SILVER LAKE EXPERIENCE 2022 PRESENTERS’ BIOGRAPHIES
THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2022
SHARON MCGRADY RENFRO
From Papergirl in the 50’s, to College of Forestry in the 60’s, to researching Dutch Elm
Disease at Cornell in the 70’s, to Montana in the 80’s where pulling lumber off a chain,
skiing mountains, carousing with my Smokejumper buddies, bartending, and surveying
forests occupied my time until I met my husband and added roofer, insulator, painter,
gopher and house designer to my resume, while experiencing scuba diving, hot air
ballooning, and horse packing into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Somewhere in there I
experimented with quilting and it took. I still love and live in my Montana mountains, but
I’ll always be that little girl from small town McGraw, New York.
BARBARA BRUCE
Barbara is a nationally known author and speaker. She teaches at the district,
conference, and national level on many aspects of aging well and living well. Barbara
co-teaches “Celebrating Aging” at the Colgate Rochester Crozier Divinity School and
has served two quadrennium as the North East Jurisdictional Representative to the
Discipleship Ministry on the Committee of Aging and Older Adult Ministry. Barbara has a
BS in Education, an MS in Creative Studies, and a Certificate in Gerontology.
TODD SHUSKEY
Todd Shuskey has been a life science teacher at Perry High School for the past 21
years. He teaches Living Environment Biology, Aquatic Science, and several college level
courses through the GCC ACE Program. While his background is in marine
science, during Todd's time at Perry High School he has been involved with numerous
research projects on Conesus Lake working with professors from SUNY Brockport and
SUNY Geneseo. The basis of science is observing a phenomenon and then trying to
make sense of it. This talk will include 2-3 of Mr. Shuskey’s students.
BONNIE AND FRANK BRIGHT
Both presenters are retired from the University at Buffalo. Bonnie was a former
academic advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences and Frank is an Emeritus SUNY
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. The pair have traveled together many times and
they gravitate toward adventures and trips that allow them to see the sights and explore
more of the non-touristy areas.
SHARON PRATT
Sharon grew up in the Perry area and remembers swimming in Silver Lake and
attending Asbury (Camp) as a teenager. She is a 30 year resident of Silver Lake
Institute. Sharon has had a lifelong interest in history and architecture. She recently
retired from the LAndmark Society of Western New York.
REVEREND MYRA BROWN
Rev. Myra Brown is the lead Pastor at Spiritus Christi Church of Rochester, NY in
ministry for 25 years. She holds a B.A. in Religion and social justice and a Masters in
Theology from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. She is the third African
American Roman Catholic Woman Priest in the U.S. Rev. Brown is an anti-racism
educator and activist, working nationally and locally in Rochester. She is founder and
organizer of a coalition of partners in Rochester called SPARC (Spiritus Christi Anti-
Racism Coalition). Myra leads SPARC, the local anti-racism group, and is often very
involved in local issues regarding structural racism.
At the end of the day, Rev. Brown is a woman who simply loves God and desires to
follow God's leading in her life for the building up of the Body of Christ and service to
humanity by her work in an inclusive and mission-driven church. Myra says" There is
nothing too hard for God if we just believe, trust and relinquish control to God”.
SANDRA TYLER
I have had many years painting experience in both watercolor and oils, loving them
both. I have taught watercolor classes at the Art Store in Rochester, the Village Hall and
BF Bungalow in Wyoming N. Y. and my art studio in Perry N. Y. I'm a member of the
Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society and have participated in many of their shows and
attended numerous workshops featuring nationally known artists . I have also shown at
the Corn Hill and Clothesline Art Festival s in Rochester. I love everything about painting
and find great satisfaction in introducing or reintroducing this to others.
PERRY GARDEN CLUB
The Perry Garden Club was founded in 1950. The objectives of the club are to stimulate
the love of gardening, encourage home and community beautification, promote better
horticultural practices, and to encourage all forms of conservation. Their club flower is
the Field Daisy (Chrysanthemum Leucantheum). They currently have 43 active
members and are always accepting new members. They are members of the National
Garden Clubs Inc., The Federated Garden Clubs of NYS, Inc, and the Seventh District
Federated Garden Clubs of NYS -Section I. A very active club, they participate in
several spring plantings around the community and contribute a $500 scholarship to a
graduating senior going into an environmental or agricultural field.
