Board of Directors
William Matthews, President
William Matthews is the editor and producer of the historical podcast ‘New York, Quebec and The Water Route to the Center of the World.’ He has served as a local Advanced Placement Teacher and History Department Chair in NYC, with more than 15 years of experience in the classroom. William received scholarships from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, The Williamsburg Teacher Institute and the Fort Ticonderoga War College. He has presented at both national history and educational conferences, while maintaining membership in The French Colonial Historical Society, The Society for Military History and The Holland Society of New York.
Yelena Lowenfield, Vice President
I am a first-generation immigrant who came to New York City twenty years ago from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Saint Petersburg has deep roots in Dutch culture that date back to the 1600s when young Russia’s Tzar, Peter the Great, traveled incognito for the first time outside the borders of his immense empire to learn the ways, trades, and maritime laws of the Dutch. He fell in love with their architecture, language, and technological advancements. The rumor has it that Peter the Great once considered making Dutch a second official language of Russia! This totally explains why we have so many words in Russian that sound very Dutch: верфь (shipyard), which in Dutch is called ‘werf’; каюта (cabin, captain’s quarters), which in Dutch is ‘kajuit’; and фарватер (waterway), which in Dutch is ‘vaarwater’. There is even an artificial island located in the center of Saint Petersburg, built during Peter the Great’s time, called “New Holland” because of its obvious Dutch appearance.
As fate would have it, after spending 18 years on the Upper West Side of “New Amsterdam,” I moved to Yonkers, where I made new friends! The rest is history. I invite you to come and visit Yonkers downtown and Philipse Manor Hall, and I’m positive you too will come to appreciate the rich culture of the place we now call home.
Shannon Daugherty, Treasurer
Board member’s bio
Michael Cavanaugh, Secretary
Michael has been a member of the Philipse Manor Hall Board since 2023 and is honored to have recently become Co-President of the Board to continue to spread the remarkable story of Philipse Manor Hall as well as the City of Yonkers to the Lower Hudson Valley and beyond.
Michael additionally serves as President and Member of the Board of Trustees of the New Amsterdam History Center in New York City; is a Member of Historic Stonington (formerly the Stonington CT Historical Society); and is Senior Warden, Member of the Lay Vestry Board, and Coordinator of the All Saints’ Community Garden at All Saints’ Church, Briarcliff Manor, NY.
Michael graduated with Honors from the Universary of Notre Dame in 1982 with a BA in Psychology, and received his JD from Albany Law School of Union Universary in 1986. It was his time in Albany that sparked Michael’s passion for Colonial Dutch history in New Netherland, history that remains visible today to all of us in New York and New Jersey.
Sara Brody, Board Member
Sara A Brody has been the Executive Director since July 2020 where she is responsible for administration, financial management, strategic planning, growth and general day-to-day operation activities, delivers supplemental services such as sanitation and maintenance, public safety and visitor services marketing and promotional programs, capital improvements, expanded marketing and communication opportunities via social media, produces or has influence in the majority of events downtown, helps the 250+ businesses in the BID grow and works to beautify the downtown waterfront in Yonkers.
Sara worked at Groundwork Hudson Valley where she completed her tenure as the Director of Strategic Partnerships. In her role at Groundwork, she collaborated with the Executive Director and the Board of Directors to develop, manage and implement Groundwork Hudson Valley’s annual fundraising plan and long-term development strategies. Some highlights during her two plus years with Groundwork were that she provided innovative strategic leadership and vision to create new opportunities to grow the organization with more diverse and sustainable sources, expanded the organization’s collaboration with business, government, community coalitions and individuals, worked as part of management team to improve financial and administrative procedures and worked to implement a more integrated communications plan to support the organization..
