Stan Bergen
Stan Bergen is a retired physician, educator and healthcare administrator. He was educated at Princeton, New Jersey public schools, Princeton University AB 1951 and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, M.D. 1955. He received his graduate medical education at St. Luke’s Hospital in N.Y.C. and served in the US Army as well as the National Guard and Reserves. He was chief of medical service at Cumberland Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., Chief Operating Officer of the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, and was President of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey for 27 years. He was a member of the governing Boards of the AMA, AAMC, and AHA (trustee 1992-1994) and a member and Chair of the Board of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and The Hastings Center for Biomedical Ethics. Stan was also chair of the University Heights (Newark, N.J.) Community Development Corporation.
Active in the local community as a board member of Opera House Arts, Stan is chair of the Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, and board member of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems. He lives in Stonington, Maine with his wife of 47 years, Suzanne, an artist. They have four adult children (one deceased), and five grandchildren.
Meredith Gray
Meredith Gray grew up in Deer Isle, graduated from DIS High School and UMO, was the Director of Healthy Island Project and an active OHA CAB member for several years, doing a great job as our July 4th parade captain! She's been in Cabin Fever Theater productions at the Reach. She's married to Garrett Aldrich, an Isle au Haut Boat Co. Captain who's also active in local theater, and has been seen many times in OHA’s “Our Own” Community Playreading Series, including most recently in “Bedtime Stories” this week. They live on Little Deer Isle and have one pre-school child.
Annie Holland
A native of St. Louis, Annie Holland has had a long professional career in the communications sciences. With a BS in speech pathology and a MA in audiology from the University of Illinois, she obtained a post-masters degree in linguistics from Northwestern University and, finally, a PhD in communications science from Howard University in Washington, DC. She served on the faculty of Towson University in Maryland for many years, teaching theater and communications. Annie and her husband, Chuck, have lived in Baltimore since 1971. She served on the board of Center Stage and is currently on the board of the Baltimore School for the Arts. Both Chuck and Annie are passionate about the theater and are regularly in and out of New York City. From June through October and intermittently throughout the year, Annie and Chuck make their home in Sargentville, Maine. They are the parents of four grown children, two of whom live in Maine. Their eleven grandchildren are the pride of her life!
Richard K. Howe
Vice Chair
Rich Howe moved to Stonington in 1992. He and his wife, Mary, started Penobscot Bay Provisions, which they ran for five years. In 2000, together with a group of investors, he helped start Stonington Sea Products, serving as President of that company until its sale in 2009. Prior to moving to Maine, Rich practiced law in Cleveland for 13 years (Partner, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey) and worked in investment banking in Cleveland (Prescott, Ball & Turben) and Boston (John Hancock Freedom Securities) for 12 years. He currently serves on the boards of several non-profits in addition to Opera House Arts: Haystack Mountain School of Crafts (Life Trustee), Blue Hill Memorial Hospital (Treasurer), and Colloquy Downeast (Steering Committee). Rich is also a director of Berkshire Holding Corporation. He is a graduate of Central Michigan University and Harvard Law School. Rich and his wife Mary have two daughters: Katy Binder, who lives in Towners, New York with her husband Keith and daughter Ella; and Cameron Dubie, who lives in Indianapolis with her husband Sven and their sons Peter and Miles.
Judith Jerome
Founding Co-Artistic Director - Clerk
Judith Jerome began her performance career in the bosom of her large storytelling Texas family, and then with the renowned Dallas Little Theater in 1956. She raised three daughters and performed in most of the theaters in Denver, CO in the two decades leading up to her move to New York in 1995, writing and performing much of her own material. She worked closely with the Colorado Council on the Arts, as a visiting artist in schools and communities, as a teaching artist with the Colorado Aesthetic Education Institute, and as a supervisor of artist’s residencies. In 1994 she was awarded an NEA CoVisions Grant for an audio installation project.
In 1995 she moved to New York City, performing at Dixon Place, HERE, Peculiar Works Projects, and others. She was managing editor of Women and Performance: A Journal of Feminist Studies from 1996-1999, and taught as an adjunct professor at NYU. She received her BA summa cum laude from Regis College, her MA from NYU, and her PhD in Performance Studies and the Monroe Lipmann Award for Distinguished Dissertation from NYU in 2007.
Judith has three daughters: Jennifer, who lives with her husband and their children Carmin and Bodin in Eugene, OR; Kate, who lives with her husband and their son Julien in Jamestown, CO; and Effie, who lives in San Francisco.
