Board of Directors

Robin Masson

Board Chair

Robin is past President and current Secretary of the Ithaca Area Collaborative Law Professionals and is on the Board of Directors of the Estate Planning Council of Tompkins County. She has also served on the boards of Planned Parenthood, Neighborhood Legal Services, Ithaca Rape Crisis Service, and the Community Dispute Resolution Center and as a volunteer mediator at C.D.R.C. Robin is an attorney in private practice who is committed to compassionate advocacy for her clients, using the law as a tool to help individuals and businesses solve problems and plan for the future. In recent years, she has shifted the focus of her practice from litigator to facilitator, using modern methods of dispute resolution, such as mediation and Collaborative Law, to help clients resolve conflicts peacefully and respectfully without resort to the courts. She also represents children and serves as a guardian ad litem for incapacitated clients, when appointed by the courts. The majority of her law practice is in the areas of family law, estate planning, elder law, real estate, and meeting the needs of small businesses.

Mickie Sanders-Jauquet

Board Vice-Chair and Community Impact Committee

Mickie came to the area as a science teacher and is currently an active community volunteer. She served on several non-profit boards concerned with public education, advancing literacy and community building. As a planning board member for the Town of Romulus, she coordinated a new ordinance on the concerns of commercial dog breeding and is involved in creating farmland protection for the town. As a member of the grants committee, she envisions the Community Foundation connecting resources with critical needs in the community.

David Squires

Board Treasurer and Financial Administration Committee Chair

David has served as the Chief Financial Officer for Tompkins County Government since 1992. A transplanted New Orleanian, David moved to New York in 1988 to serve as Budget Director for Dutchess County .He serves on the board of several local development corporations, and volunteers his culinary skills to the Kitchen Theatre where his spouse Rachel Lampert is the artistic director.

Mary Berens

Secretary, Development & Community Relations Committee and Community Impact Committee

Mary retired in 2009 after 32 years with Cornell University, initially in Manhattan and Houston and, after 1982, in Ithaca. Mary’s career highlights included major gift fund raising and management roles in three Cornell capital campaigns and 11 years as Director of Alumni Affairs. Her Cornell affiliations have also included 30 years of volunteering with her undergraduate class (1974), her sorority (Delta Gamma), and the Cornell Catholic Community. Beyond East Hill, she is a member of the Ithaca Rotary Club (1989-present) and has served on the boards of the Hangar Theater (1984-90) and Student Agencies, Inc. (1986-89). In 2003 she joined the board of Catholic Charities Tompkins Tioga where she has served on the executive committee for 8 years and is the immediate past president. Mary and her husband, Paul Feeny (Cornell professor emeritus, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), enjoy sharing with family and friends the many things that make Tompkins County special. Working with the Community Foundation to identify needs and encourage volunteerism and philanthropy is a welcome opportunity and responsibility.

Richard Banks

Development & Community Relations Committee Chair

Richard is the Associate Vice President, Alumni Affairs and Development Administration for Cornell University, responsible for directing and executing administrative operations supporting the university’s fund raising and alumni engagement programs. This includes serving as the Senior Finance Officer and senior administrative officer for the division, and the management of the human resources, advancement services, budget, planning, and finance programs. He is a member of Cornell’s class of 1972, and joined the Cornell staff in 1978. His volunteer service includes serving as a director of the Cornell Club of New York, the Statler Club, and as a director and former president of the Country Club of Ithaca.

Alan Mathios

Nominating & Governance Committee Chair

Alan is the Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Dean of the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University. He moved to Ithaca in 1992 from Washington D.C., where he worked at the Federal Trade Commission and focused his energies on broad based public policy analysis with the goal of improving the lives and health outcomes of citizens throughout the country. Alan has been an active volunteer throughout his time at Cornell University especially in the area of student mental health and well being. He is excited about joining the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation and supplementing the significant efforts of his wife Mary to support the special communities that make up Tompkins County.

Amy Yale-Loehr

Community Impact Committee Chair

Amy is a retired radiologist who practiced in Ithaca from 1990 through 2005. Amy grew up in Ithaca, attending Ithaca city schools. Amy was educated at Swarthmore College and Upstate Medical School. She trained as a radiologist at the University of Maryland and did a fellowship in Pediatric Radiology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1990, after working for 3 years as an Associate Professor of Radiology at the University of Maryland Hospital, Amy and her husband, Stephen Yale-Loehr, and their 3 children happily decided to return to Ithaca.

Amy has been an active volunteer throughout her life, most recently serving on the Sciencenter Board from 2000-2010. She is currently on the advisory boards of the Sciencenter and the History Center.

