Making It Count

By seizing the day and giving it her all, Lois Celeste is creating a community hub that fosters connection for Saratoga’s seniors. 

Lois Celeste doesn’t have a simple job description. On any given day, she’s chasing donor funding, managing 16 employees, coordinating hundreds of volunteers, and making sure the 250-plus people who walk through the doors of the Saratoga Senior Center feel like they belong there.

She’s been doing it since 2010, when she became the Saratoga Senior Center’s Executive Director. She makes it look easy — which is exactly the kind of thing that takes time to master.

“Just try it once,” Lois says to anyone on the fence about stopping by. 

Built for This

Lois grew up in Mechanicville, NY, and graduated from SUNY Cortland with a BA degree in Sociology and a minor in Criminal Justice. She spent her early career in human services, and as a probation officer. Then, she founded Saratoga County’s Domestic Violence Advocacy Program. “It was a pivotal piece,” she said. “I went from the micro to the macro level — and I just loved it.”

Since the beginning of her career, her mission has always remained the same: find the gap in services, build the bridge, and get people the help they need.

Lois has an intuitive understanding of how to grow an organization, something that is evident by looking at all the Senior Center has become today. Founded in 1955, the Saratoga Senior Center was previously anchored at 5 Williams Street in downtown Saratoga Springs for decades. In 2023, they relocated to 290 West Avenue, a significantly larger space adjacent to the Saratoga Regional YMCA. 

Now, there is room for everything Lois has been building, including a plethora of programs, trips, and activities. Among the Saratoga Senior Center’s support services, there is a volunteer match program, transportation assistance, and food assistance. They offer caregiver support, as well as a palliative care program for the seriously ill. 

Last year, the Saratoga Senior Center celebrated its 70th anniversary by raising awareness around the issues associated with aging. Acknowledging the vital role the Saratoga Senior Center plays in supporting our community’s older adults culminated with an August luncheon where professional golfer Dottie Pepper and the editor of Golf Digest, Max Adler, helped honor sportscaster Jim Nantz for his commitment to fighting Alzheimer’s disease and for the establishment of the Nantz National Alzheimer’s Center in Houston, TX. 

Creating More Than Just a Place to Go

Often, Lois compares the Saratoga Senior Center to a college campus: both are places of transition, reinvention, and unexpected possibility. Love matches have been made, and people find their footing again. At the Saratoga Senior Center, they find a home, and community. 

The stakes are high. Seventy percent of the Saratoga Senior Center’s members are women — many of whom are widowed, have relocated to the area, or are simply looking to connect with others. 

“Sometimes, this is the only place they talk to someone in a day,” said Lois. “Sometimes, it takes everything for them just to come in.”

Lois’ responses to the challenges have been both practical and personal. Everyone has always enjoyed the Center’s pool tables, but now, poker nights have been added, and a new sports calendar is being rolled out. 

With a Purpose That Drives Her

Ask Lois when she plans to retire and she’ll give you an honest answer: she doesn’t know. She’s not sure she wants to.

“I want to be purposeful in what I do,” she says. “And, at this point in life, I can’t imagine not working.”

“The one thing that is free in life is our ability to be nice. So, if you can afford it – sponsor, volunteer, help a neighbor. You never know what the next day may bring.”

Above all, Lois considers her four children her greatest accomplishment. She loves to travel and recently joined her oldest son and his girlfriend on a transformative trip to Thailand. The family also celebrated another of her son’s weddings in Italy this year. 

Sadly, late last year, Lois lost both her parents within a month of each other. Along with her grief however, came renewed clarity. 

“Tomorrow is promised to no one,” she said. “The one thing that is free in life is our ability to be nice. So, if you can afford it — sponsor, volunteer, help a neighbor. You never know what the next day may bring.”

Living in the Light

By wielding jewelry’s rare power to speak volumes, Kimberly Adams Russell guides the next generation into the future. 

In 1922, along with the glamorous rise of the “Roaring Twenties” came Frank Adams Jewelers, a small watch repair shop that today, has evolved into a premier luxury jewelry and timepiece retailer. It is CEO Kimberly Adams Russell’s family legacy. 

