Warner Library Board

The Warner Library board is appointed by the Village Boards of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. The seven member board meets on the third Thursday of the month to discuss library business. Agendas and minutes of prior board meetings for the current year are found below. The board year runs April – March. If you would like to request board minutes from past years please email the director at director@warnerlibrary.org

Board Members

Mary Drake

Mary Drake works at Morgan Stanley, a financial services company, assessing the firm’s credit portfolio since 2009. Mary holds a Series 7 license and earned a CFE (certified fraud examination) certificate. Prior to living in New York, she worked in Hong Kong and Singapore for 11 1/2 years, and one year in Florida. Mary and her husband Jeff and son Maxim moved to Sleepy Hollow in 2005 and then Tarrytown in 2011. They have been members of the Warner Library since 2005.

Dean Gallea

Dean Gallea worked as an engineer and project leader for electronic product testing at Consumer Reports for over four decades. At the same time, he developed a personal interest in environmental sustainability issues, especially reducing our carbon footprint. He is co-chair of the Tarrytown Environmental Advisory Council, serves on the Scenic Hudson Trails Committee, as a Community Board member and volunteer for the Tarrytown Music Hall, on the Board of the Hudson Valley News Corporation, is Vice-President of the Board of GRACE Cares (an organization funding humanitarian projects) and joined the Warner Library Board in 2018. He is a Lifetime member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), is active in many environmental organizations, is a citizen water sampler for Riverkeeper, and helps organize and judge regional science fairs yearly. He has lived in Tarrytown literally a stone’s throw from the Library, since 1990. (He refrains from throwing stones, however!)

Diane Tasca

Diane Tasca was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. After graduating from Temple University in 1968, Diane entered the graduate program at the University of Illinois, obtaining her doctorate in English Literature in 1976. She married Norm Beamer, who became a partner in the New York patent law firm Fish and Neave.  She and Norm lived in Philipse Manor from 1984 to 1992, and she worked as a textbook editor for Macmillan Publishing and then as a freelance writer and editor. While in Philipse Manor, Diane was involved in the initial efforts by the Hudson Valley Writers Center to acquire the train station building for its headquarters.  In 1992  Diane, Norm, and their son, John, moved to Palo Alto, California, where she founded the Pear Avenue Theatre (now The Pear Theatre) in 2002. At the Pear, Diane served as Artistic Director for 15 years, acting in many plays, as well as occasionally writing and directing. Norm retired from the law firm and now works as an administrative law judge for the US Patent and Trademark Office. Diane, Norm, and John moved back to Sleepy Hollow in 2021 and are very happy to be back in the beautiful, historic Hudson Valley. 

David Neilsen

David Neilsen has served as President of the EPTA of the Tarrytowns.  In 2011, he conceived of and chaired the Washington Irving Fitness Playground Committiee.  In addition, he created and has organized the annual Read Out @ Warner event to benefit the Children’s Room of the Library since 2011.  He also serves on the Tarrytown School District Task Force, focusing on finding new ways to maximize academic opportunities for the district’s students outside of the classroom.  David is a local writer whose River Dad column appeared in The River Journal for several years.  He also writes for Westchester Magazine, The Hook, Westchester Family and The Valley Table and is an accomplished film and television writer.  David and his family have been residents of Tarrytown since 2007.

Tina Valenti

Tina Valenti has worked in her family’s restaurant business for the most of her professional career until it was sold. As a result of that experience she knows what it means to work hard and understands the value of providing outstanding service. She is currently a Real Estate agent with William Raveis Legends Realty group on Main St. in Tarrytown. She currently lives in Westchester with her husband and 2 children. Tina is an active member of the community as a fund raiser for the local schools and various sports organizations and is a member of the EPTA. In addition, she is a proud “Sugar Angel” with a non-profit organization, Icing Smiles, an organization that makes 100% donation cakes for terminally ill children.