Saratoga County’s
WOMEN of
Influence 2020 Complimentary
Brought to you by:
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Saratoga County’s Women of Influence
through the years... 2008
2009
2010
2011
Terry Lee Julie Bonacio Linda Toohey Susan Halstead Dee Sarno
Benita Zahn Elizabeth Alexander Susan Dake Krystle Nowhitney Karen Deandrea
Barbara Glaser Natalie Sillery Francine Dingman Karen Dake Sandy Foster
Cindy Munter Jamie Williams Mary C. Powers Michelle Larkin Rabbi Motzkin Sara Mannix
2012
2013
2014
2015
Stephanie Ferradino Melissa Zeiker Valeri Muratori Melissa Ward Sue Commanda Mary Gavin
Joanne DiMarco Cynthia Hollowood Meg Kelly Michele Riggi Holly Schwarz-Lawton Theresa Skaine Robin Solomon
Colleen Carlson
Karen Flewelling Kathleen Fyfe Jessica Patriccione Heather Straughter Amy Sutton
Paula Fidalgo Kim Klopstock Tara Pleat Amy Raimo Patty Riggi Nancy Trimbur
2016
2017
2018
2019
Shelly Amato Jane Mastaitis Libby Coreno Christianne Smith Gayle Lasalle Miyo Reed Laura Obrien
Jane Kromm Teddy Foster Robin Dalton Lynette Whaley Karen Heggen Lisa Breen
Angela Amedio Laura DiRado Patty Laudicina Michele Madigan Cindy Phillips Dora Lee Stanley
2020
Maggie Fronk Bo Goliber Megan Harris-Pero Dr. Renee Goodemote Elizabeth Sobol
Rev. Kate Forer June MacClelland Molly McMaster Morgoslepov Kathy McNeice Lisa Moser Shelby Schneider
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Congratulations to Saratoga County’s
WOMEN of
Influence 2020 & Thank You to Our Sponsor: from
WOMEN of
Influence 2020 Brought to you by
SARATOGA TODAY
PUBLISHER/EDITOR Chad Beatty GENERAL MANAGER Robin Mitchell MARKETING DIRECTOR Chris Bushee ADVERTISING Jim Daley Cindy Durfey
PUBLISHER OF: Simply Saratoga • Saratoga BRIDE Saratoga Family • Healthy Saratoga Welcome Home • Equicurean • Saratoga Christmas and of course... Saratoga TODAY Newspaper Five Case Street Saratoga Springs, New York 12866 Phone: 518-581-2480 Fax: 518-581-2487 saratogaTODAYnewspaper.com
Local news never looked this good!
DISTRIBUTION Kim Beatty Carolina Mitchell GRAPHIC DESIGN Kacie Cotter-Sacala ADVERTISING DESIGN Kacie Cotter-Sacala ARTICLES WRITTEN BY Saratoga TODAY Staff Writers PHOTOGRAPHY Lindsey Fish of SuperSource Media
Rev. Kate Forer pg. 4
June MacClelland pg. 8
Molly McMaster Morgoslepov pg. 13 Kathy McNeice pg. 20
Lisa Moser pg. 25
Shelby Schneider pg. 34
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Reverend Kate Forer written by Lori Mahan • photos by Lindsey Fish of SuperSource Media, LLC. (unless noted)
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W
ith a passion for the homeless, Reverend Kate Forer took Code Blue responsibilities to her congregation and set about finding it a home.
“Code Blue has been on my radar and my congregations radar for a long time. It’s hard to ignore the homeless when it’s right there. It’s a passion for a lot of people in the congregation. We have church members who have volunteered for Code Blue for years and before I arrived, the congregation was involved in starting the first Code Blue, too,” Forer explained. Forer arrived and began her tenure as senior pastor in 2016 but before that, she was a Massachusetts girl and a North Carolina lover.
