Our Board of Directors
Linda Mertz LCSWR, President
Linda works at UAlbany in the School of Social Welfare where, among other things, she coordinates the Internships in Aging Project – a project to recruit and train more social work student in working with older adults and their families. But her involvement in the Town of Bethlehem Senior Services is also personal. In 2013, her father died of Alzheimer’s Disease and Senior Services made a positive difference in her mother’s caregiving journey.
Linda sits on the board of the Albany Guardian Society and is a member of the Bethlehem Neighbors. She is a long-time Bethlehem resident and graduated from BCHS in 1982. She teaches Zumba in her spare time and enjoys travel immensely!
Eileen Coffey, Co-Vice President
I have lived very happily in Bethlehem for nearly 25 years with my family. We chose Bethlehem for its walkable neighborhoods and good schools. By training and experience, I was a school counselor for over 30 years. I worked in a small rural district and later at a comprehensive Career and Technical Education School as part of Capital Region BOCES. My personal areas of interest are health and wellness, public policy, and golf. I love to read and have been an active book club member for 29 years. Retirement has given me the opportunity to expand the time I spend on these activities, do some traveling, and do some good as a volunteer.
Susan Lundberg, Co-Vice President
Susan Lundberg is a recent retiree, having sold Capital Tech Search a recruitment firm specializing in IT in 2022. She and her husband are also new to Delmar, having moved here in 2021 from Albany.
She returned to the Capital District in 1995 after her mother’s stroke. She is aware of the needs of the aging and the differences Senior Services Programs can make in one’s life. She is a member of 100 Women Who Care Albany.
Dana Burns, Treasurer
Bio to come
William Vail, LCSW-R - Secretary
Will is the Director of the Town of Bethlehem Senior Services Department. He has worked in the field of aging for over 21 years.
Will has represented the Senior Services Department while working with many civic organizations throughout our community, including the Lions Club, Rotary, Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA, the American Legion, the Bethlehem Neighborhood Association, and local Churches and Fire Departments.
Will is an active musician who contributes to fundraising efforts with the Bethlehem Community Fund, the Crop Hunger Walk, and the Food Pantries of the Capital District. He has a great love for the outdoors and can often be found on trails and waterways in the Capital Region and beyond.
Our Board Members
Andrew J. Sullivan, MD
Andrew Sullivan is a retired family physician who has lived with his family in Bethlehem since 1972. While in practice here it was the patient’s involvement with the town’s Senior Services Program that made him aware of the resources that allowed the seniors in the town to remain independent for longer periods in their own residences.
The Senior Services Program became an important resource of referral for seniors in the practice. He now continues his activities with the program as a volunteer driver and as vice president of the Bethlehem Senior Projects board.
Jane Sanders, LMSW
Jane recently retired from the Town of Bethlehem Senior Services department, where she spent seventeen years working in various roles. She has spent her entire social work career working with older adults in the community, in hospitals and long term care facilities. Jane is pleased to be on the board of Bethlehem Senior Projects, Inc. and truly believes in the added benefits that the organization provides to the local community, such as the sponsoring of the Bethlehem Food Pantry, purchasing new vehicles for the senior citizens in the Town of Bethlehem and providing the emergency heating fund for people in need.
Jane also sits on the boards of the B’nai B’rith Gideon Foundation, Jewish Family Services and she is currently the president of board of The Food Pantries for the Capital District.
Nina Sher
Nina Sher, a Bethlehem resident for 37 years, had the pleasure and honor of teaching French and Spanish in the Bethlehem School District before retiring in 2013. She transferred her love of teaching children to teaching buyers and sellers how to make educated decisions about real estate. She recently joined Albany Realty Group after 11 years at Hunt Real Estate. Her passion lies in addressing housing needs, particularly among seniors in Bethlehem. Her husband’s Parkinson’s diagnosis and her caregiving role have underscored the importance of senior services and the urgency of appropriate housing for Bethlehem’s seniors. She is thrilled to be able to give back to the Bethlehem community through her participation on the Bethlehem Senior Projects board.
Bill Conine
Bill and his wife moved to Delmar in 2015 after 38 years in Coxsackie. He retired after 40 years with Farm Family / American National Insurance in Glenmont, including assignments in marketing/communications followed by division-leading responsibilities in information technology, operations, human resources, facilities and enterprise project sponsorship. A Navy veteran and graduate of Cornell University in communications, Bill has led and served on several other volunteer boards. He enjoys regular driving assignments with Senior Transportation Services.
Joyce H. Becker, Liaison to the Board
Joyce H. Becker joined the Board in 2010. Joyce served for 27 years in the field of aging retiring in 2016 as Director of the Town of Bethlehem Senior Services Department. During her tenure in the Town’s Senior Services Department, she served as Volunteer Coordinator and Assistant Director of services for the elderly in Bethlehem.
Joyce believes the mission of Bethlehem Senior Projects, Inc., as a fundraising organization that partners with the Town of Bethlehem, works to help provide programs to assist the older residents of Bethlehem remain in their homes for as long as possible. Transportation, the food pantry and many other programs assist seniors with support services as they age in place.
Joyce serves on the Board of the Bethlehem Community Fund, an organization that quietly assists families and seniors in need. She is a member of the Delmar Progress Club, the Delmar Fire Department Auxiliary, the Woman’s Club of Albany, and the Bethlehem Historical Society. Joyce served as a Bethlehem Public Library Trustee for 2 terms. In 2015, Joyce was elected to serve as a member of the Bethlehem Town Board. She was elected to a third term in 2023 and currently serves as Deputy Town Supervisor.
Past Presidents
Leslie Horn Trosset
Wilma DeLucco
Tod Tobin
Margaret Reed