Shaker Museum is supported by a committed, engaged, and active board of trustees; daily operations are run by a devoted and tireless staff.
Director of Library & Collections
Visitor Engagement Associate
Office Manager
Deputy Director and Director of Advancement
Executive Director
Chief Donor Relations Officer
Communications Manager
Audience Engagement Manager
Advancement Associate
Board Members
Jeff Bailey is an art advisor currently living in Old Chatham, New York. He is the former owner and director of the contemporary art gallery, Jeff Bailey Gallery, in Hudson, New York and New York City. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, he traversed the south before receiving his B.A. in art history from New York University. Prior to opening his eponymous art gallery, Jeff worked at Merrill Lynch and Ralph Lauren.
Kenneth M. Kramer, a resident of Old Chatham, is a retired partner in the international law firm of Shearman & Sterling, where he was chair of the litigation group and a resident partner in Paris in the 1980s. He is currently an arbitrator/mediator at JAMS. In addition to Shaker Museum, Kenneth serves on boards for International House, Music for Life International, Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services, and the Berkshire Opera Festival.
Karen Suen-Cooper, a fashion veteran in the luxury sector and Parsons School of Design alumna, is co-founder of The Punctilious Mr. P’s Place Card Co., a luxury home accessories brand. Their namesake “place card” is the welcome gesture of inclusion and belonging. The brand is inspired by the gracious country life of Old Chatham, home of the Shaker Museum. www.mrpsplacecards.com
Ben Bischoff is a registered architect and contractor in New York and is the principal of MADE Design/Build, which is distinguished by an embrace of building craft designed with innovation and originality for residential and commercial projects. Ben has been a trustee of Shaker Museum since 2018 and serves as the chair of the building committee leading the development of the new home for the Shaker Museum collection.
Joe Kusnick is the founding principal of AE Greyson. Born and raised in Miami/Coral Gables, Florida, Joe earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree with a focus on new urbanism studying with Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk at the University of Miami. Joe is a lead sponsor of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art’s In Your Neighborhood film series, Open House New York, and the New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation.
J. D. Weinberg joined the board in 2021 and serves on its executive committee. J. D. is a partner at the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP, where he leads their global mergers and acquisitions practice. He advises and has served on the advisory board of Young New Yorkers, which runs arts-based diversion programs for court-involved young people, and is a member of Columbia University’s History Department Board of Visitors.
Paul Cassidy has been a Shaker Museum trustee since 2010 and board chair since 2016. In addition to a keen appreciation of Shaker design, Paul is most interested in building community based on the Shaker core values of integrity, inclusion, and innovation. Paul has a widely varied background in hospitality and construction, and currently lives in Stuyvesant, New York with his husband, Vernon Evenson.
Lael Locke is a longtime resident of Chatham, where she remains active in both local government and community organizations. A former newspaper editor and publisher whose projects included a free monthly newspaper distributed in Columbia and Duchess counties, she also worked as a project specialist with the New York Planning Federation, a statewide planning and zoning nonprofit. Lael joined the board in 2021.
Kathy Weiser was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, and currently divides her time between Columbia County and New York City’s upper west side. Kathy is a retired lead paralegal/administrator for a commercial litigation practice group at a major New York City law firm. The former secretary of the board for the Anderson School, Kathy joined the board in 2019 and is the current chair of the development committee.
Kimberly Driessen is the co-owner and creative director of Silver Brothers, a terroir-driven distillery in Old Chatham, New York. Prior to Silver Brothers, Kimberly spent over fifteen years as an independent designer for the stationery and paper goods industry. A garden and design enthusiast, she currently splits time between New York City and Old Chatham and has been a trustee since 2022.
Matthew Malin is the co-founder and former CEO of the skincare company MALIN+GOETZ, which began as a single retail store in New York City and has since expanded globally with outlets in London and Hong Kong. www.malinandgoetz.com. Matthew and Andrew Goetz have had a weekend home in Columbia County since 2008 and are now full-time residents of Chatham, New York, along with their two pugs, Harold and Piet.
Stephen Guion Williams is the youngest son of Shaker Museum’s founder, John S. Williams. In his youth, Stephen accompanied his father on his visits to the Shaker communities and witnessed the close relationships and trust Williams established with the Shakers as he sought to preserve their history. Stephen is a photojournalist and fine art photographer, has published three books, and is working on the forthcoming An American Cowboy.
Rae Gilson enjoyed a long and successful career in real estate sales and property management in New York City and recently brought her real estate expertise to the Hudson Valley where she has had a home for decades. Rae has served on the board since 2014 and is a passionate student of the Shaker legacy. She leads the volunteer team that helps maintain the historic Mount Lebanon site.
John Schobel is the former CEO/Founder of RegEd Inc., which he transformed into the market-leading provider of regulatory compliance education and enterprise solutions for the financial services industry. John holds a B.A. from New York University and a J.D. from Washington University. His interests include art and architecture, consumer electronics, innovative software, and the promotion of financial literacy for underserved communities.
Director of Library & Collections
Jerry Grant came to Shaker Museum in the fall of 1987 following a decade of experience working in various capacities at Shaker museums and as a maker of Shaker furniture. Jerry has published and lectured widely about the Shakers. Jerry and his wife live in East Chatham, New York, equidistant from Shaker Museum’s historic site at Mount Lebanon and its upcoming new facility in Chatham.
Visitor Engagement Associate
Elizabeth Miller lives in Chatham, New York and has worked with Shaker Museum pop-ups since 2021. Elizabeth was formerly the owner and buyer for Jenny B. Goode New York, renowned retail home goods and speciality gift boutique, and she was also a personal stylist for Bergdorf Goodman.
Deputy Director
Lisa joined Shaker Museum in 2017 to expand the museum’s fundraising capacity. Having held leadership positions in nonprofitsofits and small businesses, she has over 20 years of experience in strategic development, nonprofitrofit administration, fundraising, and staff and volunteer training. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in American government from the University of Virginia.
Executive Director
Lacy joined Shaker Museum in 2016 and led the organisation’s emergence and growth. Centring Shaker’s values of equality, inclusion, and accessibility, she has re-envisioned the museum as a cultural anchor and economic resource for the Columbia County region. She was previously the director of collections at the Museum of the City of New York and the founding archivist at the Clark Art Institute in Williams Town, Massachusetts.
Chief Donor Relations Officer
Lindsay has been working with Shaker Museum for two years and was with the Museum of the City of New York for over a decade prior. Her background lies both in fundraising and managing cultural heritage collections. Lindsay lives in Brooklyn and upstate New York, where she spends her free time renovating an off-grid cabin with her husband.
Communications Manager
Dana Rasso has 20+ years of experience with non-profits developing specialized media content and strategies for diverse audiences. Her work encompasses advocacy for reproductive justice, discriminatory policing, abusive immigration practices, religious discrimination, and LGBTQ persecution. Dana has a BFA in art history from Savannah College of Art and Design and an MA in communications management and technology from New York University.
Audience Engagement Manager
Sarah Van is an artist and educator based in Stottville, New York who works with music, sound, and collaborative performance to investigate buried histories, communal ritual, and collective resonance. Her projects include Community Rave Network, CHERYL, Basilica Hudson’s 24-HOUR DRONE festival, and a site-specific sound piece she created for Shaker Museum’s Great Stone Barn in 2019.
Advancement Assistant
Katie is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she majored in art history, co-founded the Art + Art History Club, and interned at the Wadsworth Atheneum and New Britain Museum of American Art. In addition to supporting all aspects of Shaker Museum’s fundraising and membership initiatives, Katie will also be greeting visitors at our Kinderhook pop-up exhibition space.
