Sally Ng Briggs
Board President

Sally Ng Briggs brings over 20 years of executive experience in strategic planning, operations, sales, marketing, and finance, in both the high technology and consumer product industries. Her passion to help others has led her to many volunteer projects and her support of charitable organizations.

Laura Mackenzie
Vice President

Laura Mackenzie recently retired after almost two decades as an executive at Mastercard, serving as Senior Vice President Global Financial Inclusion. In this role she was responsible for driving product solutions to deliver Mastercard's Financial Inclusion commitment to the World Bank by reaching unbanked and underserved individuals around the globe.

Not ready to fully retire yet, she is now consulting for the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) helping the United Nations efforts to drive financial inclusion, especially to women, around the world.

Prior to her 19 years at Mastercard, Laura began her career in fashion with luxury global brands Ralph Lauren, Anne Klein and Nicole Farhi before making a move into the financial sector while living in South Africa. She has spent many years living and working overseas in Barcelona, London, and Johannesburg.

Westchester county has been home for the past 20 years where she raised her 3 children and enjoys giving back to the community. She has served previously on boards at Rye Presbyterian Church and on the Executive Board of the Westchester Putnam County Boy Scouts of America.

Michael Carter
Treasurer

Michael Carter has been a student at Clay Art Center for the past five years where his wife is an Artist. He has assisted is various facility repair and upgrade projects over the years and enjoys working with the Clay Art Center community. He was a Studio Art major in college and has a Masters in Architecture and Business Administration. Michael began his 40 year career as an Architect and later transitioned to real estate development and real estate finance where he works today. Michael volunteered and was elected to the RTM of the Town of Greenwich for 8 years and served on the Land Use Committee and Town Buildings Committee of the First Selectman.

Emma McKee
Board Secretary

Emma McKee is a People strategy leader for a national non-profit organization. Emma's passion is creating People strategies that enable individuals to feel empowered and to thrive; establishing trust and taking a holistic approach to the employee experience are key to helping people do their best work. Prior to her work in the People field, Emma spent a significant portion of her career in insurance and operations, which has helped her maintain a big-picture approach to her work in the People field. She has a bachelor's degree in finance from Michigan State University, a master's degree in Organizational Psychology from University of Hartford, and considers herself a life-long learner.

Emma took her first class at Clay Art Center in Fall of 2020 and has been a committed student ever since. Emma lives in New Rochelle, NY with her husband, daughter, and two dogs. In her free time she enjoys long walks with the family and road trips.
 

Carol Chevlowe 
Board Director

Carol has held the executive positions of President and Vice President of the Board. She currently chairs the Human Resources committee and was the past chair of the Development committee. Her involvement with Clay Art Center began in 2005 as a student. When Clay Art Center became a nonprofit organization in 2007, Carol became involved in fundraising, joining the Development Committee and working on Clay Art Center’s Strategic Plan. When she isn’t devoting her time to the work of the Clay Art Center, Carol volunteers at a local food pantry and manages a community garden where all the food grown supports neighbors who suffer food insecurity. Carol retired in 2020, after 35 years of managing a small business.

Jessica Berkowitz
Board Director

Jessica has been a radiologist in private practice for over twenty years and she worked in academic settings prior to that. While the connection between medicine and art may not be readily apparent at first glance, radiology is a very visual field that involves quite a bit of attention to detail, complex problem solving with out of the box thinking, visual investigation, and pattern recognition, all of which are important skills for an artist!  Prior to going to medical school, Jessica spent one year at FIT in Manhattan studying silversmithing and jewelry design. Now only working part-time, Jessica spends time as a maker and as a supporter of Clay Art Center. Previously, Jessica was on the Board of Congregation KTI and was involved with the Carver Center and Meals on Main Street in Port Chester.

Jessica Berkowitz is a long-time Port Chester resident who has dabbled at working in clay at the Clay Art Center over several decades. Jessica is a dedicated tennis player kayaker and knitter. While her children are now adults, Jessica brought her daughter to the Clay Art Center while she was in middle school and got her son interested in metal forging while he was still at living at home. 

Claire Cohen
Board Director

Claire Cohen first came to Clay Art Center in 2011 to fulfill a lifelong dream of learning to use the potter’s wheel. She continued as a student and then worked in Clay Art Center’s Independent Study program before becoming a Clay Art Center Artist in 2018. Today she continues to pursue her passion for wheel-throwing functional pottery in porcelain. Prior to beginning her clay journey, Claire had a 23 year career at Citigroup and comes to the Board with extensive experience in strategic planning, business & organizational development and market research. She is a certified mediator with experience in community dispute resolution, custody/visitation and special education mediation. She is a founding member and has been involved in the leadership of Impact100 Westchester, a woman’s collective giving organization engaging woman in philanthropy. In addition to clay, her creative pursuits include gardening, a cappella singing and playing the violin. She is the mother of three and lives with her husband in Pleasantville, NY.

Earlene Hardie Cox
Board Director

Earlene Hardie Cox is a sculptural artist at the Clay Art Center where she has a studio. She has served as Treasurer and as an executive committee member. She is an international tax lawyer and a retired executive with 23 years of corporate business experience.

David Fisch
Board Director

David Fisch has been a student at the Clay Art Center for the past three years and has volunteered on the finance committee before joining the board.

He studied accounting at the University of Michigan and earned his CPA while working in public accounting. After transitioning to equity research, David discovered his passion for real estate. For the past 20 years, he has led a real estate valuation firm in Manhattan.

David lives in Westchester with his wife and two children. He has also served on the Mamaroneck Board of Education Selection Committee. In his free time, he enjoys exploring different cultures through travel and food.

Development Committee

Laura Mackenzie (Chair)

Peter Arnow

Michelle Avery

Melissa Gallaher-Smith

Emily Gumpel

Sheetal Mehta

Paulina Portero

Finance Committee

Michael Carter (Chair)

Valerie Calloway

Jonathan Cancro

Earlene Hardie Cox

David Fisch

Kristin Mailen

Sally Ng

Board Development/Bylaws Committee

Rose Foley (Chair)

Carol Chevlowe

Claire Cohen

Dalia Concepcion

Eric Hsu

Julie Leblang

Human Resources Committee

Carol Chevlowe (Chair)

Rose Foley

Deb Heid

Emma McKee

Bob Miranti

Charles Siegel

Facilities Committee

Jessica Berkowitz (Chair)

Howard Cohen

Steve Hall

Robin Henschel

Jeffrey Janowicz

Robert Klein

Jackie Welsh

Executive Committee

Sally Ng, President

Laura Mackenzie, Vice President

Michael Carter, Treasurer

Emma McKee, Secretary

Carol Chevlowe, Former President (2019-2023)