LIBERTY, NY — The Radio Catskill Board of Trustees today announced the appointment of four new members and new leaders to serve as officers. Gerard Finn, Owner, Finn Accounting and Tax; Jill Fruchter, Independent UX Design Researcher & Customer Experience Strategist at Field Notes Consulting; Tanya Kalivas, Head Legal (US) for Neuroscience and Immunology at Novartis Pharmaceuticals; and Illya Marritz, Reporter at The Boston Globe were elected at the June Board of Trustees meeting. 

During the meeting, Board officers were elected as well. Sally Staurt was elected President; Leif Johansen was elected Vice-President; Pete Madden was elected Vice-President; Katie Childs was elected Treasurer; and Amy Brightfield was elected Secretary.

“I want to welcome our incoming new Trustees who bring vital expertise and wonderful enthusiasm for our mission. It is an honor to serve as President of the Board, especially at this time when we are increasing local programming and building on our commitment to community service. I look forward to a successful year working with this talented and wonderful group,” said Sally Stuart, President of the Board of Trustees. “I want to express our deep thanks to outgoing President Kirsten Harlow Foster, who played a pivotal role leading the organization to our new state of the art facility in Liberty, to outgoing Treasurer Duncan Cooper, and to outgoing Trustee Clay Smith.” 

Biographical Information on New Board Members 

Gerard Finn is a CPA with over 40 years of experience providing accounting support and services to emerging businesses, closely held companies, and nonprofits. Most recently, he was the CFO of a $50 million agency with over 700 employees which provided services to adults with disabilities, children in foster care and unaccompanied alien children. He recently retired and now works part-time providing consulting support through Finn Accounting and Tax. He lives in Sullivan County with his wife Nancy of 45 years and is the Town of Highland representative on the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway. 

Jill Fruchter is a user researcher and customer experience strategy leader with 20+ years experience working in the tech, non-profit, and news media sectors. She helps organizations design and build digital and physical products, services and experiences with and for their customers, leveraging qualitative research practices and data-informed insights. In 2022, she founded Field Notes Consulting, a research services agency. Prior to Field Notes, Jill was the VP of Product Research & Customer Experience Insights at Blue Apron. She lives in Narrowsburg, NY. 

Tanya Kalivas is an attorney with experience in litigation, sports and media law, conducting investigations and counseling clients regarding privacy, compliance and litigation risks. Since 2020, she has worked as in-house lawyer for Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where she advises on federal regulatory health care law, advertising, IP and all issues that impact the US business. She is currently Head Legal in the US for Neuroscience and Immunology. Tanya is also a former member of the Greek National Soccer Team, and for two years trained and competed in Greece and Europe, in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She lives in Barryville, NY. 

Ilya Marritz is a reporter for The Boston Globe and a 2024 Nieman Foundation fellow at Harvard University. A journalist with over 20 years experience, he has covered Trump legal matters for NPR and threats to democracy for ProPublica. Before that, he worked for two decades at WNYC Radio. He co-hosted the duPont award-winning podcast "Trump, Inc." and the #1 hit podcast "Will Be Wild." His work has been seen in The New Yorker, New York, The New York Daily News, and Time Magazine. And he has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, CBS and PBS as a guest. He lives in Narrowsburg, NY.

The other current Trustees are Donald Almquist, Jeff Barnes, Dale Blagrove, Barbara Demarest, Heather Quaintance, and Kristina Smith .

About Radio Catskill 

WJFF Radio Catskill is an independent community voice of the Catskills and Northeast Pennsylvania. We connect listeners through locally focused and globally aware programming to inform, entertain, and inspire our communities, and promote understanding among people of diverse social, cultural, economic, and political backgrounds.