Kimberly grew up in the business. In 1990, she officially joined her father, David Adams, at their 58 N. Pearl Street store in downtown Albany, NY, after graduating from Ithaca College with a BA degree in communications. While in college, Kimberly met her husband, Jeff, and the couple married in 1991. In the decade to follow, Kimberly became a mother of three, with compounding responsibilities and failing health. 

In 1995, they moved to their Stuyvesant Plaza store. Seven years later, while the store was undergoing renovations), Kimberly felt physically and mentally exhausted. One morning in 2002, she couldn’t walk, and she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). 

It was devastating news, but the diagnosis afforded her the opportunity to pro-actively manage her symptoms, which provided some relief, she said. When Kimberly reached out for help, a wonderfully optimistic, supportive group of people encouraged her to get up and get going again. In addition to healing her own life, Kimberly joined the MS advocacy community, lifting up others through her experiences. “There is a light after a diagnosis, and I can help share that,” she said. 

Today, Kimberly enjoys peace, quiet, and being with her Bernadoodle, Bailey. She also practices yoga a couple times a week, to find peace of mind and improve her body’s flexibility at the same time, she said. 

Growing with Grace

As a Malta resident for more than 30 years, Kimberly was excited to open a Frank Adams Jewelers satellite store in Saratoga. 

From 2008-2014, Frank Adams Jewelers, at 18 Division Street in Saratoga Springs, was a successful addition to the family business. “I felt very connected to the community. I met and formed relationships with clients that I still have today,” said Kimberly, “but I like being on the sales floor, waiting on clients, and having a personal relationship with others. I want to be the person out front and that’s difficult to do in two different locations,” she said. 

Whether she was at home or at work, people were saying to her, “I feel like I never see you anymore.” Kimberly felt like she was missing out on what she cherished most – meaningful connections – so something had to give, she said. 

Continuing a Century of Benevolence

Putting all her energy into Frank Adams Jewelers’ legacy culminated with their momentous centennial anniversary in 2022, To celebrate the community that has supported them, Frank Adams Jewelers highlighted 100 Acts of Giving. 

During the event, each team member contributed to something they felt connected to in a collaborative approach that amplified their actions. Today, Frank Adams Jewelers is home to a number of legacy team members that have been with the company for 20-30 years, something that Kimberly said she’s grateful for, but that can sometimes be intimidating for new employees. 

“There’s a lot of banter back and forth, and advice being shared – whether it’s wanted or unwanted. We are each other’s family and support each other through everything. I tell people when they are first joining us that it can take a few years to connect, but it really is a family here, so once you do, you are part of that family and there’s no turning back,” she said. 

Laying a Precious Foundation

In 2024, Frank Adams Jewelers made a monumental move, opening a new, glamourous 7500sq.ft. store at 144 Wolf Road in Colonie. Twice the size of their previous location, this sparkling space features a beautiful coffee bar and a fireplace lounge. 

“Here, we have the freedom to show people a really exceptional experience. This is a destination and a place where they can comfortably stay longer,” said Kimberly, who has passed along the family’s knack for providing superior service to her children. 

When Kimberly’s son, Jeffrey was little, and she brought him to work, it was stressful to watch him kick a ball around the store, Kimberly remembers. She never expected he would embrace the business in the way he has since returning to the store after graduating with an MBA in Business from Quinnipiac University, she said. But, since 2024, Jeffrey has been Frank Adams Jewelers’ COO, and Kimberly’s right-hand man. Her twin girls are now working at the family business, as well, completing sales and assisting with its social media. 

This family’s synergy is evident, even in the everyday jewelry they wear. Kimberly is partial to bold, feminine pieces in yellow gold that carry symbolic significance. She often wears a goddess medallion, and for Mother’s Day last year, Jeffrey gave her a pendent engraved with the word “Maa!!” (something that he often shouts across the showroom when he wants to get her attention). Kimberly and her daughters also all have matching bracelets bearing the phrase, “I Love You, More.” This is jewelry that (despite their own advice to others) they never take off. 

“Here, we have the freedom to show people a really exceptional experience. This is a destination and a place where they can comfortably stay longer,”

Skillfully Navigating the Evolving Healthcare Landscape 

At Saratoga Hospital’s helm, President and CEO Jill VanKuren is as resolute as she is sincere, steering the ship toward a new horizon in patient-centered care.

