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The Board of Directors meets monthly. The Finance, Fundraising, and Nominating committees additionally meet monthly. A subcommittee of Finance, Bookkeeping, meets weekly. The Building Committee meets as needed, typically on a quarterly basis. The Program Committee meets weekly. Special committees or task groups meet on such schedules as they determine.
The members of the Howland Cultural Center Board are as follows:
Theresa Kraft, President, has served on the board since 2019. She had also served on the board for several years in the early 1980s. She is currently serving as president, having been elected in May of 2022. Before that, she served a year as treasurer. Theresa studied advertising design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and runs her own graphic arts design practice. Additionally, she provides design assistance to a local construction company. She is a former trustee of the Beacon Historical Society, where she served for two years as Vice President. She is also actively involved in various historical organizations and was a member of the City of Beacon's Main Street Access Committee.
Thomas de Villiers, Vice President. After a long, successful career in New York and Los Angeles as a producer for CBS-TV and the Disney-ABC Television Group during which he garnered five Emmy nominations and two Emmy Awards for daytime television, Mr. de Villiers retired in 1999. He moved to Kent Cliffs, NY. In 2008, following an eight-year stint as vice president for acquisitions at the Lewis Group in Newburgh, he segued to Beacon, signing on as a volunteer at the Howland Cultural Center in 2009. From 2010 to 2014 and 2016 to 2022, he was research consultant for HVTOD LLC in Highland. From 2011 to 2014, he produced and directed plays for 4th Wall Productions at the Beacon Theater in Beacon. He was elected to the Howland board in 2012, chair of the Program Committee in 2015 and vice president in 2017.
Craig Wolf, Treasurer returned to HCC's board in 2016 for his second service stint. His first had covered 10 years in the organization's founding phase, during which he served as president and managed a government- and privately-funded series of repairs, restoration and updating of the historic Howland building. He presently serves as treasurer and on several committees, including program, and chairing building and finance. Previously in his current tenure, he served five years as president. He retired from an award-winning career in journalism, mostly covering business for the Poughkeepsie Journal. He is a graduate of Ithaca College. He is a self-employed residential landlord. He formerly served on the board of the Dutchess County Arts Council and on the Beacon City School District Board of Education, chairing its Audit & Finance Committee.
Brandy Burre, Secretary is a professional actor and a member of Actors' Equity and the Screen Actors Guild. She also teaches children at the Foundry Montessori in Cold Spring and at the Tioronda Learning Center in Beacon NY and is raising two children of her own. She earned a BFA and MFA in acting from Ohio University. She began in summer stock and then earned her Equity card in West Virginia, moving to Washington, DC, teaching and performing. She landed a recurring role in HBO's acclaimed series, The Wire. She moved to New York and then to Beacon. She joined the board in February 2025.
Elizabeth A. Barrett joined the board in October 2024. She is a senior marketing and communications executive. Most recently she served seven years for the West Point Association of Graduates as VP of Communications and Marketing and editor of the "West Point" Alumni magazine. She previously held similar posts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lally School of Management & Technology and Fordham University 's Graduate School of Business Administration. She served 27 years on the Board of Directors of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. She is an A.B. graduate of Harvard University and an MPPM graduate of the Yale School of Management.
Philip C. Berg is a partner with the law firm Otterbourg P.C., New York. He has 25 years of legal experience specialized in corporate M&A, finance and securities offerings, as well as blockchain and cybersecurity law. Phil is chairman of Otterbourg's Corporate Department and Chairman of the firm’s Privacy and Cybersecurity practice. His charitable experience includes the Harvard Club of New York City and as an officer of The Players club, also New York. Players is a club of artists and arts lovers. Mr. Berg is president of the related Players Preservation Fund, Inc, a nonprofit caring for the National Landmark building Players uses and preserves. He joined the Howland board in December, 2025.
John C. Cary is a professional lecturer of management.at Marist University, Poughkeepsie, NY. He started there as an adjunct in 2013. He then went to SUNY New Paltz as an instructor in principles of management and corporate finance. He returned to Marist as a professional lecturer full time in 2015. His business operating experience includes 23 years as a franchise owner of Unishippers, a national authorized reseller for UPS and as a 3PL provider for 25 national freight LTL carriers. He served on the Marlboro Free Library Board Trustees for 10 years. He is an amateur musician. He joined the Howland board in December, 2025.
Ron Iarossi has served since May of 2017 as a director on the HCC board and presently chairs the Fundraising Committee. He has also served on the Finance Committee. He is the owner and manager of The Beacon Creamery (21 years) and Kringle’s Christmas House (31 years), two active businesses on Beacon's Main Street. He is a member of and past president of the Beacon Chamber of Commerce, a post in which he served for 12 years.
