UlsterCorps Advisors
Elliot Auerbach
Susan Barnett
Rev. G. Modele Clarke
Fatima Deen
Deborah Meyer DeWan
Rik Flynn
Stephen Gilman
Paula Lockshon
Laraine Mai
Nancy Pompeo
Deborah Schneer, Esq.
Erica Wagner, Former Board President (emeritus)
Esther Taylor-Evans, Former Board Member (in memoriam)
Advisor Bios
Elliott Auerbach is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Catskill Borscht Belt Museum, the Ulster Regional Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Executive Committee of the New York Government Finance Officers Association. From 2019-2023 he served as the New York State Deputy Comptroller and prior to that, from 2009-2019, held the office of the Ulster County Comptroller. A former village mayor and village manager, Auerbach served as USDA Executive Director of the Rural Economic Area Partnership and enjoyed a series of successes in private enterprise and corporate America. In addition, Auerbach served on the Board of Directors of the SUNY Ulster Foundation. He is a graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in Economics-Business and has pursued graduate studies at Long Island University and SUNY New Paltz.
Susan Barnett is an author and journalist who grew up in Ulster County. Currently a columnist for Ulster Publishing, Feminist.com and BookTrib.com and producer and host of WAMC’s nationally syndicated radio program, 51% The Women’s Perspective, her career in broadcast and print news has focused on helping educate the public about social issues. She is the owner of Barnett Communications, providing communication strategies and content to a variety of private, public and non-profit clients. She has worked as a teacher, teaching writing skills to college-bound students with learning disabilities both in the classroom and as a private tutor. She’s volunteered her time in her children’s schools and helped organize events to benefit education and community foundations. She lives in West Hurley with her partner and too many pets.
Rev. Dr. G. Modele Clarke, is the pastor emeritus of New Progressive Baptist Church in Kingston, NY, having served as senior pastor for 26 years. During his tenure, the church became an incubator for community groups such as the A.J. Williams-Myers’ African Roots Library and Harambee. It was also the site for a series of Community Policing forums between 2016 to 2018. Clarke was president of the Ministers’ Alliance of Ulster County for 20 years, a member of Community Foundations and a former member of Mohonk Consultations. He was a commissioner with the Ulster County Human Relations Commission and served on the Ulster County Re-Entry Task Force, the Ulster County Criminal Justice Council and the Ulster Council Workforce Development Board. He is a retired faculty member with the School of Communication and the Arts, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY. Clarke received a Masters of Divinity (M. Div.) and Doctor of Ministry (D. Min.) from Trinity Theological Seminary. He was also inducted into the National Omicron-Psi Honor Society for his distinguished theological scholarship and community service. Clarke also studied at New York Theological Seminary, where he was the recipient of the Benjamin Mays Fellowship. He graduated from the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz with a B.S. degree in English and with a MSJ from Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and was a journalist for several years. Clarke is the author of two books of short stories: Up in Mahaica (2012) and Stories from the Pews (2018). Clarke lives in Port Ewen, NY with his wife Evelyn, Town of Esopus councilwoman, former Ulster County Human Rights Director and an ordained minister at New Progressive Baptist Church. She is a retired IBM software engineer.
Fatima Deen is the Wellness Empowerment Center Facilitator at People’s Place in Kingston, NY. The Wellness Empowerment Center strives to enhance the quality of an individual’s life and help them build a stronger, healthier future through wellness classes, health screenings, nutritional guidance, alternative health modalities, and financial education. She is also a reflexology practitioner offering a natural healing art based on the principle that there are reflex points on
the feet and hands which correspond to every part of the body.
Deborah Meyer DeWan is a regional environmental professional and community advocate who has worked throughout the Catskills and Hudson Valley assisting not-for-profits, government agencies and others with policy formation, environmental planning and preservation projects, as well as fundraising, communications and strategic planning. Firmly rooted in community and environmental principles, at the heart of Deborah’s work is an abiding commitment to building bridges, to meaningful public participation and inclusiveness, and reaching through controversy to bring together previously contentious groups to find common cause. Most recently, Deborah served as Ag Policy Advisor to former Senator Jen Metzger. Prior to that she was Executive Director of the Rondout Valley Growers Association, a community-based non-profit organization of over 70 local farmers. Deborah led RVGA’s Farm to Food Pantry program in collaboration with Family of Woodstock and UlsterCorps to bring locally grown produce to food insecure residents in Ulster County. As an environmental advocate, Deborah has navigated political waterways and tenaciously protected the Hudson Valley and Catskill regions most precious assets — whether saving historic buildings on Catskill’s Main Street, ensuring public access to Hudson River waterfronts, or protecting the drinking water for 9 million New Yorkers while fostering environmentally sound development in upstate watershed communities. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from SUNY Stony Brook and an M.S. in Environmental Studies from Bard College. A nature enthusiast and student of watercolor painting who draws inspiration from the natural world, Deborah resides with her family in Ulster County at the nexus of the Catskill Park and Hudson River Valley.