From her strategic vantage point, Jill VanKuren envisions the future of Saratoga Hospital. 

Visiting Saratoga for the first time was like seeing an ideal city that you imagine exists but didn’t realize actually does, said Jill VanKuren. Here, the word “community” is a verb; people take action to build something special. 

After 17 years in various leadership roles at MedStar Health in metropolitan Baltimore, MD, Jill was scouted for a new position by competing hospitals all over the country. On the day of her final meeting in the interview process with a Virgina-based healthcare group, the call came in from Saratoga Hospital offering her the Presidential position in Saratoga Springs. 

During their preliminary visit in 2022, Jill, her wife Cheryl, and son, Alexander, all fell in love with the area. “Alex accepted on my behalf; he was so enamored with the Saratoga community and the environment. He was so excited he was running laps in the hotel’s hallway,” remembers Jill. 

To make the transition possible, Cheryl put her own career in healthcare administration on the backburner to support Jill. It was a big change, and an adjustment for the family, that Jill said she is extremely grateful for. 

Today, Alex is a rising junior at Albany Academy, and their oldest son, Nathan, is a Pace University graduate pursuing theater management in off-Broadway productions.  Last year, Jill’s contract with the hospital was extended to 2030, giving her time to see the vastness of the work she’s started emerge. 

Finding Equilibrium 

From an early age, healthcare attracted Jill’s attention, but after studying the scientific side of the field, she found her passion was more aligned with administrative duties. MedStar Health really grew into its own during her tenure there, said this FACHE board-certified healthcare management leader. Competition between hospitals in the urban healthcare system was in stark contrast to the environment that Jill found in our region when she arrived. Saratoga Hospital is the only hospital in Saratoga County, it draws patients from beyond its borders, like a lighthouse in a storm. Saratoga Hospital stands with 20+ satellite locations throughout Saratoga Springs and the surrounding communities in partnership with the Albany Med Health System. 

One of the area’s largest employers, the group’s approximately 3200 employees, whether working in the hospital, its ambulatory sites, primary or urgent care offices, are predominantly women.  

“As a woman in a leadership position, I have a unique perspective when it comes to balancing family and work, and how difficult it can be to try to do everything – often to the detriment of your own wellbeing,” said Jill.  

When a member of their team returns from hiatus after leaving to raise a family, Jill says to them, “Welcome Home” because this is like their second home and it’s important to meet people where they are, she added. 

There Through the Ups and Downs

Wherever you find yourself, as an Albany Med Health System patient, Saratoga Hospital is giving people more opportunities to access outpatient services closer to home through a hub-and-spoke model that extends specialized services further and strengthens coordination across institutions, said Jill. 

Last year, the Milton Health Center was expanded to offer neurology, therapy, and laboratory services. Having a centralized healthcare hub where multiple providers from the Albany Med Health System will come together is an important component of Jill’s grand vision. 

“It takes a village, and none of us can do It alone,” said Jill. 

She is a strong advocate of the Center for Successful Aging and Wellness (known as CSAW), a scalable organizational framework launched in 2024, with a new building on the horizon. By streamlining electronic record-keeping and appointment framework throughout the system, information can flow more efficiently back and forth between the patient, their provider, and their designated support system.

Jill said being able to proactively schedule doctor’s appointments (instead of planning your social calendar around them) sounds like a dream come true to anyone caught in the net of a disjointed system bogged down by redundant paperwork. 

By looking at the whole person and having conversations earlier in the process, the bumps in the road that come with chronic illness, and impede our lifestyles as we age, aren’t as jarring. Patients have the opportunity to prepare advance directives and care plans proactively, said Jill, instead of making decisions from a hospital bed. 

“You make better decisions when you’re not in crisis. We want to give them more control over their care,” she said. 

Often at a hospital, a calendar is merely a suggestion. Each day must be lived minute-by-minute, and in those moments when you do have the opportunity to pause and reflect, you come back to the realization of what healthcare is all about – the people. 

In addition to her leadership role at Saratoga Hospital, Jill sits on several community advisory boards. As hard as she works, she plays even harder.  She enjoys outdoor recreation, including golf, cross-country skiing, hiking and biking. Jill has always loved the ocean and being at the beach, and now, she’s kayaking on the area’s lakes – because when adventure beckons, Jill grabs a paddle.  

