Meet our Members
peggy clements, PH.d., president
Term Expires: June 2026
Peggy Clements has served on the Board since 2015. After earning a Ph.D. in psychology in 2003, she began working as a child development and education researcher. Her research covers a range of important educational issues, including early literacy, multi-tiered systems of support, and programs to help keep students on track to graduate from high school. In addition to serving on the Board, Peggy is a Friends of Fahnestock and Hudson Highlands State Parks board member and a former member of the Nelsonville Zoning Board of Appeals.
maggie valentine, vice president
Term Expires: June 2027
Maggie was elected to the Board of Education in 2021. She has 21 years of experience working as a financial journalist, from managing different sections of a national business magazine to supervising editorial coverage of the tech sector for a global news wire. Maggie has two children at Haldane Elementary School and often volunteers in their classrooms, as a garden parent, and a yearbook advisor.
sean mcnall, trustee
Term Expires: June 2025
Sean was elected to the Board of Education in 2019. Before joining the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival as Director of Education and Associate Artistic Director in 2014, he was a ten-year resident company actor with the Pearl Theatre Company NYC, where he also directed education programs and worked as a teaching artist in the New York City Public School System. Sean is a graduate of the Juilliard School and a proud member of Actors Equity Association. He lives in Nelsonville and is the proud parent of a Haldane Elementary School student.
ezra clementson, trustee
Term Expires: June 2025
Ezra Clementson and his wife Aria (Haldane Class of 2000) raise their two children in Nelsonville and have watched them thrive at Haldane. With nearly 20 years experience in NY secondary public education, 6 years as a faculty union president, current Haldane School Foundation trustee, Little League Softball assistant coach, and stints on the Cold Spring and Nelsonville Planning Boards, Ezra is ready to roll up his sleeves for the Board of Education. Ezra is a steadfast advocate for public education and the Haldane Community.
michelle kupper, PH.d., trustee
Term Expires: June 2027
Michelle Kupper has lived in Cold Spring since 2016. Her daughter just graduated from Haldane in 2024, and her son is in high school. She has a background in education and holds a doctorate in sociology of education. Michelle has shown her commitment to public education by serving on an elected Community Education Council in NYC as well as being a trustee on the Haldane School Foundation for seven years, three as president. She's loved getting to know the community. It's an exciting time to join the board, and she looks forward to serving the school district with a community-minded team to build on all the great things going on at Haldane.
Megan Shields
District Clerk, mshields@haldaneschool.org