Rik Flynn, Co-Founder and Founding President, is a retired teacher and resident of Ulster County for nearly forty years. He served as a classroom special education instructor, was an Assistant Director of the Mid-Hudson Teacher Center and an acting director and board member for the Ulster County School To Work Partnership. He received an undergraduate degree from Marist College and Master of Science degree in Education from SUNY, New Paltz. During his tenure as a teacher at Ulster County BOCES, he was also an adjunct professor at SUNY New Paltz for a graduate level special education practicum requirement. He was president of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) Ulster County BOCES Teachers’ Organization and a member of several state and national professional education organizations. He was also a vice-president of the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation (HVALF) and officer of the Upper Hudson Area Central Labor Council (UHCLC), AFL-CIO.
Stephen Gilman is the founder and executive director of MakerState, dedicated to providing hands-on, game-based STEAM, Social Emotional, and Executive Functioning learning experiences for elementary-age youth (STEAM: science, tech, engineering, arts, math). Stephen is a father, a veteran of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, and a former New York City and Rondout Vally High School public school teacher. He is a founding teacher and dean of Bronx Collegiate, a public high school based in Outward Bound Experiential Learning, and has established over 100 makerspaces in schools nationwide. Stephen has led K-12 teacher training programs in coding and engineering design as a principal co-investigator of the National Science Foundation Maker Partnership and cohort trainer for NYC DOE’s “CS4all”, dedicated to ensuring computer science education in all NYC K-12 schools. Stephen is a founding board member of the Urban Assembly Maker Academy and a founding board member of the volunteer network, UlsterCorps. Stephen enjoys board game design, historical fiction writing, disc golf, snowboarding, surfing, biking, and creativity of all kinds, especially if it’s with his son Ben and his partner Michele. Learn more about Stephen’s work in student-centered, project-based SEL and STEAM learning with MakerState and Student Union at www.maker-state.com.
Paula Lockshon is a social worker and has run mental health programs in the nonprofit sector for 2 decades. She is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Human Services Concentration at SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Ulster and has a Private Psychotherapy Practice in Kingston, NY. She has been a Program Director of the County’s Domestic Violence Shelter and Board member at Family of Woodstock, Inc. where she was instrumental in creating the first program for children at the DV Shelter in the 1980s. Her commitment to grassroots movements and community organizing remains foremost in her life. Paula lives in High Falls with her life partner and their tall 16 year old son.
Laraine Mai, Co-Founder, has thirty-eight years of nonprofit leadership and management experience as a founder, executive, and consultant in the fields of education, youth services, international issues, and interfaith cooperation. From 1994 to 2007 she served as President of the International Center for Integrative Studies, a research, education and consulting nonprofit organization. In 2002 she launched RiverTides, an ICIS leadership, education and consulting services program. Previously, she served as Vice-President of ICIS for Programs and Planning; was co-founder of The Door – A Center of Alternatives, a model multi-service center for adolescents. She also served as the first Executive Director of the Interfaith Center of New York. Civic involvement includes: Board of Directors of the World Affairs Council of the Mid-Hudson Valley; International Advisory Council of CANHELP, Svenshogen, Sweden, Founders’ Council of The Interfaith Center of New York, the National Advisory Council of the New York Open Center. She also served with the Peace Corps in Venezuela from 1967 to 1969. Laraine lives in New Paltz, NY.
Nancy Pompeo, Co-Founder, had her first volunteer experience at age 6 collecting money for Unicef and has been a committed volunteer ever since. She has volunteered with the Salvation Army, Planned Parenthood, Safe Homes Women’s Shelter, and food pantries in the different communities where she’s lived. In 2002 she was awarded “Volunteer of the Year” for her work with the Salvation Army. She is currently president and owner of Action Resources, a consulting firm with over 20 years experience partnering with corporations to meet their professional development and learning objectives. Nancy lives in Wallkill, NY.
Deborah Schneer, Esq., has devoted her entire professional career, as an attorney and as a judge, to public service. After graduating from Tufts University, Deborah spent a year in rural Missouri as a Vista volunteer, teaching poor people how to be their own advocates. Upon graduation from NYU Law School, she worked for Prisoners Legal Services of NY in Poughkeepsie and later as an Assistant Attorney General in the New York State Department of Law. In 2005 Deborah Schneer was elected as Town Justice in the Town of Rochester, and in 2009 appointed Ulster County Court Judge. Deborah has practiced law for 25 years and has lived in Ulster County for 20 years. She resides in High Falls with her family and currently works in private practice in Rosendale.
