Thomas Cole National Historic Site announces new board leadership
Published on:
January 6, 2026
Emma Davidson Tribbs. Photo contributed.
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CATSKILL―Maura O’Shea, executive director of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, announced on Tuesday new leadership of its board of directors.
The changes come in the wake of the death last Spring of the organization’s long-time Chairman Lisa Fox Martin. Interim changes occurred immediately thereafter. Now a permanent leadership team is in place.
At the time of Lisa Fox Martin’s death, Vice Co-Chair Warner Shook became interim chairman. At his request, he now resumes his previous role as vice co-chair. The new board chairman is Emma Davidson Tribbs.
A resident of Germantown, she shares a long family legacy of art and culture as well as historic preservation in the Hudson Valley. Her grandmother, Joan Davidson, a longtime resident of Germantown and New York City, served as chairwoman of the New York State Council on the Arts, as New York State Parks commissioner, and as president of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.
Tribbs is a nonprofit leader, policy strategist, and advocate who works with mission-driven organizations to advance systemic change and build resilient, people-centered institutions. She is co-founder and principal of Harrison Clark, which designs and runs high-impact policy campaigns, and founding director of the National Women’s Defense League, which is dedicated to preventing sexual harassment and protecting survivors. She believes that strategic policy, inclusive leadership, and community-driven advocacy are essential to strengthening the cultural and civic organizations that shape public life.
“Arts and culture and historic preservation are ingrained in my being,” said Tribbs. “How we celebrate the great historic homes of the Hudson Valley is vital to me. I first experienced the Thomas Cole National Historic Site as an historic home and national landmark and then was further impressed by its role as a catalyst of arts and culture. I am deeply passionate about stewarding this national treasure and community anchor, as the Thomas Cole National Historic Site is intrinsic to the extraordinary character of both this region and the nation.”
Joining Warner Shook as vice co-chair is Evelyn Trebilcock. A resident of South Westerlo, she is an art historian who served for 16 years as curator of Olana, the home of Thomas Cole’s student, the artist Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900). She has organized exhibitions, lectured and published essays and articles on Frederic E. Church, the art of the 19th Century, and the furnishing of historic house museums. She currently teaches at SUNY Ulster Community College and has taught art history at SUNY Columbia-Greene Community College and SUNY Cobleskill. She believes that learning about past cultures through the history of art brings an understanding of our similarities across time and geography.
“It’s exciting for me now to be in the Board leadership of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site,” said Trebilcock. “Thomas Cole is unique in his influence on the visual identity of our nation, and I look forward to illuminating his role, especially as America celebrates in 2026 its250th anniversary.”
The other new officer of the board of directors is its secretary, Catherine Lockyer Moulton, who succeeds Tribbs in that role. A resident of Broomall, PA, she has nearly 30 years’ experience in property management, having been a longtime executive and former president of Thomas Wynne LP.
Rounding out the officers of the board of directors is Tomde Swardt, who continues as treasurer.
“The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is thrilled to have this exciting Board leadership team now in place―with Emma, Evelyn, and Cathy joining Warner and Tom,” said O’Shea.
“We are enormously grateful to Warner Shook for serving as interim chairman this past year, and we look forward to all that the Thomas Cole Site can achieve in the years ahead with this extraordinary team of leaders,” O’Shea added.
Located on Spring Street in Catskill, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site showcases the life and work of Thomas Cole (1801-1848),whose American landscape painting defines an enduring visual identity for the nation. Inspired by the natural beauty that surrounds the site, Cole founded the influential Hudson River School art movement.