“As a woman in a leadership position, I have a unique perspective when it comes to balancing family and work, and how difficult it can be to try to do everything – often to the detriment of your own wellbeing,”

From Her Cup, Joy Spills Over

For more than a decade, Hayley Stevens has been brewing special moments on Broadway. 

Hayley Stevens’ radiant smile exudes warmth in our little corner of the world. 

Inside Saratoga Tea & Honey Company, the downtown Saratoga Springs shop Hayley founded more than a decade ago, the walls are lined with artisanal tea blends, each with its own sniffer jar, for a premium sensory experience. 

Tea has long been desired for its exceptional flavor and appealing fragrance. The relationship women have had with this special beverage is one steeped in tradition. Around the world, women are heavily involved in the production and consumption of tea. 

“It is such an honor to be part of the rich tradition of women in tea,” said Hayley. “I really felt this when, in 2019, I visited Thái Nguyên, Vietnam, where I met the cooperative producing our Tan Huong green tea.”

“The co-op is led by women, and 80% of the contributing gardens are boutique home gardens run by women. Tea production (and sales to the North American markets) have brought positive changes to this area and increased their quality of life. The women I met welcomed me so warmly, and treated me to an unforgettable tea ceremony. 

We all cried and hugged before parting ways. Visiting the places where our teas originate really amplifies the impact purchasing a single bag of tea can have across the globe,” she said. 

Inspiring “Brew-tiful” Women 

At home, Hayley is continually inspired by the group of women on Saratoga Tea & Honey’s management team, she said. “They brew up THE BEST cups of teas – and ideas! They are full of energy, creative, and attentive to our guests. They have ‘a passion for teas and bees,’ and their contributions make the Saratoga Tea & Honey Company a destination. Emma, Jeanne, Jill, Maribeth, Rachel, Karen, Maria, Kate, and Melanie inspire me every day. I am blessed to work with them.”

The company is truly a positive collaboration where each person is encouraged to play to their strengths, allowing for the flexibility that also enables Hayley, a mother of two, to balance her work life with the constant demands that come with raising young children. 

Although tea is the world’s second most popular beverage (after water) and is revered as a personal ritual and a cultural tradition in countries all over the globe, in America, marketers have tried to assert that tea is a feminine drink. A notion that Hayley quickly dispels. 

“Tea practice is very vibrant and relevant all over the United States, as in the rest of the world,” said Hayley. “At the Saratoga Tea & Honey Company, our customers are especially grateful to find whole leaf tea and herbal tisanes (as they enjoy them for their health benefits and ease of steeping). We have an equal number of male and female customers who enjoy tea every day.”

Blending Soulful Connections 

“Tea is a very personal ritual, and I know many Americans very open to adapting it to their lifestyle in lots of different ways,” said Hayley. The tea industry has experienced a period of growth in this country, and brews like matcha get people curious, said Hayley. 

After attending culinary school at ALMA Scuola Internazionale della Cucina Italiana, Hayley was employed there for a short time.  While in her early twenties, she worked in Michelin star restaurants from Sicily to Venice. When she returned to the US, she accepted a position as a Chef Instructor in the Italian Academy at the French Culinary Institute in New York City.  There, she discovered tea at a pop-up tea shop near the school, and began to immerse herself in tea culture, while also using tea as a culinary ingredient.

Experiencing food and culture around the world is what Hayley lives for, she said, and, in addition to their teas, many of the varietal honeys filling Saratoga Tea & Honey Company’s hive at the back of the store are sourced from across the country, as well as around the world, from countries including Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy. 

Through the years, the Saratoga Tea & Honey Company has also collaborated with many New York State producers, including the beekeepers who provide honey for the shop’s own infusions. “In my experience, these are people that are practicing a connection to the land and highlighting the contribution of bees, just one of many pollinators we need to be protecting,” said Hayley. 

Tending to Tea-rrific Communities 

In addition to creating a supportive environment for their team members, Saratoga Tea & Honey is a business that gives back to the community by donating to charitable organizations each month, including local school groups and the Christopher Dailey Foundation. 

