{"id":146729,"date":"2025-12-17T22:26:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T03:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=146729"},"modified":"2025-12-17T22:26:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T03:26:42","slug":"colleen-gilbert-named-chair-of-historic-bethlehem-museums-sites-board-of-trustees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=146729","title":{"rendered":"Colleen Gilbert Named Chair of Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites\u2019 Board of Trustees"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nonprofit Announces New Officers and Board Members for 2026<\/em><\/p>\n

BETHLEHEM, PA\u2014Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS), the Bethlehem-based nonprofit focused on historic preservation, education and community enrichment, is pleased to welcome Colleen Gilbert as the new chair of its Board of Trustees. Gilbert, a resident of Bethlehem, will assume the role beginning Jan. 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Colleen Gilbert<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A retired marketing professional with 25 years of experience in financial services, destination marketing and university settings, Gilbert has worked with Wells Fargo; Branson, Mo.; Pigeon Forge, Tenn.; and The Ohio State University. She is also co-chair of the Tocqueville Society for United Way and a community volunteer with the Early Childhood Education Collaborative.<\/p>\n

A Lehigh Valley resident for the past nine years, Gilbert also lived in Belgium and the United Arab Emirates, getting involved with the Federation of American Women\u2019s Clubs Overseas to help liberate victims of human trafficking and also serving as a delegate to the United Nations Council on Women. She and her husband, Mark, also travel frequently to visit their three adult children.<\/p>\n

Other officers of the HBMS Board of Trustees for 2026 include Vice Chair David Thomson of Bethlehem, Secretary Sheela Donchez of Bethlehem and Treasurer Larry Eighmy, founder and Managing Principal of The Stone House Group.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistoric Bethlehem Museums & Sites is excited to welcome Colleen Gilbert as the chair of the Board of Trustees. Colleen brings more than a quarter-century of experience in destination and nonprofit marketing, and her expertise and leadership have already benefited the organization through her role as both a member and the chair of our marketing committee,\u201d said Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites President & CEO LoriAnn Wukitsch. \u201cWe look forward to her continued leadership as we expand our historic preservation efforts, focus on drawing more people to Bethlehem and complete the Taking the World Stage Capital Campaign and the Overlook on History in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also thank outgoing Board Chair Joel Rosenfeld for six years of dedicated leadership during a truly unparalleled period, from COVID to the recovery that followed and the inscription of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. His steady guidance shaped every step of that journey, and his leadership will be realized for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

HBMS Welcomes Four New Members to Board of Trustees<\/strong><\/p>\n

Historic Bethlehem is also pleased to welcome four new members to its Board of Trustees starting in 2026. Rocco Beltrami, Ray Glemser, Dayna Plocus and Kristina Warner will all serve three-year terms on the 36-member board, which is responsible for the overall governance and direction of the organization.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Rocco Beltrami<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beltrami is an associate with the law firm Norris McLaughlin, focusing on municipal law, real estate, land use and zoning matters. He earned his bachelor\u2019s degree from Moravian University and his law degree from Villanova University\u2019s Charles Widger School of Law. Beltrami currently serves as chairperson of the Northampton County Bar Association\u2019s Municipal Law Committee and has been selected the past two years for inclusion in\u00a0Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America<\/em>\u00a0list for Corporate Law and Litigation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Ray Glemser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Glemser is Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Glemser Technologies Corp., which provides technology-enabled solutions and services for life science companies. He graduated summa cum laude from Lehigh University with a bachelor\u2019s degree in computing and information sciences in 1983 and went on to earn his master\u2019s degree in industrial engineering in 1984 and doctorate in philosophy in 1991, both from Lehigh. Glemser has served on various boards in the region, including Think Hope Foundation, Snyder Technologies LLC, Regina Academy at St. John the Baptist in Ottsville, Pa., and the Industrial and Systems Engineering Advisory Council.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dayna Plocus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Plocus has 20 years of experience in marketing, public relations and real estate. Early in her career, she worked as director of marketing for Christofle of Paris before becoming a licensed realtor and professional home stager. In addition to serving on the HBMS Board of Trustees, she is the chair of the organization\u2019s Rooms to View House & Garden Tour Planning Committee and also volunteers for several other Lehigh Valley nonprofits. Plocus is a graduate of Lehigh University, where she earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in finance. She lives in Bethlehem with her husband, Bronson.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kristina Warner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Warner, who owns Black River Farms & Vineyards with her husband, Andrew, is a former elementary education teacher and has extensive experience in events planning and coordination. She has served on several local boards, including Junior League of the Lehigh Valley, the Auxiliary of St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network, St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network Board of Trustees, Penn State LaunchBox Ladies and the Monocacy Farm Project.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

ABOUT HISTORIC BETHLEHEM MUSEUMS & SITES<\/b>
\nHistoric Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS) is a nonprofit institution that brings to life three centuries of American history. HBMS tells the story of a small town of great influence, home to some of our nation\u2019s earliest settlers, America\u2019s first municipal water pumping system and one of the world\u2019s greatest industrial companies. HBMS is located in eastern Pennsylvania, only a one-hour drive north of Philadelphia and two hours west of New York City. The nonprofit is a partner in Moravian Church Settlements-Bethlehem, the United States\u2019 26th<\/sup>\u00a0World Heritage site; an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution; and part of Historic Moravian Bethlehem, which is a National Historic Landmark District. For more information, visit\u00a0historicbethlehem.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nMark Demko<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nonprofit Announces New Officers and Board Members for 2026 BETHLEHEM, PA\u2014Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS), the Bethlehem-based nonprofit focused on historic preservation, education and community enrichment, is pleased to … Continue reading Colleen Gilbert Named Chair of Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites\u2019 Board of Trustees<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5717,69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bethlehem","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/hbms-board.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146729"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=146729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/146735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=146729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=146729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=146729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}