Gary Sheffer, President
Dani French, Vice President
Jim Kelly, Reporting Secretary
Patty Brennan, Treasurer
Trustees: Aaron Able, Jessica Almeleh-Frazer, Miranda Barry, Wesley Tillman Brown, Joe Ferris, Sean Gilleran, Kellen Henry, Sharon Javna, Ryan Kelly, Jared Muehlbauer, Carol Pledger, Kelley Robinson, Heather Thiry, and SJ Williams.
The Library Board meets on the third Thursday of the month at 6pm at the Library. Note: The Board of Trustees will meet on Thursday, May 22 (fourth Thursday) for their May meeting.
For more information about the Board of Trustees, click the link below or contact boardpresident@hudsonarealibrary.org.
What does the Board do and how to join?
More about the Trustees
Jessica Almeleh-Frazer Jessica holds a BFA from Parsons School of Design and is currently enrolled in the MSW program at the University at Albany. As a Nationally Board certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), she is dedicated to promoting holistic well-being. Jessica runs a private wellness practice in the Hudson, NY area. She made Ghent, NY her permanent home during the pandemic after previously being a weekender. She is also a mom and passionate about animal rights, loves practicing yoga and cooking healthy meals. Favorite books – Invisible Child by Andrea Elliot, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini & The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. |
Miranda Barry Miranda is a producer for theater, film and TV who moved to Hudson in 2013 and is a member of Hudson’s Historic Preservation Commission. She is currently producing “Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom,” a musical about the Voting Rights movement in 1965. Previously, she was Executive VP Creative Director for Sesame Street, in charge of all US and global productions. Favorite book – Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer |
Wesley Brown Wesley holds a BS in Public Health from Clemson University and has turned his passion for wellbeing into a career in fitness after relocating to New York. Originally from Charleston, SC, he found his way to the Hudson Valley by way of weekends away from Brooklyn, and continues to infuse his approaches to community building, movement, cooking, and exploration in nature with traditions he’s cultivated by traveling to and living in so many culturally rich cities. Favorite book – Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind by Yuval Noah Harari |
Joe Ferris With a childhood in Brooklyn and teenage years in Vermont, Joseph Ferris has spent hours in libraries everywhere from big cities to small towns. His background is in political consulting and public affairs campaigns. He is currently Government Relations Manager for the Albany-based anti-hunger non-profit, Hunger Solutions New York. His passion for bicycling has taken him on solo rides from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC and Kansas City to Manhattan. Typically carrying at least two books in his messenger bag, he is a long-time fan of the New York Knicks, Washington Nationals, and Seton Hall Pirates’ basketball. Favorite books – Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders and The Library Book by Susan Orlean |
Dani French Dani French is a writer, mom, and ramen enthusiast who has lived in Hudson for almost a decade. She works as a content strategist for an e-commerce company and was the co-founder of the long-running Volume Reading Series. Dani enjoys roller skating with her kids, reading three books at once, and strolling through the Hudson Cemetery. Favorite book – A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor |
Sean Gilleran Sean is a financial services executive with Expedia Group and leads partnerships within the Expedia Global Payments organization. He has 15 years of industry experience in payments, strategic partnerships and marketing from companies like Stripe and American Express. Sean has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Willamette University and enjoys spending his free time reading, hiking, exploring the Hudson Valley and learning about new technology. Favorite book – The Velvet Rage by Alan Downs |
Kellen Henry Kellen leads product development for Semafor, a global news startup founded in 2022. She has worked in journalism and tech at The New York Times and Associated Press. Originally from West Virginia, she lives in Hudson with her spouse and a few hives of honey bees. She loves spending time hiking, gardening and watching heron and osprey by kayak on the river. She particularly enjoys fiction by Orhan Pamuk and Colson Whitehead and nonfiction about maritime disasters and polar exploration. Favorite book – East of Eden by John Steinbeck |
Sharon Javna Sharon moved to Hudson from Oregon in 2020. There she was a Founder and Development Director of ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum for 19 years. Now retired, she and her husband spend a part of the year in Medellin, Colombia. She currently serves on the Board of Friends of the Public Square. Reading fiction and spending time with her children are her main interests. Favorite book – Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf |
