The Foundation Board is composed of community members who are committed to raising funds for the library’s growth. Board Directors are volunteers who serve three-year terms (with a maximum of three consecutive terms), and there’s no limit to the number of Directors who may serve on the Board at any given time. We welcome you to contribute your time and talents as a member of the Foundation’s Board. Contact us to learn more.
Current Board
Stephanie Sarkis, President
Stephanie has been a resident of Pound Ridge since 2019. Stephanie is a member of the Pound Ridge Garden Club and is involved in both of her children’s schools. She is passionate about reading, gardening and her family. She loves hiking, baking, traveling, and recently started playing tennis and paddle. A graduate of Williams College, she most recently worked in marketing and investor relations at a New York City-based hedge fund.
Emily Hunt Forbes, Vice President
A lifelong learner, Emily believes that through education and literacy, we can open worlds for young and old alike. Libraries are key institutions in communities to support this for everyone. By day, Emily is an advancement professional, currently running a major capital campaign and an annual fund for an independent school in Connecticut. In her free time, Emily enjoys being with family and friends enjoying the outdoors: skiing, hiking, swimming, and more, as well as reading, needlepointing, cooking and baking among other hobbies. Originally from Buffalo, Emily and her family (husband, Ed, three daughters and a dog) found their way to Pound Ridge in 2018 from Mount Kisco where they lived since 2011. A graduate of St. Lawrence University and SUNY Albany’s Rockefeller School of Public Policy, Emily is a sustaining member and past president of the Junior League of Northern Westchester, serves on the Advisory Board of The Wild Center (Tupper Lake, NY) and has served in many other leadership capacities for various organizations throughout New York State.
Phuong Siders, Treasurer
Phuong graduated from Simon’s Rock College and then Cedar Crest College at 19. She previously held numerous positions in IT systems management, project management, and regulatory compliance before dedicating herself full time to her family. Phuong also currently serves as the Treasurer of the Pound Ridge Elementary School PTA, and she enjoys exploring Pound Ridge, gardening with her kids, and throwing massive pizza parties.
Katherine Long, Secretary
Katherine is an independent research and evaluation consultant who completed her Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology at Fordham University. She also holds an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Psychology from Bates College. Her academic and professional expertise is in formative and summative evaluations in school and informal settings, with a focus on social and emotional learning. Outside work, Katherine enjoys trail running, painting, and hanging out with her family and pets (including two beehives).
Cristina Civetta, Board Director
Cristina Civetta is a native New Yorker who has made her home in Pound Ridge for the past ten years. She has had a career in corporate events and business development for over fifteen years. In her career, Cristina built brand strategies for companies such as Electric Hospitality, i-D magazine, Chelsea Hotel Group, Total-Management, Moet-Hennessy, and the Global Poverty Project and has executed events globally. Cristina was born with congenital heart disease and has since undergone seven life saving surgeries and is very involved with the American Heart Association. Cristina has been a volunteer spokesperson, chairing galas, spreading awareness, and creating the faces of the heart campaign. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Wolf Conservation Center in Lewisboro and on the Board of the Pound Ridge Library Foundation. Cristina lives with her husband, Ed Scheetz, and their four furry pets and two goats. She has been a real estate agent since 2020 and works with the Ginnel agency.
Sonia Friedman, Board Director
Sonia is a relationship builder and team leader, having served in various account management and business development roles at creative agencies throughout her career. She has experience managing multi-channel communications and content marketing campaigns for clients in the healthcare, nonprofit, travel and financial services sector. An avid reader and supporter of public libraries throughout her life, she is pleased to join the Pound Ridge Library Foundation board. When not working, Sonia enjoys playing tennis, spending time with her family and friends, and exploring Pound Ridge and the surrounding areas.
Jessica Watts, Board Director
Jessica has worked in the athletic, construction, and sustainability fields. She has had numerous roles directing tennis and paddle programs as well as large scale tournaments in both the private and recreation realm. She was also a LEED AP for commercial construction, and has brought that passion into her most recent role as a real estate agent focused on sustainability. She has been a Pound Ridge Resident since 2016 and is currently serving on the Recreation Committee and the steering committee for the Bedford-Pound Ridge Women’s Collective. She is a huge advocate of bringing communities together, which is why she believes libraries and recreation are paramount to communities. She can be found exploring the local trails and paths, in her garden, baking away in the kitchen, or hanging with her family (four dogs included).
