Board of Directors

Irene Banning

Chair

Irene and her husband own and manage Black Sheep Hill Farm in Pine Plains, NY. The farm is focused on the preservation of heritage breed sheep and pigs, and the development of sustainable farming practices. Irene has worked as a law-enforcement analyst, public health educator and women’s health policy analyst, and her non-profit work has focused on social justice work and women’s empowerment. Irene served for 11 years on the Board of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies (six years as Chair), one of the world’s leading independent environmental research organizations, in Millbrook, NY.

Julie Berkun Fajgenbaum

Vice Chair

Julie Fajgenbaum is the Founder and CEO of Tweed Wolf, a NYC-based start-up launched in 2015. Aimed at helping frustrated people everywhere to enjoy their photos again, Tweed Wolf uses machine learning and talented designers to take the work out of preserving and sharing your memories. Prior to founding Tweed Wolf, Julie was the CMO of OPEN, a division of American Express, where she focused on supporting small business owners and launched the award-winning initiative, Small Business Saturday. She also held the position of General Manager, OPEN Credit Cards, a portfolio she grew at record levels. Prior to OPEN, Julie spent three years at McKinsey & Company in the Global Marketing and Technology groups. Julie has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Greenwich Village with her husband and three children. The family spends every possible weekend and vacation in Millerton.

Nancy Elting

Secretary

Nancy Elting has over 30 years experience as an educator and school administrator. For 18 years, Nancy worked at The Spence School as a 4th & 5th grade teacher, Head of Lower School, then Director of Admissions and later as the Head of School. She went on to serve as Interim Director at The Town Hill School, the Bronx Charter School for Children and the School at Columbia University. She has served on the board of The School at Columbia University and is currently serving on the Heads Council at The Spence School. Nancy and her husband John live in Millerton, but spend part of the year in Florida.

Meredith Tiedemann

Treasurer

Meredith lives in Salisbury, CT full time and has worked in Banking in the area for the past 18 years. A Certified Private Wealth Advisor, Meredith enjoys helping to navigate her client through the financial challenges of life. She manages the Trust and Investment area for the Bank of Millbrook in Millbrook, NY. While primarily focused on families Meredith has extensive experience in fiduciary work and managing portfolios for endowments and non-profits. Working and living in the area supports her passion for being deeply involved in the community as well as her love of hiking with her dog Theo. A former equestrian, Meredith spent many years volunteering and mentoring Pony Club members as well as being on the board of the Area 1 United States Eventing Association. She and her husband, Tom, are thoroughly enjoying being first time grandparents.

Tim Bontecou

I started out as a child living in the Millbrook area. At 12 I was working on Rally Farms in the summer during the week and sailing in Rhode Island on the weekends. Elementary education occurred at The Dutchess Day School where my cousin was the only kid in the 6th grade. High School years were spent at Holderness School in New Hampshire. College years were split between SUNY Cobleskill and N.Y.U. That is as far as I made it in the scholastic world. After N.Y.U. I started working fulltime at Rally Farms for 14 years. The light at the end of the tunnel was dimming for beef farms as returns diminished and taxes chose an opposite direction. After a brief stint in real estate, I started Tamarack Preserve in 1991. I am still involved with the Club which occupies my time 7 days a week. I am on the board of the Dutchess County Land Conservancy, The Bank of Millbrook, The Cary Institute, Dutchess County Soil and Water Conservation, The Millbrook Hunt, and Quest, an education enrichment committee for the Berkshire Taconic Foundation. I like to fish, hunt, sail, ski, and to spend time with my four granddaughters and their parents.

Rob Cooper

Rob is the owner & president of Associated Lightning Rod Co. located in Millerton, NY, with 18 employees. He has served as Trustee for the Village of Millerton, is a current board member of The Irondale School House and a member of the Lightning Protection Institute, the United Lightning Protection Association, the National Fire Protection Association, and the Millerton Business Alliance. Rob was raised in the town of North East, has been married to his wife Tammy for over 37 years, and together they have four sons and seven grandchildren.

Dr. Robert Dweck

Rob grew up on the upper west side of Manhattan, attended public schools and the Juilliard Preparatory program before attending the Bronx HS of Science. He was known to throw a wicked Spaldeen curve to stick ball batters, and to play rhythm guitar in a rock band known as the Minks at the age of 13. Although he graduated from the University of Michigan, he didn’t take his studies seriously until he later decided to go to medical school over the protests of his mother who was heard to say, on more than one occasion, “I dreamed of my son becoming a musician, why would he want to be a doctor? “Rob moved to Ancramdale in 1975 and commuted to Albany Medical College as a National Health Service Corps scholar, and upon graduation was awarded the Anna Perkins Prize in Family Practice. He trained in the then new Kingston Family Practice Residency program. He established a solo practice in Millerton in 1985, attending patients at Sharon Hospital, before growing a group practice in Amenia in 1990, which, since 2001 has been part of Hudson River HealthCare (now Sun River Health), a federally qualified not-for-profit community health center, whose mission is to provide full spectrum primary care to the underserved and the entire community regardless of ability to pay. Rob was honored to be named 2019 Doctor of the Year by the New York State Association for Rural Health. He is thrilled to be on the Board of NECC.