Terry Nelson is a freelance writer, contributing to the music website Albumism and currently working on a fiction novel. He worked in film and television post-production from 1990-2016. He was the founder and executive director of the Beacon Independent Film Festival for seven years. He served two terms on the City of Beacon City Council for four years. He previously served as operations manager for the Ground Radio Project for four years. He served as a board member of BeaconArts for nine years. He joined the board in February 2025.
Lena S. Rizkallah is a financial professional who has been with Conte Wealth Advisors in New York since 2019, guiding individuals and small-business owners. She has hosted Women in business Busting Barriers entrepreneur panels since 2022 in the Hudson Valley and NYC. She previously was with JP Morgan for five years as vice president, retirement strategist, US Solutions Asset Management. She previously worked at Mosaic Consulting as a markets attorney and writer, and at Prudential Financial. She holds a Juris Doctor degree from Widener University. She joined the board in February 2025.
Ronnie Beth Sauers has served on the board twice, first in the 1990s, during which time she had been vice president. Her second term began in June 2017. She has served on Program and Gallery committees and now serves on the Building Committee. She is retired, and has worked as a real estate developer with her late husband in Ron Sauers & Associates, who played a key role in the renaissance of Beacon. She has also worked as a designer and Feng Shui consultant, a television editor and a marine biologist. She was elected to the City of Beacon City Council for two terms in the 1990s. She presently resides at 6 Norwegian Wood in Cold Spring, Putnam County.
Jay Strauss is a professional in the human resources field. He joined the board in October, 2022. He chairs the center’s Nominating Committee. He has worked as a recruiting manager at McKinsey and Company, and previously was an engagement manager within global executive search firms. He is the host and director of the center's Open Mic monthly music program, and is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. In the community, he is active with the First Presbyterian Church of Beacon. For two years, he provided live music for the local Table Soup Kitchen. Before locating in the Hudson Valley, he lived in Bainbridge Island, WA, where he was a soccer coach and in Greeley, CO, he volunteered in Partners, a Big Brother-type program. He earned a BA in political science from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Non-discrimination policy: Adopted October 17, 2020 -The Howland Cultural Center does not discriminate against a person or group on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, gender identity, disability, status as a disabled veteran, political preference, sexual orientation, pregnancy, membership or non-membership in any lawful organization, or other basis prohibited by local laws or regulations.
The members of the Howland Cultural Center Board are as follows:
Theresa Kraft, President, has served on the board since 2019. She had also served on the board for several years in the early 1980s. She is currently serving as president, having been elected in May of 2022. Before that, she served a year as treasurer. Theresa studied advertising design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and runs her own graphic arts design practice. Additionally, she provides design assistance to a local construction company. She is a former trustee of the Beacon Historical Society, where she served for two years as Vice President. She is also actively involved in various historical organizations and was a member of the City of Beacon's Main Street Access Committee.
Thomas de Villiers, Vice President. After a long, successful career in New York and Los Angeles as a producer for CBS-TV and the Disney-ABC Television Group during which he garnered five Emmy nominations and two Emmy Awards for daytime television, Mr. de Villiers retired in 1999. He moved to Kent Cliffs, NY. In 2008, following an eight-year stint as vice president for acquisitions at the Lewis Group in Newburgh, he segued to Beacon, signing on as a volunteer at the Howland Cultural Center in 2009. From 2010 to 2014 and 2016 to 2022, he was research consultant for HVTOD LLC in Highland. From 2011 to 2014, he produced and directed plays for 4th Wall Productions at the Beacon Theater in Beacon. He was elected to the Howland board in 2012, chair of the Program Committee in 2015 and vice president in 2017.
Craig Wolf, Treasurer returned to HCC's board in 2016 for his second service stint. His first had covered 10 years in the organization's founding phase, during which he served as president and managed a government- and privately-funded series of repairs, restoration and updating of the historic Howland building. He presently serves as treasurer and on several committees, including program, and chairing building and finance. Previously in his current tenure, he served five years as president. He retired from an award-winning career in journalism, mostly covering business for the Poughkeepsie Journal. He is a graduate of Ithaca College. He is a self-employed residential landlord. He formerly served on the board of the Dutchess County Arts Council and on the Beacon City School District Board of Education, chairing its Audit & Finance Committee.