MARA ROONEY
Mara has been painting in various mediums all her life and especially enjoys
watercolors which she has begun to focus on more professionally in the last
four years. Along with watercolor painting she also enjoys fiber arts, particularly, knit and
crochet. She enjoyed fiber art so much she opened Dancing
Goat Yarn Shop in Warsaw in 2010 and closed after 5 years of operation so she could
once again pursue a career in painting for the theatre and
entertainment industry. She worked as a Scenic Artist at The Fulton Opera House in
Lancaster, PA for three years before freelancing at various theatres in Maine, New York,
and more. She is currently the Charge Scenic Artist and Paint Dept. Lead for Atomic
Design located in Lititz, Pennsylvania. She has painted scenery for The Academy
Awards, The Tony Awards, The Grammy Awards, Wrestlemania, and more including
various rock and roll tours.
JOHN ROONEY
John graduated from Fredonia with a BFA in Technical Theatre Production and Design
in 2004. After graduating he took a position with IATSE Local One at the Metropolitan
Opera House in NYC. He started at the Met as a stage electrician and climbed his way
up to the position of Lead Lighting Programmer working with many of Broadway's
prominent lighting Designers over his 16 year career with them. After leaving NYC
he headed to Lititz, PA and found himself drawn to an even more exciting path in the
world of live entertainment, Pyrotechnics! He spent three years prior to the pandemic
programming and shooting special effects, flames, and pyrotechnics for many large
scale concerts, live events, and even a couple movies! Recently John joined Atomic
Design managing the Modular Systems division creating small to midsized scenic
productions.
MIKE RANDALL'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY “MARK TWAIN LIVE! TOUR
In 2022 Mike Randall will celebrate his 50th year of performing MARK TWAIN LIVE. His
first show was in May 1972 at Rosary Hill College (now Daemen College) in Buffalo, NY
Mike Randall...began impersonating America's greatest author at the age of seventeen!
Two years later he was winning rave reviews at "The Buffalo Showboat". At age 20 he
had given a command performance at the State Department in Washington, D.C., and
one year later he brought his rendition of the "Celebrated Humorist" off-broadway to
New York City's only Dinner-Theatre, "The Little Hippodrome". In five decades and more
than two thousand performances later, Mike Randall continues to enjoy his close
encounter with Mark Twain. Mike Randall is the only Mark Twain impersonator to be
formally acknowledged by the Daughters of The American Revolution for his
authenticity! Mike Randall has brought "Mark Twain Live!" to dinner theaters, regional
theaters, opera houses, schools, colleges, churches and private clubs, corporations,
associations, museums, libraries, and historical societies around the country, delivering
a "Breathtaking performance of remarkable subtlety and depth". "Mark Twain Live!" was
endorsed by the Mark Twain Museum of Buffalo. Mike Randall was the official "Mark
Twain" of The Annual Huck Finn Jubilee in Victorville California for a decade and the
Annual Mark Twain Birthday Bash & Symposium in Buffalo, NY. Mike Randall is a
Meteorologist and award winning feature reporter and has been with WKBW-TV since
August 1983. He was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame in September
2017.
JACKIE SWABY
Jacqueline Swaby (Jackie) is the Executive Director and gallery curator of the Arts
Council for Wyoming County(ACWC) located in Perry, New York. She has served in this
capacity since 2008 and for almost 20 years prior, was the director of the Cordelia A.
Greene Library located in Castile, New York. Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, she
was trained as an art and social studies high school teacher. During her time at the
Westwood all girls high school, she formed the first folk music group that won several
competitions at the regional and national level in the Island. Jackie now administers the
only art services organization in Wyoming county, which includes two professional art
galleries, and 12 satellite galleries around the county. She also coordinates the music
and dance programs presented by the ACWC, and administers the youth scholarship
programs.
