Hudson River Museum Elects Three New Members to its Board of Trustees

YONKERS, NY, January 19, 2021 — Hudson River Museum is pleased to announce the election of three new board members: Angelique Piwinski, Lorraine Shanley, and Derrick Touba. They were all unanimously voted to the Museum’s Board of Trustees at the December 17, 2020 Board Meeting and each will serve a three-year term. The new trustees bring with them a wealth of experience in the fields of advertising, publishing, education, history, and community involvement.

Angelique Piwinski is a longtime advertising executive, community activist, and historian. She is currently an adjunct faculty member at the State University of New York and a Training Liaison for the WorkLife Training Institute, specializing in fostering LGBTQ-inclusive workplaces. Prior to that, Piwinski held media planning and account management positions at Grey Advertising Inc., Marketing Corporation of America (now FutureBrand), Ally & Gargano, GMI, Saatchi & Saatchi, and AFG&, where for two decades Piwinski was Executive Vice President, Group Account Director. In 2018, she retired from her position as Senior Diversity & Inclusion Program Specialist at the Interpublic Group (IPG).

Piwinski has also served as the mayoral-appointed Co-Chair of the City of Yonkers’ LGBTQ Advisory Board for five years. In 2018, the Advisory Board successfully executed the first-ever Pride Festival in Yonkers. In 2015, Piwinski was unanimously elected to the Vestry of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Yonkers, the first openly transgender person ever to serve on this governing board in the church’s 325-year history. In June 2019, she was appointed by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo as a WorldPride Ambassador for New York State.

Piwinski is also an award-winning Yonkers historian, preservationist, and speaker, who served as a member of the Yonkers Landmarks Preservation Board for ten years and as three-time President of the Board of Directors of the Friends of Philipse Manor Hall.

Lorraine Shanley is President of Market Partners International (MPI), a publishing and media consultancy. She began her career at Barnes & Noble, and Book-of-the-Month Club, where she was Executive Vice President in charge of clubs and merchandise, and served as Editorial Director at HarperCollins. Shanley’s clients include major publishers, nonprofits and edtech players, including the largest streaming video education company. She has worked with a range of museums and art publishers, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Getty, Phaedon, and Abrams.

Shanley is a member and past president of Women’s Media Group, and she is on the Advisory Board of New York University’s Center for Publishing, and serves on the board of Classroom Inc., a non-profit that creates interactive learning games for schools. Along with her work as a consultant and recruiter, Shanley regularly writes articles on publishing and technology and reviews audiobooks and books. She is a member of the Stationers Company Communications and Content Guild in London. Shanley graduated from the University of Rochester and received her M.A. from the University of Virginia.

Derrick Touba is an educator with 27 years of classroom experience. He is currently a Global History and Geography teacher at Gorton High School in the Yonkers Public Schools. Previously he taught at Yonkers’ Roosevelt High School, School 23, and Emerson Middle School, as well as Intermediate School 158, Bronx, NY.

A recipient of a Certificate of Outstanding Achievement from the Superintendent, Touba was selected to serve as a mentor in the state-mandated peer mentoring program. Touba received an M.S. in Counselor Education from Lehman College, an M.S. in School Administration and Supervision and Social Studies Education from the City College of New York, and a B.A. in Sociology from Hampton University. He served as a Trustee of the Yonkers Public Library from 2015-2020 and is a Member of the New York State Council of Social Studies and the American School Counselor Association. Prior to teaching, Touba held positions as a Substance Abuse Counselor and Caseworker.

“I am excited to welcome these three esteemed individuals to the Board of the Hudson River Museum,” stated Tom D’Auria, Chair of the HRM Board of Trustees. “Their impressive professional experience, varied expertise and backgrounds, and commitment to their communities will contribute greatly to the vitality of the Hudson River Museum. I look forward to working with them, alongside Director and CEO Masha Turchinsky, and my fellow trustees, in the coming years.”

The HRM would also like to recognize the dedicated service of Bonnie Bell-Curran, who retired from the Board of Trustees in December 2020, after serving for 26 years and has been officially recognized by the Museum as Trustee Emerita. Bell-Curran joined the Museum’s Board in 1994 and has been an invaluable member who has made an enduring impact on the Museum. She has served on the Executive Committee, the Development Committee, and was the Chair of the Nominating Committee. As a Managing Director and Wealth Advisor at Wells Fargo, Bell-Curran also facilitated the company’s generous, ongoing support of HRM exhibitions and programs.

“The Hudson River Museum is a far stronger institution thanks to the outstanding commitment of Bonnie Bell-Curran,” stated HRM Director and CEO Masha Turchinsky. “She has been inordinately generous to the Museum and the community in countless ways, and there is not a facet of our institution that has not benefited from her care and governance. We are proud to recognize Bonnie as Trustee Emerita and congratulate her on a very successful career and well-deserved retirement.”

Press contact:
Jen McCaffery
jmccaffery@hrm.org
(914) 963-4550 x240

Pictured from left to right: Angelique Piwinski, Derrick Touba, Lorraine Shanley