Trustees & Staff

President

Cynthia Walsh

A part time resident for 13 years, Cynthia moved full time to Lakeville when she retired in 2015. She spent 35+ years with various New York City financial institutions, specializing in credit and lending to corporations and high net worth individuals. In addition to being a member of the Historical Society of the Salisbury Association she has served on the boards of other Northwest Corner organizations, most currently the Scoville Memorial Library and Sharon Audubon.

Treasurer

Alexandra Lange

A graduate of Smith College and the Wharton School of Business, Alex served in the Reagan Administration before a career in real estate investment banking.

She co-founded the Northern Ireland’s Women’s Initiative (NIWI) which was created to provide training in politics, policy and media to potential women leaders in Northern Ireland and served ten years as a board member of the Partnership With Children (PWC), an organization that provides social, emotional and cognitive support services to “at-risk” children in the NYC public school system. 

Locally, Alex has served on the boards of the Sharon Playhouse and Women Support Services (WSS, now Project Sage) and has taken on leadership roles in fundraising for both organizations. She was elected Co-Chair of WSS’s board for the 2021-2022 term. Most recently, she worked with the Salisbury Association Land Trust in its successful campaign to preserve 14 acres in the Salmon Kill Valley.

Secretary

Abeth Slotnick

Abeth (aka Elizabeth) Slotnick has lived in Lakeville for the past 21 years, originally hailing from central New Jersey. She and her husband, Chris, fell in love with the landscape and the vibe of the Northwest Corner and decided to make it their home, where they are almost finished raising their two children. Abeth works as a residential architect on local projects as a sole practitioner and is currently a member of the Salisbury Affordable Housing Commission and the Salisbury Housing Committee. She has served on several other local boards and committees over the past two decades. In her spare time, she enjoys cycling, traveling, reading and being out in nature.

Board Member

John Landon

John is co-chair of the Land Trust. His professional career was in banking and finance in New York. He has spent the majority of his time in Salisbury for the last 20 years. He started volunteering with the Land Trust in 2007 managing the new Tory Hill property and is a town Inland Wetlands commissioner. Other interests include traveling to remote parts of the world, photography, hiking, and enjoying all aspects of nature.

Board Member

Gloria Miller

Gloria moved to Salisbury in 1995 after she and her husband fell in love with the Northwest Corner. In 1996 they bought an old house in Taconic, and she was invited to join the Salisbury Association Land Trust. After retiring from a thirty-year teaching career in 2004, she became a member of the Friends of the Scoville Library where she serves as vice-president. She is as a founding member and co-chairman of the Beautification Committee. In 2005 Gloria and Macey established Aglet Theatre Company, a major passion for fifteen years. She writes theatre reviews for a website and is a co-founder of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association. Gloria and Macey have an abiding appreciation for the physical beauty and strong sense of community which the town of Salisbury engenders.

Board Member

Dick Paddock

Following a more than 30 year career designing computers and related electronic equipment, upon retirement Dick turned his attention toward a lifelong interest in the industrial and railroad history of the Northwest Corner. He is vice-president of the Friends of Beckley Furnace in East Canaan and a member of the Salisbury Association Historical Society. He has authored numerous history-related articles for the Lakeville Journal and has created a number of interpretive sign panels related to historic sites in Salisbury, Sharon, and Canaan.

Board Member

Libby Panzer

Libby is a native New Yorker and a recent full-time resident in the Northwest corner who began volunteering with the Salisbury Association events committee in 2023. 

She is senior event marketing leader with expertise in brand marketing, high-profile live events (local & international) and sponsorship development. She spent the bulk of her career at The New York Times where she was the executive director of consumer events. 

Currently, Libby is a consultant with Columbia University’s School of General Studies.  

Board Member

Lori Shepard

Lori has been involved with the arts throughout her life. She worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at Cooper Hewitt followed by a long career as an art advisor. After retiring from daily art advising, she enrolled at The New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture, to nurture her interest in gardening, landscape history/design and ecology. She has been in charge of her building’s rooftop and street level gardens, and is involved with the NYC professional group MetroHort. 