In her role as an art administrator, Jackie believes it is critical to foster, and help create
opportunities that promote cultural diversity. She has been supporting that work in rural
Western New York since she moved to the area in 1988, and has participated in or
presented art exhibitions, classical concert, and multicultural concerts for all ages. She
has also conducted drum circles and workshops for multi aged groups, and introduced
liturgical dance and drumming in a few traditional church settings. She views her
contributions as essential to fostering the understanding of Ethnic and Cultural diversity.
Jackie has been the recipient of several awards including the:
L. Marion Moshier /Asa Wynkoo Award, for Distinguished Librarianship, New York
Library Association.
Outstanding Adult Career Service to Youth, Wyoming County Youth Board.
First recipient of the Pioneer Award, for dedicated service to the Cordelia A. Greene
Library and the Pioneer Library System.
Jackie has conducted several panel discussions, and served as a grants panelist for the
New York State Council on the Arts.
LINDA FRANKE
Linda Franke is an educator and quality improvement specialist, but her passion is
preserving the stories and crafts of our families for future generations. She graduated
from Roberts Wesleyan College with a Bachelors degree in Education, a teaching major
in Psychology and a minor in Religion and Philosophy. She has taught early childhood
students on up to high school, worked summers teaching prisoners basic reading and
math skills, spent some time working as a teacher of the deaf, wrote curriculum for
public schools and for Letchworth State Park education programs, and then fell
into practice facilitation and medical qualitative research. She currently works as an
adjunct professor at Millard Fillmore College at University at Buffalo and as a practice
facilitator through Accountable Health Partners. She also feeds her passion as an
instructor through the Arts Council for Wyoming County and around Western New York,
speaking and teaching classes in different fiber arts including shuttle tatting, needle
tatting, hairpin lace, Irish crocheted lace, and more. Linda lives with her family in
Wyoming County.
TINA TURNER,CHUCK DUSEL, GLYNNE SCHULTZ
LAURINDA WALLACE
A native of Castile, New York, Laurinda Wallace is the author of the Gracie Andersen
mystery series which is set in Wyoming County, co-author of Too Close to Home: The
Samantha Zaldivar Case, and several other titles. Her current writing focus is the history
of the Genesee River Valley and she blogs at http://alongthegenesee.com and is a
regular contributor to the Historical Wyoming.
REBECCA GILBERT AND FRIENDS
LISA SCHISKE
Lisa and her husband have been cottage owners here at Silver Lake Institute for the
past 15 years, feeling Blessed to live here at the Institute all summer long. Lisa is very
passionate about community supported events and even more grateful that her
husband of 35 years just smiles and nods his head as she runs out the door again to
tend to another ‘crazy idea’ she had in her head to be facilitated in their Silver Lake
Community or back at home in Pavilion NY. Silver Lake is a magical place and Lisa is
excited to share her love for fairies and angels with all of those who sign up for the
Experience.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2022
HANS KUNZE
Hans is a graduate of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell where he majored in banking and enjoyed courses in agriculture and horticulture. He has been a farm and commercial loan officer for the last 35 years and has been with Steuben Trust Company in Warsaw over the last 12 years. His lifelong hobbies include farming, birding, and gardening among several other things. He and his wife, Leslie, have 3 children all in college who also thoroughly enjoy the outdoors. Hans and Leslie operate a bird feeding shop and retail greenhouse at their home and enjoy doing plenty of their own birding and gardening. They are active in the Wyoming County master gardener program and do some landscaping on the side. They enjoy sharing their love of nature and gardening with numerous other groups. Hans has been a nature columnist for several local newspapers over the last 30 years and enjoys leading bird, nature, and garden walks.
REVEREND TOM KRAFT
Tom Kraft has been a United Methodist Pastor for 37 years. During that time, he has wrestled with the struggles over hard questions and difficult relationships with hundreds of people in sermons, Bible studies and counseling. One of the hardest struggles is helping people understand when forgiveness is appropriately offered, and when it isn’t, and how to heal from brokenness caused by others. Tom, and his wife Reverend Jackie Ann Rose Kraft, have owned a cottage at Silver Lake for 36 years which is now their residence.