Through a unique partnership with the Wilton Wildlife Preserve, Saratoga Tea & Honey donates a portion of the proceeds from the sale of their tea, Karner Blue Lavender, and the drink, Karner Blue Lemonade, to help protect one of the last remaining habitats of the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly in our area. 

When Hayley is able to capture a few spare moments between sips of tea, she enjoys growing vegetables and herbs in her backyard garden (including lemon balm for tea, of course!), and cooking fresh Mediterranean foods for her family and friends. One of her specialties? Tender pasta made with freshy ground einkorn flour that delights with every bite. 

Nurturing Ideas that Take Root

To shape our community, Melanie Fronhofer Weber wears many hats. A tenacious multitasker, this local native quickly fell in love with the idea of building connections. Now, her forward-thinking resourcefulness is transforming lives

(and your next fun night out). 

Melanie Fronhofer Weber gracefully hurdles challenges to champion others and generate abundance. 

Before becoming the Common Roots Brewing Company’s Business and Human Resource Manager in 2023, Melanie married Christan Weber (who founded the company with his dad, Bert) and was a member of the Common Roots Foundation Board, helping local communities in crisis, advancing environmental stewardship, and promoting healthy lifestyles. 

“That, to me, is the most important work I do,” said Melanie about her role in an organization which, to date, has given away $263,000 (a number slated to reach $300,000 by the end of the year). 

A Heartwarming Mission

In 2014, the Common Roots Brewing Company was founded in South Glens Falls. After a fire in 2019, the community came together to help them rebuild. 

In response to that outpouring of support, Common Roots launched a philanthropic foundation and began issuing $2500 grants to advance charitable causes across the region. 

“You might ask, ‘How much of an impact will $2500 make?’ because it seems like a drop in the bucket, but sometimes that can be an entire year’s worth of supplies for these organizations, or a project’s entire operating budget. It makes-or-breaks them and impacts hundreds of people in the community,” said Melanie. 

This year, the foundation has received more applications than ever. Each one makes Melanie cry, she said. “Every single project is heartwarming. Saying ‘no’ to them is the hardest thing because the people applying are all saints.”

Balancing the Equation

Making a strong statement about caring for the community is an impulse rooted in Melanie’s family history here. Before she was born, her dad founded the Washington County-based Fronhofer Tool, Inc. machine shop. 

“I think collaboration is the key to success – to open doors for people, business, and to reduce the barriers that exist.” 

After graduating from Salem Central School in Salem, NY, and Marymount University in Virginia, Melanie entered the exciting world of event planning with roles at the Association of American Medical Colleges, Gannett, and USA Today.  In 2012, she founded Eleven Eleven Events, LLC, a company coordinating weddings and events across the East Coast. When she switched gears and was working for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Melanie started focusing on how the business community and the economic health of a region are connected. 

In 2015, Melanie returned to this area to help launch Fronhofer Design, an offshoot of her family’s parent company, specializing in fabricating equipment for the beverage industry. 

Historically, brewing beer was primarily women’s work, but once “brewsters” (female brewers concocting large cauldrons of beer, often while wearing tall pointy hats so they could be spotted in a crowd) were made out to be witches, men dominated the industry, both as producers and consumers. 

“On every side of that equation today, women are in the minority. There’s been many a day when I’ve doubted myself and felt like I needed to work harder,” said Melanie, Fronhofer Design’s former CEO. By skillfully utilizing her time, resources, and skills, however, she has handled gender bias in the beverage industry with grace – and immersed herself in goodness. 

“Common Roots has a great style. It’s very welcoming, collaborative, and inclusive. Once I proved I was competent, confident, and educated enough to do the job, I didn’t get a ton of pushback. If you have the chops to make it here, and give people what they need, you’re welcomed and celebrated in a lot of ways – but that doesn’t mean it’s easy,” she said. 

Common Roots now has locations in both South Glens Falls and Albany. They’ve opened the Bierhall private event center; serve breakfast at the adjacent Barrelhouse Café; and have transformed the warehouse space across from their flagship store into public indoor pickleball courts. 

After graduating from Salem Central School in Salem, NY, and Marymount University in Virginia, Melanie entered the exciting world of event planning with roles at the Association of American Medical Colleges, Gannett, and USA Today.  In 2012, she founded Eleven Eleven Events, LLC, a company coordinating weddings and events across the East Coast. When she switched gears and was working for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Melanie started focusing on how the business community and the economic health of a region are connected. 