Peter Kraft, Board Director
Peter grew up in Pound Ridge, originally moving here in 1979 with his family. The community was central to his upbringing as he attended Pound Ridge Elementary School, learned to swim at the town park and began reading thanks to the library. In 2020, Peter and his wife Nadia moved back to Pound Ridge and have enjoyed being part of the community again. Peter also currently serves on the Pound Ridge Economic Development Committee. Peter graduated from Bard College and is a VP of National Accounts for Miller Zell, a provider of branded environments for retail, banking, and collegiate institutions.
Rebecca Fay Walsh, Board Director
Fay is a creative entrepreneur and Metropolitan Opera award-winning soprano vocalist among other things. Her photographs have been published prominently in the NY Times, Esquire, Elle, Marie Claire, L’Officiel, WSJ, The New Yorker, and many other major publications. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she moved to town after learning about Pound Ridge from friends in the Contemporary Art world. In her spare time, she enjoys creating musical events that bring people together and delving into interior design. She lives in town with her husband Tom, her son Finn, and her two French bulldogs.
Karen Waller, Board Member
Karen currently assists in the management of a family business in the wholesale distribution of Collectibles. Prior to that Karen devoted more than 25 years practicing as a Dental Hygienist for a prominent Manhattan periodontist following her graduation from The Forsyth School of Dental Hygiene and Columbia University. She has been involved in nonprofit volunteer work throughout the years, including active participation in the Scarsdale PTA chairing numerous fund-raisers. Karen is also a long-standing member of the Home Owners’ Association where she resides.
Her parents, voracious readers themselves, instilled in Karen a love of reading all types of books. This love of literature is of one the reasons Karen is delighted to join the Pound Ridge Library Foundation and is looking forward to the many ways she can contribute to something she is so passionate about.
When she’s not reading, her other interests include music, theater, baking, and sports. Karen currently lives in Pound Ridge with her husband, has twin daughters, and recently became a grandmother.
Aleksa Yepez, Board Member
Aleksa is a corporate lawyer at NBCUniversal, focused on Ad Sales, Marketing, and Commerce. Formerly of Condé Nast, Aleksa enjoys the excitement of the fast paced publishing and entertainment world, but balanced by the slow pace of coming home to her family in Pound Ridge. As a working mother of soon to be two, Aleksa values the importance of building a community that supports families, and is eager to provide her perspective and expertise to the PRLF board in pursuit of those goals. Outside of work, Aleksa loves to workout at the local PR gym, spend time with her family, and take long walks through town – ideally with an iced matcha always in hand!
Sharbari Bose Kamat, Board Member
Sharbari has worked in marketing and communications for the past 15+ years, most recently as the communications manager for the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation. Previously, she was on the communications team at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, and prior to that, at the publishing house Simon & Schuster. Sharbari currently chairs Pound Ridge’s Human Rights Advisory Committee, is a director for the Pound Ridge Partnership, and is part of the steering committee for the Bedford-Pound Ridge Women’s Collective. A graduate of NYU and Brooklyn College, she lives in Pound Ridge with her husband, two boys, and rescue pup. She loves to read and always has a tower of books on her nightstand. As of 2022, she has begun filming her first documentary.
Rebecca Wing, Board Member
Our History
Since its founding in 1952, the Pound Ridge Library—then known as Hiram Halle Library—has been a small library with big hopes, gradually increasing its collection from a few thousand to tens of thousands of resources. In 2004, the Pound Ridge Library was designated as a special district library, chartered by the New York State Board of Regents and governed by a publicly-elected Board of Trustees. Funds for the support and operation of the library are levied and collected annually via taxes in the Town of Pound Ridge. The Pound Ridge Library Foundation was formed in 2004 to further support and supplement the Library’s future growth. The Foundation’s board members, donors, and volunteers have donated their time, money, and talents to turn the Library’s requests into realities. Today, residents enjoy many Library services and improvements thanks to the Foundation’s generosity.