Announcing the Hudson (NY) Prison Memory Project Advisory Committee

The Hudson Prison Memory Project (HPMP) in Hudson, NY, a member site of the national Prison Public Memory Project, is proud to announce the formation of a community advisory committee. The committee will be working closely with Hudson Project staff and volunteers and collaborating individuals and organizations in the Hudson community to recover, preserve, interpret, present, and honor the memories of what took place at Hudson’s historic prison.

Since the prison’s inception in 1887 as the House of Refuge for Women, which later became the New York State Training School for Girls (1904-1975) and the Hudson Correctional Facility (1976-present), the site has affected tens of thousands of lives and influenced the course of local, state, and national events. The Hudson Prison Memory Project advisory committee will guide the local site of prison memory in Hudson in its mission and activities, including events, fundraising, educational outreach, and community programming.

Members of the new advisory committee include:

Emily Chameides lives in Hudson and has served as the director of the Hudson Area Library since 2011. Emily has co-hosted the Bound By Books radio show on WGXC 90.7FM with local tweens and teens since the station’s launch in 2011. Previously, Emily was the Director of Media Education and Exhibitions at the Children's Media Project in Poughkeepsie, NY. 

Karen Davis is the co-director of the Davis Orton Gallery in Hudson, where she curates exhibitions of photography, mixed media, and photobooks. Karen’s own creative interests include photography, book arts, and word and image art, and her subject matter includes visual memoir, the social landscape, and children. She has taught classes related to these interests at the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Hudson Opera House, and the Davis Orton Gallery.

Maija Reed is an artist and educator who has worked extensively with young people in small communities in the Hudson River valley. From 2001 to 2009, she was the Youth Director at Time & Space Limited (TSL) in Hudson. She is currently studying early childhood education, working primarily with infants and toddlers and is an active participant in two regional educational inquiry groups.

Sumayyah Shabazz has lived in Hudson since 2001 and is currently working on her bachelor's degree in psychology. Her earlier life experience includes many years of employment with institutions serving at-risk youth across the state, and a brief stint as a resident of the Training School for Girls in Hudson. She is a member of the Board of Education for the Hudson City School District.

Peter Tenerowicz was born and raised in Hudson and served as a NYS Corrections Officer from 1980 until 2007, much of his career spent at Hudson Correctional Facility. Peter is also a drummer, performing locally in Hudson with The Overtones, Abby Lappen, and the Kuumba drummers, among others. He is on the Town of Greenport Comprehensive Plan Committee and is a board member of the Hudson Power Boat Association. He has three children and a sailboat.

Sherry Jo Williams co-founded the culture+commerce project, a locally-owned business in Hudson featuring a carefully curated collection of hand-crafted, cutting-edge products by regional makers and artisans. Sherry's experience as a creative consultant and writer is focused on the product development, design, exhibition, and marketing of contemporary hand-made home furnishings. She is also a board member of the Hudson Business Coalition Inc.