Meet the Trustees

Having spent numerous weekends with friends on Shelter Island, Henry Fayne and his wife Niki bought their Deer Park Lane home in August of 2019. They continue to maintain their residence in Manhattan.

As a long-term board member of a non-profit organization serving youth and families, Henry came to appreciate how important it is to have a place that is safe and nurturing, a place where one can be part of community, and a place where learning can be fun. It was immediately evident to him that the Shelter Island Library is such a place. He is delighted to have the opportunity to help make it even better for the entire community.

During his thirty-year career with American Electric Power (AEP), one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, Henry held senior positions on both the operating and financial sides of the business. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President of Energy Services and was responsible for transmission, distribution and customer service operations for the AEP system. He also served as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President - Financial Services and was responsible for financial planning and budgeting, risk management, internal audits, accounting and treasury functions. Since retiring from AEP in 2004, Henry has been providing advisory and consulting services to various energy-intensive industrial companies and has served on several corporate and non-profit boards. He is currently a director of JPMorgan Infrastructure Investments Fund, Chairman of the Board of Summit Utilities, and President of the Board of 140 East 83rd Tenants Corp. Henry holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Columbia College of Columbia University and a Masters of Business Administration degree in Finance from the Columbia School of Business.

Jo-Ann Robotti is a passionate proponent of public libraries, and traces some of her best childhood memories to the library in her hometown of Stamford, Connecticut. Jo-Ann and her husband, Joe Messing, came to Shelter Island as newlyweds in 1978, bought their first home ten years later and became full-time residents in 1999. Active in the Island’s community, she is a member of The Lions Club and the Town’s Comprehensive Planning Task Force as well as a frequent contributor to the Shelter Island Reporter. She represents the South Fork and Shelter Island as a trustee of Suffolk Cooperative Library Services (SCLS), the county-wide cooperative serving the 56 member libraries.

For 15 years, she served as a Trustee of Simmons College in Boston, where she received a BA, with honors, in management and chaired the presidential search as well as numerous other committees. She holds an MBA degree in marketing from Columbia University. Her long career in consumer products marketing and consulting includes a stint with Faith Popcorn’s BrainReserve and her own marketing consultancy in New York, The Next Group. Currently, she focuses on executive coaching and library activism.

Donald Regan grew up in Freeport, New York and from the age of one came with his family to Southold for one to two weeks every summer. His wife Jill visited Greenport with her family as a child. When Jill and Don began looking for a summer location for their six sons, they rented and then bought in Sagaponack, spending summers there and winters in Rockville Centre, frequently visiting friends on Shelter Island. After 26 summers – in December of 2019 -- Don and Jill bought a house on the Island and (never really) retired.

Don graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a double major, earning a BA in Economics and a BA in Studio Art. A Liberal Arts degree is not for everyone, but he thrived; studying art honed his problem-solving ability, an asset in finance as well as a being a teacher/player coach.

His career in finance includes 20 years at Goldman Sachs and Co., 12 years at Lehman Brothers and five at Barclays Bank, mostly focused on derivative financial product sales and management, guiding his clients in the use of new financial risk management products.

Don’s extracurricular interests include all sports -- playing when younger and then coaching his six sons in soccer, baseball and lacrosse. He and two friends began the Rockville Center PAL lacrosse program with 30 boys in 1989, which today serves more than 500 boys and girls. His love of the ocean manifested itself in lifeguarding at Jones Beach for 10 years.

Additionally, Don actively works to foster support for education, particularly on improving health care and research. He has served on the Board of “Swim Across America” since 2001 during which he helped raised more than $7 million to fund cancer research. Don also sat on the Friends of Mercy Hospital Board, was a supporter of the De Lasalle School and has recently joined the Shelter Island Emergency Medical Service, where he hopes to train in becoming an EMT.

Linda Kraus came to Shelter Island in 1976 when she married her husband Chuck. Linda came to know and love this island community through working at the family business, the Kraus Crescent Beach Restaurant and Motel.

Linda and Chuck raised three children, Janelle, Amanda, and Patrick, who are all Shelter Island High School graduates. They have gone on to have their own careers and families but return frequently to this beautiful island where they grew up. Linda and Chuck are now excited to share this special island with their grandchildren, Josephine, Sloane, and Rhys.