Bob Lasky
Treasurer
Bob Lasky graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1964 with a B.A. in Government, magna cum laude; and from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1967, J.D., magna cum laude. He was a Law Clerk with Justice Samuel J. Roberts, Pennsylvania Supreme Court from 1967-1968, and a Law Clerk with Chief Justice Earl Warren, United States Supreme Court from 1968-1969. Bob then worked with the Washington, D.C. office of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft., first as an Associate, then as a Partner, and then as Senior Counsel until his retirement in 2010. His practice was in corporate and securities, with specialization in government sponsored enterprises (Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae) and mortgage-backed securities.
Bob and his wife Macy, have owned a seasonal residence at Crockett Cove in Stonington since 1984, and moved to Little Deer Isle as full time residents in June, 2003. Bob serves as Treasurer of Opera House Arts as well as the Island Nursing Home, is co-President of the Island Country Club and Treasurer of 40/15 Tennis, Inc. Bob and Macy have two children (and, alas, no grandchildren): son David, lives with wife Gina, in Boulder, Colorado; daughter Rebecca, lives with husband Andrew, in Brooklyn, New York.
Nancy MacKay
Nancy MacKay was born in Stonington and grew up on Main Street in an apartment over her grandfather’s drugstore - the original offices of the Island Ad-Vantages (founded by her father). Back then, she recalls the Opera House was the ‘only show in town’ with a new movie every two or three days: Show Boat, The Outlaw, to name a few. She graduated from Stonington High School in 1955 and subsequently from Syracuse University and Indiana University where she received a master’s degree in music. After several years in Europe with the Monteuxs studying voice and singing, Nancy returned to the U.S. and worked in New York City, where she returned to school for an M.S.W. at New York University. She then worked in the mental health field in New York and Maine and most recently was in private practice in Portland. Now retired, Nancy resides in South Portland with her partner, Ardis Cameron, a professor at USM. They spend eight months of the year in Portland and the balance of the time in Stonington (in the house in which Nancy was born), and plan to eventually make Stonington their home full time.
Cherie Mason
Cherie Mason likes to say she's had six careers: lobbyist for a national wildlife organization; first woman V.P. of the Chicago office of McCann-Erickson, Advertising, Inc.; copy director for Marshall Field's; voice actress and member of SAG and AFTRA; author of three children’s books; producer of a weekly program on WERU for 13 years on wildlife and the environment (along with MPBN commentaries). Cherie has served on many boards including: the Nature Conservancy; the Humane Society of the U.S.; the Marine Environmental Research Institute; the Center for Animals and Public Policy; Tufts University and the Deer Isle Conservation Commission. She was also among the founders of Friends of Acadia National Park and the Island Heritage Trust.
Born in Milwaukee, Cherie graduated from Northwestern University with a B.S. in Speech and Journalism with a dream of pursuing a theatrical career, however family finances made that impossible. Now she is realizing this wish through her performances in Opera House Arts productions such as Three Tall Women, Women and the Sea, As it is in Heaven, A Christmas Carol, and numerous playreadings. Cherie and husband Kenneth have lived in Maine for close to 30 years.
Judy McCaskey
A true “Midwesterner”, Judy McCaskey grew up in Iowa, has lived in Illinois for 43 years and also spent some childhood years in Kansas and Nebraska. As a career educator, Judy taught first graders for 40 years and now volunteers at three inner city Chicago schools. As a civic volunteer, Judy serves on eight not-for-profit boards, five in Chicago and two in Maine. They include After School Matters, Jane Addams Hull House, Erikson Institute for Early Childhood Education, The Lighthouse for The Blind and CASL, the Chinese American Service League. In Maine, she serves on the boards of OHA, Friends of the Shakers and the Island Heritage Trust.
Judy and her husband Ray spend mid-June to mid-October on Deer Isle, and the remainder of the year they reside in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago where they enjoy the arts, particularly Shakespearean theater, reading, and collecting Shaker and American Folk Art antiques. The McCaskey’s have two adult children, Meg, who is an architect and Ryan, who is a chef.
Sharon McGuffie
Sharon McGuffie is a retired educator who currently spends her time substitute teaching, gardening and enjoying her grand-daughter. She received both her Bachelors in Education and Masters in Educational Administration from the University of Maine at Orono. She is a direct descendant of Major William Eaton, making her a ninth generation native of Deer Isle. She currently serves on the boards of Island Education Foundation and Friends of the Reach. She previously has served on the boards of Island Medical Center, Island Nursing Home, Healthy Island Project, Blue Hill Memorial Hospital and Blue Hill Memorial Hospital Foundation. Her love of the Opera House is life-long, having grown up on Russ's Hill right above the Opera House. She began attending movies and events there as a child and worked there throughout her teenage years. It is with great joy that she currently serves on the Board of Opera House Arts, taking an active role in the amazing resurrection of this wonderful 100-year-old Island cultural center.
