New England Public Radio is proud to announce that Coleman Casey and Keisha Green have joined the New England Public Radio Foundation as directors of the board. Lisa Piehler has joined as an advisor. Angelika Melien and Michael Yaffe have been named first and second Vice President respectively, and Robert Feldman has been named Clerk.
The New England Public Radio Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization created to conduct fund raising activities for New England Public Radio. Their mission is to guarantee New England Public Radio’s future as a premier public media organization by enhancing financial support, promoting community interest, and providing advice and recommendations to station management and WFCR’s license holder UMass. The NEPR Foundation is currently made up of twenty-four directors, ten advisors, three ex-officio, and two emeritus members, and has representation from Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges, and The University of Massachusetts Amherst.
“We are honored and delighted to welcome these new members to our board”, said Paul Lambert, NEPR Foundation Board President. “In a time of unprecedented opportunity for NEPR, their expertise and energy will be of great importance to our overall efforts.”
New NEPR Foundation Board Members:
Coleman Casey
Coleman Casey is Of Counsel to the Hartford-based law firm of Shipman & Goodwin, with offices throughout Connecticut and in Washington, D.C. He has been actively involved in not-for-profit board activity throughout his life, including service on the boards (as President) of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, and the Mark Twain House & Museum. He is the recipient of the Hartford Symphony’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Wadsworth Atheneum’s Goodwin Medal, and recognized by the State of Connecticut as a Distinguished Arts Advocate. He was also the host of “What’s New” on Connecticut Public Radio for twenty years where he presented weekly reviews and critiques of new classical recordings. His library of classical music exceeds 7,000 recordings.
Coleman is married to Jo Champlin Casey and they have one daughter. Coleman is a 1969 graduate of Amherst College (magna cum laude) and The Yale Law School (1973).
Dr. Keisha L. Green
Dr. Keisha L. Green is a professor in the Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies department in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts where she co-coordinates the English language arts (ELA) Secondary Teacher Education Program. She earned her doctorate in Educational Studies at Emory University and completed a two-year Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship at Rutgers University in the Graduate School of Education. Keisha joined the UMass Amherst faculty in fall 2013 and her most recent study focused on the intersection of youth radio, literacy, and civic engagement. Select publications appear in Race, Ethnicity, and Education, Equity & Excellence in Education, Reading African American Experiences in the Obama Era: Theory, Advocacy, Activism and Humanizing Research: Decolonizing Qualitative Inquiry With Youth and Communities.
Currently, she works with linguistically and culturally diverse youth, as well as ELA teachers in Springfield, Holyoke, and Amherst school districts. Keisha resides in Springfield with her husband, Nigel Greaves, a grants administrator in the executive office of the Greater Hartford YMCA.
Lisa Piehler
Lisa Piehler has been leading the American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts for the past 20 years. Prior to joining Red Cross she was director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Worcester, where she frequently partnered with the Red Cross on programs and services.
During her tenure at the Central MA Chapter, Piehler led a capital campaign, raising $4.2 million dollars to build a state of the art Chapter building allowing increased service to the community. In 2013 the chapter celebrated its 108-year anniversary and continues to provide high quality services under a regional budget of $9.5 million. The Central MA Chapter’s jurisdiction covers 69 towns with a population of 1.8 million people with a good deal of the jurisdiction covering urban areas. Most known for providing immediate assistance when disasters strike, the Chapter averages a home fire response every three days.
Piehler holds a MPA from Clark University with a concentration in non-profit management together with a BS in Park Administration from the University of Massachusetts.
For a complete list of NEPR Foundation Board members, click here.