The Board of Directors for Coarc, the Columbia County Chapter of NYSARC, Inc., is representative of the Columbia County, NY, community at large. 


2010/2011 Coarc Board Members:

Mary Ann Harris, President Annette Dennis, Vice President Priscilla Moore, Secretary Andrew Small, Treasurer Nelson R. Alford, Jr. Denise Barry Karen M. Blass Mary Blass

Jennifer Harvey Donna Knight Barbara G. Roemer August Sena Patricia Stockman Mary Ann VanDenBurgh Dorothy Wheeler Elizabeth Young

Brief Bios:
 
Nelson R. (Dick) Alford, Jr., Coarc Board member since June 2009, is a practicing
attorney in Columbia County for more than 35 years. He is a member of the firm of
Guterman Shallo & Alford, PLLC in Hudson. He is the attorney for the Village of Chatham
and the Town of Hillsdale, and a member of the Independent Judicial Nomination
Qualification Commission for the Third Judicial District of the State of New York. His is also
the President of the Columbia County Agricultural Society and the Columbia County Fair.
 
Denise Barry, Ed.D., the longest continuously serving member of Coarc's Board of
Directors (since 1972), is the most tenured teacher in the Hudson City School District. In
addition to her work as a Special Education teacher, she has spent 26 summers as a teacher/
administrator in local correctional facilities. She is a member of the Board of Directors of
Catholic Charities for Columbia/Greene Counties.
 
Karen M. Blass, Coarc Board member since February 2009, is the Vice-President at First
Niagara Bank in charge of Columbia, Greene, and Dutchess County branches/markets. She
is Treasurer of the Advisory Board of the Hudson Salvation Army. She serves on the
Membership and Golf Tournament Committees of the Columbia County Chamber of
Commerce and on the board of the American Heart Association. Ms. Blass has served on the
boards of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and the March of Dimes.
 
Mary Blass, Past Coarc President and a Board member since 1996, served as a NYS
Certified Family Care Provider for developmentally disabled individuals ranging from
adolescents to geriatrics until her retirement in 2005.
  
Annette (Mickey) Dennis, Coarc Vice President and a Board member since 1989, is a
Registered Nurse at the Chatham pediatric office of Dr. Lawrence Greitzer. She is the
Director of Religious Education (pre-K through 6th grade) at St. James Church in Chatham.
 
Mary Ann Harris, Coarc President and a Board member since 1999, retired from the medical field as Kaiser’s Office Manager/Administrator. She is currently the Office Manager
for David Harris Electrical Contracting Inc. and also works in the offices of Ghent Wood
Products.

Jennifer (Jen) K. Harvey rejoined the Coarc Board in 2010, following 10 years service
beginning 1996. She is an attorney and associate at the firm Couch White, LLP in Albany.
Her volunteer activities include coaching for the Albany Cougars Special Hockey Club.
 
Donna Knight, Coarc Board member since June 2009, was the IS Manager for Country
Curtains for 11 years. She has been a parent advocate for the Committee on Special
Education for the Chatham Central School District for the past 8 years. She served on
the Canaan Planning Board from 1996-2008. She volunteers for the Old Chatham Shaker
Museum Special Events Committee and the Adams Point Beach Association.
 
Priscilla Moore, Coarc Secretary and a Board member since 2007, has been a certified
Family Care Provider for 30 years. She also served on the Family Care Advisory Board for
the Taconic DDSO.
 
Barbara Roemer, a Coarc Board member since 2008, was co-operator of a Columbia
County restaurant for 40 years and the operator of a gift shop/gallery for 20 years. She
is an 18-year member of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and served as its
Director for 4 years. She is involved in the Town of Taghkanic and church activities.
 
August Sena, Past Treasurer of the Coarc Board and a member since 2002, retired from
the Taconic DDSO where he was employed as a teacher and later as a site developer for
group homes, apartments, workshops and day care centers. While teaching, he was the
coordinator for the Very Special Arts Festival program and he served on the organizing
board for the Exceptional Artwork program of OPWDD. He is an elected councilman on the
Hillsdale Town Board and Chairman of the Hillsdale Sewer Committee, with past service
as Chairman of the Hillsdale Planning Board and Chair of the Hillsdale Master Plan/Zoning
Committee.
 
Andrew J. Small, Coarc Treasurer and Board member since 2007, is a certified public
accountant with a Master of Science Degree in taxation from Long Island University. He
is a partner in the firm Karp, Ackerman, Skabowski & Hogan, CPAs, P.C. in Hudson. He
was previously employed in Manhattan at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Price
Waterhouse.

Patricia Stockman joined the Coarc Board in 2010. She is co-founder of The Executive
Connection in West Coxsackie, specializing in direct placement recruiting and human
resources consulting. She serves as Chairperson of the Membership Committee of the
Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and is a former Member of its Executive Board.
She also serves as a Board Member of the Greene County Chamber of Commerce and
is a former Vice-President of the Board of Directors for Special Needs Program, Inc.
Ms. Stockman has also served on fundraising committees for the Columbia Memorial
Hospital Foundation and the National Association for the Blind in Albany. She was a
member of the Steering Committee for the Greene County Economic Development Plan.


Mary Ann VanDenburgh joined the Coarc Board in 2010.  She recently retired from Taconic DDSO. From 1974 to 2010, she worked out of the Valatie office in Columbia County for CDDSO and then Taconic DDSO.  She worked with an adult day program, as a case manager, case management supervisor, Family Care Coordinator, Family Care Home Liaison and trainer.  Part of her duties included membership on Coarc’s Residential Screening Committee. She was employed during 1978-1979 as a Coarc house parent at the at the Germantown residence.
 
Dorothy (Dodie) Wheeler, a Coarc Board member since 2008, is employed by NYS
OTDA in the Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance. She is a current member of the
NYSARC, Inc. Board of Governors. She is the President of the Board of the Albany Cougars
Special Hockey Club and has been active in youth sports in the Chatham area for many
years.
 
 
Elizabeth (Betty) Young rejoined the Coarc Board in 1993 and she has served as a
past COARC Board officer. She is a former Coarc employee and a parent advocate for the
Committee on Special Education for the Hudson City School District for 15 years. She is
currently Supervisor for the Town of Taghkanic and a member of the Governor’s Advisory
Council on Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.