Terry Joshi - President
Terry Joshi has spent her entire life as an involved citizen and a donor to environmentally concerned organizations and politicians. Ms. Joshi has recently chosen to exercise her passion locally in her long time home, Yonkers. She aspires to provide future generations with free access to a naturalized shoreline of the great Hudson River and also believes that it would be wise to preserve the city’s historic buildings for the simple reason that they give us aesthetic pleasure; that we should save as much open land as possible so that our fellow creatures have somewhere to live; that sustainable-building practices are an international imperative; that an eleven-story mall is going to look sadly out of character in the middle of our oldest neighborhood; and that we have a moral obligation to give the Hudson River the care, concern and celebrity that it deserves as one of the world’s great waterways.
Terry is also Vice-Chair of the Yonkers Land Conservancy, and a member of the Yonkers Green Policy Task Force. Her professional life has been spent in various aspects of the performing arts as a community theatre producer, professional coordinator of international tours for musical ensembles, and grant-writer. She is currently the Director of Public Relations and Special Events at the Hoff-Barthelson Music School in Scarsdale.
Audra Moran - Vice-President
Audra Moran moved to Yonkers in 2004 and joined RCCY, a neighborhood group in northwest Yonkers to encourage more “planful” waterfront development along upper Warburton. She quickly became interested in the larger downtown plans, as well, and helped organize YCSD’s 2008 municipal leaders’ symposium to address regional implications of waterfront development. Audra believes that a truly successful city-wide revitalization must begin with an integrated, planned approach which actively engages and takes into account the entire community being served. Professionally, Audra is Vice-President of Development and Scientific Affairs at NARSAD, an organization that raises and distributes funds to scientists seeking to treat and ultimately prevent brain and behavior disorders. She lives in an 1898 Victorian in the Greystone area of Yonkers with her husband and son, and all make regular use of the old Croton Aqueduct, Hudson River, and many of the other plentiful resources and beautiful spaces in Yonkers.
Ann Miller - Treasurer
Ann Miller, along with her husband Gary, moved to North-West Yonkers in 2004. The diversity of the population in Yonkers, the potential of the city, and the beautiful views of the Hudson River from their apartment were key reasons. When they realized that this view would be devastated by planned development, they got involved. The Hudson River should be the centerpiece of development downtown with ample parkland and access for all, not just a background for high-end high-rise towers.
“We let a river shower its banks with a spirit that invades the people living there, and we protect that river, knowing that without its blessings the people have no source of soul.” -- Thomas Moore.
Hestia de Vries - Recording Secretary
Hestia de Vries is an advocate of creating more green spaces and more play spaces. She believes that Downtown Yonkers has great potential to reclaim its old glory and attract single young professionals, seniors, and families, and thus provide the much needed foot-traffic for the local stores and restaurants… as long as it provides something unique for pedestrians, such as waterfront access, historic references, intimate rest spots and play spaces.
“In the age of on-line shopping, it is not relevant to depend on retail: people will not drive into downtown Yonkers to shop if they can shop more conveniently elsewhere. People look for authentic entertaining and relaxing places first, and they look for shopping (hunting for unique finds or bargains) secondly, as evidenced by most major tourist sites around the world, like her native Holland. Yonkers certainly has that potential … it requires SMART development.
Until recently, Hestia was a brand and design manager at multinational corporations such as Campbell’s Soup and Colgate-Palmolive. Her father-in-law grew up in Yonkers.
Deirdre (Hoare) Rylander - Member-at-Large
Deirdre (Hoare) Rylander was born and raised in Yonkers, where her family has lived for generations. Deirdre holds a BA in Italian and an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University. She returned to Yonkers with her husband in 2004 as a first-time homeowner in the Armour Villa neighborhood, and quickly became involved in local opposition to the Ridge Hill development project on Yonkers' east side. This experience led her to become a community activist, establishing Community First! Development Coalition with her neighbor Martin McGloin in 2005 (http://communityfirstdevelopmentcoalition.blogspot.com) Deirdre and Martin were awarded the Community Service Award by the Hudson River Community Association (HRCA) in 2008.
In addition to being a founding member of YCSD, Deirdre also serves on the boards of the Armour Villa Neighborhood Association and Yonkers Historical Society.
“My goal is to empower Yonkers citizens to fully participate in the decisions that shape our city through sharing knowledge and mutual support. Together, we can achieve government responsiveness, transparency and accountability, particularly in relation to economic development projects that frequently end up short-changing the community and improving only the well-being of well-connected developers and enabling politicians.”