She is enthusiastic about the connections and conversations that the Community Foundation inspires. Through her work with the Community Foundation Amy hopes to encourage widespread community philanthropy.

Susan Brown

Nominating & Governance Committee

Susan Brown has lived in Ithaca for 42 years. She recently retired after 33 years as a family mediator, working with couples going through Separation and Divorce and also doing some other family mediation as well as some business mediation. Her goal was to try to help her clients keep a respectful relationship during the process of negotiating their settlements. The benefit to their children of having two parents who could still speak to one another after a divorce kept her in the field for many years. The work taught her to be creative in thinking about how to solve difficult issues and to listen carefully to all points of view before contemplating a solution. In addition, managing money creatively was also the focus of many of these negotiations.

Susan served on the Board of Directors of the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation for twelve years as well as on the Board of the Ithaca Community Choruses. Currently she is on the board of on the board of the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers and on the board of a condo association on Sanibel Island.

Tom Colbert

Financial Administration Committee

Tom is a life-long resident of Tompkins County and has been active in commercial real estate development since his graduation from Cornell University. Additionally, he served on the boards of numerous community organizations, including recently the Tompkins County Public Library, the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation, the History Center, and the Ithaca Aviation Heritage Foundation. He believes Tompkins County’s bright future is dependent upon an involved community.

Randy Ehrenberg

Community Impact Committee and Children & Youth Fund Advisory Committee Chair

Randy retired in 2010 after a 42 year career in public education, including 27 in the Ithaca City School District where she last served as Deputy Superintendent of Schools. For the last nine years of her career, she was Superintendent of the North Colonie Central School District, a high performing 5,650 student school district in the Albany, NY area. Standard and Poor’s has classified North Colonie as one of a small number of “outperforming school districts” in New York State because its students’ test score performance (for all socioeconomic and racial groups) is substantially higher than predicted given the socioeconomic backgrounds of families in the district.

She is a published author and has written articles on the teaching of English and on budgetary and administrative issues. She served as chair of the New York State Association for Women in Educational Leadership (NYSAWA) and received awards including NYSAWA’s Pathfinder Award, Outstanding Educator of the Year from the New York School Administrators’ Association, and the Distinguished Service Award from the New York State Council of School Superintendents.

Upon returning to Ithaca, Randy quickly became active in many aspects of the community. She currently serves on the boards of the Hangar Theatre, Golden Opportunity, and Mira’s Movement and is a docent at the Johnson Art Museum.

Ross Feldman

Financial Administration Committee

Marcie Finlay

Nominating & Governance Committee

Marcie is an attorney with the firm of Blumkin, Finlay & Bixler, LLP and has been in private practice in Ithaca since 1997. Her practice is focused primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, elder law, guardianship and special needs planning. She gives frequent presentations to community groups on topics such as advanced directives, guardianship and special needs planning . Marcie is a current member of the Board of Directors of McGraw House, and a panelist for the New York State Surrogate Decision Making Committee. Marcie lives in the Town of Enfield, where she enjoys gardening and spending time with her husband and two teenage sons.

Mariette Geldenhuys

Community Impact Committee

Mariette has had her own Ithaca law firm since 1997 and prior to that was partner in the Ithaca law firm of Schlather, Geldenhuys, Stumbar & Salk.  Mariette has served as the City Attorney for the City of Ithaca. She served on the Boards of Directors of the Community School of Music and Arts and the Ballet Guild of Ithaca and has been a member of the Parish Pastoral Council and Social Justice Team of the Immaculate Conception Church. Mariette is actively participating on the Tompkins County Family Court Custody Initiative Committee and has been involved in an initiative to make Collaborative Practice available to low income clients. She is a member of the National Family Law Advisory Council of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Founder and Past President of the Ithaca Area Collaborative Law Professionals (IACLP). She speaks English, Afrikaans, German, Dutch, and French.

Bob Jewell

Development & Community Relations Committee

Bob has been a resident of Tompkins County for more than 30 years. He is currently employed by Community Bank, N.A. as a Trust Officer and Financial Planner for their offices in the Finger Lakes.

Bob served on the Board of Directors for Ithaca Neighborhood Housing and in various leadership positions in his church. He and his family served for many years as a fostering family for Tompkins County. You will also find him in many Swimming Pools in the area serving as a swim official.

Bob’s activities in investment planning began in the 80’s when banks started to offer financial services. This focus opened his interest in financial planning and he has since received his designation as a Certified Financial Planner.

Bob leads personal financial workshops in local churches and is excited when others reach the goal of developing the financial skills that allow them to have control over their finances rather than being controlled, as well as practice the joy of cheerful giving.

