This event is possible through the kind support of the Albany Institute of History & Art. 
We also thank Honest Weight Food Coop for contributing to the reception.

Acknowledgements, Introduction, and Opening Remarks
Christine Florez, Moderator
League of Women Voters, Board of Directors

Panelists

Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill, Producing Artistic Director of Capital Repertory Theatre. Maggie has worked on and off Broadway and in numerous regional theatres across the country. As Producing Artistic Director, she has directed more than 66 plays for theREP and authored eight historical-based plays for young audiences. She is the recipient of the Norman S. Rice Award for Excellence in Arts Education, the Distinguished Leadership Award from the National Chamber of Commerce, a Woman of Excellence and The Distinguished Career Award by the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce. 

Megan Brown, Director of Education at AIHA, is not only a museum educator, she is an avid museum-goer as well.   Brown joined AIHA in 2025, arriving with over a decade of museum experience including work at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey, and the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut.  She has a B.A. in history and anthropology from Flagler College in St. Augustineand obtained her M.A. in Museum Education from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. 

Willie Marlowe, Artist and Professor Emerita, Russell Sage College (link)

Willie Marlowe has shown paintings in solo and invitational exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad. Her work is included in museum, university, corporate and private collections, and has been supported by grants from Artist’s Space, NYC, and stipend awards from the New York Foundation on the Arts. She has been a visiting artist in Barbados, West Indies, in Cortona, Italy, and in Wexford, Ireland, where she had a ten-year retrospective exhibition at the Wexford Arts Center. Two of Willie's pieces are in the collection at the Institute.

She taught painting and drawing in the Department of Visual Arts, Russell Sage College (Albany), and has taught watercolor in two of The Sage Colleges’ international studies programs, “Sage at Oxford”, Somerville College, Oxford University, and “Celtic Connections” in Scotland and Ireland.

Moderator

Christine Florez, Board of Directors, League of Women Voters of Albany County

Christine has been a member of the League in NYC, South Florida, and Albany County.  She is moved and inspired by the history of the League and with the advocacy work of her colleagues.  Christine's background includes building community with endeavors such as volunteering with the League, on the board of housing nonprofit in Miami Beach and with other non-profits New York and Florida. In Miami Beach, she helped re-establish a dormant neighborhood association to become a vibrant force for a 10,000-strong residential neighborhood and helped lead outreach for a volunteer organization focusing on preserving historic architecture and promoting community quality of life.  In another lifetime, she worked for Fortune 100 companies managing knowledge center/libraries with her work focusing on marketing and public relations, media analysis, demographics, and providing secondary research for internal clients. She holds a Masters in Library Science from Pratt and B.S. from New York University.

Thank you to Marisa Espe for her assistance.

Marisa Espe is the Director of Communications at the Albany Institute of History & Art and previously served as Communications Director at Steven Holl Architects. Marisa serves on the boards of Albany Barn and the Steven Myron Holl Foundation. She has held positions at various arts organizations, including SEPTEMBER Gallery, Bard College, and the Wexner Center for the Arts. A guest curator with River Valley Arts Collective, she also writes independently about art.