BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Erica Berry

Erica Berry’s (‘18) nonfiction debut, Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear, was published in February 2023 by Flatiron/Macmillan (US+Canada), and Canongate (UK+Commonwealth) in March 2023. Wolfish is a finalist for the Oregon Book Award and a semifinalist for the Pacific Northwest Book Award. Her essays, which often explore the intersection of feelings and the natural environment, appear in The New York Times, Orion, The Yale Review, The Guardian, Aeon, Literary Hub, Wired, Outside, Colorado Review, and The Atlantic, among others. Winner of the Steinberg Essay Prize, she has received grants and fellowships from the Ucross Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, and the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources. The 2019-2020 National Writers’ Series Writer-in-Residence in Traverse City, Michigan, Erica is on the summer faculty of the Orion Environmental Writers’ Workshop, and also teaches at Literary Arts, the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, and the New York Times Student Journeys.

She graduated from Bowdoin College in 2014, and received her MFA from the University of Minnesota as a College of Liberal Arts Fellow in 2018. She now lives in her hometown of Portland, Oregon, where she is a Writer-in-the-Schools and an Associate Fellow at the Attic Institute of Arts and Letters.

Gayle Burnett

Gayle Burnett (‘23) has been leading and facilitating courageous conversations regarding diversity, race, and equity for much of her lifetime. She founded Peace of Culture, in 2018, as an expression of her commitment to the work. Gayle is the co-author of Peace in Everyday Relationships (Hunter House Publishers, 2003) which provides information, practical tools and real-life examples to support readers in the development of conflict resolution skills within diverse environments. From 1990 to 2004, she worked with a wide array of diversity and leadership clients, including Ernst & Young, Lucent Technologies, AT&T and the NCAA, supporting increased understanding and effectiveness amongst their employees.

Gayle’s career choices have also been diverse, she began as an assistant vice president and analyst for a Wall Street clearinghouse bank, where she worked in the international markets of Singapore, Sydney, and London. She gained a first-hand understanding of the subtle difference between people that can create misunderstanding, conflict and poor performance. As a past partner and principal of Inter-Change Consultants (1989 – 2003) and as the Atlanta Coordinator for the National Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (1995 – 2000), she worked tirelessly towards ending violence and racism in the world. She joined the Atlanta Public Schools, in 2003, where she served in several capacities, including the Executive Director of Innovation.  Gayle joined the boards of KIPP Metro Atlanta (May 2019), the Georgia Charter Schools Association (September 2019), and Wesley International Academy (June 2021) to continue her service to the children of Atlanta.

Gayle Burnett holds an MA in Economics from the City College of New York, is a Fellow Alum of Harvard University’s Strategic Data Project, and a Gallup-certified Strengths Coach. Gayle is currently serving as treasurer of the board. 

Allison A. Eddy, MD

Allison Eddy grew up in Ontario, Canada with a passion for the outdoor environment. A graduate of McMaster University Medical School, she trained in Pediatrics at McGill University and Pediatric Nephrology at the University of Minnesota. Her faculty career as a physician-scientist started at Sick Kids Hospital, University of Toronto. Allison is currently serving her second term as the Head, Department of Pediatrics and the Chief of Pediatric Medicine at BC Children’s Hospital. She holds the James & Annabel McCreary Chair in Pediatrics and the Hudson Family Hospital Chair in Pediatric Medicine. Her personal career joys are many including working with patients and families, the journey of scientific discovery and training and mentoring the next generation of physician leaders. Allison places high value on curiosity, kindness, and teamwork. Allison plans to retire to Ottawa, bringing her back to Ontario and within driving distance of the Adirondacks where she and her husband owned a camp for over 25 years — a place she still fondly regards as “utopia”. Allison is an avid skier and hiker and still enjoys regular squash matches. She is energized by projects and is looking forward to having more time for community activities, enjoying the arts and broadening her gardening and culinary experiences. Allison is currently serving as vice-president of the board.

Muriel Mallien Luderowski

Muriel Luderowski grew up in a bilingual (French/Flemish) family in Antwerp, Belgium and earned an MA in Linguistics from the Université catholique de Louvain - Institut Libre Marie Haps (Brussels). In 1978, she moved to Brooklyn, NY with her late husband, Nils Luderowski. When Muriel and Nils moved from Brooklyn to Keene, NY in 1997, it marked Muriel’s departure from corporate finance and entrance into a decades-long relationship with visual art. As a development consultant for The Mattress Factory, an installation art museum in Pittsburgh, PA, Muriel cultivated the museum’s commitment to its neighborhood, and developed a growing interest in how art impacts a community’s identity. After completing an MA in Art History at Concordia University (Montreal), Muriel became affiliated with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and served on their Voluntary Docent Board. As a docent in Montreal, she enjoys the challenge of conveying the interrelatedness of art and its built architectural environment. Muriel lives in an 1825 brick house, a museum in and of itself, in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains. Muriel currently serves as board president.

Loren Michael Mortimer, Phd

Loren Michael Mortimer (‘23) holds the Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship in Native American History at Emory University. A public scholar, digital humanist, and interdisciplinary historian, Mike has devoted his career to training creative history-makers to address global challenges at a local level. He received his PhD in History with a designated emphasis in Native American Studies from UC Davis in 2019. From 2020-2021, he was the American Council of Learned Societies Emerging Voices Postdoctoral Fellow in the Program on Race, Migration, and Indigeneity at Indiana University Bloomington.  As a community-engaged scholar, he has worked on collaborative digital mapping workshops on local Indigenous foodways for Hamilton College.

His current book project, Kaniatarowanenneh Crossings: Indigenous Power and Presence in the St. Lawrence River Watershed, 1534-1842, is the first transnational study of the Seven Fires — a confederacy of Catholic Mohawk, Wendat, Wabanaki, and Anishinaabe mission communities along the US-Canada border that had shared ties to the lands and waters that now comprise the Adirondack Park. As an expert in the Indigenous and environmental history of the Adirondack Park, Mike’s research has been recognized by the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, while his digital history projects have received support from Mellon Public Scholars and the American Philosophical Society. Mike currently serves as secretary of the board.

Michele Parker Randall

Michele Parker Randall (‘23, ‘24) reads and writes poetry and prose and has authored The Museum of Everyday Life (Kelsay Books) and A Future Unmappable, chapbook (Finishing Line Press). Her work can also be found in Nimrod International Journal, Atlanta Review, Tampa Review, Bangalore Review, and elsewhere.

Michele gets to teach Poetry, Personal Essay, Fairy Tales, Reading Lyric, and Literature of Mental Health/Neurodivergent Literature at Stetson University. She will happily talk for hours about all things Poetry, and she feels strongly that neurodivergent narratives and art can make the difference in reducing the stigma imposed on those living with mental illness.

Lanse Stover

Lanse Stover received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1976, and his Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado in 1982. He established a clay studio in Beverly, Massachusetts in 1985, and for 25 years sold his work at the major US craft shows. His work has been exhibited nationally. He was an adjunct professor of ceramics at Endicott College in Beverly, and taught adult classes at ceramics studios in the area. From 2006 to 2015 he worked with independent schools on Boston’s North Shore, developing and maintaining custom school information systems. In 2015 he moved to Keene Valley, NY, and has been building a studio there. He joined the Board of Directors of Craigardan in 2016 as a co-founder.

**Are you interested in joining our outstanding board of directors? Please reach out to us at info@craigardan.org