BRATTLEBORO — The Brattleboro Music Center has elected new trustees and officers and announced staff appointments.
At the Board's annual meeting in June, a new slate of officers and five new trustees were elected.
Incoming board president Tom Cain said, “the BMC has been fortunate to reap the benefits of a wonderful combination of continuity and an infusion of new members of the BMC community. Many faculty members have been with the BMC for more than 20 years. This combination of skills, energy and passion for excellence has helped the BMC to continue the inspiring legacy of founder Blanche Moyse, who died earlier this year at 101.”
Cain is the co-owner of Against the Grain Gourmet, a local gluten free food manufacturer and wholesaler. A Marlboro resident who has served on the Board and the Finance Committee since 2007, Cain steps into the role of retiring board president Marjorie McCrum, MD.
McCrum will continue on the BMC's Music School faculty, teaching voice.
Rachel Laliberte, owner of Grafton Village Bakery, a bread wholesaler and a Brattleboro EMT, will serve as vice president. Laliberte, a resident of Grafton, brings a background in human resources management.
Veronica “Ronny” Johnson, a freelance editor based in Brattleboro, was appointed as secretary. Johnson, who rejoined the Board this year, is now in her third term as a BMC trustee.
Another Brattleboro resident, Janice Warren, will continue as Treasurer. Warren is director of OneReport at SRI World Group, a provider of corporate responsibility software and information services.
Will Shakespeare was elected to serve as the Executive Committee's Member-at-Large. Shakespeare, a resident of Marlboro, serves as children's program director for Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS).
Also returning to serve on the board are trustees Lynn Trowbridge, Valerie Dahl, Lesley Cotter and Janet Wallstein.
Among the new trustees are BMC students (voice and instrumental) and parents of current and former students, while many returning trustees are participants in BMC programs such as the Concert Choir, Windham Orchestra, and the Blanche Moyse Chorale.
Lynn Herzog, MD, rejoins the Board after a hiatus in service. A Putney native, she returned to Brattleboro in 1993 as a pediatrician at Brattleboro Primary Care following many years at Children's Hospital in Boston.
A student at the BMC's Music School, she recalls BMC founder Blanche Moyse giving concerts in the Hotel Brooks ballroom in the 1950s. She enjoys attending concerts, and looks forward to “doing what I can to support this wonderful organization.”
Carol Ann Lobo Johnson, with nearly 30 years in publishing, has been particularly dedicated to the development and management of nonprofit and corporate-sponsored educational outreach programs. She currently serves as director of National Education Partnerships for Young Minds Inspired, based in New Haven, Conn.
She works out of her home in Marlboro, but travels frequently. Her son Evan, with the aid of family and others, built a handicapped ramp for the BMC's current Walnut Street location for his Eagle Scout service project.
Agnes Mikijaniec serves as the nurse practitioner for oncology at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and is the administrator for the hospital's Breast Program. Originally from Poland, Mikijaniec and her husband moved to Brattleboro six years ago, having lived in New York City and Boston, where they now reside with their two children, one of whom is a violin student at the BMC's Music School.
Douglas Baskett brings more than twenty years of corporate finance experience, and currently serves on the BMC's finance committee. Baskett's professional experience included overseeing budgeting and analysis, strategy, startup management, and mergers and acquisitions, mostly in the software and telecommunications industries. A Putney resident with his wife and two sons, he undertook voice lessons for the first time with McCrum last spring.
David Roberts, PhD, spent 30 years working in New York as an economist, financial analyst and business manager, including serving as an economist and senior officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He also spent 15 years in the private sector, in senior economic positions for a major investment bank and two bond-rating agencies.
A Vermont resident since 2009, he brings his broad finance experience to the BMC, including financial management, investments, risk management and economic impact assessments.
Mr. Cain expressed gratitude for the service of all of its board members including outgoing trustees McCrum, Tim Callahan, Norman Solomon and Jeff Morse.
The Brattleboro Music Center also announced an expanded staff position and a new staff appointment.
Pam Lierle, who has served as Director of Marketing and Development since January 2006, will now assume expanded responsibilities and serve as Managing Director. She brings a deep knowledge of and strong passion for the BMC, as well as excellent organizational skills, and a positive, energetic approach to her work. She lives in Putney.
Alex Blakeson will now serve as the BMC's new education programs director. Blakeson brings administrative, training and educational experience through his work for organizations such as Vermont Adult Learning, the Baha'i National Center, People's United Financial and the Intercultural Linguistics Association in Bogotá, Colombia. He lives in Dummerston, and comes from a family of career music teachers.
Sabine Rhyne, former director of educational programs and operations, has taken a leadership role at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, but she will continue to teach cello at the music school.
For more information about the Brattleboro Music Center and its programs, visit www.bmcvt.org or call 802-257-4523.