Introduction
As you know, Council is the governing body of LLI, and its members are elected for two years on alternate years. This year, LLI members will be voting for the second vice president, secretary, and two members at large. Their terms of service will be from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2025. Members will receive a ballot in an email, which can be cast between March 14 and March 28. All votes are anonymous. Please read these brief candidate biographies to get to know your prospective Council members.
Carol Goss, Running for Second Vice President
Carol has been a member of LLI since 2003. She is currently a Member at Large on the LLI Council. She served for four years as co-chairperson of Class Support.
Carol received a BA degree from Hunter College and an MS from SUNY New Paltz. She worked as a primary grade teacher in New York City and in the Arlington School District before she retired in 2002. Carol first volunteered at the Red Hook Library, then joined LLI and soon became an active participant. She has completely enjoyed her LLI experience, even more after she became actively involved. She feels that volunteering is a good way to pay back for all she has received being a member of LLI.
Carol is a long-time resident of Milan. She lives surrounded by woods, wildlife, and an occasional bear, with her husband, Peter.
Susan Simon, Running for Secretary
Susan has served as President/Secretary/Treasurer of many area organizations and is currently a member of the Red Hook Rotary Club and the Red Hook Board Of Ethics. Susan is a retired Registered Financial Consultant (RFC®), Registered Life Planner (RLP), and owns Third Eye Associates, Ltd with her wife, Beth Jones. She joined LLI in 2021 as a class participant, Zoom session manager, class manager, and presenter!
Susan is the mother of two adult daughters, relishes time with four grandsons, and serves two cats. For the (even more) fun side of life, she loves to dance/Lindy Hop and performs with “Chester’s Cool Cats & Kittens” and DJs for various dances in the Hudson Valley, including Spiegeltent!
“I happily moved from NYC to Red Hook in 2005 and immersed myself in a great community. Running for the Council Secretary position seems like the perfect “next step” in my life journey, bringing my past board(s) experiences while integrating new experiences & knowledge to the position. For this, I am grateful and honored.”
Lynda Christensen, Running for Member at Large
Lynda is definitely a people person and an ideas person. She loves to hear others’ thoughts about what inspires and motivates them, as well as their vision of the future. Education and learning have always been a priority in her life. In her personal life, Lynda has served on various boards and community committees, including the HoHoKus NJ Board of Education Trustee and Northern Highlands Regional HS Board of Ed.
Most recently, she is serving on the Business Center EcoSystem Subcommittee of the Village of Rhinebeck’s Comprehensive Plan. This committee is responsible for the population profile, community outreach to determine wishes, priorities, and concerns regarding the Rhinebeck Business district, and making recommendations to the main committee to address/effect change where needed and/or desired.
In her professional career, Lynda was a business systems analyst at MetLife, AIG, Chemical Bank, IBM, and Unilever, a job that involved learning how things work (or, in some instances, perhaps didn’t work as well as they could) and listening to many voices express their vision, concerns, and suggestions. That meant synthesizing and presenting that information and working with others in a position to effect change for continuous improvement.
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 being on campus, she made many friends, found interesting volunteer opportunities, and became deeply involved in helping LLI run successfully during a challenging time. She currently serves on the Curriculum and Membership Development Committees, the Curriculum-to-Catalog Team, and the DEI/Social Justice Team. Eleanor looks forward to the opportunity of serving on Council while working collaboratively with LLI members to help grow and enrich Bard 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 grandchildren.
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