Linda saw early on how this community thrived, encouraged, and supported each other through its many organizations and programs. Linda is a member of the Lion’s Club and through the years has volunteered at Island organizations including St. Gabriel’s, the Shelter Island Chamber of Commerce, the Shelter Island Fire Department, and the Shelter Island Ambulance (as secretary and EMT). She also has served as the RN Medical Coordinator for the Shelter Island 5K and 10K races.

Linda has a BSN from Stony Brook University. She has been a registered nurse at Eastern Long Island Hospital for over 30 years. Linda has been honored by the Town of Southold-Greenport Rotary Club as the 2010 recipient of the Laura Goodal Award for Nursing Excellence and the 2005 Nursing Preceptor Award form 1199 National Benefit.

Linda considers the Shelter Island Public Library to be part of the lifeblood of this island. She states how along with participating in and enjoying the many programs, she has watched our library evolve over the years, striving to provide current and varied services. “The Library is a safe haven for learning and sharing for both young and old alike.”

Linda is excited to be given the opportunity to serve the Library as a member of the Board of Trustees.

Caroline Scudder spent every summer on Shelter Island until 2013, when she became a full-time resident. Having raised six children, she has a great appreciation for the role a library can play in terms of personal growth and community development, and has recently made extensive use of the resources of the Shelter Island Library to complete research for her Master’s thesis in American History.

Caroline  is an experienced social studies educator with over 25 years of teaching across various grade levels, from middle school to high school. She currently teaches Advanced Placement World History and AP African American Studies at East Hampton High School, in addition to electives in sociology and economics. Caroline has also directed the summer youth program at Sylvester Manor Educational Farm and served as a department chair at Sacred Heart, in Greenwich, Connecticut, where she coordinated curricula for K-12 students. Prior to her teaching career, Caroline worked in corporate finance at JP Morgan. She holds a BA in Economics from Mount Holyoke College, in addition to a  Master’s degree in American History and a Master’s degree in Teaching.

Susan Binder has spent her adult life actively engaged in our Island’s community through service; from playful and creative endeavors like creating the “little” playground and managing backstage for the Shelter Island Drama Club to more serious board commitments. She has served on the boards of The Shelter Island Educational Foundation, Mashomack, The Shelter Island Board of Education, and currently, The Lions Club, to name a few. She became a year-round resident almost 30 years ago, soon after graduation from St. Lawrence University where she earned degrees in fine art and sociology. Susan and her husband, Darrin, feel lucky to have raised their 3 children here. Doug is now a resident of Minnesota while Katy and Charlie have returned to live and work on the east end. Susan cares deeply about our community and understands the important role the library plays and the outstanding job it does for for our Island. The mission is clear and she believes the library has become the cultural and educational center for all our residents and visitors. She knows that programming and outreach are things that need to be tended to, are a constant work in progress, and that even the best staff needs volunteer support. She looks forward to serving the library as a board trustee.

Marianne Carey is a lifelong Shelter Island resident. She and her extended family have summered on the Island for generations and are nowspending more and more of the extended season here.  Members of her family – ofall ages – have been active library card holders, and many have been seen on a chilly Thanksgiving weekend at Crescent Beach, rushing in and out of the water at The Turkey Plunge to benefit Friends of the Library.

Marianne is an agent at M.Wein Realty. She is inspired by the close-knit community and quality of life on the Island and takes great pleasure matching clients with the perfect home to “shelter” in. Shehas current professional experience in finance and philanthropic support for not-for-profit organizations, specializing in fundraising galas and is dedicated to bringing her professional experience to library events and fundraising.

Marianne holds an MBA from Columbia University and a BA cum laude from Boston College. She met and married her late husband, Dennis Hayes, on Shelter Island; their children, Owen and Delia Hayes, spent many summers here enjoying the library.  The Carey family foundation, The Paul Robert Carey Foundation, joins with generous donors and island vendors to support the local community organizations.

"From my time growing up in Brooklyn, to my college years in Boston and as a parent of a son and daughter who I raised in Bronxville and summered in Shelter Island, I have found libraries to be a tremendous resource and place of retreat and renewal. I have witnessed over decades the increasingly important role that libraries play beyond the fundamental access to literature. Libraries are the gateway to advancement and equitable opportunities.”

