Staff + Board of Directors

 
 
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Colette Ruoff, Founder and President

Colette Ruoff is an Organizational Consultant and Executive Coach who works with corporations and non-profit organizations to support and enable them in fulfilling their missions. She is an Affiliate Advisor with Aberkyn, a consulting firm specializing in transformational leadership. A former Vice President of European American Bank and Director of Investments of AIG, Colette has deep business experience and an MBA from NYU. As a leadership development specialist, she has worked with partners of McKinsey & Co, a management consulting firm, and Ernst & Young, one of the big five accounting firms, as well as with senior executives of Johnson & Johnson and WPP. She has also worked with the staff of the Sacred Fire Community, BALLE, Earthjustice Rethink Local, Vanaver Caravan, and Rupco. She is a PCC coach with the ICF.

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Lois Linet, Board Member

Lois Linet is an artist living in Woodstock for the past 20 years. She joined the SageArts Board after being celebrated in song at the Musical Celebration of Woodstock Elders in July, 2016. Lois is the first participating elder to join the board of SageArts. She earned BA and MA degrees in English and Education at City College, CUNY, and taught English and ESL in high schools and colleges in NYC. For many years, she has volunteered at the Woodstock Artists Association and Museum and is a former board member. Additionally, when living in NYC, she co-founded and was President of the Tourette Syndrome Association of NYC, was a board member of the Saeko Ichinohe Dance Company, President of the Flatbush Development Corporation, and initiated and participated in numerous community organizations and activities from 1975-90.

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Lori Gross, Board Member

Lori Gross has been a licensed massage therapist for 25 years, with advanced training in medical massage with a focus on people living with cancer and other life-altering conditions. Over the years she has balanced her massage therapy practice with a variety of non-profit roles. Lori has been the program director for Family of New Paltz, a supervisor for a local AmeriCorps program, an activity leader in a nursing home, a community health educator for Planned Parenthood, and an event planner for the People's Music Network. Currently she is the assistant director of the Children's Center at SUNY New Paltz, where she earned a BA in Women's Studies with a concentration in Human Services and Social Change. Lori has lived in the mid-Hudson Valley for over 30 years.

 

I love learning about people. The first thing I did when I moved from California to the Hudson Valley was going to the local farmer’s market. That was a place to really meet people, to tell them who I am and what I do. Shortly after, I met the mayor of Red Hook. He wanted to produce a video about a project to rebuild the water system in the village. It was a no-brainer. After that, I helped local high school students tell the stories of local elders for the Red Hook oral history project. When I heard about the work Sage Arts was doing, I knew I wanted to get involved. I’m now partnering with SageArts, the Hudson Valley oral history project, and Upstate Films to bring the stories of our elders to life and share them with the community.