New Faces at Local Institutions
The Ethical Culture Society of Westchester has hired Alexandra (Ali) Weisman McDowell as director of Ethical Education. Ms. McDowell is an educator with a master’s degree from Bank Street College of Education. The Ethical Society is located at 7 Saxon Wood Road in White Plains, adjacent to the Saxon Woods Pool and just north of Hutch Exit 23N. Its website is www.ethicalsocietywestchester.org.
ArtsWestchester has appointed Susan Abbott as its Associate Director of Programs. Abbott comes to ArtsWestchester with extensive experience in nonprofit management. Her role will include overseeing all activities related to grants management, as well as cultural affiliate relations, including collaborative and professional development projects.
Most recently, Abbott served as Business Manager for the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University, where she assisted faculty and students with government and private foundation grant applications and oversaw issues related to budgets, contracts and grants. Abbott served six years as Managing Director of Boomerang Theatre Company; she worked closely with the Juilliard School’s Drama, Dance and Opera divisions; and she holds an MFA in Performing Arts Management from Brooklyn College. ArtsWestchester is located at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains; www.artswestchester.org.
Archbishop Stepinac High School has named Rev. Timothy Wiggins as Chaplain. A native of Port Chester, Father Tim’s journey to the Catholic priesthood began several years after he graduated from Port Chester High School in 1982. First, he obtained a Business Administration Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel Restaurant Management from Denver University and then for nearly the next 10 years, he worked for several food service companies including the Marriott Corporation. During this period, he also worked as a cook for the priests who resided at Our Lady of Mercy to help pay off his college debt. It was at this parish that he answered “the Call” to the priesthood. A former Methodist who converted to Catholicism, he began his pre-theological studies at the Newman Residence in Riverdale. Four years later, he received a Master’s Degree in Divinity from St. Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers and was ordained on May 18, 2002 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. His first pastoral assignment was Associate Pastor at St. Peter’s, Monticello, followed by a 10-year tenure as Associate Pastor at St. John the Evangelist, White Plains. More recently, Father Tim served as Administrator of Our Lady of Mercy. Archbishop Stepinac High School is located at 950 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains; www.stepinac.org.
Greenburgh Nature Center, has announced the recent hires of Michelle Brier as Director of Strategic Development and Rachel Becker as Sustainability Coordinator and Educator.
Brier was most recently Director of Marketing and Communications at Guiding Eyes. Prior to that role, she served as Manager of Fundraising for the Foundation of the Blind in New Zealand. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Katonah Bedford Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps where she is also an Emergency Medical Technician
In her new role, Brier will look to expand GNC’s marketing and development efforts to raise awareness of the Center’s mission and obtain new sources of funding.
Rachel Becker has extensive experience in sustainable practices such as waste reduction, composting, recycling, green infrastructure and local agriculture. Becker will focus on the facilitation of eco-friendly operations, programs, parties, events, and sustainability partnerships in the local community. She will also provide training and technical assistance on environmental best practices to Westchester residents, schools, community organizations, municipalities and corporations.
Prior to her role at the Nature Center, Becker was a Farm Educator with The Queens County Farm Museum and a Compost Coordinator with GrowNY.
Greenburgh Nature Center is located at 99 Dromore Road, Scarsdale; www.greenburghnaturecenter.org.