DEB WELCH
After working in the agriculture and real estate industries for many years, Debra joined the Agriculture Department at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wyoming County in 2010. A graduate of Alfred Ag and Tech, Debra and her husband Kyle own and operate a farm in Wyoming County and raised their two children there. The farm operation consists of growing hay, corn and buckwheat. They also produce grass fed beef cattle, pastured laying hens and pastured broilers. The farm also includes a sugarbush for maple production, a large vegetable garden, fruit trees, and a bee-yard. At the Extension, Debra facilitates the Maple program which helps promote and educate folks for the maple industry through workshops and the annual WNY Maple School. She has served as the interim editor for the “ Maple Pipeline”. Other programs include CDL Training for Farms and Employees, the Poultry Discussion Group, Pasture Walks for Beef Producers, contributor to the Eat Fresh Buy Local publication, and also the Beekeepers Discussion Group-a dedicated core gorup of seasoned beekeepers and a larger group of newcomers and those who would like to learn more about the fascinating honeybee. Debra’s lifelong hobbies include horseback riding, gardening, and raising farm animals. The study of husbandry and the establishment of the bee yard was a natural fit.
BONNIE AND FRANK BRIGHT
Both presenters are retired from the University at Buffalo. Bonnie was a former academic advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences and Frank is an Emeritus SUNY Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. The pair have traveled together many times and they gravitate toward adventures and trips that allow them to see the sights and explore more of the non-touristy areas.
DR. PATRICK MCGRADY
Patrick J. McGrady is the Charles V. Hallman Senior Curator at Penn State’s Palmer Museum of Art. He is responsible for the museum’s European collections and specializes in works on paper with a particular concentration on European and American prints. He has organized more than eighty exhibitions, ranging in content from 15th-century woodcuts to 21st-century paintings and including monographic presentations of artists such as Edouard Manet, Honoré Daumier, Lyonel Feininger, George Gershwin, Will Barnet, and Betye Saar. McGrady oversees the Palmer Museum’s print study room and directs its Print and Drawing Study Club. He currently is working on a digital prolegomena to Wassily Kandinsky’s 1911 book Concerning the Spiritual in Art.
KAREN ROLL
Inspired by old family quilts and needlework, Karen has had a lifelong passion for quilt making. She has specialized in learning and teaching hand applique, hand quilting, pattern design and development, as well as quilt construction techniques which are evident in her own award-winning quilts. As a military spouse, she has been a part of many different quilt guilds, acting as president, organizing quilt shows, raffles and charity projects. Karen and her husband Neal currently live on their farm in Genesee Falls where they keep her horses, tend a large organic garden and produce around a thousand bales of hay annually.
ED GREEN
In 1981 I was introduced to the potters wheel by chance in High School. Pottery wasn't part of the art curriculum but the art teacher was throwing in her off time. I happened to walk into the art room and was fascinated by the process. The following day I asked if I could give it a try. I was instantly hooked and spent every minute I could throwing on the wheel. By the time I graduated, I found myself teaching the class as our new art teacher knew nothing about pottery.
After High School, I married my High School sweetheart and we started our family. Together we raised four beautiful, talented girls. Also after High School, my dad and I put our heads together and came up with plans for a wheel. He was a talented welder and was able to build it for me. I used that wheel for the next twenty years before buying a commercially made one.
I have always worked full-time. Pottery was just a hobby. First, for fifteen years as an outside sales rep selling auto parts. I specialized in agricultural and heavy-duty truck parts. My second job lasted twenty years. I started off as a bus driver for a non profit organization serving the mentally and physically challenged population in our area. I became the transportation manager for several years, but stepped back to bus driving as I found that job to be much more rewarding. The busing ended when COVID hit and I lost my job. I looked at this as an opportunity to go after my dream of becoming a potter full-time. Although I have had offers to instruct, at this point I have decided to put my work in galleries and juried art shows. I also really enjoy setting up at local Farm Markets on occasion.
