The Adirondack Folk School (AFS) in Lake Luzerne, a nonprofit organization that celebrates and preserves the cultural history of the Adirondacks and promotes creativity and self-reliance by teaching the arts, crafts and traditions, has hired Terri Cerveny as executive director.
Cerveny comes to AFS after having retired to Lake Luzerne from a career in fundraising and development work with some prominent Capital Region nonprofit organizations.
In her most recent role, Cerveny served as vice president of college relations for Union College from 2014-2019. Prior to that, she served as senior vice president and chief development officer for the Albany Medical Center Foundation.
“We are thrilled to welcome Terri Cerveny to The Adirondack Folk School,” said
Tanya Tobias, president of the AFS board of directors. “Terri brings a unique blend of expertise, passion for the School and what we do, and a strategic vision that aligns seamlessly with our organization’s values, goals, and plans for the future. In Terri, we have a new leader who will inspire our staff, faculty, students, and stakeholders, lead strategic planning and operations, and be the engaging voice of our school.”
Cerveny succeeds Scott Hayden, who led AFS for five years before moving to a nonprofit organization that serves children’s needs.
She was selected following a search for a permanent executive director led by the board of directors of AFS.
“I’m excited to take on the role of executive director of the Adirondack Folk School where the work we do to teach the arts and crafts of the Adirondacks—from basketry to blacksmithing, to fiber arts, woodworking, and many more—will ensure the traditions of this historic region live on through our students and their children,” Cerveny said.
“Now more than ever, people are interested in working with their hands and nurturing their creativity. This combination has been growing in popularity since the pandemic and our enrollment has been growing right along with it. I look forward to building on this momentum by continuing to expand our program and performance offerings, broaden our outreach, grow our audience, and expand our team and our facilities on the Luzerne campus.”
AFS was inspired by the town of Lake Luzerne Comprehensive Revitalization Plan in 2009 with a goal of attracting more business to the downtown hamlet section of town while providing economic opportunity for local artisans. Its mission is to celebrate and preserve the cultural heritage of the Adirondacks and promote creativity and self-reliance by teaching the arts, crafts and traditions that define our legendary region.
Since its founding in 2010, AFS has grown to offer nearly 300 classes in 20 areas of craft, such as canoe building, weaving, woodworking, photography, basketry, blacksmithing and more, from 50-plus instructors, serving nearly 1000 students each year from the campus in Lake Luzerne and satellite facility in Lake George . It has over 6,000 alumni throughout North America.
Learn more about the Adirondack Folk School at www.adirondackfolkschool.org.