Board of Trustees

Chairman

Robert Lowe is a Managing Director at Allen & Company, an investment bank in NYC, where he focuses on the healthcare sector. Previously, he was Director of Healthcare Investment Banking at Citigroup Investment Bank. He has lived in New Canaan since 2009 and has spent multiple years coaching his four children (and others!) in hockey and lacrosse. Rob received a B.A. in History and Economics from Colgate University and an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business. His recent favorite books are Edison, I am Pilgrim, The Premonition and Why We Sleep.

Vice Chairman

Deborah S. Gordon is a former lawyer with Whitman, Breed, Abbott, and Morgan in Greenwich, CT, and New York City. She is a founding board member of Stamford Youth Tennis Academy, Inc., and currently serves on the boards of Norwalk/Stamford Grassroots Tennis and Education and the New Canaan Garden Club. She received a B.A. in English and History from Duke University and a J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. Her favorite book is The Great Gatsby which she re-reads every year.

Vice Chairman

Christine Seaver began her professional career in foreign exchange sales and trading at Irving Trust Co. in New York and in a progression of industries and functional capacities in the Bay Area, including the San Francisco Ballet, a computer start-up, and a boutique executive search firm. Seaver has served on the Board of St. Luke's School (including four years as Board Chair) and currently serves on the Boards of Amherst College and the Emily Dickinson Museum. She received a BA in Economics in 1981, magna cum laude, from Amherst College and an MBA in 1986 from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Among her ever-shifting list of top-five all-time favorite books, Foster, by Claire Keegan, always has a place.

Vice Chairman

Life-long library lover and resident of New Canaan, Eileen Thomas spent her early career at McKinsey and Company. She has served on the board of WIN (formerly Women in Need), a public-private agency that is the largest provider of shelter and services to homeless families in New York City. She served four terms as Vice Chair and was a member of the leadership team that grew the agency from $8 to more than $125 million of annual revenue. Thomas is a member of the boards of both the Congregational Church of New Canaan and New Canaan Mounted Troop. She earned a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. Eileen loves re-reading her childhood favorites Anne of Green Gables, The Chronicles of Narnia and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Treasurer

Douglas Ormond has lived in New Canaan since 2014 with his wife Hilary, and their two children, Gemma and Stellan.  Doug and Hilary moved to New Canaan from Manhattan to be closer to Doug’s office in South Norwalk, where he works as a portfolio manager for Discovery Capital, a hedge fund founded in 1999.  At Discovery, Doug focuses on fixed income and equity securities in both developed and developing countries.  Doug began his career at JP Morgan in 1999 after graduating from College of the Holy Cross (BA, Honors, Mathematics).  Hilary serves on New Canaan’s Town Council, and in addition to the Library, Doug and Hilary are ardent supporters of the New Canaan Playhouse and the New Canaan Historical Society.  Doug grew up in Garden City, NY, and the family still spends time on Long Island during the summers.  Doug’s hobbies include fitness/sports, reading, backgammon, and chess.  Most recent favorite books are The Red Notice, and re-reading James and the Giant Peach with the kids.

Secretary

Vicky Merwin is a former Senior Vice President of Client Development at S&P Capital IQ, a financial data and analytics provider in NYC. She moved to New Canaan with her family in 2017 and has pursued several volunteer roles in the community. Vicky serves on the boards of St. Mark’s Preschool and the Newcomers Club of New Canaan, most recently as President. She graduated from Georgetown University with a BA in International Business and Marketing. With three young kids at home, Vicky spends a lot of time reading children’s books and loves classics by authors such as Virginia Lee Burton, Robert McCloskey and Tomie dePaola.

Rachel D. Baker was an Adjunct Professor for many years at Seton Hall University School of Law. Before that she was a Litigation Associate at McCarter & English, LLP in Newark, NJ. Rachel has been actively involved in many New Canaan charitable organizations, including the Fresh Air Fund, Horizons, the National Charity League, and the Norwalk Mentor Program. Rachel received a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from Ohio Wesleyan, a J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law and an MSW from NYU. Rachel enjoys all genres but has a particular affinity for Joan Didion, Elizabeth Strout, and Mary Oliver.