Over the span of her career, Sara has been a non-profit and corporate leader with a successful record for growing revenue, increasing operational efficiencies, reducing expenses and mitigating risk for the needs of business. She has extensive experience in helping companies to achieve their key priorities through strategic planning, exceeding development targets, running daily operations and administration, building and leading teams and collaborating with community coalitions to effectively achieve goals. Prior to this working at Groundwork, Sara worked at Keep America Beautiful, where she led the development of the overall individual donor strategy, created strategies to bring new individual donors to the organization, created a grant writing program and worked with their affiliate network to build mutually beneficial partnerships. She also worked with M Logic as a recruiter to build new relationships and network to develop her portfolio. She was the Executive Director for Project HEAL, a national organization dedicated to providing grant funding for people with eating disorders who cannot afford treatment. She has also worked as a Chief Operating Officer for a dental operations business, founded her own non-profit, Rutherford LEAP, that provided public school students with the opportunity to become advanced learners via one-to-one laptop programs, and worked in senior level positions in Operations, Technology and Corporate Real Estate with Lehman Brothers for over 22 years.
Sara holds a B.A in Political Science from Binghamton University.
Robert Hothan, Board Member
Board member’s bio
Donna Ingram, Board Member
A resident of Yonkers, Donna has enjoyed the vibrant Westchester life for 20+ years. She brings her entrepreneurial spirit to her multifaceted creative career. After founding her namesake design company in the fashion industry she later directed creative teams in the corporate sector for the global retail market. She joined Corcoran Legends Realty in Irvington as a licensed real estate agent, bringing her passion for local history to her clients.
She holds a Fine Arts & Design degree from the Parsons School of Design and Fashion Institute of Technology.
Her passion for real estate has long paralleled her design career, serving on the Yonkers Landmark Board and remaining active in several community groups.
Donna has a strong work ethic and is committed to making great things happen. She is empathic, confident and loves working with people.
In addition to serving her clients, she spends her time exploring the rivertowns, designing and creating art, and enjoying the natural beauty of the Hudson River Valley. She is a native New Yorker and global traveler, always in search of inspiration and old things with a story.
Chris Jangl, Board Member
Board member’s bio
Jacqueline Lorieo, Board Member
Jacqueline Lorieo is a sculptor, medalist, and retired Occupational Therapist. She models in clay, carves in wood and stone, casts in bronze, with her pieces ranging from life size to small hand-held medals.
Lorieo’s work is included in public and private collections in the US and abroad, including the British Museum, The American Numismatic Society, Helen Hayes Hospital, Gaylord Hospital, and the Philipse Manor Hall collection, and the City of Yonkers. She has created medals for Friends of Philipse Manor Hall, the Yonkers Historical Society, and the Untermyer Garden Conservancy.
Lorieo serves on the board of Blue Door Art Center, Yonkers Historical Society, Friends of Philipse Manor Hall, co-president of Mamaroneck Artist Guild and Hudson Valley Art Association, and president of The National Association of Women Artists.
David Martin, Board Member
I’ve been a member of the Philipse Manor Hall board since 2014 and served as the board president from 2018 until 2024. As a former business owner in the downtown area I have seen great changes in Yonkers and particularly Philipse Manor Hall in that time. The commitment by New York State to renovate and restore PMH in 2021 has produced in a world class historic site and museum. I’m pleased to have been associated with that effort and grateful for the opportunity to bring the remarkable story of Philipse Manor Hall and city of Yonkers to our Lower Hudson Valley area and beyond.
Emma Uematso, Board Member
Board member’s bio
Murielle Peters-Davis, Board Member
Hi, I’m Mimi Peters- Davis and have been on the board since 2015.
When my business partner at Fly Me To The Moon Florist asked me to join the board, I initially thought why me? Which was quickly followed by, why not me?
I’ve got to admit though, as former director of visitor centers for the Central Park Conservancy, I kind of wondered why so few people actually visited the site. My experience taught me that if you provide engaging public programming and let folks know about it, the people will come.
Being on the board has given me the opportunity to give back to the community with the skills I have. I get to chime in on ideas to entice people like you to get involved. And to create floral arrangements and tablescapes to enhance our events.
What super powers and resources could you be bringing to this historic landmark?