Data Analyst/IT Professional (Retired), Musician

Wendy Talio’s work is grounded in the belief that the arts create a way for people to encounter one another more fully. Through the arts, people can experience cultures, histories, and perspectives beyond their own and recognize their shared humanity. From that recognition, a sense of shared responsibility for the future can begin to take hold.

Her path to this work reflects a long-standing intersection between the arts and public purpose. Trained as a classical pianist, she built her professional career in data and analytics. At Consumer Reports, a nonprofit focused on consumer advocacy, she used data in service of fairness and accountability. Over time, she came to see that the same questions ran through both worlds - how people perceive one another and what shapes collective behavior.

She began exploring how the arts contribute to social progress through projects grounded in real community needs, learning what held and letting go of what didn’t. That process led to the founding of Living Artist Society (LAS) and the development of the Robeson in Peekskill Project. Through performance, conversation, and education, the project engages the history of the 1949 Peekskill Riots and the life of Paul Robeson, not as distant history, but as something still unfolding.

A central thread in her work is placemaking. She is exploring ways to mark and interpret the sites connected to the Peekskill Riots through public art and the creation of gathering spaces where people can return over time to reflect and connect. More broadly, she is interested in how communities create and sustain spaces where the arts are part of everyday civic life.

At its core, her work focuses on creating conditions for people to encounter one another more fully through art, shared experience, and the spaces they inhabit together.

Architect, Project Manager, Creative Placemaking Consultant, Active Volunteer

Kersten Harries is a registered licensed architect with a range of professional experience including but not limited to design and construction administration of architectural renovations, project management of collaboratively created community art installations and exhibits, and active participation on local planning board and comprehensive plan committee.

She relocated to Sleepy Hollow in 2015 and has worked closely with the Village’s Building Department, both as an architect submitting for ZBA variances and building permits for successfully completed major residential renovation projects, as well as serving on the Village Planning Board since 2017 and for the past year serving as chairperson.

After completing a Creative Placemaking Certificate and serving on the Village’s Comprehensive Plan Committee in 2018-2019, Kersten became involved in promoting and expanding public arts and cultural programming in the community. She has helped organize the annual Sleepy Hollow Cultural Arts Festival and Community Art Exhibit since 2019. In 2020, Kersten proposed and managed the creation of The Wishing Wall, an award winning 520’ long collaboratively designed and painted community mural.

Kersten is passionate about both authentic community engagement and seeing spaces transformed. In 2021, she led design charrettes for revisioning vacant lots in downtown Sleepy Hollow. Earlier this year Kersten attended an inclusive and equitable community engagement training and she is excited to utilize new tools and methods learnt in future public art and community revisioning workshops.

Founder and Executive Director, Rivertown Dance Academy

Jessica holds a BA in Dance & Sociology from the University of Maryland. She has worked in administration for notable dance organizations such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Dance New Amsterdam, Peridance and the Y Dance Academy as Co-Director. She founded Rivertown Dance Academy in 2016, a nonprofit organization dedicated to accessibility and excellence in dance education for all.

Rivertown Dance Academy currently serves 250+ dancers, ages 18 months - adult. Dancers come from all over Westchester to train with RDA faculty, including the Rivertowns, Northern & Southern Westchester. Financial Aid is given to all students who qualify with no limit to the amount of aid given or the number of families served. Since its inception, RDA has given over $215,000 to those in need.

As Executive Director, Jessica fulfills RDA's mission while encouraging the next generation of artists and humans. She firmly believes that the arts should be accessible to all, no matter the barriers to participation.

Founder/Executive Director Journeys to Change

Abbe Marcus, has spent decades building relationships with people in communities throughout the country with  lived wisdom and understandings of history and justice.  Her educational and social justice experiences as the Co-Founder and Executive Director at J-Teen Leadership, and in positions at The Workers Circle, the 92nd St. Y, the Jewish Education Project and Westchester Jewish Community Services have shaped her passion for immersive and experiential learning. She has created, developed, and led numerous trips for teens and adults to Cuba, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, Washington, DC, Detroit, Charleston, Oklahoma City and Nashville, immersing participants in the sites’ civil rights history, exposing them to life-changing narratives from leaders and activists, and creating community service activities. She is curious about people and history and believes every journey is an adventure, every journey can be life changing.

Abbe serves on the board of Foot Soldiers Park and the Westchester Jewish Coalition for Immigration.   She is active in community.