“I grew up in Massachusetts and my parents were what I refer to as ‘church shoppers.’ We’d be a part of a protestant church for a little while and then they’d leave for some reason and we wouldn’t be part of a church and repeat. I was always on the periphery as a kid in the church world, but I also went to Catholic school for eight years, even though we weren’t catholic. The Catholic schools were just really good where we lived. I felt like I got some really wonderful spiritual formation from the nuns and the priest there but I kind of feel sometimes like I got the good Catholic school part without some of the baggage because I wasn’t Catholic,” she explained.
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There’s never going to be a question for them [kids] about whether or not women can be pastors.”
From there, Forer went to Sarah Lawrence College where she initially wanted to study theater. “Then I read a book on Jewish mysticism and was just hooked with philosophy and religion and studies of all things spiritual. So that continued the trajectory for a while. I think I was very much like a lot of college kids, I was a seeker,” she said. After college, Forer developed an interest in the ministry but she wasn’t sure where to start: she didn’t know what denomination she would be, she wasn’t sure if she was a Christian and began to feel lost. “I decided after college that the one thing I really wanted to learn was to actually produce something with my hands. I had a great liberal arts education, I could read books, I could write papers but I didn’t actually know how to do anything so I went and I worked on a farm in North Carolina for about three years and because I felt like what’s more elemental than growing food? I had an amazing experience at Periwinkle Farm in Chapel Hill and at the same time I started attending a church that really felt like home to me and became the church in which I was ordained,” Forer explained.
The pastors at that church were a married couple who knew of her interest in the ministry and offered her an unofficial one year internship to ensure that before she started a three-year graduate program, she knew this was what she wanted to do. “I absolutely loved the church, all of the potential there, the building of community, and the caring for people and the ritual and the spirituality, I loved it. So, I went to divinity school kind of hoping I wouldn’t be called to ministry, thinking perhaps I’d go on and do something academic, but I repeatedly, through different internships, got called back to the church. And that’s really where I am at home and by the time it was time for me to wrap up my schooling and go into the world, it was pretty clear that that’s where God was calling me and that’s where the Spirit was leading me,” she stated. Part of Forer’s hesitation to lead a congregation was due to the belief that being a pastor “wasn’t hip.” “When people think about pastors they think about old people for the most part,” she laughed. Still, the church is exactly where she was meant to be. As a wife and boy mom of two, Forer has all the support in the world and they do their best to educate their children on the homeless in the area. “There’s never going to be a question for them about whether or not women can be pastors. They kind of run around the church like they own the place which is funny. They’ve got lots of friends in the church and lots of grownups who love them. It’s like a large extended family for my boys, it’s awesome. I’ve talked to them about homeless people, I’ve introduced them to some of our homeless friends and I think it’s been really positive for my children to have those interactions.” Forer said of her two boys, Soarin (9) and Rowan (6).
Women of Influence 2020 7 Kate with her kids, Rowan & Soren. Photo provided.
“My husband (Todd) is incredibly supportive. I feel like we’re doing a really good job at the parenting thing. I’m really lucky cause he’s an amazing cook and so he takes care of our food needs which is such a blessing not to deal with coming home at the end of a long day and figuring out dinner and all that stuff,” she described. Some women of influence in Forer’s life have been Kathie Jones, the woman who’s farm Forer worked on; Julie Campbell, a woman at her church; and Brene Brown. “I feel like there’s a stereotype that pastors are a little bit boring and stuffy and I really love to have fun. I love to dance, I love to party, I love to be with friends. so for some people that’s surprising at first,” Forer described herself. Reverend Kate can be found inspiring the masses at Presbyterian New England Congregational Church in Saratoga Springs.
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June MacClelland written by Saratoga TODAY Staff Writers • photos by Lindsey Fish of SuperSource Media, LLC. (unless noted)
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ervice to others is woven into the DNA of June MacClelland. Not only is she a 2020 Women of Influence, she was the 2018 ‘Mother of the Year’ at the 70th annual Tulip Fest.
