by Mary McClellan
Introduction
As you know, Council is the governing body of LLI, and its members are elected for two-year terms. 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, 2024, to June 30, 2026. Members will receive a ballot in an email, which can be cast between March 10 and March 17. 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 at Bard College in the summer of 2019 and has been a presenter since that fall. He was elected treasurer in the spring of 2020 and served a two-year term. He is currently the president of LLI, having been elected in 2022, and is seeking a second two-year term.
Robert is originally from New York City, where he worked in law and business. He made the full-time transition to Columbia County in 1994. Robert has devoted 30+ years to community service. Robert is a retired high school social studies teacher and college adjunct.
He earned a BA in history and political science from Hunter College, 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 is a retired town justice, and former supervisor of Germantown, Columbia County. He also served on the County’s Board of Supervisors, was a member of several committees, 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, writing, hiking, 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 presenter, class manager, and producer for several LLI courses. Mary is currently completing her first term as first vice president. She also serves as chair of the Curriculum Committee.
Karen Kane, Running for Treasurer
Karen has been a member of LLI since the summer of 2022. After serving as a class manager for several courses, Karen is excited to strengthen her commitment to LLI by serving as its treasurer. Born in Brooklyn but raised mostly in New Hyde Park, Long Island, Karen earned her applied economics degree from Cornell University. After graduating, she moved to Houston, Texas, where she met her husband, Michael Forlenza, a hydrogeologist and environmental consultant. Coincidentally, Michael had been raised only five miles from Karen, in Manhasset.
Karen worked as an institutional equity research analyst for a regional investment banking firm before joining the Houston office of an NYC-based investment banking company. In 2010, she became an independent consultant, providing supervisory analyst services to the institutional equity research departments of mid-tier investment banking firms and private investment advisors.
Karen and Michael resided in Houston for almost 35 years, where they were active members of the Houston Grand Opera Guild. In addition, Karen was a “Big Sister” for Houston’s “Big Brothers Big Sisters” program and volunteered at the Houston SPCA.
Seeking to be closer to their families and friends, Karen and Michael returned to New York full-time in 2019, after having purchased a home in Rhinebeck Village in 2016. In choosing Rhinebeck, Karen and Michael had determined that it “checked all the boxes” in terms of retiring and aging in place ⎯ i.e., walkability, access to medical care, and, most importantly, proximity to Bard College. Karen had long known of Bard’s artistic, cultural, and educational import, so she was thrilled to discover, and then, upon retiring, join the LLI program. She is an enthusiastic proponent of Bard’s LLI program and is very much looking forward to serving as the group’s treasurer.
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.
Kayla is completing her first term as member at large.
Michael Weinstock, 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 was also 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 Milestones in Medicine in 2023 and Current Concepts in Medicine in 2021 and 2022. 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.
Michael is completing his first term as member at large.
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