Our Board & Staff
Board of Directors
Amy Albert
BOARD PRESIDENT
Amy Albert lives in Middletown, and also serves on the Board of the Middlesex County Historical Society. A graduate of UConn ’04 (M.A. History), she is originally from Oakland, California and lived in France for three years. Fluent in French, Amy’s passions include visual art, and is a member of the Wadsworth Atheneum and the New Britain Museum of American Art. In addition, live performance including theater and music count among her interests. In her youth, she spent a year in Ashland, Oregon immersed in the Ashland Shakespeare Festival, and was raised by two English teachers who specialized in Shakespeare.
Ken Burtis
VICE PRESIDENT
A native of Brooklyn, NY, Ken Burtis moved to Connecticut in 1976 after spending 8 years in the Navy. What followed was a 31 year career servicing computers finishing my career after working 24 years at Hewlett-Packard. He was elected to the Zoning Board of Appeals in Clinton and Marlborough, serving a total of ten years. Since retirement he’s served on the board at his condominium, and TBT. A fan of most music, jazz is what first brought Ken to the Buttonwood Tree. First as a guest, then a member, and now on the Board of Directors. Live performances, food, and wine are amoung his favorite things, while his hobbies are anything to do with railroads.
Renée Tribert
BOARD MEMBER
Having spent formative years as a child exploring and trying to get lost in French castles with her family, Renée developed an interest in historic buildings, architecture, and art. Since moving to Connecticut in 1988 she has worked at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, the New Britain Museum of American Art, and now Preservation Connecticut. She enjoys biking, hiking, and travel, often in pursuit of her adult children. With nary a creative bone in her, she instead appreciates the creativity of others, and discovered The Buttonwood Tree upon moving to Portland in 2019.
KELLY DOUGHERTY
CHAIRPERSON, MARKETING, & FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE
Kelly holds a passion for both serving, and connecting, diverse and underrepresented communities and is driven to inspire needed change, which she has strived to do through her volunteer work through the Middlesex United Way Young Leaders Society and Hartford Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs (HYPE), as well as through her professional endeavors, having worked in the nonprofit sector for the past two decades, including the Northern Middlesex YMCA, the Valley Shore YMCA, and Hands On Hartford.
Kelly’s expertise lies in development, member/customer service, and social media marketing, but she has a range of personal interests and talents outside of these about which she is passionate, including dance, music, singing, comedy, animal & human rights activism, veganism, traveling, basketball, martial arts, holistic wellness, energy healing, spirituality, drum circles, photography, and poetry, many of which she enjoys pursuing or experiencing at The Buttonwood Tree.
NANETTE FRESHER
BOARD MEMBER
Nanette is a public accountant, project manager, Middletown resident, oil painter, gardener, and yoga enthusiast passionate about sharing the arts and getting our community involved! She has had her oil paintings displayed at the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery at Wesleyan University and won several prizes from the Hamden Art League for her artwork.
LOUISE PETROKA
BOARD MEMBER
Louise worked for 22 years as an Anatomy and Physiology Professor; for 8 years was the Program Coordinator of the Pharmacy Technician program (Nationally Accredited), served as Chair of the National Pharmacy Technician Advisory Board, was Question writer for the National Pharmacy Technician Board, and Chair of Catch the Wave Pharmacy Technician Programs. Louise has lived for 30 years in Middletown, raising two daughters here, and is a longtime fan of The Buttonwood Tree.
MELINDA BRAINARD
TREASURER
Melinda grew up in Chester and now resides in Cromwell after many years in Middletown. She graduated from Loyola Marymount with a BA in Theatre and spent a few years doing community theater around CT. During the day, Melinda works as an accounting assistant for an architectural firm and private bookkeeping on the side. Melinda enjoys reading, walking with her dog, cooking/baking, and crafting with her daughter outside of work. Her passion is theater, but she also loves live music. .
AMBER BUSARI
BOARD MEMBER
Amber is a Goodwin University student and Assistant Museum Manager at Kidcity Children’s Museum here in Middletown. She has an Associate’s Degree in Theater Arts from Capital Community College. Amber likes hiking, foraging/plant identification, and gardening for fun. She also likes movies, cooking, music, podcasts, and trying new foods.
Our Staff
Anne-Marie Cannata McewEN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The Executive Director, Anne-Marie, will be on a Leave of Absence with her family in Florida through March 31st, 2023. “The Board of Directors at The Buttonwood Tree have graciously granted me a Family Leave of Absence until April. I’m grateful to them for this time to focus on my family. I will miss all the happenings at Buttonwood and all my friends there and look forward to returning,” she wrote on Facebook. We will miss her, and hope that the Leave will give her the opportunity to spend uninterrupted time with family.
Anne-Marie Cannata McEwen came to TBT in 2003 to see Gandalf Murphy and The Slambovian Circus of Dreams. She was hired as Executive Director in 2008. She enjoys the outdoors, especially sunrise and sunset, hiking, swimming, running, tennis, ping-pong. She has three children, two grandchildren and three children two grandchildren and a great-granddaughter through her marriage in 2015. She met her husband, Mike at TBT in 2015. She is also a member of First Church, Middletown.
dERRIK r. BOSSE
WEBMASTER
Derrik Bosse is our Booking, Scheduling, Press Release, Network for Good, and Website Manager. He handles all of the communications regarding Performers, Marketing, and Scheduling. Derrik has been with us since June 2021. He also hosts the occasional open mic, and has been helping behind-the-scenes with The Human Room Open Voice.
Derrik Bosse is a music teacher and performer residing in Berlin, CT. He is a 2016 graduate of Central Connecticut State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Information Systems (and a Minor in Music). He has performed with many different musical groups throughout CT, and has mastered many styles of music. Notable acts include Klezmer Fusion Collective, Ceschi Ramos, Kindred Queer, Funk Physics, and currently Merganser, a folk-inspired group that rehearses at the Buttonwood Tree. He has also appeared on WHUS 88.1 as part of The I Do Not Know Show, providing all-improv music and the occasional dialogue.
Derrik enjoys many types of music, namely baroque, traditional folk, and world music. He can be seen performing live on bass, keyboards, or recorder. He is currently learning coding, and aspires to develop his IT skills heavily in the coming years.
Buttonwood History
