Board

Biographies:

Toni Barr is an advocate and an organizer who describes Gertrude Stein as her inspiration.  She holds a Masters degree in Gerontology from NYU and has been a consistent advocate for aging community members through her work as President of the Board of Out and About, and as Program Director at several nursing homes and adult centers in New Jersey.
She and her husband Russ were inspired to move to Stowe twenty years ago as they began raising their then one-year-old daughter in New York City.  Hannah, now 20, is away at Rollins College, while Harrison (16) is a Junior at Stowe High School, and Rachael (13) attends Stowe Middle School.  Family heads the list of Toni’s passions followed by connecting people with community, helping organizations, and making a difference in people's lives.  She was a founder of the Jewish Community of Greater Stowe which has grown to be a critical organization in the community.
The arts and culture are staples in her life and Toni seeks out museums and art centers wherever she goes.  She is an avid tennis player at Topnotch, a snowboarder, a paddle-boarder, and a yoga student.  When school vacations beckon, she and her family make sailing excursions out of a berth in the Carribean.

David Carter: David Carter joined Chittenden Bank in early 2005 as Relationship Manger with Wealth Management’s Private Banking division.  He is responsible for developing and retaining key relationships with professionals and their businesses, and works both in Chittenden County and Central Vermont. David is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Arts in English, with a Master's Creative Writing Thesis.  He taught part-time as an Adjunct Instructor of English at UC for 13 years, and while pursuing additional graduate studies in American Literature and Critical Theory at Miami University (Ohio), he completed an individualized study in Art Theory. While a banker at US Bank, he became involved in Cincinnati's Contemporary Arts Center through being an interested member, a liaison for his bank's sponsorship, and participation in fundraising events.  Before leaving Cincinnati he began a mentoring program for underprivileged middle school students called Arts-On-Site that combined the support of adult mentors with on-line course work, a visit to a museum, as well as a classroom art class.  Happy to have returned to his New England and Vermont roots, David and his wife Cheryl live in South Burlington with their two boys and their bulldog.  He is a member of the Burlington Chamber Orchestra Board of Directors.

Kate Carpenter: Kate was born and raised in the beautiful Adirondack countryside. Kate graduated Franklin Pierce University with a B.A. in business and recreation management. She competed on the Alpine team, 
the sailing team and was president of the Social Committee. Kate has had an extensive career in the retail industry. She has managed shops in Carthage New York, Waitsfield and Stowe Vermont, Telluride Colorado and is now the proud owner of Stowe Kitchen Bath and Linens.
While in Telluride Kate had the opportunity manage a 10,000 square foot clothing store, to develop retail shops for fly fishing and heli-skiing consumers. In 2001 Kate started a home caretaking business. This gave her the opportunity to work with amazing people and manage the extensive details of 14 extreme homes. She used her design flare to set up private residence photo shoots with Veranda, In-Style, and Architectural magazines. In the fall of 2006 Kate Carpenter, her husband Brian and their two boys decided to move back to Stowe, Vermont. They are thrilled to be back east amongst their family.

Peter Christie - Chair: Peter and his wife Brenda have had a home in Morrisville for over 30 years. In more recent years Morrisville has become their year round home. Peter's career as an Insurance executive has taken them from Montreal to New York City, to London and back to New York City. HDAC represents an opportunity to combine a life-long interest in the visual arts with giving back something to the community.

Elena Foster: Upon moving the Vermont, Elena spent two years as the Associate Director for the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. After moving to Stowe, Elena worked as the Event and Sponsorship Coordinator for the Helen Day Art Center. Prior to moving to Vermont, Elena was an Account Manager for several advertising agencies in Boston, most recently at MMB, where she managed the $30 million advertising & marketing campaign for Jiffy Lube, which included national TV, radio and print advertising. Other clients she worked with while in Boston included The Wall Street Journal and Sprint PCS. Currently Elena volunteers at HDAC, the Lamoille County Food Shelf and Burlington City Arts.

Remy Joseph has lived in numerous places around the world, Tokyo, London, Paris and all over the United States.  She and husband, David Zabel decided to leave Fairfield, CT and "live the dream" in Vermont.  This past May Waterbury Center became home. Remy has a Master's degree in Russian Studies from Columbia University, was a marketing representative at IBM and most recently was the Director of Marketing at a non profit school for the arts in Bridgeport, CT.  Remy and David have two sons both of whom live in Washington, DC.

Helen Lewis - Secretary: Helen was born in Washington, DC, grew up in Wilmington, Delaware Although her Bachelor’s Degree was in Nursing, Helen started attending law school part-time. Five years later, she graduated from Washington College of Law at American University. Helen then taught law part-time for ten years. Helen decided to try something different in retirement and she moved to Stowe. She and her husband volunteer at the Helen Day on a regular basis Bill previously served on the Helen Day Board of Directors, and Helen is past-Chair of the HDAC Home Tour, a former Volunteer Coordinator of For Art’s Sake/Taste of Stowe, and active on many fundraising events.

