Lois Celeste

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.”