Sara Knobel

Development & Community Relations Committee

A life-long resident of the Finger Lakes region, Sara is currently the manager/director of the Groton Public Library. Working to make the Library a community center, Sara brings in people of all ages to enjoy the many pleasures the Library has to offer.

Her prior positions include: Alumni & Development assistant at TC3 as well as executive director of the Cortland County SPCA. She serves on the Groton Youth Commission and has volunteered at the Friends of the Tompkins County Library Book Sale and Habitat for Humanity – the major gifts committee. She was a member of the Cortland Rotary club and the Cortland SPCA board of directors.

Sara has a passion for animals and the environment. She enjoys walking, cycling, kayaking, horse riding, and of course reading!

Tim Little

Development & Community Relations Committee

Tim is a New York State Court Officer at the Tompkins County Courthouse. Prior to that he was a Deputy with the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office. Tim was born and raised in Ithaca. He graduated from Ithaca High School and received a bachelor degree in Recreation from Ithaca College. He has worked and volunteered at the Greater Ithaca Activity Center throughout his career. Tim was elected and served on the Ithaca City School District Board of Education 1996-1999.

Diane McDonough

Financial Administration Committee

Community involvement has always been important to Diane. She is currently an active member of the Kiwanis Club of Dryden and participates in the Dryden Southworth Library Annual Book Sale.

Diane is a tax manager for Sciarabba Walker & Co, LLP and focuses on tax and financial planning consulting and services. She has always worked in public accounting as a CPA while living in Colorado, Wyoming, and California before settling in Tompkins County in 1997. Serving on the board of The Estate Planning Council of Tompkins County is her connection to the business community.

Diane enjoys cross country skiing, boating, and hiking, which makes Tompkins County the perfect place to be. She is happy to be a member of the Fortnightly Club of Dryden.

Bill Murphy

Financial Administration Committee

A resident of Tompkins County since 1997, Bill manages CFCU’s Wealth Management program. His financial and banking experience began in 1989 as a personal banker with First Federal. Bill is a Certified Financial Planner with a background in banking, business development, and administration. He has a MBA from Wilkes University.

A past board member of Ithaca Sunrise Rotary and past chair of Ithaca’s MS Walk, Bill is dedicated to working with people committed to philanthropy and the common-good. Bill, his wife Stacey, and their son enjoy: hiking, swimming, running, and cross-country skiing.

Nancy Potter

Development & Community Relations Committee

With a passion for family and community development, Nancy has dedicated 3+ decades with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Tompkins County to community-based learning and convening collaborations that build on families’ strengths and create supportive communities for children and families. These initiatives have benefitted from the generosity of local assets which leverage resources from external funders. She believes the Community Foundation plays an important role in developing awareness of local issues for which local philanthropy can stimulate innovative action. This creates a dynamic relationship among those who are impacted, those who donate, and those who facilitate effective responses. Nancy values being an active part of creating awareness of the issues and stimulating action on those issues. She connects to the community through the Ithaca Rotary Club, St Paul’s United Methodist Church, the West Danby Community Association, and other non-profit boards.

Carol Travis

Women’s Fund Advisory Committee Chair

Carol came to Ithaca in 1975 upon graduating from college and began working in retail and in the public school system. Carol has served on TC3 Foundation, Sciencenter and Historic Ithaca boards and was attracted to the Community Foundation because of our overview and reach into community. Carol currently teaches the Transcendental Meditation technique traveling extensively around New York. Carol and her husband Mack are very involved in the health and well being of downtown Ithaca.

Linda Wagenet

Women’s Fund Advisory Committee

Linda P. Wagenet recently retired from Cornell University where she was a researcher in the Department of Development Sociology. Linda’s area of interest was and continues to be public participation in environmental management. Although originally from California, Linda has lived in Ithaca for 30 years and participates in many community activities. She is currently on the Water Resources Council of Tompkins County, on several committees for Hospicare and Palliative Care Services, and on the Board of the Small Comforts Foundation. Linda is also a consultant for EcoLogic, LLC, an environmental firm in Cazenovia, NY.

Julie Waters

Development & Community Relations Committee

Julie is director of public affairs for University Communications at Cornell University. In this position, Julie provides strategic communications support and leadership in promoting Cornell, with particular emphasis on alumni affairs and development communications. Julie previously worked as editorial director for University Communications and as publications manager for the Johnson Graduate School of Management. Julie holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education and a master’s degree in journalism from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. She arrived in Ithaca in 1989 to study music at Ithaca College and continues to support community music by performing with the Ithaca Concert Band, the area’s community band since 1976. Julie currently serves on the board of directors for the Women’s Opportunity Center in Ithaca.