Board of Directors

The 2011-2013 Board of Directors

President:  Jude McGrath-Chidester

President-Elect:  Amy Sirni

Secretary:  Cicily Wilson

Treasurer:  Emily Spilman

Nominating Placement:  Jesse Doyle

Communications:  Melissa Riley

Judith (Jude) McGrath-Chidester

Jude has been a member of JLK since 2005. She will serve as President for the League years 2011-2013. During her time in the League she has served on the Board as President-Elect, Secretary, and Fundraiser (Holly Berry Trail) Chair & Retention Chair. Other leadership roles include Featured Homes Committee Chair and Co-Chair, Scholarship Committee Chair, Membership Co-Chair, and several Done-in-a-Day Chair roles. Committee positions include Holly Berry Journal. Jude was the JLK Volunteer of the Year Award recipient for 2007

Jude has shared her civic volunteer enthusiasm and efforts with many community business, educational, cultural arts, and youth sports organizations including Stockade Garden Association (past President), Mid-Hudson Valley FCU (Supervisory Commmittee.), Kingston City Schools Building Leadership Teams, PTO Board Kingston Catholic School, Girl Scouts of America (Leader), Little League (Coach.)

Jude holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Siena College in Loudonville, NY. She has worked as an Adminstrator/CEO of Hurley Avenue Medical Center, and as an Office Manager at Mayfair Interior Design (Commercial Contracts.)

Amy Sirni

 

 

 

 

Cicily Wilson

Cicily  has been an Active Member of the  League since 2009. Currently serving as Secretary, she has also served as the Holly Berry Trail Journal Chair in 2010, as Communications Chair for Kids Run Wild in 2010, and as a member of the League’s Communications Committee.
 
Cicily holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Colgate University. Her career has focused on public relations and fundraising for not-for-profits. She has worked as the Administrative Director of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity in New York City, and the Director of Administration and Community Relations for the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music’s Queens Campus. Several years ago, Cicily stepped away form the professional world to raise her family and become more involved in her local community through volunteering.  She now works for Girl Scouts’ Heart of the Hudson as a Field Manager in Ulster County. She is also an active member in the PTA at her sons’ school.
 
Cicily lives in Kingston with her husband, Gregory Speller, their two sons: Jackson and Wilson and their dog Pearl. Cicily enjoys spending time with her family, volunteering and running races.
 
Emily Spilman
 
Emily  has been an Active Member of the  League since 2009.  She has served on the Membership Committee, the History Committee, and the Featured Homes Committee for the Holly Berry Trail.  Emily is currently the League Treasurer.
Emily received her Bachelor of Arts in History from SUNY Geneseo in 2002 and a Master’s Degree in Humanistic/Multicultural Education from SUNY New Paltz in 2008. She is currently employed as the Assistant Director of Student Activities and Union Services at SUNY New Paltz.  Her favorite parts of her job include advising the Fraternity and Sorority community and coordinating the Emerging Leaders Program for first-year students. 
Emily and her fiance, Ryan, live in Marlboro.
 
 
Jesse Doyle

Jesse has been an Active Member of the League since 2009.  She has served on the Communications Committee and on the Nominating Placement Committee.  She is currently the Chair of Nominating Placement. 

Jesse has lived in Ulster County all of her life.  She is a graduate of Marist College, class of 2003, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.  After college, she worked as a Field Manager for the Girl Scouts of Ulster County, Inc. and Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson, Inc.  After four years with the Girl Scouts, Jesse needed more of a challenge and returned to graduate school for Counseling.  She earned her Master of Science in Counseling from Mercy College in 2010 and is currently New York State certified to be a K – 12 School Counselor.  She works part-time for Marist College as an Undergraduate Application Reviewer and also as a Counselor in the summer for their Upward Bound program.   She is very active with the American Cancer Society in Kingston and is a Relay for Life Team Captain and also the Online Chairperson for the Kingston Relay for Life website. 

Jesse lives in Kingston with her husband, Chris, their son, Caden, and pug, Jackson.

 

Melissa Riley

Melissa has been an Active Member of the League since 2006.  She has served on the Education and Nominating Placement Committees and has chaired the Membership and Nominating Placement Committees and is currently the chair of the Communications Committee .  She received the League’s Community Volunteer of the Year Award in 2008.

Melissa has lived in several states, but settled in the Hudson Valley in 2004.  She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Florida in Gainesville.  She was a Center Director for a national Montessori child care company and an Admistrative Manager for Lowe’s Home Improvement.  Melissa took several years off to raise her family and returned to the professional world when her youngest child started school full-time.  During that time, she was on the executive board for the St. Joseph Home School Association and chaired, among several committees, their 5K Run.  She currently works for the County of Ulster.

Melissa lives in Kingston with her four children: Kieran, Reaghan, Quillan, and Gannon.