Caramoor Announces New Trustees and New Board Officers

KATONAH, NY – Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, a vibrant cultural destination nestled on 81 acres of historic gardens and woodlands in Katonah, NY, announces the appointment of two new Board Officers and 11 new Trustees who have joined the thriving organization in the last eighteen months. Once the home of music and art lovers Walter and Lucie Rosen, Caramoor has evolved into one of the region’s most distinctive destinations for live performances, cultural engagement, and exploration – a sanctuary for music, arts, and nature. The institution continues a period of renewal, momentum, and deepened community investment with these recent Trustee appointments. James A. Attwood, Jr. anchors this new chapter as Caramoor’s Board Chairman for the 14th year. Joining him in newly elected officer roles are Paul S. Bird, Vice Chairman and Lisa Welch, Treasurer. In addition, Caramoor has elected 11 new Trustees since 2024, spanning areas of expertise in law, finance, communications, the arts, technology, and philanthropy: Dan Broden, Leonard Chazen, Effie Fribourg,Maggie Grise, Stanley Kogelman, Jaimie Mayer, David Pogue, Eliah Seton, Beth Chartoff Spector, Alden L. Toevs, and Seymour Weingarten.

The new Trustees join Caramoor’s current active Trustees, Angela Haines, Secretary, Judy Evnin, Chairman Emerita, David Barber, Jon Bauer, William Cordiano, Jane Donaldson, Lawrence Elow, Susan W. Freund, Barbara Glauber, Floy B. Kaminski, Stephen Limpe, Richard H. O’Leary, Mrs. Andrew Saul, Nina Stanton, Deborah Stiles, and Ian Winchester. Together, the collective experience of these Trustees strengthens Caramoor’s ability to serve its community and advance its mission in meaningful and lasting ways. Caramoor President and CEO Gillian Fox says, “I am delighted to welcome this exceptional group of new Trustees to Caramoor’s Board. Each brings a remarkable depth of experience, perspective, and passion for the arts, and I have already been struck by their genuine enthusiasm and engagement. I am equally grateful to our long-time Trustees for their thoughtful and strategic approach to governance, and for their leadership in identifying and recruiting such an accomplished and inspiring cohort. It is both a pleasure and a privilege to work alongside a Board so deeply committed to the organization’s mission and future.”

About Caramoor’s New Board Officers

Paul S. Bird (Vice Chairman) is Head of Debevoise & Plimpton’s European Corporate Practice and a senior M&A partner. He advises private equity sponsors, public companies, boards of directors, and special committees on complex domestic and cross‐border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, spin‐offs, and takeover defense. He also counsels boards and senior management on corporate governance and fiduciary duty matters. Mr. Bird previously served on the firm’s Management Committee and was Co‐Chair of the Corporate Department from 2010 to 2016 and Co‐Head of the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice from 2001 to 2010. In addition to Vice President of the Caramoor Board of Trustees, Mr. Bird is a trustee of YMCA Camp Belknap. He has previously served on the boards of the French‐American Foundation, The Legal Aid Society of New York City, and the Star of Hope Foundation.

Lisa Welch (Treasurer) is a sales leader and advisor with more than 30 years of experience driving growth for high-performing technology companies. She has held senior leadership roles at companies including Salesforce.com, Oracle, and Workfront, where she was known for scaling teams, refining go-to-market strategy, and leading complex enterprise sales efforts. She also advises early-stage companies on building repeatable sales models, developing sales teams, and accelerating growth. A long-time lover of the arts, she shares a deep personal connection to Caramoor—where she and her husband, Paul, were married. Having visited long before its transformation, she has a special appreciation for its evolution into the vibrant cultural destination it is today. She lives in Stamford, CT with her family.

About Caramoor’s New Trustees

Dan Broden An attorney and a former national television correspondent, Dan runs his own communications training consultancy, Broden Communications. With over 25 years of experience coaching leaders from a diverse array of industries, Dan counsels clients on mastering the art of persuasive communication through media training and presentation coaching. Previously, Dan spent 7 years at Court TV as a news anchor, show host and legal correspondent. After Court TV, Dan became Co-Executive Producer and fill-in host of the nationally syndicated program The People’s Court. Dan earned his B.A. from Brown University and his law degree from The George Washington University Law School. He is fluent in Spanish.

Leonard Chazen is a corporate and securities lawyer with particular expertise in corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions. He has had extensive experience advising boards on their responses to investor activism, and advising investors seeking changes in corporate policy; advising boards and board committees about their corporate governance responsibilities; helping bidders, targets, and arbitrageurs and other investors evaluate, devise or overcome takeover defenses; advising clients on the SEC proxy rules and assisting them in the conduct of proxy contests; and providing securities law advice to public issuers.

In addition to her long-standing support of Caramoor, Effie Fribourg is on the Board of The English Concert in America, where she stood as President for two years, and the National Dance Institute. She is also a founding committee member at The Center for Attention and Learning Disorders at Lenox Hill Hospital, working to bring testing and remediation to public school children without the family capacity to access private testing and remediation for learning disabilities. Effie and Robert have been married since 1979 and have two children and five grandchildren.

Maggie Grise is an artist and designer with a background in interior, landscape, and sustainable design. Maggie holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from Colgate University and completed interior design coursework through Parsons School of Design in both New York and Paris. She is currently completing a Certificate Program in Botanical Art and Illustration at the New York Botanical Garden. She lives in New York City with her husband, Adam Silver, and their two daughters. Outside of her professional work, Maggie finds joy in singing, creating art, and family.

