Introduction
As you know, Council is the governing body of LLI, and its members are elected for two-year terms on alternate years. This year, LLI members will be choosing the president, first vice president, treasurer, and two members at large. Their terms of service will be from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024. Members will receive a ballot in an email, which can be cast between March 14 to March 28. All votes are anonymous. Please read these candidate bios and vote to ensure your voice is heard.
Robert Beaury
Running for President
Robert joined LLI in 2019 and has been a presenter since that fall. He was elected treasurer in the spring of 2020. Originally from New York City, where he worked in law and business, Robert made the full-time transition to Columbia County in 1994.
Robert is a retired high school social studies teacher and college adjunct. He earned his BA from Hunter College in history and political science, an MS in education from Sage Graduate School, a Certificate of Advanced Studies in education administration from SUNY New Paltz, and a Certificate in Tax Law from NYU. He also devoted a few years toward a PhD in history at the Graduate Center, CUNY.
Robert formerly was a Town Justice and the Supervisor of Germantown, Columbia County. He also served on the county’s Board of Supervisors, where he sat on several committees, including finance, and was the chair of the county’s Economic Development Committee.
Mary McClellan
Running for First Vice President
Born and raised in New York City, Mary arrived in the Hudson Valley in 1974 via SUNY New Paltz. Like so many other transplants, she found this area to be a fine place to lay down roots. With her husband, she established a home in Ulster County, where they raised their daughter. Since retiring from her career as a guidance counselor in the Kingston City Schools, she has pursued her interests in travel, photography, writing, reading, hiking, politics, and gardening.
Since joining LLI in 2016, Mary has served on the Registration Committee and worked to develop the previous LLI Bard website. She has been a class manager for several LLI classes and has produced one class. Mary is currently active in the DEI Justice Group and on the Curriculum Committee. She hopes to continue to serve the Bard LLI community as a member of the Council.
Jerry K. Brockett
Running for Treasurer
Jerry joined LLI in 2020, having retired after 40 years as an attorney/accountant engaged in tax consulting with national and regional CPA firms. He has served on LLI’s finance committee. Other activities include working as chairperson of the Investment Committee of the Rhinebeck Reformed Church, as well as volunteering with its food pantry.
Jerry first became familiar with LLI through his wife, Brenda Brockett, who has been involved with LLI for many years as a student and class manager. He believes that one should never stop learning, so finds LLI to be an ideal opportunity for continued expansion of knowledge. During his first year, Jerry was invited to join the finance committee and, subsequently, to offer himself as a candidate for treasurer. He believes that his qualifications and experience will allow him to contribute to the excellence that he finds to be a hallmark of LLI.
Kayla Bell
Running for Member at Large
Kayla joined LLI in 2018 and became a member of the Membership Development Committee in 2019, just as it started meeting via Zoom. She created a social event on Zoom based on the idea of Vision Quest for Membership Development in 2020, helped with the tour of the Hessel Museum, and arranged the social at Greig Farm afterward. She has been active in the DEI Social Justice Group since it started in the fall of 2021.
Kayla is a long-time resident of Upper Red Hook, NY. She came here kicking and screaming from Brooklyn and has been happy here ever since. She is a retired psychiatric nurse and spent 26 years at St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie.
Kayla is an avid gardener and has been the president of the Old Dutchess Village Garden Club for the past three years. She spends her time being a devoted mother of twin girls and grandmother to her granddaughter. She also enjoys reading self-help books. In her spare time, when not in the garden, she explores the possibilities of the written word, attempting to write poetry, and armoring herself against injustice.
Michael S. Weinstock, MD, FAAP, FACEP
Running for Member at Large
Michael S. Weinstock, MD, was Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, at the Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania. At LVHHN, Michael served as Interim Chief Medical Officer from April to October 2003. He also is professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine at the Penn State University College of Medicine.
His national activities for the American College of Emergency Physicians include membership on several committees and task forces and serving on the Board of Directors for six years. At ACEP’s Annual Scientific Assembly in 2000, Michael received the James D. Mills Award for Outstanding Contributions to the field of Emergency Medicine.
Michael has been a popular LLI presenter, most recently teaching Current Concepts in Medicine in the fall of 2021. He and his wife, Leslie, live in Rhinebeck. They enjoy traveling, walking, theater, and canasta. He is an avid golfer. He and his wife have been active at Bard LLI, enjoying classes, fellow members, and the Fisher Center.
Eleanor Wieder
Running for Member at Large
When Eleanor and her husband became full-time residents of Rhinebeck in 2020, she was looking for a place to meet people and build a community in her new town. Bard LLI was the answer. She joined LLI in the fall of 2020 when we were entirely remote. Despite not having the in-person experience, she made many friends and became deeply involved in LLI. She currently serves on the Curriculum and Membership Development Committees, and the Curriculum to Catalog team, works on Presenter Appreciation, and is a member of the DEI/Social Justice Team. She was also a co-producer of the African Americans in the Hudson Valley class. She looks forward to the opportunity to serve on Council to help grow and enrich LLI.
Eleanor is a retired CPA; as an adjunct lecturer, she taught accounting and business classes at CUNY Queensborough for 20 years. In her free time she loves hiking, cooking, and doting on her two-year-old granddaughter.
You must be logged in to post a comment.