Brandy Burre, Secretary is a professional actor and a member of Actors' Equity and the Screen Actors Guild. She also teaches children at the Foundry Montessori in Cold Spring and at the Tioronda Learning Center in Beacon NY and is raising two children of her own. She earned a BFA and MFA in acting from Ohio University. She began in summer stock and then earned her Equity card in West Virginia, moving to Washington, DC, teaching and performing. She landed a recurring role in HBO's acclaimed series, The Wire. She moved to New York and then to Beacon. She joined the board in February 2025.
Elizabeth A. Barrett joined the board in October 2024. She is a senior marketing and communications executive. Most recently she served seven years for the West Point Association of Graduates as VP of Communications and Marketing and editor of the "West Point" Alumni magazine. She previously held similar posts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lally School of Management & Technology and Fordham University 's Graduate School of Business Administration. She served 27 years on the Board of Directors of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. She is an A.B. graduate of Harvard University and an MPPM graduate of the Yale School of Management.
Philip C. Berg is a partner with the law firm Otterbourg P.C., New York. He has 25 years of legal experience specialized in corporate M&A, finance and securities offerings, as well as blockchain and cybersecurity law. Phil is chairman of Otterbourg's Corporate Department and Chairman of the firm’s Privacy and Cybersecurity practice. His charitable experience includes the Harvard Club of New York City and as an officer of The Players club, also New York. Players is a club of artists and arts lovers. Mr. Berg is president of the related Players Preservation Fund, Inc, a nonprofit caring for the National Landmark building Players uses and preserves. He joined the Howland board in December, 2025.
John C. Cary is a professional lecturer of management.at Marist University, Poughkeepsie, NY. He started there as an adjunct in 2013. He then went to SUNY New Paltz as an instructor in principles of management and corporate finance. He returned to Marist as a professional lecturer full time in 2015. His business operating experience includes 23 years as a franchise owner of Unishippers, a national authorized reseller for UPS and as a 3PL provider for 25 national freight LTL carriers. He served on the Marlboro Free Library Board Trustees for 10 years. He is an amateur musician. He joined the Howland board in December, 2025.
Ron Iarossi has served since May of 2017 as a director on the HCC board and presently chairs the Fundraising Committee. He has also served on the Finance Committee. He is the owner and manager of The Beacon Creamery (21 years) and Kringle’s Christmas House (31 years), two active businesses on Beacon's Main Street. He is a member of and past president of the Beacon Chamber of Commerce, a post in which he served for 12 years.
Terry Nelson is a freelance writer, contributing to the music website Albumism and currently working on a fiction novel. He worked in film and television post-production from 1990-2016. He was the founder and executive director of the Beacon Independent Film Festival for seven years. He served two terms on the City of Beacon City Council for four years. He previously served as operations manager for the Ground Radio Project for four years. He served as a board member of BeaconArts for nine years. He joined the board in February 2025.
Lena S. Rizkallah is a financial professional who has been with Conte Wealth Advisors in New York since 2019, guiding individuals and small-business owners. She has hosted Women in business Busting Barriers entrepreneur panels since 2022 in the Hudson Valley and NYC. She previously was with JP Morgan for five years as vice president, retirement strategist, US Solutions Asset Management. She previously worked at Mosaic Consulting as a markets attorney and writer, and at Prudential Financial. She holds a Juris Doctor degree from Widener University. She joined the board in February 2025.
Ronnie Beth Sauers has served on the board twice, first in the 1990s, during which time she had been vice president. Her second term began in June 2017. She has served on Program and Gallery committees and now serves on the Building Committee. She is retired, and has worked as a real estate developer with her late husband in Ron Sauers & Associates, who played a key role in the renaissance of Beacon. She has also worked as a designer and Feng Shui consultant, a television editor and a marine biologist. She was elected to the City of Beacon City Council for two terms in the 1990s. She presently resides at 6 Norwegian Wood in Cold Spring, Putnam County.
Jay Strauss is a professional in the human resources field. He joined the board in October, 2022. He chairs the center’s Nominating Committee. He has worked as a recruiting manager at McKinsey and Company, and previously was an engagement manager within global executive search firms. He is the host and director of the center's Open Mic monthly music program, and is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. In the community, he is active with the First Presbyterian Church of Beacon. For two years, he provided live music for the local Table Soup Kitchen. Before locating in the Hudson Valley, he lived in Bainbridge Island, WA, where he was a soccer coach and in Greeley, CO, he volunteered in Partners, a Big Brother-type program. He earned a BA in political science from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Non-discrimination policy: Adopted October 17, 2020 -The Howland Cultural Center does not discriminate against a person or group on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, gender identity, disability, status as a disabled veteran, political preference, sexual orientation, pregnancy, membership or non-membership in any lawful organization, or other basis prohibited by local laws or regulations.