Small City, Big Stories

Episode 5 - Matt Alcombright

Matt was born and raised in North Adams and is proud of calling North Adams home!  After graduating from Drury High School in 2001 Matt attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and Piano Performance.  Following his music studies, he entered St. John’s Seminary in Brighton receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and a Master’s Degree in Divinity. Matt served as a parish priest in the greater Springfield area for seven years before coming back home to Berkshire County to care for family.  For a little over five years, he served as Program Director for Residential Addiction Treatment Services with the Brien Center before accepting the role as Executive Director at the Berkshire Food Project.  Author and food columnist, Laurie Colwin, once wrote “The table is a meeting place, a gathering ground, the source of sustenance and nourishment, festivity, safety, and satisfaction.”  Matt looks forward to carrying his continued commitment to human services by promoting the mission of BFP being “the” meeting place and source of nourishment and safety where ALL are welcome, without distinction.

Episode 4 - Hari Kumar

Hari Kumar is a storytelling coach and former engineer who helps people build confidence and authentic connection through public speaking and communication. He was born in India and grew up in Yemen but has lived here in Massachusetts through 29 consecutive winters. He moved to Williamstown three years ago when he met his wife Corinna, and last year he launched his small business, called Convivo. North Adams folks might recognize him as the guy in the cowboy hat who used to be at MassMoCA, where he worked part-time as a museum guide last summer and was especially well known for giving tours of the Vincent Valdez exhibit.

Episode 3 - Chef Xavier Jones

Chef Xavier Jones is a culinary entrepreneur, educator, and private chef whose journey from the inner city of Philadelphia to the Berkshires’ vibrant food scene is a testament to the power of resilience, craft, and purpose. Xavier’s introduction to cooking didn’t come through family tradition or gourmet kitchens—it began with survival. Raised in a working-class household, food was often functional. That changed during his senior year of high school, when a teacher in a hospitality program saw promise in his hands and offered a path toward something more. Xavier took the leap, earning a culinary degree from the Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh and becoming the first in his family to graduate from college. What followed was a career forged in some of New England’s most respected kitchens, from the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge to executive chef positions across Massachusetts and New York. Along the way, Xavier developed a distinct culinary voice—one that blends classical technique with soulful inventiveness, rooted in seasonal ingredients and inspired by global traditions. Today, Chef Xavier operates several ventures, including BiggDaddy’s Philly Steakhouse and a highly sought-after private chef and catering business serving clients throughout the Berkshires and New York’s Capital Region. His work spans intimate dinners, immersive cooking classes, and large-scale events—each infused with thoughtfulness and precision. Beyond the plate, Xavier is also a mentor, youth advocate, and founder of the XCELL Mentorship Program, which empowers young people through culinary education and life skills training. His leadership style is adaptive and compassionate, shaped by both faith and lived experience and guided by a personal mission: to break generational cycles and build lasting legacies through food, service, and community.

Episode 2 - Vanessa Till Hooper

Vanessa Till Hooper is an architectural designer and installation artist who creates immersive, site-specific experiences that bring meaning, connection, and beauty to public spaces. Her work traverses the overlapping disciplines of art and design. With a masters degree in architecture and a bachelors degree in art, Vanessa approaches each project as an opportunity to engage with a deeper understanding of site, the feeling of the space, the objects and materials within the built environment, the layered history of the region, but also community context, and the zeitgeist of the current era. “All of these elements are considered site in my process.” In early 2018, she founded Studio HHH, and together with her small team of doers and makers, she has executed a wide range of projects; a three story digital art canvas on the facade of the Puma building in Somerville, an interactive wall the length of a football stadium in Fort Lauderdale, a projection installation in downtown Boston for people to experience art from inside their cars during the pandemic. She in now working on a proposal for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and renovating her own home in North Adams, MA.

Episode 1: Andrew Fitch

Andrew Fitch is a community leader, entrepreneur, and North Adams evangelist. Through his work as Vice President of the North Adams City Council and co-owner of Steeple City Social, a bakery/bar/community space in Downtown North Adams, Andrew enjoys advocating for the Northern Berkshires and identifying ways to bring the community together and prepare the region for a bright and successful future. In his spare time, Andrew works on his house, helps organize First Friday events, produces public art programs, and fundraises for local non-profits.