Mission and Board

Mission

Long Island Traditions documents local architecture, from beach bungalows and bay houses to garden apartments and farm buildings. As fishermen and farmers disappear, we fight for the preservation of Long Island's contemporary maritime and farming culture throughout the region.

To recognize and pay tribute to Long Island's diverse ethnic cultures, we support Irish stepdance, African American quilting, gospel and blues music, Jewish klezmer music, Native American stories and crafts, and the traditions of recent immigrants from Central and South America, India and Asia.

Through field interviews and oral histories, we seek to break down the barriers that divide us, so that we can share in the power and excellence of our family traditions.

Long Island Traditions is a certified a silver star member of Guidestar.

Violet Baron

is the newly appointed Executive Director of Long Island Traditions. She holds dual M.A. degrees in Folklore and Media Studies from Indiana University. With a background in multimedia reporting and public radio production, Violet specializes in community engagement and local storytelling with cultural context. She previously worked for Traditional Arts Indiana and The Association for Cultural Equity - Alan Lomax Archive, where she researched, documented, and produced podcasts about the folk and traditional arts of diverse communities both locally and internationally. Violet is dedicated to preserving and sharing cultural heritage, both within its communities of origin and to the wider world. To that end, she has contributed projects to the Indiana Arts and Humanities Council and the American Folklore Society.

Nancy Solomon

received her M.A. degree in American Studies & Folklife Studies from George Washington University. She is the Founding Director of Long Island Traditions. Solomon is the author of Boat Building and Boat Yards of Long Island: A Tribute to Tradition, On the Bay: Bay Houses & Maritime Culture of Long Island, West Meadow Beach: A Portrait of a Long Island Beach Community and Traditional Architecture of Long Island: A Teacher Resource Guide. She is a columnist for Voices published by New York Folklore and the Encyclopedia of American Studies Online. She is the curator of “Waterfront Heroes,” “In Harm’s Way” “Freeport Waters” along Freeport’s Nautical Mile, co-curator of “From Shore to Shore: Boat Builders and Boatyards of Long Island and Westchester”, and curator of “Sandy Shores: The creation of Jones Beach”, an outdoor permanent exhibit at Jones Beach. She was the primary advisor to filmmaker Glenn Gebhard 1994 documentary “Baymen” and the 2020 film “A World Within a World: Bay Houses of Long Island” which aired on PBS. She was the historic preservation consultant to the Village of Great Neck Plaza and the the Village of Rockville Centre, and the maritime culture consultant to the South Shore Estuary Reserve. Solomon has lectured extensively on historic preservation and documentation methods for Columbia University’s Historic Preservation Program and area colleges.

Melissa Carey

Melissa Carey is LI Traditions' program manager. She comes from a background in the Health and Beauty industry, a well-seasoned veteran of product formulation, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing. Melissa is a longtime and adoring resident of the Port Washington, LI bay life where, having raised two beautiful daughters, she enthusiastically turns her focus to giving back to the community by joining the Long Island Traditions organization. When she’s not dreaming up and creating all-natural healing remedies, she spends her free time with either music and a paintbrush, or her guitar.

Board Members

Ken Robinson (Chair)

Kenneth L. Robinson (Chair) is an attorney who emphasizes practice in environmental, insurance, commercial litigation, real estate and public policy law. Mr. Robinson received his law degree from Northeastern University in 1978 and his Masters of Science from New York University in 1982. Formerly an Assistant Attorney General handling energy and environmental issues for the State of New York, Mr. Robinson was also a partner at Levine & Robinson, P.C. and General Counsel to Tartan Corp., where he specialized in environmental, insurance and general commercial litigation. He has chaired the Environmental Law Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association, was Chairperson of the Nassau County Water Resources Board and President of the Syosset Chamber of Commerce. He has published articles in the New York Law Journal, the Queens Lawyer and the Rhodes Real Estate Review. He is also a former chair of the Long Island Sierra Club.

Ken Maltz (Treasurer)

Photo: Ken Maltz, LIT Board Member and Treasurer

Ken Maltz, clarinetist and leader, has enjoyed a career of remarkable accomplishment, diversity, and depth. As a founding member of Kapelye, the pioneering klezmer band, he has performed in hundreds of appearances on stage, television, radio, and film throughout North America, Central America, and Europe and is known throughout the world as a leading figure in the klezmer revival. In addition to his career as a performer, he has composed musical scores and sound effects for Bantam Doubleday Dell audio books including the popular Star Wars series, which features his music alongside that of Oscar-winning composer John Williams. He is a member of the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the American Federation of Musicians, and is Past President of Local 1665 of the American Federation of Teachers.

Doug Sheer

Doug Sheer grew up in Long Beach and still resides on the “City by the Sea.” In 1970 he graduated from SUNY New Paltz in 1970 with a BA in Secondary Ed. Social Studies. Soon after graduation he joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to The Marshall Islands as a co-op advisor on a small outer island in eastern Micronesia. After his service in the Peace Corps Doug came back to NY to teach social studies and a little over 10 years later became the Social Studies Department Chair at Garden City School District.

Doug has been active in the NYS Education Dept. as a question writer for the NYS 10th and 11th grade Regents exams for 15 years. Doug was also asked by the AFT to work with teachers in Slovakia in formulating a curriculum that focuses on the teaching of democratic principles in this former communist country. He has been teaching celestial navigation for 40 years at NCC and for 19 years on cruise ships. In 1996 he was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to study celestial navigation in Greenwich, England. Doug has been president of the Friends of Rock Hall for ten years as well as the president of the Long Beach Island Landmarks Association. Doug is an avid kayaker and enjoys reading and photographing wildlife in the wetlands of the South Shore.

Jude Schanzer

Jude Schanzer, Freeport resident and director of Cultural Programs and Public Relations at the East Meadow Public Library, joined the board of directors of Long Island Traditions in 2016. Schanzer, of Freeport, has been at the library for over 17 years. As an educator, she has been an adjunct at C.W. Post, a teaching artist in theatre with the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts and on the faculty of the Rutgers University Camden Theatre Department. Schanzer was a member of Circle Repertory Company’s Directors’ Lab for many years and is a theatre director with Circle Rep East. She has directed productions off and off-off Broadway, regionally including the Tilles Center, and in colleges. Her production of Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker won the award for Best Production at the University of Indianapolis. Schanzer also sits on the board of Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, NY.

Nancy Solomon

Nancy Solomon, who served as the Executive Director of Long Island Traditions for over 20 years, brings a wealth of experience in preserving cultural heritage. Now on the board, her contributions continue to shape the organization’s mission. With an M.A. in American Studies & Folklife Studies from George Washington University, Nancy has authored influential works like “Boat Building and Boat Yards of Long Island,” and her advisory role in documentaries and historic preservation consulting showcases her dedication to preserving Long Island’s maritime heritage.

Mike Scully

Michael Scully is the owner of CENTURY 21 Scully Realty in Island Park, NY. He is president of The Multiple Listing Service of Long Island. He is past president of the Island Park Chamber of Commerce. Scully has helped raise funds for ALS research. Scully enjoys boating and other outdoor activities. He was instrumental in assisting homeowners in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.