“I got involved with AIM Services 20 years ago. I have a child that I adopted at 21 days of age that has Down Syndrome so I have been extremely interested and concerned with services that are available for children and adults with challenges. A position came open on the board of directors and someone approached me and asked if I’d be interested
in sitting on the board and I said absolutely! Back in 2005, I had become the president of the board and I had to step down because my mom was diagnosed with cancer and I decided to take care of her. In 2007, they had an open position for an executive director. I had been working at Glens Falls Hospital and had been there for 33 years and they were going through a downsize and looking to eliminate positions. I didn’t get eliminated but I saw an opportunity to move to something that was my passion to help individuals with diverse abilities. I applied at AIM Services and was offered it and took it,” MacClelland explained.
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Photo provided.
She has been an executive director at AIM Services for 13 years, and her co-workers describe her as “everyone’s mom.” And being a great mom is just part of who June is. “I got involved in a program called Aim High, which was a program designed specifically for children with down syndrome. I was a single parent and I really wanted to have a child, so I went down the adoption route and I specifically wanted a child that had down syndrome. I got connected with an organization in Long Island; they place children with special needs with parents specifically looking for children with special needs, and that’s how I got Megan. I actually had one child prior to her but I lost her to heart disease,” MacClelland explained. Megan is now 32 and living in a group home in Gloversville run by Lexington ARC where she is thriving. “She does amazing there. They do a ton of stuff and she comes home a lot normally, a few times a month. She’s very active with our family and everything we do. We just came back from an eight-day Disney cruise that she went on with us and had an absolute blast,” she said. MacClelland works hard to give her daughter the best life she can, and believes that path was given to her by God. Megan started at Prospect Child Center when she was two to work on physical, speech, and occupational therapy and then she transferred into Queensbury in second grade and was in special education classes. In 2002, they moved to Warrensburg and she attended that school and graduated from there in 2006. Megan continued to attend school until she was 21 and then she moved into a group home.
“I am deeply spiritual and I just feel very strongly like God leads me to do certain things to open my heart to other people, and when I look back I think I was led down this path because it is my passion. Every one of the individuals in our care, my daughter, and my daughter’s friends, they just matter to me beyond belief,” MacClelland explained. “The best part of raising Megan was seeing the world through her eyes because she is a pill,” she laughed. “She notices everything, she absolutely loves, beyond explanation, music, Disney, and theater. When she was little, she would run on the beach and chase sandpipers. She was just a carefree and happy kid,” MacClelland said of Megan. With the state of the world, MacClelland is understandably concerned about her residents and COVID-19. “My biggest concern is that we keep it out of AIM residential programs because they are congregant settings and a lot of people come and go and it’s very alarming for us. We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure that all of our employees are well and that they have proper protective equipment to use and that there is an increase of hand washing and the disinfecting of the houses. And just like everywhere else, we’ve restricted any visitation. We are being extremely careful of taking anyone into the community unless absolutely necessary. So far, we’ve had no issue, praise God” she said, stating her concerns. MacClelland still has other concerns for her residents beyond the world’s pandemic.
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Photos provided.
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...I just do what I feel is necessary and I feel led to do in my spiritual walk.”
“Being so involved in this community, I see the unintentional unawareness that people have for the needs of adapting stores and restaurants to individuals with specific handicaps. For instance, Saratoga is such a loving community and they are very kind to our population, but it is extremely difficult to get in and out of the stores in Saratoga especially down Broadway with a wheelchair. I think that is something that has been an unintentional oversight of people who can make a big difference to making things more accessible for people who really want to partake in the community,” she explained. Big outings are difficult for them. They have to strategically park their cars due to residents in wheelchairs and unaccessible sidewalks, they also have to plan the stores and restaurants in advance for the same reason. “I think that’s something that Saratoga needs to take a conscious step towards trying to correct. I think Saratoga cares very much and would be very willing to do so, I think they just haven’t thought of it yet,” MacClelland affirmed.
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Natalie Sillery nominated MacClelland for Women of Influence and June herself explains why. “To me, it’s very humbling because I don’t see myself as a woman of influence yet my peers and colleagues that I work with are continually telling me that I am, that all of my employees just wait to hear my voice and wait to see me.
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They love to hear my laughter and my singing in the halls and my willingness to support them when they need it. But honestly, I don’t see it. I don’t see it for myself. I just do what I feel is necessary and I feel led to do in my spiritual walk,” she said. We are excited to see where you go from here, June.