Sarah O’Herron Casey taught at the Nightingale-Bamford School in Manhattan and at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, CT. She is a member of Impact Fairfield County, an all-female collective giving circle. Previously, she has sat on the Board of the New Canaan Winter Club, The Woodway Country Club Membership Committee and was co-chair of the Board of Governors of the Horizons Student Enrichment Program. Sarah holds an AB in Political Science from Middlebury College and a MA from Columbia University Teachers College. As a former elementary school teacher, she is especially partial to the book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum.

Christopher H. Craig is the Managing Partner and chair of the Management Committee of Finn Dixon & Herling, a mid-size law firm located in Stamford.  Prior to joining Finn Dixon, Chris was a partner at Paul Hastings, a large international law firm, where he had stints in Stamford, New York City and Tokyo.  Chris represents borrowers and lenders in leveraged finance transactions, frequently facilitating acquisitions for private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies.  Other than two years spent in Tokyo, Chris and his family have lived in New Canaan since 1995.  He has served on the board of the Country Club of New Canaan, including as Secretary of the Club.  He received a B.A. in History (Major) and Economics (Minor) from Hamilton College and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law, magna cum laude.  Chris enjoys both fiction and non-fiction.  Recent favorites include A Gentleman in Moscow and JFK:  Coming of Age in America, 1917-1956.

Lizzie Davis started her career as an adoption social worker in NYC, focusing on both domestic and international adoption. She sits on the NCPS Special Education Parent Advisory Board, the Marjorie Pay Hinckley Board of Social Work & Social Sciences at BYU, and she heads the New Canaan Library’s Family Services Development Committee.  Lizzie earned a Bachelor of Social Work from Brigham Young University.  Her greatest joy is mothering her three young sons.  Some of her favorite books are The Wright Brothers by David McCullough and I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron.  

Dr. DeWaele has managed both a thriving dental practice in addition to a private investment group over the last three decades. He has served on numerous boards and commissions for the Town of New Canaan, the State of Connecticut, Amherst College, Cristo Rey New York High School and Stamford Health. He has served the Town of New Canaan as: Chairman of the Town Council (6 yrs), Chairman of the Park and Recreation Committee He earned a D.M.D from the Tufts School of Dental Medicine, an MS from the Stern School of Business, and a BA from Amherst College. Dr. DeWaele enjoys playing tennis, squash and golf. He lives in New Canaan with his wife Heidi and their three children.

Gary Engle is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Stoneleigh Capital, LLC. Mr. Engle is also a director of PLM International, Inc., a transportation company that leases marine containers, shipping vessels, commercial aircraft and other assets. He serves as a member of the executive committee of CBI Acquisition, LLC, the holding company of Caneel Bay, a luxury resort on the island of St. John, U.S.V.I. He also serves on the Board of Managers of DSC/Purgatory, LLC, Mountain Springs Kirkwood, LLC and Echelon Development Holdings, LLC. He received a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. Gary is an avid reader of the classics, and strongly believes in the value of open access to great literature for all.

Crawford Hamilton currently works as a member of the digital ad sales team for Viacom/CBS. As a board member of the Hamilton Family Charitable Trust, a Pennsylvania based charity that specializes in educational grants within the Philadelphia community, he was naturally drawn to the library’s mission and wanted to get involved right away. Crawford, a 2011 graduate of Washington College with a BA in Business Administration and Management, enjoys reading all of Tom Clancy's military thrillers and murder mysteries.

Lifelong New Canaanite Ian Hobbs is Co-Owner of Hobbs, Incorporated, a high-end residential construction company. Ian served on the boards of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, First Presbyterian Nursery School, the New Canaan Lacrosse Association, and as President of the New Canaan Winter Club. He is currently on the board of the Country Club of New Canaan. He attended Johns Hopkins University and Columbia Business School. Ian enjoys reading Western Fiction and counts Lonesome Dove as one of his favorite reads.

Fatou Niang is a realtor for William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty in New York and Connecticut. Along with her family she founded Stand Together Against Racism (S.T.A.R.) a non-profit organization empowering New Canaan residents with resources and programs fostering the understanding of systemic racism, racial biases through awareness, education and advocacy. She serves on the Boards of the New Canaan YMCA and Norwalk/Stamford Grassroots Tennis. Fatou has a BA in Advertising and Communication from SAWI Switzerland. Fatou enjoys reading and some of her favorite books are The Bronze Horseman Trilogy, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Pillars of the Earth and All of Amadou Hampâté Bâ's books.

