire County. She enjoys teaching Cultural Literacy in our summer program and believes with the positive experiences coming from these various classes, students have made progress in treating their peers with compassion and empathy. Stephanie brings an enthusiasm to her classes that are infectious and her students respond in kind. Through a fertile partnership, Stephanie is trained by RISE of Kripalu to bring resilience to BRIDGE constituents and youth to promote resilience at work, home, school and in community.

Stephanie Wright

Educator & Facilitator

Silvia Soria

Women To Women Facilitator
Silvia Soria, sister of long-time BRIDGE Advisory member Maria Soria of Women to Women, has collaborated with BRIDGE on several multicultural presentations since 2011. Since 2015, Silvia has served in the professional capacity as the Women to Women facilitator and bilingual support staff. Silvia is trained in the financial industry and currently is an employee at the Elizabeth Freeman Center. ​​Through a fertile partnership, Silvia is trained by RISE of Kripalu to bring resilience to BRIDGE constituents to promote resilience at work, home and in community.
BRIDGE has a small core staff (above) and several additional staff that join as facilitators, trainers, educators and language access staff in interpretation, translation and bilingual support. BRIDGE is rooted in community engagement and has been inspired by the many volunteers that share their time and talent with us on special projects and daily office support. Get to know some who are listed here and know there are many more who contribute on a regular basis. We consider ourselves a BRIDGE family and invite you to join us.

Sign up for our newsletter as we begin to highlight the many hands that keep the important work led by the protected classes of "minority" and women moving ahead with fervor.
Tracy Johnson is the accounts and office support volunteer.  Tracy enjoys helping behind the scenes, learning about and supporting BRIDGE's racial justice work in her community.  Her family enjoys traveling internationally with their extended family, a total of 12 people.

Tracy Johnson

Volunteer: Accounts Support and Office 

Jeffrey Lowenstein

BRIDGE Facilitator & Spanish Translator and Volunteer
Jeff Lowenstein works with BRIDGE in several capacities. After leaving BRIDGE in the executive assistant role for a more robust community organizer role at his other non-profit job, Jeff transitioned to working as a translator, facilitator and at times he join us as a volunteer for office operations. Also, from his community organizing role at BIO Jeff works on coalitions in partnership with BRIDGE.
"I was impressed by the work of BRIDGE as soon as I discovered the organization and met Gwendolyn Hampton VanSant. As I met the people who support and benefit from BRIDGE, I decided wanted to provide active support. As a project manager, helping to organize events seemed like a good fit.

After the 2016 election, it was the immediacy of the Annual Fundraiser and the urgency of the need for support of organizations such as Bridge that helped me get up the next morning. Having helped with that event, I was committed.
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Originally from the UK, I and my husband settled in the Berkshires 12 years ago. We love the area and we love the web of connection, community and support that BRIDGE is building."

Ruth pearce

Volunteer: Special Events Project Manager

Alina Hsu

Volunteer: Development Coordinator
​"My family is biracial and multiethnic, and we are diverse in lots of other ways as well.  I have always believed that diversity enriches and injustice harms us all, and that systemic injustice is especially damaging.  BRIDGE works to help us recognize and use our richness to promote equity, community, growth, and healing. I'm proud to volunteer at BRIDGE."