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Molly McMaster Morgoslepov written by Lori Mahan • photos by Lindsey Fish of SuperSource Media, LLC. (unless noted)
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“
...I am grateful that I had it [cancer]because it gave me some sense of purpose and I was able to make sense out of it by helping other people.”
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appy 23rd birthday Molly, You have cancer.
“I was going to school at Colorado State University and I had all the symptoms for it, so I went to the doctor multiple times. I had blood in my stool, I was vomiting, I had abdominal pain and was losing weight. The doctor kept telling me I was constipated, I had irritable bowel syndrome, I was a stressed-out college student, so she kept trying to treat me that way. Of course, I didn’t know to ask about colon cancer. I didn’t even know what that was,” Morgoslepov explained.
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She moved back to New York and within 12 hours she was in the emergency room. Her x-ray revealed she had a total blockage in her large intestine and that she needed emergency surgery. The next day they removed 25”of her large intestine. “The tumor was the size of my doctor’s two fists,” she recounted. She felt better after the surgery, but she didn’t understand the long road she had ahead of her. Once she was explicitly told by her doctor on the morning of her 23rd birthday that she had cancer, she thought she was going to die.
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“I started thinking about ways to kill myself because I was depressed about my hair and becoming poor little Molly with cancer so that part of it was devastating,” Morgoslepov said. “My parents came into the room and I made them leave and then my phone kept ringing. I kept letting it ring and then I finally answered it and it was a friend of mine calling from Colorado to say happy birthday. I started crying and he said ‘what’s the matter’ and I told him I just got diagnosed with colon cancer. He stopped for a second and he said, ‘that sucks!’ and then he said ‘you know what…you’re Molly, you’re strong so you’re going to beat this,’” she explained. That little comment from a friend was the push she needed to believe she could beat the cancer. During chemo at Glens Falls Hospital, Molly lived at home with her parents when she came up with the idea to roller-blade across the country to raise awareness for colon cancer.
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“There were so many people involved. Glens Falls Hospital was a huge support to me because they took all of the donations in and they oversaw it all and helped me to make it much bigger than just me. My boyfriend at the time built a website where people could go and check the map and see where I was and there was a guestbook where people could sign in and leave messages for me. I called into the local radio station in Glens Falls every morning. Glens Falls, in particular, got really behind me and it was pretty awesome. I never could have done it without so many people, including my mother Trudy, who drove the RV behind me at 10 miles an hour across the country. She calls it her idle across America,” she laughed.
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Amanda & Molly.
Morgoslepov roller-skated across America in 71 days. Along the way, she made friends and lifelong connections via the website guest book, including Amanda, a 25-year-old woman with two kids and stage three colon cancer from Little Rock, Arkansas. “It was an instant friendship. She and I stayed in touch and then out of the blue, I got another email from Amanda’s cousin and she had been told she only had three months to live. ‘More than anything in the world she wants to meet you. Would you fly here? We’ll buy you a ticket.’ I didn’t think twice. I was on a plane three days later to visit,” Morgoslepov said. While there, they were featured on the news in Little Rock and then the following week after that they both were on the Today Show together. Amanda was on her couch doing it via satellite and Molly went down to New York. Sadly, Amanda passed away in 2001. Between her promise to Amanda to continue raising awareness and Katie Courick’s offer to have her back on the show, Morgoslepov had her wheels spinning. One morning in the shower, she decided she was going to build a giant colon. It was going make people laugh, but more importantly, it was going to make people talk about it. She has also hosted Jimmy Kimmel and the giant colon was on stage during the episode. “That’s what we wanted: to get colons where they didn’t belong,” Morgoslepov explained.
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Photos provided.
Molly carrying the Olympic Torch.
Morgoslepov has been in remission for the last 21 years. In that time, she met her husband Sergei, and had two children: Kyril (13) and Maks (11). “When you get to the other side of the cancer there are two types of people: people who are grateful that it happened to them and the people who never want to talk about it again. For me, I am grateful that I had it because I feel like it gave me some sense of purpose for my life and I feel like I was able to make sense out of it by helping other people,� Morgoslopev stated. Since her diagnose over two decades ago Molly has also carried the Olympic Torch, played a shift for all 14 teams in the United Hockey League, authored a memoir about her experience, published an annual calendar for colon survivors called the Colondar, and opened the Saratoga and Albany Ninja Labs. To learn more, check out her book One Drop of Rain: Creating a Wave of Colon Cancer Awareness, available on Amazon.