David is currently Chairman of Guy Carpenter and Company, which is the reinsurance brokerage division within Marsh McLennan. He is a member of Guy Carpenter’s board of directors and serves on the firm’s Executive Committee. During his 42-year career with Guy Carpenter, he has served in various leadership capacities across the firm. Davis is also a member of the board of advisors at St. John Universities’ Greenberg School of Risk Management. He has lived in New Canaan since 1988 with his wife Gigi Brush (lifetime NC resident) and their three children. David enjoys fly fishing, golfing, skiing, and cycling. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from St. Lawrence University and is a graduate of the AICPCU / Wharton Advanced Executive Education. He enjoy reading biographies and historical fiction.

Allison Rees has lived in New Canaan for the past 13 years with her husband, Michael, and their children Dylan (16) and Alexia (14) who are students at New Canaan High School. Allison is a member of the National Charity League and has held positions with the Newcomers Club and several of our New Canaan schools. The Opportunity Network, Northwell Health and Filling in the Blanks are favorite charities that Allison and her family work with. Allison is a former sales and marketing executive with Bloomberg L.P. specializing in client events and large training seminars and she graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a B.A. in marketing. She loves reading non-fiction articles on the daily but has an affinity for classics such as To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby. 

Michelle Riley currently sits on the board of the New Canaan Community Foundation, the board of the New Canaan Land Trust and on the advisory for New Canaan CARES after having been a past board president. She has chaired various events and committees at St. Luke's School, the New Canaan Public Schools, National Charity League, Service League of Boys and the Boy Scouts of America. She chaired the State of the School at SLS, is a community member of the grant review committee and the Sapienza scholarship committee at NCCF and is a VP Philanthropy board member of SLOBS. Michelle earned both a Masters and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania. She taught high school English and Social Studies in Pennsylvania and California before relocating with her husband Rich abroad. They returned to New Canaan in 2012 with their four children.  She is an avid reader and has consistently been a member of a book club since her early twenties! 

Lifelong New Canaanite David Rucci is a Partner at the law firm of Lampert, Toohey & Rucci, LLC. David is a current member of both the Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of New Canaan, where he served as Fundraising Chairman, Allocations Board, Secretary, and President. He has also served on the Boards of the New Canaan Community Foundation, Lakeview Cemetery Association and The Getabout. David earned an undergraduate degree in history and philosophy from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Law degree from Quinnipiac College School of Law. One of Dave’s reading favorites is The Spellman Files series.

Pat Schubert moved to Canoe Hill Road in 1987 from Upper Montclair, NJ where as a nurse she taught Expectant Parents and Grandparents classes at Mountainside Hospital, was active in the Jr. League and volunteered at her three sons' schools. She also started TAGS (The Advocates for the Gifted and Talented) for parents trying to maneuver their way through the Montclair school system. Pat attended Ohio Wesleyan University and graduated from Cornell University-New York Hospital School of Nursing with a BS and RN degree. Two of her sons currently are raising their families in New Canaan. Pat spends her summers in Maine where she has been very involved with the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and started the book club Barters Island Bookies. She has volunteered at her children's schools and was on the board of NEW CANAAN CARES where she started the Heart of the Home Kitchen Tour which is now the House Tour. She has a long history of volunteer work with many local nonprofits including United Way, NC Community Foundation, Norwalk Hospital, and Waveny. 

Doug, and his wife, Julia, reside in New Canaan with their three children, Scarlett (NCHS, 14), Audrey (Saxe, 12), and Griffin (South, 9), and 2 dogs (Margot and Pippa). Doug is VP and co-owner of Walter Stewart’s Market, a 4^th generation family-owned business in New Canaan and President of Stewart’s Wine & Spirits. A New Canaan High School graduate, Doug earned a BA from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI. Doug serves on the board of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce and is a former board member of the Kiwanis Club of New Canaan. Doug and Julia are members of the New Canaan Field Club. Doug enjoys racquet sports and plays guitar in a local band. Doug particularly enjoys non-fiction as well as novels. Killers of the Flower Moon, The Premonition, and The Silent Patient, are his recent favorites.