BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Ariane Triay, President

Born in Paris and raised in Connecticut, a love of art is in Ariane's genes. Her great great grandfather René deBraux was an impressionist painter and founding member of the Salon d'Automne in Paris with contemporaries like Pissarro and Signac. Her grandfather and aunt are/were also talented artists and these genes have presented themselves in her own life-long love of art. An avid collector of "anything I like", her walls are always full and she is especially fond of sourcing attainable art and discovering less known artists.   

A graduate of Brooks School and Colby College, a non-linear career path took her from interior design to event planning and back to interiors (with a healthy pause to raise her kids). Ariane opened her interior design studio, La French Goose, in 2018 and her studio is located in downtown New Canaan. She has been an avid patron of the Carriage Barn for years and joined the Board in 2023. She is delighted to share her passion for art by helping to expand the Carriage Barn's reach in our area.

Ariane also donates her time to Horizons at New Canaan Country School but when she has time off you’ll find her at home in "Stam-Canaan", binge-watching a Netflix series, rearranging furniture, or sitting in front of the fire in her PJs, alongside her husband, their two college-aged kids (when they're home), and their three Havanese dogs. 

Heather Jones, Vice President

Heather J. Jones is a realist painter originally from New York City and now based in New
Canaan. She is an Elected Artist Member of the American Artists Professional League and has
recently exhibited with the Allied Artists of America and the Salmagundi Club.
Prior to moving to New Canaan, Jones lived in London, England where she was the Founding
Partner and Creative Director of an apparel company, which designed and manufactured
licensed infantswear for such notable international brands as The World of Eric Carle and Miffy.
The company’s clothing was sold globally, from independent boutiques to major department
stores, such as Nordstrom and TJ Maxx.
Jones holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from Fordham University and a Master’s
degree from New York University. When not painting, Jones enjoys cooking (and eating!),
nature walks and is a serial DIY-er often found in her garage refinishing furniture. She loves
living “in the woods” with her husband, two young children, mother and two Doodles.

Bo Marcus, Treasurer

Bo is originally from Dallas. After graduating from UT Austin, he moved to Washington DC and started Tortilla Coast, a popular Tex-Mex restaurant on Capitol Hill. A few years later, he opened Cafe Deluxe, an upscale bistro. After twenty plus years in the business, a private equity company persuaded him to sell his group of six restaurants. He has a passion for art, including creating most of the marketing materials for his company and teaching himself PhotoShop, as well as an avid sports photographer. Bo and his wife raised their four kids in New Canaan, where they have lived for 20+ years.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

George Bennington (ex-officio)
Chairman, Town of New Canaan Parks & Recreation Commission

Thomas Berntsen

Tom graduated Rochester Institute of Technology in with a B.S. in professional photography. He immediately launched his career as a commercial photographer in N.Y.C., specializing in the decorative arts. He later shifted his creative efforts toward an inspiring mode of self-expression. Steadily working on expanding his oeuvre in novel ways using new and varied material, Tom is an active member of the local arts community.

Amanda Bryan

Amanda Bryan is a long-time resident of New Canaan and real estate advisor with Compass, where she co-leads Saxe + Bryan Properties, a top-producing team serving New Canaan and lower Fairfield County. With nearly two decades of experience, an MBA from Columbia Business School, and a background in private wealth management, Amanda brings a strategic, community-minded perspective to her endeavors. Amanda has served on the Davidson Athletic Foundation Board, The New Canaan Board of Realtors Board of Directors, and is currently the co-chair of the New Canaan Country School Horizons bi-annual fundraiser. She is honored to join the Board of the Carriage Barn Arts Center and support its mission to enrich the community through the arts.

Michael Carusi

Michael is an independent web developer and web host who has spent more than ten years growing his tech company to provide practical long-term solutions for small businesses and nonprofit organizations. After getting his start as a marketer working for nonprofits, Michael taught himself web development after developing an interest in computer science during his undergraduate days at American University, where he obtained a BA in English. After spending four years working as a conventional web developer, Michael identified an underserved target audience of small businesses and nonprofits that required specialized web development services without bells and whistles often associated with bigger projects. He now hosts more than 180 small business and nonprofit organizations as part of his value-add web hosting services platform, including the Carriage Barn.

