The nominating committee of the New York Folklore Board has announced their slate for the 2022-2024 Board of Directors. Thank you to these talented individuals who have agreed to offer their expertise to New York Folklore!
As is stated in the New York Folklore Society’s bylaws,
Members of the Board of Directors shall be elected by a The Board of Directors, functioning as a nominating committee, shall prepare a slate of candidates for those offices which are open. The slate of candidate shall be presented to the membership. Election shall be by majority vote of those members Voting shall be by mailed paper ballot, or by electronic means such as email, on-line survey, or other electronic medium. New offices shall assume their offices immediately upon completion of the election. The term of office for elected officers shall be two years.
Please take a moment to read the biographies of these members and vote for their election to the board at the following link: Vote Here
We will present the results of this poll via our website. These new members will join continuing members: Maria Kennedy, President; Jim Hall, Treasurer; Mira Johnson, Secretary; and board members Wilfredo Morel, Mackenzie Kwok, Ed Y.J.Millar, Will Walker, Evelyn D’Agostino, and Tom van Buren as past President. With this election, we also express our appreciation to outgoing board members Naomi Sturm-Wijesinghe and Gamileh Jamil.
Not a member of New York Folklore? Please consider joining us in our work!
Slate of New York Folklore Board Members – 2022-2024
Sandra A. M Bell – NYC Region (Production Manager, Producer, Teaching Artist) is a third generation Carnival Costume Designer. Ms. Bell is CEO of Journeyagents, Inc an artist booking and special event production company. Co-Founder of JOUVAYFEST Collective preserving and presenting Trinidad & Tobago classic style J’ouvert locally, nationally and internationally. Ms. Bell has co-produced 3 CD Recording with Natural Expression Rhythm Band, Punta Rock Explosion & World Connection B.V and Arufudei Wanichigu with Garifuna International Band. Additionally, she is the Production Manager & Agent for Something Positive Inc, premier Afro-Caribbean Performing Arts Company. She has worked with major cultural venues and festival organizations in the United States and abroad. As a teaching artist consultant in schools, museums & community centers, Ms. Bell assists students in creating visionary and inspiring art. She is a New York Foundation of the Arts Fellow and has earned numerous grants & awards. Ms. Bell has a BA in Arts Administration from NYU & Certificates in Film & Television production from WNET/TV Film & Video School. Ms. Bell is also is the Individual of The Year for Best Costume Design 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019 by the Brooklyn Carnival J’ouvert City International and Trinidad & Tobago Traditional Mas competitions.
Nada Odeh – Central New York (teaching artist, museum professional) is an artist, museum curator, and educator who holds a BFA in Fine Arts from the University of Damascus, Syria and an MFA in Museum Studies from Syracuse University. She has curated exhibitions throughout the United States and in Belgium, and served as a Middle Eastern folk arts consultant for exhibitions and art programs, including NYSCA funded programs at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn and at New York Folklore. Currently, she is working on a NYSCA-funded Individual Artists’ grant to design and execute a mural.
Aaron Paige- Hudson Valley (ethnomusicologist, public folklorist, performing artist, educator) He is the Director of Folk & Traditional Arts at ArtsWestchester where he works in collaboration with many cultural, ethnic, immigrant, and occupational communities to identify, document, safeguard and present the diverse cultural heritage and artistic practices of the region. He holds an MA in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University and is completing a PhD at the same university. Prior to taking up his position as Director of Folk Arts, Aaron worked as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Denver. His academic work focuses on issues of race, class, caste, and language in the popular music of Tamil Nadu, India, as well as the Tamil diasporas of Malaysia, Singapore, and Canada. He has been studying and performing South Indian percussion for the last two decades under mrdangam artists David Nelson and Palladam R. Ravi. His research has been supported by a Fulbright Fellowship, the Watson Foundation, the Society for Asian Music, the US Department of Education, and the American Institute for Indian Studies.
Vicie A. Rolling– Southern Tier Region. (retired educator, storyteller, writer, arts educator) As a retired Professor of Health and Wellness, Vicie has gone on to more artistic pursuits. She is a “StoryCatcher.” Her avocation is storytelling that includes poetry, short stories, and historical re-enactment. She works as a teaching artist in a variety of settings including, schools, museums, historical societies, churches, and festivals. She has produced two chapbooks and two CDs of poetry and short stories . Vicie has participated in the Culture, Community and the Classroom program of Local Learning, in collaboration with the Arts Council of the Southern Tier as a teaching artist.
For Re-election to a Third Officer Term:
Kay Turner – NYC Region (folklorist, educator, author) Vice President, Board of Directors
Born in Detroit. BA Rutgers University 1971 (Literature/Philosophy), MA/PhD University of Texas Austin 1989 (Folklore/Anthropology). Interim Director, Folk Arts Collections, San Antonio Museum of Art 1982-1984; Co-Founder/Associate Director, Texas Folklife Resources 1984-1991; Folk Arts Director, Brooklyn Arts Council 2000-2014. AFS: member since 1972, Executive Board 2006-2008; Elli Köngäs-Maranda Prize 2000, AFS Fellows 2013, Benjamin Botkin Prize 2013; Women’s, Public Programs, LGBTQA, and Folk Narrative Sections; New York Folklore Society: Board 2011-present; folk arts panels, consultancies, lectures, publications 1979-present. Adjunct Visiting Professor, Performance Studies Department, NYU 2000-present: courses include: women’s folklore, oral narrative theory, urban folklore, pedagogies of the ephemeral, ghost ontologies. Books include: Beautiful Necessity: The Art and Meaning of Women’s Altars, Transgressive Tales: Queering the Grimms (with Pauline Greenhill). Support includes: Woodrow Wilson, NEA, NYSCA, SSHRC, American Express, and MetLife. Public programs/exhibitions: Art Among Us/Arte Entre Nosotros (with Pat Jasper), Brooklyn Maqam: Arab Music Festival; Days of the Dead in Brooklyn: Diverse Traditions of Mourning and Remembrance; Folk Roots of the Black Brooklyn Renaissance, 1960-2010; Harborlore/Sandylore; September 11th Rethinking Memorial Series (2005-2011).