SALLY CUNNINGHAM
Sally Cunningham is an author, speaker, and horticulture expert. She was a Cooperative Extension agent, Master Gardener, certified landscaper, and has been popular in WNY media for twenty-five years (WIVB-TV, Channel 4, Buffalo News, and Buffalo Spree Magazine). She has published two books in her own name (the first having sold 60,000 copies) and she has contributed portions of ten other organic gardening or perennials books. Currently Sally leads garden-themed tours in the U.S. and Europe, with AAA and Art in Bloom Garden Tours; she also is writing novels.
DENNIS WIMER, PH.D.
Dennis is a retired secondary teacher in language arts, Latin, Greek, and the humanities in Henrico County Public Schools, Richmond, VA. He has continued his love of educating others by being an adjunct professor in the following schools and disciplines:
- the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
- in the classics department at University of Richmond, Richmond, VA
-in the humanities discipline at HACC, Central Pennsylvania Community College, Lancaster and Lebanon, PA
-Adjunct Humanities Professor; HACC, Central Pennsylvania Community College,
Lancaster and Lebanon Campuses
BOB MURPHY
Bob grew up in the Silver Lake Institute so he has a very long history of stories of this
historical area. He is considered the SLI Historian and takes great pride in both his
personal photo collection and over seeing the Institute’s vast black and white photo
collection. If anyone has a question about the history of the Silver Lake Institute, Bob
will probably have the answer or know how to find the answer.
GENESEE VALLEY MOUNTAIN DULCIMER CLUB
Sue Hengelsberg (leader),
JoAnne Brocklehurst, Sue Long, Carolyn Pollock, Judy Bushnell, Diane Johnson,
Beth Wester
The Genesee Valley Mountain Dulcimer Club [GVMDC]was formed as a result of an instructional workshop in 2006, sponsored by the Nunda Historical Society [NHS], and later supported by a Community Arts Grant obtained by the NHS through Genesee Valley Council on the Arts. Over the years there have been about 50 members, gathering twice a month to learn new tunes and techniques on the MD. Our selections are mostly folk tunes, since the MD is a folk instrument originating in the Appalachian Mountains. Sometimes the group plays concerts for churches, senior homes, schools, historical events, etc. During the pandemic, some members met on Zoom, which kept us meeting together, but we couldn’t play together and hear each other due to sound lag. We resumed in-person meetings this past spring. All are welcome to the meetings at the Nunda Historical Society, 24 Portage St., Nunda, NY 14517, on the 2nd and 4th Mondays.
DR. MELINDA GRUBE
Melinda Grube, an adjunct lecturer of history at Cayuga Community, holds an interdisciplinary doctoral degree in Women’s Studies in Religion. Dr. Grube’s research focuses on the dynamic intersections of 19th-century religion, radical reform, and women’s rights in the “Burned-Over District” of Central and Western New York. A longtime interpreter of suffrage history, she frequently performs in costume as Elizabeth Cady Stanton for the Women’s Rights National Historical Park and across New York State.
HOLLY CATHERINE RANKE
God richly blessed me with an artful life. It began as a little girl when my grandma
placed a needle and thread in my hand. I remember sheer happiness sewing with her and nearly 60 years later that feeling returns whenever I stitch. Although I love creating in all medias, its the needle arts that have captured my heart. While my career in fashion and home decoration filled a craving to create, I’m now embracing the unhurried nature of my “golden years” surrounded by woods at my cabin studio. With a project in my lap, bare feet in the grass, and birdsongs in the air, I feel a primeval connection and lose all concept of time…that “peace that passes all understanding” as the Bible so eloquently describes in Philippians 4:7. As an advocate for sustainable lifestyle and maker of “slo fashion” and accessories, I enjoy using vintage and reclaimed textiles, found objects, and natural fabric dyeing methods…techniques more mindful of kindness towards Mother Earth
This summer my little granddaughters are designing their first dresses and will help Grandma in making them. Life has come full circle and I’m so thankful to my grandma for teaching me a simple skill that I have carried throughout my life…I am looking forward to teaching you at the silver Lake Experience a simple skill that you may use to create something that suits your own personal style.
