Grant Category: Members

Kathryn has been a member of the Board of Directors since 1992.  She is the granddaughter of the founders of the foundation, Kathryn and Ellis Phillips.   

As a member of the Board, Kathryn is interested in arts and historic preservation projects.  She is also interested in the growing farm to table trend at local, rural food pantries that works to end hunger in a sustainable manner, while working with local farmers to provide nutrient rich food to those in need.  Kathryn also lends her talents to preserving open land in Columbia County, NY.

Kathryn has a B.A. in History of Art and Fine Arts from Cornell University, and has completed graduate study at Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing, Aix en Provence, France and at Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester NY.  She has also studied photography and printmaking. Her art work has been shown in Ithaca, Rochester, Red Hook, and Hudson NY.  For more than two decades she was the sole proprietor of Noel Phillips Gilding and Restoration, which provided conservation of gilded antique frames and furniture.  Kathryn lives in Hudson, NY. 

Cynthia Phillips has been a member of the Board of Directors since 1996.   She is the granddaughter of the founders of the foundation, Kathryn and Ellis Phillips. 

Cynthia has studied extensively, both informally and formally, and has a wide range of interests, including Philosophy, Psychology, Comparative Religion studies, History of Western European Music and Literature.  As a member of the Board, her grant interests specifically include historic preservation, music, and the arts.

Cynthia spent several years living in Wales, where she indulged in her love of travel, nature, folk music and poetry.  One of her main passions in life has been guitar playing (pickin’), songwriting in the folk/rock/blues genres, and harmony singing, which is reflected in her foundation interest in music and the arts.  Previous work experience includes working on a dairy farm, as a docent and educator at science and history museums, as a certified Home Health Aide, and as a volunteer with her local public school.  Cynthia currently splits her time between Rhinebeck, NY and northern Maine.