Valerie Cunningham has made her mark on the seacoast as a historic preservationist, founder of the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail and coordinator of their Sankofa Tours.  She is also a co-founder of the NH Women’s Heritage Trail and is an independent researcher, writer, and lecturer.  

Leo Gagnon possesses the true meaning of inspiration as well as dedication and compassion.  Leo has served on multiple committees and boards including Pro Portsmouth, Portsmouth Listens, the Workforce Housing Coalition, Leadership Seacoast, the Rockingham Planning Commission, Taste of the Nation/No Kid Hungry, and is currently President-elect for the Portsmouth Rotary Club.

Gloria Graves-Fichter founded Seacoast Santa in 2009.  Her first year she drove and delivered the “gently used” toys she collected. Today, she has storage spaces, a distribution location with one or two days for people to pick up, and has switched to new items, and used clothing for both adults and children.  She also runs a fundraiser to keep things going and works it all year round in addition to a full-time job.