NATHAN M RICHARDSON
Nathan M. Richardson is a published author, performance poet and Frederick Douglass Historian. His poetry collections include "Likeness of Being", "Twenty-one Imaginary T-shirts" and “The 7 Last Poems of an Unarmed Citizen." His work has been widely re-published in anthologies, magazines and newspapers such as the Channel Marker, The Cupola, Coastal Virginia Magazine and the Washington Post. He is now in the 7th year of The Frederick Douglass Speaking Tour a living history performance in which he captures completely the physical and spiritual essence of the former slave, writer, orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. This living history series has produced film credits with the National Park Service, Alabama Public Television and RTE - Irish Public Service Television. You can find more about Nathan Richardson and his work at www.scpublishing.com
BARBARA AKER
After working many years in the south, Barbara, as a 40 year Emergency Room Nurse and her husband Jim as a Pharmaceutical Rep, they returned to WNY for their retirement years. As snowbirds, they now split their time between Warsaw, New York and Estero, Florida. They have 3 children and 2 grand children, all who live out of state so travel to visit is ongoing.
They purchased their main residence, The Elms, in December, 2013 in Warsaw, NY. They have spent their time restoring their Historical home to the original Period.
The house was built in 1884 and was part of the Post Civil War Underground Railroad Movement.
In addition to belonging to the Silver Lake Experience Committee, Barbara is a Master Gardener in Wyomnig County and belongs to The Historical Society in Warsaw, NY. She loves to quilt and often teaches quilting to different groups in the area. Both Barbara and her husband are avid sailors and own a 36 foot sailboat on Seneca Lake where they love to spend their summer months.
MARCIA SULLY
Marcia Sully, a resident of Eden, NY, is a true lover and expert of all things “hosta”.
She is currently president of the Great Lakes Region of the American Hosta Society and Recording Secretary of the National American Hosta Society. Several of her hosta cultivars (hybrids) are registered by the American Hosta Society. Her home landscape, The Hidden Gardens of Eden, is a hosta lover’s dream with an amazing number of varieties of hostas. Marcia has been instrumental in the development and implementation of the “Hosta College” which offers large and small classes, sales, auctions, and activities. Come listen and learn about her true passion: Hostas.
CHET FERY
Chet Fery is the founder of Bread Time Stories and More. Often called “The Bread Man,” he began his hobby of baking and giving away bread over 15 years ago. He promotes doing random acts of kindness. He believes the world can be changed one loaf of bread at a time; one act of kindness at a time. Chet estimates he has given away over 100,000 loaves of bread, created over 50 recipes and generated over 100 inspirational “Bread Time Stories” which he shares with audiences across the region. A former teacher, counselor and school administrator, Chet now devotes most of his time to this effort
MARC MANCARI AND PERRY STUDENTS
RPO MARMIMBA BAND
Described as “one of the Rochester area’s unique and notable treasures” (SUNY Brockport The Stylus), the RPO Marimba Band was established in 1979, is comprised of members of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra's current Percussion Section, and continues a three-quarter-century of tradition that was established in the 1950's by the Eastman School of Music's “Marimba Masters”. Specializing in music written and arranged for melodic percussion instruments, the RPO Marimba Band performs their own arrangements of Latin, Pop, and Jazz tunes, and utilize a wide array of percussion instruments such as Marimbas, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Steel Drum, and Drum Set. Since their formation they have performed in venues throughout Western New York including the Eastman Theatre, WROC-TV, WXXI-FM, Rochester City Hall, Monroe County Office Building, RIT’s Ingle Auditorium, SUNY Brockport, Ontario Beach Park, Perinton Amphitheatre, Camp Good Days & Special Times, Honeoye Lake Gazebo, RPO Concerts in the Park series, and many other outdoor festivals.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2022
RABBI ADAM SCHELDT
Rabbi Adam Scheldt, originally born and raised on a family farm in central Illinois has ever been a curious seeker and lifelong learner. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Knox College and two masters degrees from the Hebrew Union College where he was also ordained. Rabbi Scheldt has lived on three continents before finally settling in Buffalo, New York where he is the Director of Spiritual Care at Hospice and Palliative Care Buffalo. In his spare time, Rabbi Scheldt is an avid reader, writer, a master gardener and trains as a figure skater.