Linda L. Nelson
Founding Executive Director
Linda Nelson has more than 20 years of experience in the media industry as reporter, writer, editor, and new media pioneer and designer; and in the technology industry as a Chief Information Officer and CEO. She was most recently the producer of Tire Tracks, Opera House Arts’ first acclaimed video documentary of working life in Downeast Maine.
Prior to relocating to Stonington year-round, Linda worked for 13 years for the Village Voice newspaper / Stern Publishing enterprises, the nation’s largest and most acclaimed alternative newsweekly. While there she was responsible for the start up of the Village Voice’s new media business division (www.villagevoice.com). From 2001-2003 she was the News Editor for the Island Ad-Vantages newspaper, based in Stonington, for which she also designed the corporate website (www.penobscotbaypress.com). Her business experience as a CEO includes: strategic planning; facilities management; budgeting; organizational development; and operational start-ups.
Linda, a Bowdoin College graduate, is a classically trained musician and former member of the American Federation of Musicians, and is also a freelance writer and book editor whose fiction, poetry, and criticism have appeared in anthologies and periodicals.
John Ollman
John Ollman, owner of the Fleisher/Ollman Gallery in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, earned his BFA in sculpture from the University of the Arts (formerly Philadelphia College of Art) and an MFA in sculpture with minor in Art History from Indiana University. In addition to his gallery work, John has taught courses at University of the Arts focused in African, Oceanic, Pre-Columbian, Native American and American Self-taught (Folk Art). As a result, he developed a unique gallery program – one of the first in the country – that features work of 20th century self-taught artists. He has authored catalogs, curated countless exhibitions, guest-lectured at universities and museums, and has served as advisor to the Philadelphia Museum of Art on their major collection of American Self-taught Art. John has served on boards of several non-profit organizations: the Mayor’s Advisory board, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, the Galleries of Moore College of Art, the Foundation of Self-taught Artist, Penn Humanities Forum and the Fabric Workshop and Museum.
John and his wife Ann began coming to Maine about 25 years ago and discovered Stonington in 1993. They have two daughters, Alexandria who lives in Chicago with husband John and stepson Jonathan, and Kathryn who lives in Nyack, New York, with husband Peter and their two children, Maggie and Rudy.
Joan Sorensen
Bio and photo unavailable
Lael Stegall
Chair
Lael Stegall’s professional career was focused on social change activism in public policy, politics and philanthropy in both domestic and international settings. With degrees from Colby College and the University of Chicago, Lael served in the US Peace Corps and with husband Ron, lived throughout Southeast Asia before settling in Washington D.C. There she was founder and leader of many social change organizations including the National Women's Political Caucus, EMILY's List, and the Communications Consortium Media Center. She was also Principal of Social Change International, working with clients such as the Eurasia Foundation, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, American University in Kosovo, Engage Maine, and the United Nations Fund for Women.
Lael and Ron have been full-time residents of Sunshine, Deer Isle since 2000. Still thinking globally but ‘acting out’ locally, Lael has been a passionate advocate for OHA since its inception. She is supremely proud of being named "Miss December for 2004" in the Lobstering Women of Maine calendar, in recognition of her work as a stern woman on a lobster boat for ten years. She is currently a board member of the Environmental Health Strategies Center and is an advisor to Maine Initiatives, a social change philanthropy.
Carol Estey, Director Emeritus
Founding Co-Artistic Director
Carol Estey, has worked as a performer on Broadway for such names as Talley Beatty, Gower Champion, Graciella Daniele, Agnes DeMille, Bob Fosse, Louis Falco, Martin Scorcese, Thommie Walsh, and Onna White. Her involvement in launching Opera House Arts and strong interest in developing new work led her to produce and direct the World Premiere of Kevin Gray and Dodie Pettit’s Dracula: The Covenant. She was also the Producing Artistic Director of Opera House Arts’ Quarryography, produced on-site at the Settlement Quarry, directed by Alison Chase and Mia Kanazawa and composed by Nigel Chase. In New York City, Carol has been a regular contributor to the Atrainplays at The Neighborhood Playhouse, and has directed productions at HERE, manhattantheatersource, and St. John the Divine.
A Founding Board and Co-Artistic Director of Opera House Arts, Carol earned degrees in interdisciplinary and intercultural programs on dance and contemporary theater and performance from Empire State University (BA, Theater and Dance, 1995) and NYU (MA, Performance Studies, Tisch School of the Arts, GSAS, 1998). She is a member of SSDC, AEA, AFTRA, SAG, AGMA, and AGVA, and is currently Chair of the Dance Department at Stephens College in Columbia, MO.
Carol’s connection to the island dates back to the 1950s when she was a camper at the French Camp, where her parents, Bud and Audree Estey, worked for many years. Her brother, Larry, lives year-round in Stonington and her partner, Linda Pattie, also an Opera House Arts founder, operated Eddie’s Island Taxi for many years.