In 2015, Melanie returned to this area to help launch Fronhofer Design, an offshoot of her family’s parent company, specializing in fabricating equipment for the beverage industry. 

Historically, brewing beer was primarily women’s work, but once “brewsters” (female brewers concocting large cauldrons of beer, often while wearing tall pointy hats so they could be spotted in a crowd) were made out to be witches, men dominated the industry, both as producers and consumers. 

“On every side of that equation today, women are in the minority. There’s been many a day when I’ve doubted myself and felt like I needed to work harder,” said Melanie, Fronhofer Design’s former CEO. By skillfully utilizing her time, resources, and skills, however, she has handled gender bias in the beverage industry with grace – and immersed herself in goodness. 

“Common Roots has a great style. It’s very welcoming, collaborative, and inclusive. Once I proved I was competent, confident, and educated enough to do the job, I didn’t get a ton of pushback. If you have the chops to make it here, and give people what they need, you’re welcomed and celebrated in a lot of ways – but that doesn’t mean it’s easy,” she said. 

Common Roots now has locations in both South Glens Falls and Albany. They’ve opened the Bierhall private event center; serve breakfast at the adjacent Barrelhouse Café; and have transformed the warehouse space across from their flagship store into public indoor pickleball courts. 

The event calendars at all of their locations are packed with happenings year-round. 

Putting on the “Mom” Hat While Building Better Bridges

While pregnant with her oldest child in 2021, Melanie, and her friend, Hillary Williams, launched (g)row, a children’s boutique that encourages parents to connect through fun events and activities.

Now a busy mother of three, and a multi-tasking superhero, Melanie appreciates the benefits of surrounding herself with the right people and relishes the flexibility to show up authentically more than ever.   

“This is who I am, and this is how I’m showing up. Sometimes, I bring my kids to meetings. Not only am I the only woman in the room at times, but I’ve got a baby in my hands, and I’m normalizing it. I’m proving that you don’t need to hide that you’re a mom. As one, you can still contribute and be valuable in a way that is unique to you,” said Melanie. 

In addition to other volunteer efforts through the years, since 2023, Melanie has been a member of the Warren County Economic Development Council Board of Directors, and as of 2026, is the Board Chair, working to advance initiatives that support entrepreneurship, strengthen communities, and position the region for long-term economic success. 

“It’s really nice to work with businesses across County boarders, in Saratoga, Washington, and Essex Counties, to join forces, minimize duplicated work, and rein in resources among our shared populations. There’s a lot of potential for collaboration today, but it hasn’t, historically, always been that way,” said Melanie. “I think collaboration is the key to success – to open doors for people, business, and to reduce the barriers that exist.” 

The event calendars at all of their locations are packed with happenings year-round. 

Putting on the “Mom” Hat While Building Better Bridges

While pregnant with her oldest child in 2021, Melanie, and her friend, Hillary Williams, launched (g)row, a children’s boutique that encourages parents to connect through fun events and activities.

Now a busy mother of three, and a multi-tasking superhero, Melanie appreciates the benefits of surrounding herself with the right people and relishes the flexibility to show up authentically more than ever.   

“This is who I am, and this is how I’m showing up. Sometimes, I bring my kids to meetings. Not only am I the only woman in the room at times, but I’ve got a baby in my hands, and I’m normalizing it. I’m proving that you don’t need to hide that you’re a mom. As one, you can still contribute and be valuable in a way that is unique to you,” said Melanie. 

In addition to other volunteer efforts through the years, since 2023, Melanie has been a member of the Warren County Economic Development Council Board of Directors, and as of 2026, is the Board Chair, working to advance initiatives that support entrepreneurship, strengthen communities, and position the region for long-term economic success. 

“It’s really nice to work with businesses across County boarders, in Saratoga, Washington, and Essex Counties, to join forces, minimize duplicated work, and rein in resources among our shared populations. There’s a lot of potential for collaboration today, but it hasn’t, historically, always been that way,” said Melanie. “I think collaboration is the key to success – to open doors for people, business, and to reduce the barriers that exist.”