MAGELENE MOORE
Magelene Moore-Holley is a native of Kingstree, South Carolina. She is the 13th of 15 children born to Emma and Amos Moore. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies from Empire State College in 2004 and a Master of Divinity from Northeastern Seminary in 2008. She is a member of AKOMA, the African-American Women’s Gospel Choir and AKWAABA, the Heritage Associates, whose members attempt to bring to life the accomplishments and struggles of the women and men on whose shoulders we now stand.
Magelene completed a one-year contract with AmeriCorps of Rochester where she worked within the City school system with the expectation of discovering ways in which she could contribute to the growth and strength of our youth. She also has a passion for the liberation of girls and women from systemic global discrimination both in the community at large and in the church.
She is a wife and mother of two adult children. She enjoys reading, teaching, acting, and singing. Magelene is a member of Memorial AME Zion Church in the city of Rochester.
VALERIE O’HARA
In 1966, at the age of 12, Valerie O’Hara began working for her parents part-time after school and during the summers. After graduation from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1976, she began working full time, designing and creating one of a kind, custom commissions, as well as repairing and restoring stained glass windows. Valerie has been the owner, director and designer since 1987, when she purchased the studio from her parents. Selected commissions that the studio has completed over the past 109 years can be found on our website: www.pikestainedglassstudios.com
SZETING BELLAMY
Ting Bellamy is a Hong Kong-born paper artist currently based in Perry, NY. She specializes in creating hand-cut paper art, using a Swivel knife as a pen to create intricate patterns and forms that are inspired by the beauty in nature. She also enjoys making various paper crafts, including origami, paper earrings, paper shadow boxes. After graduating from Houghton College in 2019 with degrees in Art and Business, she worked as the admin assistant at the Arts Council of Wyoming County while practicing and creating art. She participated at the Letchworth arts and craft show, exhibited work at local exhibitions and offered classes on origami art to the local community. At present she is the customer service manager at the Silverlaken Estate & Glampground.
ROSEMARY SHADER
Rosemary Shader is the Executive Director for Community Action for Wyoming County, the primary Safety Net organization in the region fighting the causes of poverty. Community Action for Wyoming County programs serve over 9,000 individuals each year. Rosemary is an active member of the New York State Community Action Association, National Community Action Partnership, and NYS Rural Housing Coalition. Through the years Rosemary has also served with a number of other community-based support organizations such as board member and marketing committee chair for GLOW Workforce Development, Wyoming County United Way loaned executive, Peers Helping Peers board member and New York State Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health. Shader holds an Associates in Communication from Genesee Community College and BS in Communication from SUNY Brockport.
About Community Action:
Community Action for Wyoming County is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization fighting the causes of poverty and helping individuals and families to be self-sufficient. The agency provides a variety of services and advocacy for lower income and struggling residents in the county. Programs and services include Adult and Youth Employment and Training, Affordable and Homeless Housing, Rental Assistance, and Community Action Angels volunteer programs providing food, clothing and shelter, medical needs, home goods, family & childhood development and emergency mobilization. For more information visit www.wccainc.org or call 585-237-2600.
ERIC SZUCS
Eric is a native of the region, and for the last six years has had the honor and privilege of being the Director of Tourism & Marketing for Wyoming County. His fascination with lanterns – as with most stories – starts with Covid, an over-abundance of free time, and Eric in his dining room wielding a blowtorch. What began as a couple lanterns on the supper table, has morphed into a full-fledged lantern laboratory with 60 foot electric nodes, wise-cracking Transylvanian sidekicks and the inspiration to bring 100-year-old pieces of hand-crafted art back to life. As they say in the lab: we refurbish rusty junk and set it on fire.
MAGGIE BARNES
What happens when a writer is the last person to realize she is a writer? Maggie Barnes stumbled into a writing career with no clue what she was doing. What followed was a twisted path of assignments, awards, and sudden self-awareness that changed her life. It hasn't been graceful, but it has been fun! Come hear some short stories in the joyous confession of "The Accidental Author."