Edward Frederick

I work at SunRiver Health (formerly HRHCare). I began my work here in Northeast Dutchess County in 2003. In 2006 the New York State Rural Health Association selected me as the NYS Rural Health Worker of the year. We live in Hillsdale, NY. I met my wife Ana Vilma when I was a Peace Corp Volunteer in El Salvador in 1973. We were married in 1975. We moved to Hillsdale with our three children in 1987. Our children all went to Taconic Hills and later they went on to graduate from Ithaca, Smith and Northeastern. They remained in the area, now in Great Barrington, Egremont and Otis MA. We now have four wonderful grandchildren. We have lived in a healthy cross-cultural environment with family and friends all these years. We have been immersed in a world of diversity, inclusion, hope and opportunity and we have lived our life with our doors wide open to friends and newcomers alike.

I lived and worked in Central America for 10 years when I was younger. I developed a keen interest in the world of nature. I love to garden. It is a great way to connect with the natural world and stay healthy. I love connecting with people in community. It's a great way to continue to grow as a person. At Sun River Health much of my work is with the new immigrant families that now live here in our communities. I am a certified medical interpreter, educator, and community outreach worker.

I read about history, theology, ontology, philosophy, science, and current events to keep my mind active and healthy. My wife and I love to dance. We stay physically active to keep up with our grandchildren and to enjoy the life all around us.

Evelyn Garzetta

Evelyn Garzetta is the Director of Grace Immigrant Outreach (GIO), located at Grace Episcopal Church, Millbrook NY. She also chairs the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation~Immigrant Outreach Roundtable. Evelyn is an active parishioner at Grace Episcopal Church Millbrook, NY, where she is a member of the Vestry and Hospitality committee. She also serves as board member for: Townscape of Millerton; the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 178 Millerton; Town of North East Planning Board; The Foundation for Community Health; serves as President of the Briarwood Homeowners Association she is a member of the NEDCorps 2.0 Advisory Board and in 2021 has been welcomed into the Mental Health America Board. Prior to her career retirement in 2008, Evelyn was a Facilities Director in charge of fourteen offices throughout the country for a trade magazine publishing firm. A devoted grandmother of ten, Evelyn and her husband, Joe, are longtime residents of Millerton, New York.

Karen Jacobson

Karen Jacobson is an architect, now retired, who had her own firm specializing in residential, medical, and educational projects. She has also developed several land subdivision and brownstone conversion projects including a 15-unit mixed-use building in Brooklyn. While living in NYC she served as Building Manager and a member of several coop and condominium boards where she enjoyed collaborating as part of a team. Karen holds a BA in art from Middlebury College and a MARCH from Princeton University. Karen and her husband Tom Molholm have lived part-time in North East for almost 30 years and recently moved to North East full time with their brand-new puppy, Lucy.

Patricia Keeler Jean

Patricia is the former co-owner (with husband, Michel Jean) of Stissing House, an 18th century tavern and restaurant in Pine Plains, NY. She has been in the hospitality business in various forms for over 40 years, the last 35 being as co-owner of 3 restaurants and catering businesses in partnership with Michel. During this time she has worked with Share Our Strength to help establish a partnership with restaurants and the food insecure, started a dialog between farmers and chefs with seed money & grants from the Knutsens and the Dutchess County Alliance for Business which eventually became Hudson Valley Bounty, and helped run the annual NOFA benefit held in Wassaic. She is currently Vice President of the Pine Plains Business Association.

Kevin McAliley

Kevin is a consultant to companies in education, providing strategic and tactical advice and executive coaching. His clients have included The Walt Disney Company, Discovery Education, and numerous software startups. Kevin built and ran four companies as CEO. His most recent company, Imagine Math, integrates just-in-time online tutoring from US teachers with AI software that helps kids develop higher-order thinking skills. The software is used by millions of students across the United States to solve billions of math problems. Kevin also led Triumph Learning, Recorded Books and Films for the Humanities; each made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies. Kevin was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Pennsylvania. Kevin believes in diversity, equity, and inclusion. When he arrived at Imagine Math there were no employees of color or women in management. Six years later when the company was acquired, 30% of employees were people of color and half the managers were women. Kevin is a graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Business School. Kevin has served on the board of the Association of Educational Publishers and on other for-profit and not-for-profit boards. He lives in Millerton with his partner, Larry Wente.

Juliana Pecchia

Juliana grew up in Millbrook with her sister, parents and a myriad of animals. She attended Dutchess Day School, Westminster and Colby College and has worked in the school world since she graduated in 1999. She began at Millbrook School teaching English and History, working in Admissions and coaching 3 sports, and over the last 20 years, she worked at Indian Mountain School and Salisbury School. After devoting time and energy to the classroom, the athletic realm and administrative roles as the Director of Secondary School Advising and the Director of Studies, she has enjoyed recently returning to working at Millbrook with students as a tutor and coach of the Varsity Field Hockey and Ice Hockey teams. She lives in Sharon CT, with her two daughters, husband, two dogs, and chickens. She feels fortunate to be in such a beautiful part of the world with so many family members nearby.