Mathew Chetnik (Chair)

Mathew Chetnik is the Director of First Year Experience at Salem State University where he develops and oversees initiatives to support students’ transition from high school to college both in and out of the classroom. Working at previous institutions, Mathew has advised campus LGBTQIA+ student organizations, coordinated Safe Zone trainings for faculty, staff, and students, developed a diversity education theatre troupe, and overseen campus and regional student conferences focused on various social justice issues. Mathew earned a bachelor’s degree in english literature and black studies from SUNY New Paltz, and a master’s degree in student development from Appalachian State University.

Dan Lipcan (Treasurer)

Dan Lipcan is a candlepin bowler, paddleboarder, jaywalker, and librarian, currently the Ann C. Pingree Director of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum. He leads a talented staff charged with stewarding and sharing the library’s extensive collection of books, archives, ships’ journals, broadsides, and ephemera. Dan joined the PEM in 2019 after a sixteen-year tenure at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Watson Library. He serves VAI as Co-Chair of the Memorial Committee and he is a member of the Art Libraries Society of North America's Anti-Racism Task Force.

Sara Moore (Secretary)

Sara Moore is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Salem State University, where she teaches classes on gender, sexuality, health and well-being, family life, and activism. With a background in community-based participatory research, Sara encourages her students to collaborate with community partners beyond the university to identify and examine social inequalities and create meaningful social change. In valuing multiple forms of local and expert knowledge, Sara’s approach builds bridges between universities and communities. She is a member of several organizations in Salem, including the Salem Education Foundation, the Food Policy Council, and the Board of Health. Sara earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Shepherd University, a master’s degree in sociology from The New School, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from George Mason University.

Ana Brea

Ana Brea is an educator, art lover and Salem resident. She is a parent to two adult human children and one Golden Retriever. Ms Brea is a native of the Dominican Republic. She graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design as well as Universidad APEC in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She worked as an art teacher in Santo Domingo for 10 years. In the summer of 2004 she returned to Massachusetts. That September she joined the staff at Salem Academy Charter School, where she serves as a Spanish teacher, Curriculum Team Leader and Service Learning Advisor, as well as occasional service travel leader. After years of working with Salem students and feeling closely connected to this community, she became a Salem resident in 2019. As an educator she is committed to working with her peers and students to dismantle systems of oppression and to decolonize curriculum. In her free time she can be found spending time with loved ones, enjoying art, reading, learning how to grow a garden, running, practicing yoga, going on local adventures with her dog, or trying something new.

Steve Carey

Steve Carey has over 30 years of experience in computer technology and has held jobs at Polaroid, Wang Labs, Gartner Group with stints at some mid range and startup companies. He currently works independently as a website developer while easing into retirement. Having navigated his life from a wheelchair since the age of three due to a severe bout with polio in 1955, Steve is fiercely independent, highly mobile, and welcomes life’s ongoing challenges as opportunities to be inspired and connected. He has led courses in communicating across differences and been a consistent voice for inclusivity in communities that embrace and celebrate diversity. As a longtime resident of Chelmsford, he successfully advocated at a town meeting in the early 1990’s to fund and expand the Lowell Transit Authority’s handicapped transportation services into Chelmsford. Steve graduated with a degree in Philosophy from Dartmouth College and has a wide range of interests. He practices yoga and mindfulness and loves to swim, especially during the summer on Cape Cod.

Jennifer Emerson

Jennifer Emerson has over twenty years of experience as a domestic museum interpreter, first-person interpreter, domestic historian, freelance writer, and actress. Her dedication to sharing history through writing, lecturing, and performance comes from a firm belief that history is the study of choices so that we can make better ones. In 2021 Jennifer began and still presides annually over the June 10th remembrance for Bridget Bishop at the 1692 Witch Trials Memorial on Charter Street. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts, Speech & Film from Keene State College (NH) and an MFA in Creative Writing from Fairfield University (CT). She enjoys baking, knitting, crocheting, walking through graveyards, and writing historical fiction with a pot of tea at her side.

Carolyn Tracy

Carolyn Tracy is the Program Coordinator of the Exploratory Program at Salem State University; she currently works with undeclared students (those who enter the university without a formal major) to help discover their interests and select a major that best fits their passion and goals. She earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and a master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Salem State University. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family, cooking with friends, or reading a good book.