She’s served on the boards of the American Indian Community House, the Clarion Music Society, and has been active with several professional organizations including ArtTable, the National Association for Corporate Art Management, and the Association of Professional Art Advisors.

A Salisbury homeowner for 40 years, local history and preservation have long interested her and supporting the community’s culture, native plants and natural resources is a priority.

Board Member

Howard Sobel

Howard Sobel is an attorney who advises both US and international private equity firms in leveraged acquisitions of privately held and public companies.

A renowned private equity practitioner, Howard handles a diverse range of matters, including auctions, going-private transactions, co-investment opportunities, and acquisitions and reorganizations in bankruptcy proceedings. He has represented many of the world’s leading private equity firms with a particular focus on transactions involving the healthcare, business services, and retail and consumer sectors.

Howard splits his time between Salisbury and NYC. He has a special interest in the preservation of open spaces and serves on the Salisbury Association’s Land Trust Committee.

Board Member

Gerald Stanton

Originally from Lakeville, Jerry grew up in the New Haven area returning regularly to visit relatives in Salisbury and Lakeville. He lived in New York City for 30 years. During this time Jerry and his family owned a weekend house in Lakeville.

Jerry fundraised for an international humanitarian relief and development organization for over 25 years. He travelled frequently overseas.

In 2014 Jerry returned to live full time in Salisbury.

Jerry is on the Salisbury Pathways Committee and is a board member of Salisbury Family Services. He is a substitute teacher in Region 1 schools and an advisor to Friends of Caritas Cuba. He co-curated the 2019-2020 Wonders of Winter art exhibit sponsored by the Salisbury Association.

Board Member

Mary Taylor

Mary Taylor has been a resident in the Northwest Corner since 1985 and a full-time resident of Lakeville since 2008.  A graduate of Fordham University, she served as a Communications and Marketing Executive at a number of financial service and consumer goods companies in New York City.  She was active at Marymount School of New York and St. David’s, which her children attended, and served on a number of boards.

Mary has been a Real Estate Agent in the Northwest Corner for the past 14 years. In addition to being licensed in Connecticut, she also holds New York and Massachusetts licenses.  She is past President of the Board of The Corner Food Pantry and a current volunteer.  The Pantry provides healthy food to families in need within the Tri-State Area.  She served on the board of the Friends of Scoville Library and is a long-time member of the Twin Lakes Beach Club and Sharon Country Club.

A daily runner, she says “I never appreciate this area more than when I crest a road and catch the view of hillsides and the Appalachian Trail – makes my day!”

Board Member

Greg Wilmore

Greg Wilmore lives in Lakeville with his wife Barbara Hockstader and their two sons.  Greg started volunteering with the Land Trust in 2023.  He has a longstanding interest in conserving nature, and he has previously worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and for a not-for-profit environmental research group. Presently, Greg works for J. Crew Group and spends his leisure time hiking, biking, and gardening.

Executive Director

Chris Abeel

Originally from New Jersey Chris was a weekender in Sharon for over a decade, becoming a full-time resident in 2023. Before being named Executive Director, he was a corporate and trade association executive with extensive experience in public affairs and government relations. He also brings extensive civic experience having served on a municipal governing body, zoning board of adjustment, library board of trustees, as well as numerous not-for-profit boards and advisory committees.

Executive Assistant & Town Historian

Lou Bucceri

Lou has lived in Salisbury since 1983 and was a public and private school social studies and computer teacher until 2013.He was the Curator for the Salisbury Cannon Museum for most of its existence, from 1994-2007, and directed EXTRAS, the after-school and holiday day care center at Salisbury Central School. Currently, Lou coordinates local student participation in the National History Day academic competition. He is an active member of the Historical Society and the chairman of the Salisbury Recreation Commission

Conservation Director

Shelley Harms

Shelley lives in Norfolk. In 2014, the Salisbury Association hired Shelley to prepare its accreditation application to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. Since then, she has written grants and newsletters, overseen compliance, and worked on integrating the Association’s disparate committees into a unified organization. An attorney, Shelley’s passion is land conservation, and she spends much of her time working to preserve special places in our beautiful northwest corner.