Suzanne Charbonneau

Suzanne is a representational painter of still life and landscapes. Her artistic career began as Creative Director at New York’s top ad agencies where she wrote and designed award-winning campaigns for world class brands. She later became partner at Ryan in Westport, CT and helped to build the creative department. With a lifelong passion for painting, and more time to pick up a brush, she channeled her creativity to the canvas. Her works have been selected for 20+ juried shows at several galleries. Suzanne raised two boys in New Canaan where she still lives with her husband and Golden Retriever.

Lauren Clayton

Lauren Clayton, artist and graphic designer of Stamford, CT, studied at the Cooper Union School of Art. Lauren received a grant for $20k from the Miller Brewing Company to help launch her design company, Studio 162 in 2003. Lauren began specializing in designing family heirloom books at the start of her business, but has grown to offer a variety of creative solutions for small businesses, individuals and nonprofits. She is an exhibiting artist, muralist and designer in lower Fairfield County. Lauren is active in her community by mentoring students, offering internships and collaborating with non-profits. Lauren is a Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar alum.

Callie Creighton

Callie Creighton moved to New Canaan in 2016 after 13 years working at both Christie’s andSotheby’s New York, primarily as a specialist in furniture and decorative arts of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. She holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia in English Literature and and M.Litt. with Distinction from Christie’s Education, London in the History of Art and Connoisseurship. Callie has three children aged 10, 8 and 6 and is involved in various ways with local community organizations, such as St. Marks Episcopal Church and New Canaan Country School, and previously the New Canaan Nature Center Preschool. In addition to these volunteer roles, Callie enjoys playing tennis, gardening, and reading.

Susan Kemp

Originally from the United Kingdom Susan is a 26 year resident of New Canaan. While holding a BS in Management Science from Manchester University and starting a career in banking it was the completion of an Associates Degree at the New York School of Interior Design shortly after arriving in the US that lead to a passion for the visual arts. Whether it be attending, studying or organizing Susan is always keen to engage with the arts both in the local community and further afield.

Julie Marcus

Julie Marcus has a BA in political science from the University of California, Berkeley and a law degree from Georgetown University Law School. She worked for the Department of Justice in the civil rights division for 11 years and then was owner and partner of Deluxe Restaurant Groups in Washington DC for seven years. She is a long-time resident of New Canaan and has volunteered extensively in all the local schools. She has been President of the NC Garden Club twice and is still very involved in the organization, she has also served as a grant reader for the New Canaan Community Foundation. She loves gardening, art, travel and cooking.

Shelby K Smith

Shelby K Smith is an abstract painter who develops modern geometric artwork with a focus on color. A self-taught artist with a rich background in the beauty industry, Smith draws upon decades of experience developing brands, shades and color stories for companies such as Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, and Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. Originally from Newton, MA, Smith lives in Darien, CT. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Florida and an M.A. in Communications from Fordham University. Smith's paintings have made their way into more than one hundred private homes across the United States and abroad. Her work has been featured in a multitude of exhibitions and can be found at fine art galleries along the East Coast and beyond.

Butch Quick

Lauren van Roden

Lauren van Roden is a New Canaan resident who grew up in New Canaan and is currently a preschool teacher at First Presbyterian Preschool and elementary school tutor. When she is not working Lauren is raising her two daughters- Lucy (10) and Caroline (7). In her spare time she loves to do colorful watercolor paintings, photography and needlepoint. She enjoys cooking and participating in all that New Canaan afterschool programming has to offer. Her daughters are involved in local theater, art and musical programs and she is an active member at the Carriage Barn contributing to various art shows and participating in the children’s and wellness programming.

ADVISORY BOARD

John Dunn, Serena Gillespie, Jeanne McDonagh, Art Potts, Sue Stone

To reach out to anyone listed here, please email [email protected] and your inquiry will be re-directed.