At the March Annual Meeting, two new members were elected to the Board of Directors.
Thomas Guiler is the Director of Museum Affairs at the Oneida Community Mansion House in Oneida, NY. Previously he was Assistant Professor of History and Public Humanities at the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Wilmington, DE and President of the Communal Studies Association. In addition to teaching, Tom has extensive museum experience in educational programming, interpretation and curation. Tom holds a PhD in history from Syracuse University and is a published author, most recently completing his book, The Handcrafted Utopia: Arts and Crafts Communities in Progressive America. Tom has received numerous grants and awards and is an accomplished lecturer. He is an active member of several professional organizations and is a member and former Board member of the Arts and Crafts Society of Central New York.
Robert J. Searing is Curator of History at the Onondaga Historical Association where he develops exhibits and collaborates on public programs, presentations, and publications. He also serves as adjunct in the History Deptment of SUNY-Cortland and Tompkins-Cortland Community College. An experienced and enthusiastic speaker, Robert is featured regularly on local television and he writes a weekly column for The Post-Standard and Syracuse.com. He is also the host of “Repeating History,” a radio show/podcast on WCNY 91.3. He holds academic degrees from Binghamton University and Syracuse University and is active in several local organizations. Robert is an appointed member of the Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board, and sits on the City of Syracuse Heritage Park Commission as well as the Board of the Central New York Arts and Crafts Society.
We also welcome Justin Sayles, Executive Communications Director for Onondaga County, NY. Justin will serve as an ex-officio member of the board, representing the office of Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon II.
Two members of our board also stepped down: Matt Chadderdon and Richard Driscoll. Matt began with us as a consultant in 2019 with his company, BlueWater Strategic Communications. He helped develop our initial capital campaign and guide our fundraising strategy. He eventually joined our board. Last year Matt became Chief of Staff at SUNY Upstate Medical University. We thank Matt and wish him great success in this role. Richard was an inaugural member of the Foundation board and served as Treasurer for nine years. He has been integral in the development of our financial stability and we are so very grateful for all his expertise and counsel along the way. They will both be missed but we thank them for their service and commitment to the Gustav Stickley House Foundation.