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Kathy McNeice written by Saratoga TODAY Staff Writers • photos by Lindsey Fish of SuperSource Media, LLC. (unless noted)
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“
...I like knowing I can be of service to someone.”
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s the Program Director for Saratoga Hospital’s Community Health Center, Kathy McNeice is a woman on a mission.
“If I had understood then that the need for more purposeful and meaningful work would land me in this role, I’d have done it so much sooner. I worked for the state for 14 years and it was fine, it was good work. I’m a good employee. But I had no idea what it was like to do something that would directly impact someone standing in front of you. Or directly comfort someone or support someone. That could be staff, the doctors, to help them get the job done that they need to do. Most importantly, it’s the community, it’s the people that we serve here. It’s been really special to be part of a team that is helping to build staff and a group of people that find this work equally meaningful,” McNeice explained.
McNeice helped open the Saratoga Community Health Center in 2013. “My parents always said study what you love and the rest will come. If you had told me I was going to be running a health center when I was in college, I’d have thought you were crazy! But life takes you on your path,” she said. McNeice went to Boston University and received her bachelor’s degree in vocal performance. “I was going to be the next Barbara Streisand,” she laughed. It wasn’t until she interned at Planned Parenthood one summer during college, that McNeice fell in love with healthcare. “Healthcare always spoke to me and taking care of people spoke to me,” she said.
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Photos provided.
While at Planned Parenthood. McNeice worked mostly with the prostitute population. “I found them so fascinating, their needs are so complex. You needed to make sure you were there for them so they could get the care that they needed. That really opened my eyes that there is this whole other world out there that is forgotten about,” McNeice explained. While interning there, she considered social work because of her pull to help people and offer counsel. Once she got started with it though, it wasn’t the right fit. “I like project management, I like big projects, I like digging into projects and coming up with a solution in the end so I thought I could be more impactful in that way so that was what steered me more to health education and community health,” she said passionately. “The folks that work at the community health center are not just here for the job. They know the work will be different and challenging. They have taught me so much about myself and what I needed to know about service and purpose which is really special. So, it turned into this neat spiritual quest of mine, which I never saw coming. I just thought it would be fun to have a job that was more service oriented and then I got all of these gifts on top of it, which was quite a treat,” McNeice said. McNeice loves the partners of the Community Health Center in Saratoga. “I never fear that we can’t solve a problem, but I often fear what am I missing? What pocket do I not know about yet that we can’t help? Whenever we make an ask, it’s delivered ten-fold. It’s just the most impressive community I have ever had the pleasure of serving,” she raved.
Women of Influence 2020 23 She says that the key to success is finding the time to make sure that you can always be in your community. “It’s our job to take that mantra of community based medicine to heart,” she explained. McNeice has a huge support system in her husband JR Duggas; they’ve been together for 13 years. She also has a daughter, Tessa, who is 27, and a son, Cory, who passed away in February 2009 at age 19 from the flu. “JR is such an amazing partner. He is in love with the work that we do here. He’s helped me build the community gardens out behind the center; he comes to every event; he goes on every food drive with me and he helps for thanksgiving dinners here. He’s literally my community right hand, always looking for some other way. So, whatever I say we need, he helps me,” she gushed. When her son passed away, she spent the first year being numb and the second year being angry with no outlet for it. “Grief is a funny thing. It has a path and it’s fascinating. When you try to ignore one of the stages, it’ll come and smack you over the head and say sorry you skipped over me! So the seven stages never go in order but they certainly do arrive when they’re meant to,” McNeice said with wisdom in her tone. McNeice still talks to Cory every day and expects him to be of service and helping wherever he is. “That is the way we will land together when the time comes,” she stated beautifully. McNeice loves to garden in her spare time, she finds it peaceful and soothing and learned everything she knows from her mother. She also enjoys spending time with her “incredibly supportive” family and friends. “I am surrounded by very supportive and bright people. I like smart people, it makes the world go round,” she said. When asked who a woman of influence is to her, she teared up. “The first person that pops to mind as a woman of influence is the woman in a picture frame on my desk, Amy Raimo,” McNeice started. Raimo passed away two years ago this June in a motorcycle accident. She was the executive director and president of the foundation at the Saratoga Hospital.
