Executive Committee Trustees

Drew Landry, President – Drew is currently a tax principal with John G. Burk and Company, CPAs, P.C., where his primary duties include tax compliance and representation for closely-held businesses and estates. In addition, he renders forensic accounting services for a wide variety of clients. He has assisted state and federal authorities in the prosecution of complex financial crimes. Previously, Drew was employed as a revenue agent with the Internal Revenue Service from 1974 to 1984. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from Bentley College in Waltham, Mass., and is an associate member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the American Bar Association. Drew is admitted to the bar of the United States Tax Court. Drew currently serves as a trustee for the Mayhew Program for Boys and treasurer for the Rivermead Retirement Community, The Connecticut Valley Estate Planning Council and The Keene Academy Foundation. He also serves on the Board of Overseers of the Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital and the Cheshire Medical Center. Drew resides in Keene, NH with his wife Carol and has two grown children.

Jack B. Middleton, Vice President – Jack and Ann Middleton live in Freedom, N.H. They have three grown children. Jack received his A.B. from Lafayette College in 1950 and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1956. Jack has been active in numerous civic, professional and bar association activities in New Hampshire for many years. He is president of the law firm of McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, Professional Association. Jack worked at the Observatory during 1952-53. He has been a trustee since 1957. Jack serves on the Observatory's Executive Committee, chairs the Governance Committee and for more than five decades served as the Observatory's secretary.

Randall F. Cooper, Immediate Past President – Randy has been an attorney with Cooper Cargill Chant in North Conway, N.H. since 1976. Randy is a "native," educated at Philips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College, before spending time in the U.S. Navy and then attending Boston University School of Law. Randy most recently served as president of the New Hampshire Bar Association. Randy resides with his spouse, Carolyn Lucet, in Eaton, N.H., with a clear view of the Observatory. Randy's particular professional interest has been in the field of land use law, representing both communities and individuals, attempting to balance the interests of the individual with the community, and the interests of development with the environment. Randy hopes that this expertise is of assistance to the Observatory as it meets its future challenges.

Leslie Schomaker, Treasurer – Leslie Schomaker lives in Jackson, N.H. A graduate of Wellesley College in 1966, she received her M.B.A. from the University of New Hampshire in 1983. She has experience in computers, programming and accounting. In the early days of PCs, Leslie started a consulting business in Maine that helped computerize the accounting functions of for-profit businesses and not-for-profit organizations. This often involved custom programming to get the client's data into a format that could be imported into accounting software. She has been self-employed in many different areas: as a publisher of hiking cards for New Hampshire and Vermont, owner of restaurants in Kennebunkport, ME and owner of a company that resold natural gas to a West Virginia utility. She enjoys being outside in the Mount Washington Valley: skiing, hiking, playing tennis, biking or golfing. Leslie was named a trustee of the Observatory in 2003, and now serves as treasurer.

Alexandra T. Breed, Secretary – Alexandra T. Breed is a Director of McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, Professional Association, a general practice firm with offices in Manchester, Concord, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Ms. Breed received her undergraduate degree in History, cum laude, from Vassar College in 1970, a Juris Doctorate degree in 1974, and her LL.M. in Taxation in 1999 from Boston University School of Law.

Ms. Breed is a member of the New Hampshire and American Bar Associations. She formerly served as Governor-At-Large for the New Hampshire Bar Association, member of the New Hampshire Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct and New Hampshire Bar Association Committee on Professionalism. She is currently a member of the Elder Law Estate Planning and Probate Section and Real Estate Section of the Bar Association. She is a member of the New Hampshire Estate Planning Council.

Before joining the McLane law firm in 1998, Ms. Breed was a Director of the law firm of Nighswander, Lord & Martin, P.A., of Laconia, New Hampshire.

Ms. Breed, who has been recognized as one of "The Top Attorneys in New Hampshire" for the past three years and one of "The Best Lawyers in America" in the 2006-2007 edition, is a member of the Trust and Estates, Corporate and Tax Departments of the McLane law firm. She concentrates her practice in the area of estate planning, estate and gift taxes, probate and trust administration, charitable giving, asset protection, conservation easements and family business succession planning.

Ms. Breed currently sits on the Board of Trustees of the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, Mount Washington Observatory and the Appalachian Mountain Club, and formerly served on the Board of The Nature Conservancy - New Hampshire and Lakes Region Charitable Foundation.