Who We Are

Katherine Stephens has been a resident of the Stockade since 2014, first as a renter and more recently as a homeowner. Katherine resides on North Ferry Street with her husband Drew Pearson and their cat Poppy. She brings many years of non-profit arts administration, grant writing, community leadership, and board stewardship experience to the Stockade Association Board of Directors. Katherine has served on the City of Schenectady Board of Education as Vice President as well as the New Leaders Council Capital District chapter board of directors and currently serves as a Vice President of the YWCA of Northeastern New York. You may have seen her on the Schenectady Civic Players or the SLOC Musical Theater stages as she loves to perform. Katherine is passionate about the community and city she calls home and looks forward to what we can all accomplish for our neighborhood together.

Dan O'Neill has been a Stockade resident since 2018 after relocating from western NY with his fiancé Hannah, a Schenectady native. As an alum from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Dan works professionally as an Assistant Landscape Architect with project experience in Streetscapes, Mixed Use Developments, Visual Analysis, Parks, and Trail design. He loves the downtown lifestyle and feels strongly about making the streets and sidewalks safer, growing the tree inventory, and being a steward to the rich history of the Stockade. You can typically find Dan cycling about the neighborhood, working on his home, and tending to the garden.

Zakhar Berkovich has been a resident of Schenectady since 2011, starting in Stockade, then moving to the Historic GE Realty Plot with his partner John Samatulski and furry child, Rosie. Zakhar remains committed to the Stockade by maintaining several historic properties, including Stockade Inn, and participating in Stockade events. He is an active participant in the membership meetings. During the daytime, he is a Director of Undergraduate Student Services at Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy within the University at Albany. At night you may find him restoring one of the buildings. Zakhar is passionate about non-profit organizations and understands how a good and strong board can lead to success for the whole community. He looks forward to working together to preserve, protect, and improve the beautiful Stockade.

Suzanne Unger learned to love history living in the Stockade as a child. She majored in history and American Studies in college and worked in several history related careers. After teaching social studies in a Florida school district, she and her husband Richard retired to the Stockade, where they have been living happily for a number of years. Suzanne has served as secretary and president of the Stockade Association in the past and is looking forward to serving on the board once again.

Since 2018, Justin, his wife Samantha, and (more recently) daughter Lexie have called the Stockade their home. Originally from Ohio, Justin pursued an academic career dedicated to history and education, earning a Bachelor’s in History and Art history from Kent State University and subsequently a Master’s in Higher Education Administration from West Virginia University. His full-time career is Advancement Officer for Niagara University where he oversees fundraising efforts throughout the northeast. We are so happy to live in a community that is steeped in tradition and history, and I hope to help preserve those traditions for generations to come.

Keith has been a native to the Capital Region his entire life. Born in Schenectady, he has lived all over the region, including Clifton Park, Saratoga, Greenwich, Wilton, Duanesburg, Glenville and Elsmere, but moved to the Stockade in 2008. In a real sense, the move to live in Schenectady's Stockade District felt like coming home. A graduate of Clarkson College, Keith has had lengthy careers in Atmospheric Sciences and Broadcasting, both in an engineering capacity. Since retirement, he has furthered his interests in filmmaking, photography and local history. He is a current member of the Board and heads the Infrastructure Committee which has been instrumental in initiating the Streetscape Study. Keith has kindly offered his expertise for another term.

Christopher Marney resides in the Sanders-Ellice home on Union Street with his husband, Chris White, and their two dogs. When not working on their home restoration, he is an attorney and also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Schenectady Historical Society. You can follow the Chris’ home restoration on Instagram @schenectadyrestorationproject.

It has been my great privilege to be editor of The Stockade Spy for 29 years, carrying the torch from the days when Jim Schmitt founded the paper in 1961 and Werner Feibes sketched the original Stockade Spy mast head, that we are still using today. I thank so many of our talented and generous neighbors who have contributed their writing, poetry, photos, drawings, financial, managerial and graphic skills over the years. And thank you’s go to all our many advertisers for their steadfast support.

This committee oversees the various gardens maintained by the Association and supports the volunteers who work in the gardens. Jac is a relatively new resident who has already contributed a lot to our neighborhood. His lovely evergreen garden, established by Peter Rumora, was on last year's garden tour. Jac also has some wonderful ideas about making our neighborhood even more beautiful, especially at the Gateway and other amenity areas. Jac served for thirty years in the Air Force and the Army as a flight nurse. He moved to the Stockade in 2019 from Ballston Spa and now lives on Front Street. We are delighted to welcome Jac and very grateful for his generosity!