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“She just taught me so much by observing her, and watching the potential that can come from community engagement, how to really engage your community so that they understand you are completely in it with them, that it isn’t all talk. That was Amy, she taught me everything I can think of in regards to community engagement, which is largely my role,” McNeice said. “If you look at the bigger picture, clearly I like helping. I like knowing I can be of service to someone.”
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Lisa Moser written by Saratoga TODAY Staff Writers • photos by Lindsey Fish of SuperSource Media, LLC.
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hen you want something done, ask a busy person. When you want something done with heart, ask Lisa Moser. At just 44, she has already impacted countless causes by her passion, motivation and generous spirit. Moser and her husband, Robert (Bob), moved to Saratoga in 2008, relocating the corporate headquarters of their Prime Group Holdings here as well. Since then, the company has grown to become the largest private owner-operator of self-storage facilities in the United States. Prime employs 70 in the Railroad Place office alone, and will soon
be expanding again. They are in the initial stages of constructing a new, mixed-use office building on Broadway, next to Saratoga Central Catholic High School. While Moser is the Chief Administrative Officer for Prime Group Holdings, she also co-founded Prime Construction Saratoga in 2017 to offer clients a hands-on, personal building experience that results in the ultimate customized project. But anyone who knows this savvy woman can tell you her most important role, the title she holds above all others, is being “Mom� to her two children, Carson and Emery.
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“Being a mother is my greatest achievement in life,” declared Moser. It’s that love for her children that inspires so much of Moser’s work outside the office, including her commitment as president of the Robert and Lisa Moser Family Foundation. “Bob and I strongly believe that philanthropy is a fundamental part of good business. We are honored to provide support, encouragement and assistance to promote healthcare, education, arts, sports and other activities benefiting children and families.” However, Moser doesn’t merely write a check. She embraces these special charities and gets involved, usually with Bob and the kids by her side. “We want to participate, witness and experience the organization at work.” A perfect example is the Mosers’ dedication to Double H Ranch. For several years, they supported the ranch through various event sponsorships. Then, in 2018, Moser stepped up to lead planning for the 2019 gala. Taking on this role, she explored more of Double H and its extraordinary mission. “Bob and I are blessed with healthy children. We feel incredibly grateful that we are able to help those families who face less fortunate circumstances – like life-limiting illness. Double H fits so many of the criteria we look to support. Carson and Emery volunteer and have both helped raise funds for the ranch. This is a family affair.” Moser joined the board of directors for Double H Ranch last summer, and is again chairing the annual gala, to be held virtually this September.
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We are honored to provide support, encouragement and assistance... benefiting children and families.”
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Complementing these efforts, Moser is very committed to advancing pediatric care at Albany Medical Center. In 2017, her family donated $2.5 million to the Pediatric Cleft Cranial Facial Center at Albany Med; in 2018, they gave another $2.5 million to build the Pediatric Emergency Department. “When we first moved to Saratoga, I met Margie Rotchford. She was an enthusiastic advocate for Operation Smile, part of Medical Missions for Children that was devoted to providing surgeries for children born with cleft conditions,” Moser explained. “I admired her efforts, so we started to support the organization. “A few years later, a friend introduced us to the Cleft Cranial Facial Center at Albany Med and we knew immediately that we wanted to get involved. Children in our area had been required to travel several hours for care in Boston or New York City. Now they could stay closer to home, and see all of their doctors within Albany Med.” Naturally, when a dedicated pediatric emergency department was proposed at the hospital, it made sense to support that effort also. “Since Albany Medical Center is the only children’s hospital in northeastern New York, kids are constantly transported there. The emergency department of a major trauma center is terrifying for anyone, let alone a sick or injured child. Easing children’s fears, lightening an already difficult situation, is part of our mission. We were thrilled to donate.”