Stanley Kogelman is currently President of Delft Strategic Advisors, LLC, through which he publishes research papers and books on equity valuation and portfolio construction for institutional investors. He has held senior positions at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Salomon Brothers. Before turning to finance, Stan was on the mathematics faculty of NYU and Baruch College and then became Chairman of the Mathematics Department of SUNY Purchase. He holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.S.W. from Smith College.

Jaimie Mayer is currently in her seventh year as Chair of the Nathan Cummings Foundation. As a philanthropic consultant, Jaimie works with next generation philanthropists and their families and organizations looking to attract a younger demographic with an eye towards succession planning. Jaimie is a frequent speaker on multigenerational philanthropy, next generation philanthropy, impact investing, values alignment in giving, and arts and social justice. Jaimie’s background in the arts spans two decades in both theatre and film.

David Pogue was the New York Times weekly tech columnist from 2000 to 2013. He's a seven-time Emmy winner for his stories on CBS Sunday Morning, a New York Times bestselling author, a five-time TED speaker, host of 20 NOVA science specials on PBS, and creator/host of the CBS News/Simon & Schuster podcast Unsung Science. He's written or co-written more than 120 books, won a Lob Award for journalism, two Webby awards, and an honorary doctorate in music. He lives with his wife Nicki and their blended brood of five spectacular children in Bedford Hills.

Eliah Seton is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SoundCloud, leading the company's strategy, operations, and executive team while working closely with the Board. He joined SoundCloud in 2021 as President, overseeing Creator and Roster operations, M&A, content partnerships, and artist development, before being appointed CEO in March 2023. Seton has been recognized in Billboard's "Indie Power Players" (2023, 7th consecutive year), "Power 100" (2022), "Change Agents" (2021), "Pride" (2019), and "40 Under 40" (2016), and has been featured in numerous publications and podcasts, including the New York Post, Music Business Worldwide, HIT'S Rainmakers, among others. Seton is a native of New York and graduated from Harvard College with a degree in History, and with an MBA from Harvard Business School. He lives in Bedford, New York with his husband, their twins, and their dog Pepper.

Beth Chartoff Spector was named one of Private Debt Investor's Most Influential Women in Credit in 2021 and a Woman to Watch by Jewish Women International in 2019. She sits on the Board of Trustees of American Ballet Theatre and Jazz at Lincoln Center. She is also a member of the President's Council of Cornell Women and the Wharton Graduate Executive Board. Ms. Chartoff Spector received a BA in Economics from Cornell University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She and her husband, Dr. Jason Spector, Chief of the Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery division at Weill Cornell, reside in New York City and Bedford, NY.

Alden L. Toevs serves on the Board of Directors for Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Advancement Committee of The Corning Museum of Glass. He has served on the Sydney Development Committee for the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the board of the Centre for International Finance and Regulation. Alden received his PhD with honors from Tulane University and did postdoctoral work at MIT. Outside of Caramoor, Alden charitably contributes to Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Corning Museum of Glass, Copland House, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Alden and Judi Wolf live part-time in Syndey, Australia.

Seymour Weingarten lives with his wife, Kate Weingarten, in Mamaroneck, NY. Since 1977, he has been the co-owner of Guilford Publications, a publisher of books and journals in psychology and education. Kate and Seymour support several charitable and educational organizations through a donor-directed fund at the New York Community Trust. Their most significant, ongoing contribution is to Westchester Community College, at which they have established the Weingarten Family Endowed Scholarships. An advocational singer, Seymour performs on occasion at assisted living facilities in the city.

About Caramoor

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is a vibrant cultural destination nestled on 81 acres of historic gardens and woodlands in Katonah, NY. Once the home of music and art lovers Walter and Lucie Rosen, Caramoor has evolved into one of the region’s most distinctive destinations for live performances, cultural engagement, and exploration – a sanctuary for music, art, and nature.

Each year, Caramoor presents an exciting array of concerts across genres – from classical, opera, and chamber music to jazz, American roots, global sounds, and the American songbook. Caramoor’s acclaimed Summer Season brings audiences together for unforgettable outdoor performances from June into August in five distinct settings (the Music Room, Venetian Theater, Spanish Courtyard, Friends Field, and the Sunken Garden), while the intimate Rosen House Concert Series runs from October through May in the historic Rosen House, a Mediterranean-style villa listed on the National Register of Historic Places and filled with treasures from around the world. With a mission to engage audiences of all ages, Caramoor also offers a selection of concerts and programs for families and our youngest listeners. 

Caramoor is a place where music, history, and nature come together to create moments of beauty and connection for all who visit. In addition to hearing concerts, visitors to Caramoor can tour the spectacular Rosen House, explore its intriguing collections, enjoy a picnic, and experience the lush gardens and grounds – including Caramoor’s unique collection of site-specific Sound Art, permanently installed sound sculptures which draw inspiration from their environment. Caramoor also offers a formal afternoon tea service year-round in the Music Room (by reservation), a seasonal concessions tent, and a selection of public programs such as yoga, art classes, and large-scale community events. The estate’s gardens and grounds are also open year round to visitors, free of charge, for picnicking and walking daily from 10am to 4pm.