JON AND ALENA WINTERS
Jon and Alena are Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coaches, Yoga teachers and Fitness Professionals. Their passion for helping people feel their best, focuses not only on food, but on physical activity, healthy relationships, spirituality, and Mindfulness. This approach to wellness allows people to create balance and live a healthier and happier life!
LISA SEWALDT
DR. TOM SELLAR
Tom Sellar, a writer, dramaturg, and curator, is Editor of Yale University’s international journal Theater and Professor in the Practice of Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism at Yale University (David Geffen School of Drama at Yale). His reporting and criticism have appeared in publications including Artforum, BOMB, the Guardian, and the New York Times. He formerly served as chief theater critic and Obie award judge for the Village Voice, covering theater and performance art in New York City and nationally. As a curator, he has created programs for festivals and organizations including the Prelude Festival, American Realness, and the Institute for Arts and Civic Dialogue. A resident of Brooklyn and Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, he received his Master of Fine Arts and Doctor of Fine Arts from Yale University.
JOHN KUCKO
PAUL GUSMAN AND KEN WALLACE
DONNA DONNELLY
Donna is a career foreign language educator and a lover of languages. She taught both Spanish and French at the middle and high school levels in Connecticut and in western New York. She taught adults in community education classes as well as preschoolers in her volunteer work. She spent the last ten years of her career teaching Spanish language courses at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.
She loves the outdoors and is a veteran hiker and travel enthusiast. Since 2014 she and her husband Bruce have combined all these interests into making long-distance walks the highlight of their trips to Europe. Friends enjoyed her tales and photos after each trip and asked for more details about how they planned and executed each adventure. Donna decided to start working on a manuscript for a book after their fifth walk in 2019.
And so, Walking in Europe: Village to Village, On Our Own came to be.
SUE MEEGAN
Sue earned her B.A. in French from St. Lawrence University and her M. A. in French Language and Literature from Ohio University. She taught middle school and high school French for 35 years, retiring from the Williamsville Central School District. She organized yearly educational travel for her students to France and Quebec. Sue bought her Victorian cottage in the Silver Lake Institute in 2013. She has two sons and three granddaughters who also love coming to the beautiful Silver Lake. Sue enjoys quilting, sewing, knitting, reading, playing the bells in the Carillon Choir at church, and of course spending time with her grandchildren.
DON THOMAS
Don Thomas is a composer, musician producer, and engineer. He plays his music in the same manner as he greets his listeners with a kind smile and a soft spoken demeanor. His playing is gentle, clean and exquisitely mesmerizing. The purity of his writing is sure to come straight from the heart of a musician’s soul.
RICK HAUSER
After receiving degrees in landscape architecture and architecture from Cornell and UVA, Rick taught architecture for twelve years at Hobart & William Smith Colleges in Geneva. He has since spoken nationally, most recently at the University of Virginia, University of Massachusetts and in New Hampshire on the subjects of Downtown Revitalization, Community Entrepreneurism, and on his ‘Frontier Architect’ practice methodology.
Over the 20+ years since co-founding In. Site: Architecture, Rick has built it into a 10-person “Design and Downtowns” firm. The Downtowns Studio especially has received national attention and Rick plays a direct role working with municipalities across New York State to create revitalization strategies, advocacy coalitions along with the condition assessments, design tools, feasibility studies, visuals, cash flow analyses and guidelines to develop, support and grow each neighborhood’s vision and execution.
In 2007, Rick developed an anti-blight tool called “Main Street, LLC” – a model for a community-wide development group that urges people to “put their money where their house is.” This concept has been proven in Rick’s home community of Perry, which has completed over 40,000 sf of transformative renovations including for mixed-use downtown buildings, single-family houses, and even a brewery. Rick has since helped communities throughout the Northeast to evaluate their downtown’s potential and help see it through.
He has co-founded sister businesses to buy and rehab buildings in his home community of Perry, NY. There he has helped launch regional events including a Farmers’ Market and a Chalk Art Festival, and the community advocacy group known as Perry Main Street Association. His 9+ years as mayor has deepened his understanding of state and municipal regulations, tools, funding sources and strategies to support a vibrant, resilient revitalization.
CORNELIUS EADY TRIO