Jim Kelly Jim is a licensed Occupational Therapist, writer, music lover, and canoeing enthusiast. He currently writes articles and video scripts that help rehabilitation professionals (PTs, OTs, SLPs, and others) use an electronic medical record (EMR) software in Outpatient Clinical settings. He volunteers maintaining trails with the Columbia Land Conservancy and has previously volunteered with Literacy Connections in Hudson and worked as a Respite Worker at a local non profit mental health agency. Originally from Long Island, he has spent almost a decade living in Columbia County and loves taking local hikes with his partner and their dog. Favorite book – Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges |
Ryan Kelly Ryan is happy to call Hudson a permanent home after living in Brooklyn and prior to that San Francisco, Seattle, and Boston. Ryan has developed brand growth, strategy, sales and business development for consumer products and publishing brands. Personal free time includes reading, films, travel, design, hiking, biking, and managing the daily calendars of a dog & cat. Favorite book – The Man Who Fell in Love With the Moon by Tom Spanbauer |
Jared Muehlbauer Jared is an archaeologist, cat dad, and recent Hudson Valley transplant. At work, Jared partners with descendant communities to preserve and protect cultural resources on public lands. Prior to settling in the Hudson Valley, Jared and his partner lived in Knoxville, Boston, and Rochester. In his free time, Jared can most often be found hiking, playing board games, and reading science fiction, fantasy, and romance. Favorite Books – Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark, Braiding Sweetgrass! by Robin Wall Kimmerer and All Systems Red by Martha Wells |
Carol Pledger Carol and her husband have lived in the Hudson area since 2010. She is now retired after serving as the chief administration officer for a major non-profit, Blue Meridian Partners. Before that she served as global head of talent for Goldman Sachs and UBS, and as a management consultant with Accenture. Carol grew up in the UK and lived and worked in several countries before moving to the US in 2000. Favorite book – The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith |
Kelley Robinson Kelley works on the developer relations team at Twilio, specializing in technical content marketing. After graduating from the University of Michigan, her professional experience has included everything from trading live cattle futures to planning art fairs to software engineering. Kelley lives outside Hudson with her partner and dog where she is an avid home cook and mediocre woodworker. Favorite Books – Circe by Madeline Miller, Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar and The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer |
Gary Sheffer Sheffer is the president and founder of a communications consultancy, Spokesman Communications. He is a lecturer at his alma mater, Siena College. Previously, he was the Sandra Frazier Professor of Public Relations at Boston University and the chief communications officer for GE. He started his career as a journalist at the Register-Star in Hudson. He grew up in Hudson and is a graduate of Hudson High School. Favorite books – Nobody’s Fool by Richard Russo. |
Heather Thiry Heather is the Director of Human Resources at Climate Justice Alliance, a national alliance of environmental justice groups organizing to mitigate the impacts of climate change on frontline communities. Heather has a BFA in Acting from NYU, and until shifting her focus to the nonprofit sector, split her time as a performing artist, acting in plays ranging from Shakespeare to contemporary works across the US. Originally from Michigan, Heather is so happy to have found her heart’s home in Hudson. In her freetime she loves to draw, see plays, and spend time outside with her dog Stella. Favorite book – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. |
SJ Williams SJ has enjoyed a multi-faceted design career ranging from global visual director to consultant on brand development, event production and trend forecasting. SJ has lived in Hudson for over a decade, where she founded culture + commerce project, a design gallery focused on regional makers and custom furniture. Currently, SJ partners with designers, retailers and artists to develop custom marketing and promotional strategies. She has also served on a variety of non-profit organizations, including The Hudson Business Coalition, The Prison Public Memory Project, Design Hudson, The Hudson Eye and WiseBodies, in addition to her current position as Co-Chair of the OutHudson 2023 Pride Parade and Festival. SJ’s work has been published in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Rural Intelligence and Chronogram Media. Favorite books – Orlando by Virginia Woolf, 1984 by George Orwell & IQ84 by Haruki Murakami. |
Draft and approved minutes may be viewed by clicking here.