In addition to the family’s monetary donations, Moser has given her time to chair Albany Med’s Light Up the Night event for the past three years, and has served on the hospital’s development committee. Just recently, she was asked to join the board. “I am so honored to be part of Albany Medical Center. I truly believe in the hospital and the services it provides to our community.” The list goes on for this busy woman. Moser is on the board of directors for Siena College, her alma mater, the Saratoga Hospital Foundation and Saratoga Wilton Youth Baseball. She is a generous supporter of the Logan Strong Foundation, raising awareness of childhood cancer, and a continued, leading sponsor of various events, including the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s Sizzling Hot Pink Saratoga Luncheon, the Flower & Fruit Mission’s Spring Luncheon and Snow Ball, Saratoga Central Catholic’s Winter Gala and St. Clement’s Annual Spring BALL. With tremendous support from Bob, she’s been able to volunteer for their children too, serving as Treasurer of St. Clement’s School PTO and chairing the school’s largest fundraising event (three times), as well as coaching Saratoga Miss Softball, SWY Baseball and Biddy Basketball. And each week during the school year, Moser leaves the office to prepare hot lunch at St. Clement’s one day, and at Saratoga Central Catholic the next. “Bob and I are a great team. We have our differences – I’m quite relaxed, Bob is a bit more intense. I hold grudges, Bob moves on. But our commitment to each other, to our family, is the same. We would both rather spend a night in with our kids than out on the town.
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“We appreciate the opportunities we have been given and take nothing for granted. Bob and I work hard and are dedicated to whatever we take on. As business owners, we acknowledge the responsibilities we have to our employees and to the community. We share a strong sense of empathy. “And we love animals!” Moser exclaimed. “We live on a 70-acre horse farm with an Arabian, several Thoroughbreds, Gypsy Vanners, six dogs, two bearded dragons, a snake, rabbit and Guinea pig.” The farm alone could be a full-time job, but not for this remarkable wife, mother, friend, community advocate and volunteer. So who influences Moser to live and give as fully as she does? “My mother taught me from a very young age that nothing comes before your family. She was my first best friend and I know I can rely on her for anything. I try to emulate that behavior with my own children. “I also truly admire Susan Dake. She has the ability and grace to command the attention of everyone in the room when she speaks. She is such an incredible businesswoman and philanthropist, while being a very lovely woman and friend.” Many would say the same of you, Lisa Moser. Congratulations!
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Shelby Schneider written by Saratoga TODAY Staff Writers • photos by Lindsey Fish of SuperSource Media, LLC. (unless noted)
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Photos provided.
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helby Schneider was appointed president of the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership (SCPP) in January and within two months was thrown into the middle of a global pandemic.
“We’ve been on the frontlines trying to do everything possible to help the Saratoga County business community. I assumed the role of President in January when we were first hearing about coronavirus in Asia and Europe and seeing disruptions in our global supply chains. By March, when New York started to shelter in place, that is when panic set in amongst our business community,” Schneider explained. One of the first things that SCPP did was reach out to the business community with a survey to identify who’s being impacted and learn what they need.
The Mission of the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership shall be to secure sustainable jobs and capital investment by attracting new business to the County and retain existing businesses by assisting them to grow.
“Over 59% of the businesses said that they were concerned or potentially at risk for closing and many of them said that they would need to lay off their workforce. We saw the most severe impact from our Main Streets - retail, hospitality, and service businesses and they told us they needed emergency financial assistance to pay their bills and employees. We have worked closely with our local partners, federal and state representatives, and the U.S. Small Business Administration, to ensure we were communicating the most consistent information to the business community and walk them through the process of getting aid. And assure that when the federal relief package came out, our businesses were informed, prepared, and ready to apply for funds the minute they came out,” she said.
