Meet our board members
The Croton Harmon Education Foundation is managed by a committee of dedicated parents and community members. Get to know a little about us below.
Executive committee
Catherine Blazek, Co-President
After living in almost every major city in Texas, Cathy and her family decided to return to New York and moved to Croton in 2013. She and her husband, Jeff, have two girls in the Croton school district. Cathy is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and has a background in sales and marketing working in intellectual property licensing. She also has many years of experience fundraising for school groups and non-profits. Cathy is excited to be a part of CHEF and looks forward to helping support the schools with exciting and innovative programs.
Ricky Yu, CO-PRESIDENT
Ricky is an adjunct professor at Cornell, where he teaches engineering grad students and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science and management. He has worked in the tech and media space for over 20 years with roles in consulting, product, sales and marketing in both big tech and start-up companies. Most recently, he led marketing, sales and operations teams at Meta (Facebook) where he has worked in over 15 countries during his 13-year tenure. He is a first-generation college graduate who grew up in Queens, attending public schools and called Williamsburg, Brooklyn home prior to moving to Croton. On most days you will find him, his wife (chief nurse practitioner and faculty at Columbia), and two children outside enjoying the company of their dogs, chickens, and geese.
Zivah Katz, VICE PRESIDENT
Zivah has lived in Croton for almost ten years with her husband and three children. Zivah is a Professor in the English Department at Queensborough Community College, CUNY. She looks forward to working with CHEF to support innovation at the schools in our special community.
Meredith Korn, Treasurer
Meredith Korn brings experience and expertise in finance and accounting, specifically in the non-profit sector, to her role as the Treasurer of CHEF. She is the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of the Charles H. Revson Foundation and was previously a
Partner at Owen J. Flanagan & Company, CPAs, where she spent 18 years specializing in audit, accounting, and tax preparation services for tax-exempt organizations. Meredith also serves as the Treasurer of the Croton Little League.
She has been a resident of Croton since 2014. Her love for the small-town community atmosphere led her to make Croton her home, where she and her husband are raising their three children, all of whom attend the Croton Harmon Schools. She is enthusiastic about CHEF's support for innovation in education.
Dana DAGO Clark, sECRETARY
As a lifelong resident of Croton & having graduated from CHHS, Dana returned to Croton to raise her three children here around family and friends. Dana is not only proud of our community and school district but feels passionately that our students and teachers deserve our support to enhance their academic journey. This along with the strong conviction in fostering a school community & curriculum that is diverse, equitable and inclusive were the impetus for joining CHEF in 2020.
Dana has had a 20+ year career in Pharmaceutical Marketing as an SVP, Management Supervisor until recently moving in house to ViiV Healthcare as a Peer to Peer Marketing Lead. Dana is passionate about educating healthcare providers so that they can in turn educate their patients and empower them through their treatment journey
Directors
Joss Citrone Coyle
Joss is an interior designer with a degree in Interior Design from New York School of Interior Design School and a B.A in History and Art History from Fordham University. She moved to Croton six years ago with her husband, a journalist, after falling in love with an old house, the Hudson River and the beauty of the area. The amazing community here was an unexpected bonus. Joss has two children in the Croton school system. She is excited to join the CHEF Board and to help bring more innovation and creativity to our schools.
SEAN FULLER
Sean has worked in theater, film and television as a writer, in production and as a tech for over 20 years. He grew up in the New York metropolitan area and graduated with a BA in English from Columbia College and got a Masters in Mental Health at Hunter College’s School of Social Work. Currently he is raising two boys in the Croton school system and is opening a performance venue in the fall. He is thrilled to be on the CHEF board and looks forward to help improve the student experience at Croton Harmon schools.
Anna Glantz
Anna was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She attended Texas Tech University and graduated with a BA in English literature. Since moving to New York City 20 years ago, she has worked for various investment banking firms, covering areas within human resources, credit risk and legal and compliance. Anna currently works at an investment bank on Wall Street, where she is Vice President of Regulatory Core Compliance.
After outgrowing city life, Anna relocated to Croton in 2015 with her husband and two children and immediately fell in love with the small-town community. She enjoys reading, spending time with family, and walking their golden retriever. Anna is excited to be joining CHEF and hopes to continue the tradition of giving back to the schools, teachers, and community.
Elizabeth Hiller
Elizabeth lucked into being part of this community after marrying a Croton native and graduate of all three Croton-Harmon schools. She is proud to have gone to public schools all the way through getting her undergraduate degree at UCLA. Since moving here from Los Angeles in 2010, she has served on the boards of the Croton Free Library Association, CET PTA, J-Baby, and her temple. She is excited to now join CHEF and be part of another worthwhile organization that makes this a great place to be raising her two children. She otherwise spends her time working as a civil litigator, hiking the beautiful local trails, reading an ever growing stack of books, and embracing New York's colder climate with endless knitting projects.
Meredith Hutt
Meredith grew up in the Town of Cortland and has been a Croton resident for ten years with her husband and two children 8 &10. She has over twenty years of experience in the HR field and has spent the past nine plus years at WWE where she is currently the SVP of Human Resources & Operations. Meredith loves reading, bringing people together and spending time with her family. She is very excited to start this journey on the CHEF board and start giving back to her community
Maggie Louie
After living in NYC for over 20 years, including battling Brooklyn living with twins for two-and-a-half of them, Maggie and her multi-generational family fell in love with Croton and decided to make it their forever home in 2019. Maggie has two children in the Croton-Harmon School District, and her family enjoys gardening, experiencing the local trails and natural beauty, and Minecraft (her kids made her say that last one).
As the Deputy CFO of a large national nonprofit, Maggie brings extensive experience in nonprofit finances, operations, and grants management to her role at CHEF, and is thrilled to contribute to such an impactful organization.
Alicia Murphy
After attending a camping-wedding weekend at Croton Point Park, Alicia Murphy-Wartell and her husband chose the village of Croton as their next home over 12 years ago. Now with one child in the Croton-Harmon School District and one entering next year, Alicia is excited to bring her backgrounds in television and non-profit organizing to her role at CHEF.
Tyler Thoreson
Tyler is the Head Of Brand Marketing for Todd Snyder and joined CHEF in 2019. He has a BA Political Science and Media from Duke University.
Get involved
We're always looking for volunteers who can help us with events and other projects throughout the year. If you would like to take part in this community-wide effort to raise money for our schools, please send us an email at info@crotonfoundation.org.