Meet the 2025 Candidates for Council

Meet the 2025 Candidates for Council

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by Mary McClellan

Introduction

March marks the Council Election period for Bard LLI members. Voting will start on March 9 and end on March 16. The term of office for each position will commence on July 1, 2025, and end on June 30, 2027. The following positions are up for election. 

Here are the candidates:

Second Vice President

Grace McKay
holds a Master of Library Science degree and a law degree. She worked on civil matters in banking and was Deputy City Attorney for her hometown of Glen Cove, New York for 10 years. Her career trajectory eventually led her to Bank of America, where she served in the capacity of executive vice president until her retirement. Since then she has lived in Rhinebeck, where she has been active with the Starr Library and Bard LLI. As Second VP, Grace plans to deepen her commitment to Bard LLI and offer her legal skills in reviewing our bylaws, which is an integral part of the Second VP’s position.

Secretary

Susan Simon (incumbent)
has served as president/secretary/treasurer of many area organizations. Susan is a retired Registered Financial Consultant and Registered Life Planner. She joined LLI in 2021 and has served as a session manager, class manager, presenter, DJ, and currently as Council Secretary.

Member at Large

Eleanor Wieder (incumbent)
has been a member of LLI since 2020. She serves as a Member at Large on Council, Chairperson of the Planning and Evaluation Committee, an integral part of the Curriculum Committee, and a member of the Catalog and Civic Engagement Teams. As part of Planning and Evaluation, Eleanor chaired the Five-Year Planning group and the 25th Anniversary Celebration group. Eleanor is a retired CPA and an adjunct lecturer at Queensborough Community College

Member at Large

Lynda Christensen (incumbent)
currently serves as Member at Large on Council. She has been involved in community service all her life on various boards of education and, more recently, on a subcommittee of the Village of Rhinebeck’s Comprehensive Plan. In her professional career, Lynda was a systems analyst at MetLife, AIG, Chemical Bank, and Unilever. As Member at Large on Council, she has reached out to LLI members to gather their concerns and has suggested changes to the position of Member at Large that may make it more of a sounding board for our members.

Member at Large

Chuck Mishaan
a longtime member of LLI, has served as Chair of the AV team, worked on the Curriculum and Long-Term Planning committees, and managed the transition of LLI from a paper-based catalog and registration system to electronic communications. He has been a presenter at Bard LLI and other area LLIs for over 10 years.