Jim and his wife, Melissa, have been involved with Shelter Island since the late 1970s. They were married here, enjoyed a home on South Midway along Menantic Creek and in 2023 Jim officially retired and now resides full-time in the Hay Beach area. Jim and Melissa recently joined the Lions Club and are exploring other measures to become more engaged with the Shelter Island Community.

Jim spent nearly 50 years in education, mostly in the world of independent schools. After a short teaching career, Jim served in a variety of administrative posts at Friends Academy in Locust Valley (NY) and then moved on to head three different schools: Ridgefield Academy (CT), St. Michael’s School (RI) and Eagle Hill (CT). During this period, he served on several school boards.

As a Head of School, Jim has certainly observed and helped direct the evolution of school libraries. He has long endorsed and supported the special role a library can play in both schools and towns. Libraries, much like school communities, need to be mission-driven, strategic and flexible in response to the needs of an ever-changing community.

Jim and Melissa have four children, and all are avid readers. Unlike the other members of his family, Jim does not use his E-book reader, preferring to wander the stacks in search of a book that just might transform him!

Donald and his wife, Corinne, became enchanted with Shelter Island when they often visited their friends and two of their children who had moved to Shelter Island in the late 1990s. In 2005, they both semi-retired, sold their house in Seaford and followed their “boys” to paradise.

Soon after arriving on the Island, Don transferred his Lions Club membership to the Shelter Island Lions Club, became immediately involved with many activities in the community, and is currently a Board member.

After building their dream house on Griffing Lane, Don and Corinne resumed their respective careers on a part-time basis. Don, as a general contractor and Corinne as a Registered Nurse with East End Hospice.

After a mandatory one-year hiatus, Donald is happy to be back on the Board of Trustees and plans to be active in continuing the mission of the Shelter Island Library to “provide state-of-the-art resources, services and technologies to meet the current and evolving needs of the community.”

Karyn Greenwald and her husband Bruce and came to Shelter Island in 2011, an enchanted place to begin the next chapter of their lives. They love the ability to be physically active all year round, socializing with friends and creating family memories for their children and grandchildren.

Karyn is most fortunate to have a studio in her home where she creates both functional and sculptural ceramics, and she also has a photography practice. The changing landscape of Shelter Island allows her to never be bored with what she sees.

In addition to the Shelter Island Public Library, Karyn sits on three boards --The International Studio and Curatorial Program (in Brooklyn), The Michael Kalil Endowment for Smart Design at Parson’s School of Architecture, which she helped found, and the Anti-Defamation League, where she serves on the National Board.

For many years Karyn was a member of the Friends of Greenwich Library and a member of the Society of Book Writers and Illustrators for Children. She has a small collection of children’s books, including one not-yet-published written for middle school children called Summer Camp Secrets. She served on the board of trustees at her daughter’s school, Greenwich Country Day School.

For a community of our size we are incredibly blessed to have a library that offers such a broad array of services and programs for all age groups. Being part of a board that is driving the evolution of our library will be both challenging and rewarding.

Finley Oakley Shaw has spent her entire life on Shelter Island. She grew up spending her summers here with her extended family. Some of her fondest memories growing up are the countless hours she spent at the library. She now owns a home on the Island and in 2018 opened a bookstore here called Finley’s Fiction. She currently works with the library on coordinating the Friday Night Dialogues.

Finley spends half her time here and also in New York City and currently works with authors at book events on Long Island and in Manhattan. For 10 years she was a public relations professional and now serves as a board member of Literacy Partners, a community-based program in NYC that provides low-income and immigrant parents and caregivers with the language skills they need to succeed.

She raised her four children in Fairfield, Connecticut and was involved with programming author events for the Pequot Library in Southport and serving on the boards of Horizons at Sacred Heart University, Bridgeport Hospital’s Friends of Pediatrics and the Fairfield Museum and History Center.

Finley earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Colgate University.

Tim moved with his family to Shelter Island eight years ago and is currently employed as a project manager for a construction company in East Hampton. He believes his related construction experience will be particularly helpful to the library as it embarks on its renovation project.

Tim brings to the board the perspective of a younger parent with a relevant background and expertise in the multiple facets of the construction industry-cost analysis, budget tracking, subcontractor bids and oversight, etc. His earlier experience in business management will also contribute to the general oversight of the library’s operations.

Tim’s wife is a member of the Shelter Island School Board and his young son is a fan of the library’s youth librarian, Sara.

Tim is a 2004 graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a major in political science and a minor in psychology.