Board & Staff
Our Leadership
Board
| Name | Resides in | Encampment year(s), location(s) |
| Anne Klaeysen, Ph. D., Co-Chair |
NY | |
| Clergy leader emerita of the New York Society for Ethical Culture, where the Encampment was founded. She serves as humanist chaplain at NYU and humanist religious life adviser at Columbia University. She is co-dean of the Humanist Institute, where she studied and taught. | ||
| Dyanne London, Ph. D., Co-Chair |
MA | 1981, DC |
| Ph.D. Licensed psychologist in private practice. Formerly with Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. Former adjunct professor at Lesley University. | ||
| Evelin Aquino, Co-Chair | MA | |
| Amherst-Pelham Regional Middle School climate and culture coordinator; former program officer with Peace Development Fund, Amherst, MA. Consultant/trainer, provides workshops/trainings on coalition development, leadership development, youth and community empowerment, with strong emphasis on equity and engagement. | ||
| Maria M. Hernandez, Ed.D., Secretary | CA | 1979, SD |
| Principal of Rio Real Dual Immersion Academy, a K-8 school focused on language education and the appreciation of cultural contributions by all ethnicities and races. | ||
| Steve Leibman, Treasurer | CA | 1969, MT |
| Human resources and coaching, with a specialty in working with people from many cultures and backgrounds. Formerly of the Jewish Endowment Fund, San Francisco, CA. | ||
| Steve Davis | CT | |
| Founder and CEO, Institute for Human Relations. Former director of diversity & community relations, Pomfret School, CT; former director of the Virginia Eaton Multicultural Resource Center. | ||
| Ada Deer | WI | 1956, NY |
| Nationally recognized as an advocate and organizer on behalf of American Indians. Former Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior. | ||
| Margot Gibney, Executive Director |
CA | 1971, MT; 1981, DC; Exec. Dir. 1986-1993; 2014-present |
| Responsible for oversight of the organization and program design. She has organized for the UFW, designed independent living programs for disabled youth and transitional programs for homeless families and adults. She has worked extensively in the justice system nationally with at-risk youth, young adults and families. | ||
| Mabel Sau-Ching Lam, Ph.D. | MA | |
| Psychologist, Cambridge, MA. Visiting assistant professor, Salem State University. Member American Psychological Association (APA); commissioner, Asian American Commission of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; co-founder and co-chair, Jasmine Asian Women Giving Circle; clinical director, Metro Boston Critical Incident Stress Management Team (Massachusetts Peer Support Network). | ||
| Nancy Marr | NY | 1950, NY |
| Founded a youth and family agency that became Boys and Girls Club in 1996. Currently involved in programs that try to inform people about the economic problems in our community and country. | ||
| Elizabeth (Beth) Mattison | MA | |
| Assistant director of the Critical Studies of Childhood, Youth and Learning Program at Hampshire College. | ||
| Mabel Picotte | SD | 1992, CA; 1994, CA; 2013-2017, Staff |
| M. Ed. Harvard in School Leadership; is Ihanktowan and Oglala Sioux from South Dakota. principal of the Tiospa Zina Tribal School. Taught high school-level courses at the Four Directions Charter School in Minneapolis and at the Chamberlain Academy in South Dakota. | ||
| David Sandoval | CA | 1966, DC; 1968, MX |
| Retired, director of the Educational Opportunity Program, which provides access for economically and socially disadvantaged minority students who display potential for academic success at Cal State University L.A. | ||
| Marquise Steward, Youth Advisory Council representative | SD | 2015, MS; 2017, MA, Intern |
| Graduate assistant, LGBTQA initiatives, Florida International University, MMC. Board service four years. | ||
| Michael Carter | OK | 2014-2019, Staff |
| Founding school leader & Fisher Fellow KIPP OKC Elementary School. Former Encampment program director. | ||
Year-round Staff
- Executive Director: Margot Gibney
- Administrative and Communications Director: Marion Silverbear
- PFSP Program and Internship Directors: Florencia Ramirez and Juna Rosales Muller
- Program Director: Jesus Salcido Chavarria
- Education Director: Michael Carter
- Arts and Cultural Consultation: Sounds of Community
SNAPSHOTS
2015 InterGen group with board members Margot Gibney, Ada Deer and Michael Carter.
Major Supporters
The Ethical Society has a long history with the Encampment, since Algernon D. Black and Alice K. Pollitzer founded the EFC. This support continues today.
The Libraries at Virginia Commonwealth University house the archives of the Encampment for Citizenship. In addition, the Libraries were a major sponsor of the 2013 summer program and a special event on July 13, 2013, for alumni, encampers, staff, and the community.
In Recognition
Thanks to Ruth E. Thaler-Carter (White Plains ’70) for acting on her inspiration to create the alumni association which then led to the re-launch of the Encampment in 2013. Since then she has generously donated her copyediting talents to the Encampment. To learn more about Ms. Thaler-Carter and the beginnings of the alumni association, click here.
Get news & info
Hearing Dr. Kenneth Clark was like a thunderbolt!
He and Dr. Mamie Clark devised a famous experiment, showing white dolls and black dolls to Black schoolchildren in the segregated South. The children’s overwhelming preference for white dolls demonstrated the damage that racism inflicted on them. These results were used by Thurgood Marshall in Brown v. Board of Education, declaring segregation in public schools “inherently unequal” and unconstitutional. As I realized the impact of how Drs. Clark and Clark used their expertise to help their people by working against racism, I connected the dots and realized that I also could do something of equal importance for American Indians. And I have!
Ada Deer was elected the first woman chair of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. She led a grassroots movement that brought about an historic reversal of federal American Indian policy, recognizing the Menominee tribe. She served as the first woman Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs, US Department of Interior. She continues to work tirelessly as an activist for American Indian rights.