VISION
Through our service, space, and programming, we create equitable futures where every being can thrive. We are building a transformative educational, historic, and cultural hub in the spirit of Zadock Pratt—a shining star on the mountaintop that champions land, people, communities, and ideas.
MISSION STATEMENT
- Be a critical beacon of local research and education
- Serve and preserve through community-minded programming, events, and encounters that tell expansive stories
- Contextualize and cultivate ideas that matter
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Officers
Carolyn Bennett, President
Carolyn Bennett has served as Prattsville Town Historian since 2005. She was Director of the Zadock Pratt Museum from 1995-2000 and 2011-2022. A former editor of Catskill Tri–County Historical Views and Catskill Mountain Region Guide, and the area newspapers, the Windham Journal (1982-1990) and the Mountain Eagle (1990-1995), she is the author of numerous published articles about Zadock Pratt, Prattsville, and the art and history of the Northern Catskills. She has taught Literature and Creative Writing at Columbia-Greene Community College and served as Marketing Director for the Catskill Mountain Foundation. She fell in love with the book industry at an early age, studying book design and letterpress printing at the Center for Book Arts in NYC, working as Book Production Supervisor for Macmillan Book Clubs, establishing her own small press (Gull Books (1970-1980), and later owning and operating an independent bookstore, Terra Books, in Lexington NY.
Frank Marquit, Treasurer
A descendent of Zadock Pratt, Frank has had a lifelong interest in the Museum. His mother, Millie Harkness, a founding member of the Museum, was a long-time town clerk, in fact the longest serving town clerk in New York State. Mille, Frank and his brother lived in the Museum when the Museum was a boarding house, in Frank’s youth. Born and raised in Prattsville, Frank was a member of the volunteer Fire Department, before he left town to strike out on his own. He has an abiding interest in Prattsville history. A long-time member and supporter, he also served as a volunteer tour guide in the past. His experience with non-profits is wide and deep. In the mid-1990s he formed a successful non-profit, National Artists for Mental Health. Currently he is a life coach and manager of an antique and jewelry shop. His desire to be a member of the Board of Directors grows out of his love for Prattsville, his deep family roots in the Town, his knowledge of town and local history, and his desire to do good for his birth town.
Directors
Nancy Barton
Nancy Barton is an artist and educator who has exhibited, curated, taught, and lectured on art, and creative placemaking in the U.S., Asia, Africa, and Europe. She is an Associate Professor at New York University and a 20-year resident of Prattsville, NY. She founded the non-profit Prattsville Art Center in 2012, to help the town recover from its near destruction from Hurricane Irene. The Center is a socially engaged art project that works with the Zadock Pratt Museum to highlight the Town Founder’s design for Prattsville as one of America’s first planned communities, to celebrate his vision of rural and urban residents through creativity and collaboration.
Sara Muskulus
Sara is a development professional with over ten years of experience. She is currently the Assistant Director of Leadership Gifts and Planned Giving at The Frick Collection in New York City. When not working, she is a freelance photographer who explores the finer points in nature through her work, focusing on overlooked moments and intricate details not often enjoyed in our otherwise fast-paced lifestyle. She has exhibited at FIGMENT NYC on Governors Island, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Local Color Gallery with The Creative Center, University Settlement, Dobbin Street, and the Medford Arts Center. Sara is a native New Yorker who resides in Ridgewood, Queens and has been a part-time Prattsville resident for the last ten years. She is excited to be on the Board of the Zadock Pratt Museum and is eager to see what the future holds for the legacy and creative culture in town and hopes the new energy will bring a renewed interest in the institution.
Kris Seto
Kris is a movement artist, writer, creative director, and somatics healing practitioner, and a Lexington resident. Kris sees additional dimensions in the Museum’s future, including a challenge to people’s understanding of history and art. As an accessible space that offers new ways of seeing, Kris believes that the Museum could bring unconventional programming and events to engage the public, especially children and families.
Harvey Truesdell
A long-time Board member and Prattsville resident, Harvey shares these goals and will work with the Board to achieve them. An important collector of unique historical images, he knows the power of these visual historical markers in telling many stories of our local communities and plans exhibitions and talks for the Museum.
Zadock Pratt Museum 