Ted Lockwood: Ted, who retired to Stowe with his wife in 1998, was an educator his entire career. He served as President of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and was the Founding President of the United World College in New Mexico – one of 10 United World Colleges worldwide. Ted previously served on the Helen Day Board for 2 terms, during which he served on the Executive Committee, on the 25Th Anniversary Committee, and as Chair of the Development Committee. Ted was invited back by the Trustees to serve for an additional year as a non-voting Ex Officio Trustee, and is now eligible to serve another Board term. “I have been interested in art and dabble in painting myself. Clearly, the Helen Day Art Center is a worthy effort in Stowe.”

Kristi Lovell: Kristi is a sixth generation Vermonter and graduate of the University of Vermont where she studied Business and competed on the UVM Alpine Ski Team.  Kristi has a long career focused on international marketing and product design for the snowsports industry.  She was the International Sports Marketing Manager for Salomon Sports which included managing the professional free-ride athelete team.  As a founding team member she conducted athlete driven product design and performance testing that was an integral creative component of the launch of Salomon’s clothing division worldwide.  Kristi founded a woman’s promotional ski team for Volkl, Tecnica and Bogner and introduced the Norwegian clothing line Sondre to the US through Swix Sports.  Kristi is a former professional skier where she has been featured in numerous films and print publications and was a long time ski tester and writer for Snow Country Magazine and Ski Magazine.  Kristi and her husband Evan live in Waterbury Center with their 3 young girls.

Dee Macy: Born among the breathtaking landscapes of Quebec helped Dee learn to appreciate nature's beauty. She turned this appreciation to art at the early age of 10 when her Saturday mornings were spent carving wood and painting in the studio at her school, now Notre Dame College. Her art practice ended with high school as an education in nursing consumed her time.
Dee earned her degree at the Royal Victorian hospital, Montreal Neurological Institute, and McGill University. She moved to New York to start as a neurosurgical assistant, only to find herself drawn into the halls of the Ridgewood Art Institute in Ridgewood, New Jersey. There she studied for upwards of 13 years and taught for three. It was there that she worked under realist master, Arthur Maynard. She went on to study still life with painter Betty Kaytes and later master landscape artist, John P. Osborne. Dee also studied under the classical realist painter, Frank Mason (1921-2009), at the New York Art Students League in New York City, New York.
Dee insists that spending time with other artists and learning from their styles is essential to the growth of a painter.

Matt Neckers: Matt is a practicing artist and a passionate educator.  Having earned his BA at Evergreen State, Matt gained his Masters in Education at Saint Michael’s College.  He has been teaching art to Vermont students for eight years, seven in his current role as Integrated Arts Teacher at Hyde Park Elementary.  He has taught in and made an impact at The Renaissance School in Shelburne, Wolcott Elementary and Waterville Elementary.  He is an adjunct at Saint Michael’s and a Graduate Advisor, for the Learning in Art and Culture Fellowship Program, at the Vermont  Studio Center.
Matt has shown his work at The Vermont Studio Center, Williamsburg Art and Historical Society, Brooklyn, NY; Redhook Pier Show, Brooklyn, NY; Kentler International Drawing Center, Brooklyn, NY; and Thirdstone Gallery, Saugautuck, Michigan.
When not teaching or creating, Matt is home raising two young children in Eden, VT.

Simone Rueschemeyer – Vice-Chair: Simone grew up in Providence, Rhode Island where she was extremely involved in theatre, dance, music and painting. Simone has a BA in Anthropology and Art from the University of Vermont, and an MS in Evaluative Clinical Sciences from Dartmouth Medical School. Simone is a public policy and program development consultant. She has worked for numerous governments and non-profit organizations, including the governments of Argentina, Aruba, and Uzbekistan, the United Nations, Save the Children, the State of Vermont, and many community health centers throughout Vermont. Simone spent two and one-half years working in the Clinton White House in both the Office of Policy Development and the Office of Communications. Over the years, Simone has enjoyed painting, sculpture, and film, and has a great interest in art and the politics of art. She took over coordination of Learning to Look at the Stowe Elementary School in 2006. Simone lives in Moscow with her husband and their two young children. Simone serves on the Helen Day’s Executive Committee, Education Committee, and Board Development Committee.

Shap Smith: Shapleigh is a partner in the construction firm of Patterson and Smith, a general contracting company building new homes or remodeling existing ones in the Stowe area. He moved to Vermont after working as a commercial banker for eight years in Connecticut. Upon arriving in Vermont in 1970 he built his own home in the town of Wolcott and developed a working sheep, maple syrup and Christmas tree farm. Along with farming Shap continued with his interest in building and spent many years as a carpenter and builder in the Lamoille County area. Since 1990 he has lived in Stowe with his wife. They have traveled together all over the world photographing and collecting works of art.

Ginny Neel: Coming Soon!

Annie Strobel – Trustee Emerita: Annie discovered the Helen Day Art Center in 1986 when she first moved to Stowe and became involved with the Visual Arts Committee. She has also given her time to the building committee and the film society and she has worked on the installation of most of the exhibitions in the last 16 years. Annie now serves as a Trustee Emerita, a distinguished role in recognition of her exceptional commitment, involvement, and generosity to the Helen Day over many years.