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According to a new Regional PPP Impacts study by the Center for Economic Growth (CEG), the most Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans were approved in Saratoga County (3,416) and Saratoga County also had the most loans under $150,000 (2,956). “I’d like to think that the collaborative work done by the Saratoga Partnership and our partners made a difference during this incredible difficult time.” Schneider said. “I recently got a text from a small business in Mechanicville thanking us for our help and guidance over the past few months. Her business is her job, her only source of income, the only way to feed her family and pay the bills. She is back to business now and grateful for the support she received. She may be a sole proprietor, but all these small businesses add up to thousands of jobs, millions in tax revenue, needed services for our residents, spaces occupied in our downtowns. This job is incredibly rewarding” Originally from just outside of Amsterdam, she worked for various businesses in Saratoga to support herself while attending Skidmore College.
Photo provided.
“I discovered the field of economic development through my academic advisor at Skidmore. Something that always bothered me was the economic decline that I saw in my community when GE down-sized and the carpet mills closed. I saw how quickly the complexion of the community changed,” she bemused.
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“
the more diversity we have in the economy, the more an exquisite quality of place that we have here...”
She met her husband, Evan, at Skidmore and they decided they wanted to stay in Saratoga but she wanted to take part in making it a better place to be.
Schneider’s big goal during this “new normal transition” is to diversify the way they’re able to deliver information to help and maintain the businesses in the county.
Before joining the Saratoga Partnership, Schneider spent 13 years at the Saratoga Economic Development Corporation where she ran the Empire Zones tax incentive program worked on the development of the Luther Forest Technology Campus and attraction of GLOBALFOUNDRIES to Saratoga County.
“And make sure that when we are able to reopen our doors, we do it as safely and carefully and effectively as possible using health and safety practices to protect our workforce and our customers, so we don’t face another setback,” she said.
“Saratoga has evolved so much since the 90s. I remember when restaurants used to close during the winter. It was different and I see how having a well-diversified economic base is very important. If we have good employers that pay good wages and then we have suppliers that follow them, you see this multiplier effect grow and grow and grow and that can be attributed to the diversity in our economy that we don’t simply just rely on hospitality and tourism, which is such a critical backbone but we have major manufacturers like Quad Graphics, Ball Metal Container, the list really goes on. GlobalFoundries, Ace Hardware, Target Distribution Center, the more diversity we have in the economy, the more an exquisite quality of place that we have here, it just continues to draw investment and opportunity for us. There is really something for everyone here, agriculture and open spaces, it’s hard to pinpoint any one place that benefits our economy the most but having that economic diversity really stabilizes our community from just changes in the economy,” Schneider detailed.
Schneider spends her time thinking innovatively about how they can help businesses reopen. “The main thing is, Saratoga has something unique that a lot of communities don’t have, and that is a deep history and a foundation of health and wellness. It was founded because of our healing waters that we have here. The Native Americans knew about this for years before anyone stumbled upon it and during the Victorian era, we had more hotel rooms per capita than any other place in the country and people would come here for respite long before the race track arrived. Our history of health and wellness, I think is a unique value proposition that we have. I think its going to take a lot of collaboration and creativity to make sure that our new normal is a good normal,” she explained. Schneider was named in the Albany Business Review’s 40 under 40, and recognized as 40 Under Forty by the International Economic Development Council.
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Schneider lists her mom as a woman of influence in her life. “My mom, Judy Phetteplace. I was the youngest of four children and not very long after I was born, my dad encouraged my mom to go into real estate and my dad worked for GE, my family needed extra income. Local brokers used to stop at the house all the time to try to find leads for listings and to find out what was going on because my mother was such a natural connector. Her networking abilities and business sense were a natural asset. She started her own business because she wanted to do things on her own terms so watching her grow her business inspired me from a young age. She was a fantastic role model and was able to balance the demands of work and family. She eventually became the bread winner of the home and I think her work ethic, her drive, inspired me the most,” Schneider gushed. “I’m thrilled to see so many other women in leadership positions in Saratoga County. I think people who are out there balancing a family life, their leadership position, I think sometimes it’s nice to have a woman in the mix because sometimes we think differently. We can bring a lot to the table,” she stated. We’re thrilled to see where you will go, Shelby.
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