Composition of the Commission
The Martha's Vineyard Commission is made up of 21 Commissioners elected by Vineyarders or appointed by elected officials, of whom 17 are eligible to vote on regulatory matters.
- 9 are elected by Vineyard voters in Island-wide elections held every two years,
- 6 are appointed on an annual basis by the Boards of Selectmen of the Towns on Martha's Vineyard,
- 1 is appointed on an annual basis by the Dukes County Commission,
- 5 are appointed by the Governor or member of the cabinet, four of whom do not vote on DRIs or DCPCs.
Officers are elected on an annual basis each December by the full Commission. The officers are the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Clerk-Treasurer.
If you are interested in becoming a Commissioner, you can either run in the Island-wide elections held every two years, or you could be appointed by a town, the county or the Governor or a member of his cabinet. For further information, please contact the Commission Administrator.
Current Commissioners
Jeffrey AgnoliEdgartown - Elected member at large. Commissioners since 2021.
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Clarence (Trip) BarnesTisbury - Elected member at large. Commissioner since 2013. Trip is owner of Barnes Moving and Storage, the first president of the Vineyard House, and is a well-known auctioneer for a variety of Island causes.
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Christina BrownEdgartown - Elected member at large. Commissioner since 1997. Christina is retired from being the Assistant to the Edgartown Planning Board for many years. She is a former MVC Chairman.
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Josh GoldsteinTisbury - Appointed by the Board of Selectmen. Commissioner since 2013. A native Vineyarder, Josh left his hotel development position in Florida and returned to Martha’s Vineyard where he works in his family owned inn, Mansion House. After attending MVRHS, Josh majored in Political Science with a concentration in Environmental Studies.
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Jay GrossmanChilmark - Elected member at large. Commissioner since 2021. Jay has been a seasonal Island resident for more than 20 years and year round resident of Chilmark since 2015. He is President of PuckAgency, a sports management company specializing in the representation of NHL players.
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Fred J. HancockOak Bluffs - Elected member at large. Commissioner since 2010. Fred is self-employed as a technical director for corporate meetings.
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Michael KimGovernor's Appointee
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Joan MalkinCurrent Chair of the MVCChilmark - Appointed by the Board of Selectmen. Commissioner since 2013. Joan has been a year-round resident of Chilmark since 2010 and before that was a seasonal resident for over 30 years. A retired attorney, she is on the Chilmark Conservation Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.
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Katherine NewmanAquinnah - Appointed by the Board of Selectmen. Commissioner since 2000. Kathy is a retired psychologist who has been living in Aquinnah since 2000. She is on the Conservation Commission and heads the Personnel Committee in Aquinnah.
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Brian PackishOak Bluffs - Appointed by the Board of Selectmen. Commissioner since 2021.
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Ben RobinsonTisbury - Elected member at large. Commissioner since Ben is a member of the Tisbury Planning Board and is a graduate of the Syracuse School of Artchitecture. Being born and raised on the Vineyard, he feels that civic participation by residents is vital to the strength of the community.
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Ted RosbeckEdgartown - Appointed by the Board of Selectmen. Commissioner since 2021.
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Doug SederholmCurrent Chair of the Land Use Planning CommitteeWest Tisbury - Elected member at large. Commissioner since 2003. Doug is an attorney. He served on the Chilmark Finance Advisory Committee and is a former MVC Chairman, most recently from 2019-2020.
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Linda SibleyWest Tisbury - Elected member at large. Commissioner since 1992. Linda was the owner of the Vineyard Electronics. She is the longest-serving member of the MVC and a former MVC Chairman.
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Ernie ThomasCurrent Clerk-Treasurer of the MVCWest Tisbury - Appointed by the Board of Selectmen. Commissioner since 2015. Ernie Thomas has worked in production control and planning, and is currently doing appliance repairs. He served on the Gay Head Fire Department and Dukes County Search and Rescue.
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Christine ToddAppointed by the Dukes County Commission; MVC Commissioner since 2019. Christine has served as a Dukes County Commissioner since 2014. Her local advocacies include the Dukes County Health Council, Oak Bluffs Association, Real Estate sales, Oak Bluffs Downtown Streetscape Masterplan, among many other volunteer positions. She has lived on Martha's Vineyard since 2000.
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Jim VercruysseCurrent Vice-Chair of the MVCAquinnah - Elected member at large. Commissioner since 2014. Jim works at South Mountain Company.
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Group photograph of Commissioners and portrait of Jeffrey Agnoli by Mark Lovewell, courtesy of the Vineyard Gazette. Portraits of Trip Barnes, Josh Goldstein, and Jim Vercruysse appear courtesy of the photographer, Ivy Ashe, and the Vineyard Gazette. Portrait of Brian Packish courtesy of Gabrille Mannino, MV Times. Copyright Vineyard Gazette/MV Times, all rights reserved.