Emily Bramhall
Emily with fellow Board members at a prior Scholarship Reception.
Scholarship Reception photos by Michael Cummo
Emily Bramhall, Executive Director
Tel: 508-338-2212
Email Emily Bramhall
Executive Director
Former Chair of the Board
Emily Bramhall arrived on Martha’s Vineyard in the early spring of the late 1950’s at the age of 3 months. She followed in the footprints of three proceeding generations of her family. Her father Kib’s passion for fishing dictated the rhythm of her life for the next 14 years. Each spring through autumn day not spent at school on the mainland, was spent on the island, arriving in the spring with the schoolie bass and not leaving until the water was turned off in their house after Halloween.
Emily attended the Putney School in Vermont, soon followed by her first offshore sailing passage. Both of these experiences gave her a practical, hands on, nothing is insurmountable approach to life. The island became her year round home in 1975. She received a multi-faceted education, working every job from baker to bookkeeper at the Island restaurant Helios in the late 60’s and 70’s. Stints as a scalloper, fishmonger, and retailer provided the finishing touches, preparing her for a successful entrepreneurial career.
In 1983, Emily opened her business Bramhall & Dunn in Vineyard Haven and Nantucket. She ran this iconic island store for 29 years while raising two children, designing and building her home, being involved in community affairs, serving as a board member of various island nonprofits, as well as turning acres of trees felled by Hurricane Bob into a firewood business.
She has served on the boards of the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, Chilmark School Advisory Council, Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard and Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, for which she served as its President. Emily served as a board member and Chairman of Martha’s Vineyard Community Foundation for numerous years and currently serves as its Executive Director, the culmination of her desire to make a contribution to this island that is her home.
Emily loves downhill skiing, offshore sailing, being on and by the water on any beach and in all sorts of vessels, gardening, her tractor, star and bird watching, cooking and spending time with her family and friends.
