Board of Education Members
Emily Reynolds Bergh: President
ereynoldsbergh@keenecentralschool.org
Emily loves the Adirondacks, she is originally from Keene and attended KCS as a girl and the school had such a lasting impression. She and her husband have relocated their family here to seek to embrace all that KCS and the ADK park has to offer. Emily’s daughter and son are rising 8th and 6th graders, and she wishes to have her family experience all that the school has to offer, for them and other children in the community. Additionally, for the past 13 years Emily has run her own marketing and public relations business. She would like to use her experience both professionally and as a parent to support the schools initiatives, staff and community at large. Keene has been the lifeblood of her upbringing, offering a strong sense of community, a sense of connection and the value of relationships, she seeks to further these relationships and connections and broaden the reach of the school’s imprint on our state as a whole. Additionally, Emily has a Masters degree in Social Work working with children and families and really enjoys community service, and giving back. Emily believes that the more you give the more you have to give and wishes to volunteer her time and experience to serve in this role.
Eugene Chin: Vice President
Eugene has been a resident of Keene since 2021. He has been visiting the Adirondacks since 2005 after he met his wife Devon McCabe who graduated from Keene Central School in 2001. He now lives in Keene with his daughter Amelia (3rd grade) and son Dax (pre-schooler at Janette Isham's). He grew up in Brooklyn, NY and graduated from Stuyvesant High School. Eugene went onto study at SUNY BInghamton's School of Management where he received a BS in Management with concentrations in Finance and Information System. He worked for almost 10 years in audit and business consulting roles at public accounting firms and corporate companies including KPMG, Franklin Templeton, and National Grid. He later attended Pace University where he received a Masters of Science as an Adult Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. He is currently a Hospitalist Nurse Practitioner at Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake.
"After growing up in the large city school sytem, I see the value in small intimate public school education. Students have the chance to be seen as more than just a number. The students have more opportunities at KCS because of the personal attention they receive from the teaching staff, coaches, and the extracurricular activities they are allowed to participate in. I feel given my back ground in accounting and health care I have lot of experience to bring to the table. My interest in serving on the school board centers around supporting the growth and strong educational tradition KCS is known for."
Story Bellows
sbellows@keenecentralschool.org
Story Bellows and her family made Keene their fulltime home in 2020, in no small part because of Keene Central School. She currently serves on multiple local boards, including the Adirondack Mountain Reserve / Ausable Club and Little Peaks. Along with her husband, Ron, and their daughter, Eliza (4), Story lives on Market Street, and they are committed to helping our community thrive for generations to come. Story has served as a senior leader in the Mayor’s Office in Philadelphia and at Brooklyn Public Library, and in 2017 Story set out on a path of entrepreneurship as partner at Cityfi, where she now employs fifteen people across the country working on climate, workforce, transportation, and tech/innovation policy and programs. Story brings a wealth of experience in growth and development, strategic planning, and partnership design, and she is eager to apply this expertise to support Keene Central School. A proud public school graduate, Story went on to earn a BA from Colgate University and a Masters from the London School of Economics.
Becky Johnson
bjohnson@keenecentralschool.org
I grew up in the Albany area, and moved to Keene Valley with my family in 2012. I have a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Cornell, with a work background in natural sciences, education and organic farming.
It was the mountains and rivers that first drew us to spending time in this valley, but upon moving here, it was the warmth and vibrancy of the community that made this place feel like home. In that first summer, folks would stop by just to introduce themselves as we worked on our house. We felt welcomed and excited to be able raise our family here. Our three older children began attending KCS in middle school, graduating in 2019 and 2021, while the youngest in our family is currently in 7 th grade.
As a former collegiate soccer player, I began my involvement at school volunteering my skills and love for the game with the KCS Girl’s Varsity Soccer team. I have coached the team from 2017 to the present. I worked as the school garden caretaker for four years, coordinating with classroom teachers during the school day, to integrate the garden as seasonal project-based learning for multiple grades. For the past two years, I have served as a parent representative to the KCS DEI committee as well. Outside of school, I have worked seasonally at East Branch Organics since 2018, and more recently as a self-employed artist.
My medley of interests, and ways of contributing at school and in town, have fostered connections with folks in various circles throughout our community. Through relationships and conversations, I have grown to understand the unique benefits and challenges, of a small, vibrant, mountain-town school. Our teachers and staff create meaningful opportunities for students, in and out of the classroom. Experiences that help them grow and engage, as participants in the ever-changing world beyond KCS. At the same time, there are continual discussions to be had, as to how the administration and the BOE, can best support the needs of our teachers and students, within the constraints of finance and size. My interest in contributing to the school board lives in these conversations. Discerning how the past, present and future come together for our school. Having gratefully been a part of KCS for twelve years, I welcome the opportunity to serve the community as a member of the school board.
Lauren Ruppert
lruppert@keenecentralschool.org
Lauren Ruppert moved to the Adirondacks in 2000 from Western New York to attend Paul Smiths College. She earned an associate's degree in Hotel/Restaurant Management and a bachelor's degree in Hotel and Tourism Management. After traveling, she returned to Lake Placid and met her husband Lance, who was born and raised in Lake Placid. They moved to Keene in 2016 when they decided it was the perfect place to raise a family. After working at the Mirror Lake Inn for thirteen years as a supervisor at the front desk and on the marketing team, she decided to leave her career to help her husband with his business, Placid Foam Insulation, and to be able to stay at home with her kids. Her kids (now 19, 8,5 and 4) are established in Keene Central School and Little Peaks. She has volunteered at the school, is a member of the PTCC and aims to do more by joining the school board to support the students, teachers, support-staff, and community. She loves the “small-town, big heart" structure of Keene School and is passionate about fostering a nurturing environment where both students and educators can thrive. Her vision for Keene School includes advocating for enhanced educational resources, extracurricular activities, and ensuring that the voices of parents and community members are heard and valued. Lauren is eager to leverage her experience and enthusiasm to make a positive impact on the school board, believing that a collaborative approach will strengthen the bond between the school and its surrounding community.