Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Millbrook Community Partnership names Cora Cahan as its new CEO

MILLBROOK —  Cora Cahan was named CEO by the Millbrook Community Partnership (MCP) on Thursday, July 6. She will provide strategic leadership for the Thorne Center and Bennett Park projects, both of which are underway in the Village of Millbrook and the Town of Washington.

MCP introduced Cahan as the CEO at a private event held at the Thorne Building on Saturday, June 3.

Cahan has a background in repurposing existing community-based historic buildings, while also having built up her resume working with the performing arts. Commenting on her appointment, she said, “After spending my career in New York City, I’m thrilled to be joining a project closer to home.”

Oakleigh Thorne, president of MCP, stated in an announcement: “It was crucial for MCP to find the right leadership in this moment to propel our projects into their next phases of development. We needed a person with experience leading organizations from the ground up, strong ties to the arts community and a background in nonprofit development. Cora brings all of that and more.”

“How remarkable and noteworthy it is that the dedicated board members of the Millbrook Community Partnership have accomplished so much,” Cahan stated. “They have done a tremendous job getting the Thorne Center and Bennett Park projects off the ground and on the cusp of reinvention. I’m excited to have been drafted and entrusted with the responsibility of building on that progress by leading the projects to completion.”

When MCP obtained the Thorne Building from the village, it had also been working on obtaining the space it needed to create Bennett Park. The ultimate desire is, as noted in the announcement, “…to create a cultural hub and communal gathering space in the heart of Millbrook.”

MCP’s mission is to turn two of Millbrook’s greatest liabilities into its greatest assets, with the conversion of the dilapidated Bennett College campus into a beautiful park at the entrance to the village, and the preservation and renovation of the abandoned Thorne Memorial School building as a state-of-the-art community center focused on the arts and community interests.

The Thorne Center will serve Millbrook, Washington and central Dutchess County by offering programs for all ages. Included will be a theater suitable for multiple uses including stage productions, music, movies and lectures; a dance studio for rehearsals and classes; and a music and podcast studio with an individual practice and lesson room along with a recording studio.

There will also be art studios featuring creative spaces under the iconic skylight on the third floor, galleries for exhibitions, and a digital arts lab. A community workspace will include enclosed and open cubicles, a group meeting room and high-speed internet access.

A culinary arts center will offer culinary instruction as well as a community kitchen for farm-to-table growers and a catering facility for Thorne Center events,

The Bennett Park project will be completed in phases, with eastern trails and the outdoor Greek theater on track to open in 2023. The western section, opening in 2024, will feature an outdoor venue for concerts and performing arts. The completion of 32 acres of landscaped parkland includes expansion and improvement of the walking and biking trails, connecting with existing trails, and a Bennett Museum and Visitors’ Center.

Cahan’s credentials suggest she is well suited to the position. Starting as a dancer, Cahan changed careers, becoming an arts administrator and co-founder and executive director of the Feld Ballet and its Ballet Tech school. She later developed the Lawrence A. Wien Center for Dance, and in that capacity helped to transform the Elgin Cinema into the award-winning Joyce Theater.

She was president and CEO of the New 42nd Street for 29 years, an organization known for saving seven historic theaters on the street by restoring and finding uses for them. Most recently, Cahan served as president and CEO of the Baryshnikov Arts Center.

To stay up-to-date on the MCP’s plans for Millbrook’s future, visit thornebuilding.org or millbrookbennettpark.org

Millbrook’s Thorne Building as seen from Maple Avenue. Photo by Judith O’Hara Balfe

Cora Cahan has been named CEO for the Millbrook Community Partnership, which is moving forward with the Thorne Center and Bennett Park. Photo by Brigitte Lacombe

Millbrook’s Thorne Building as seen from Maple Avenue. Photo by Judith O’Hara Balfe

Latest News

Legal Notices - July 23, 2026

Legal Notices - July 23, 2026

LEGAL NOTICE

Coldworks Mechanical LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 05/28/2026. Office location: Dutchess County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to: P.O. Box 353, LaGrangeville, New York 12540-0353. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Keep ReadingShow less

Classifieds - July 23, 2026

Classifieds - July 23, 2026

HELP WANTED

Home Help Needed. Part Time. Sharon. 407-620-7777.

REAL ESTATE

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: Equal Housing Opportunity. All real estate advertised in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1966 revised March 12, 1989 which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color religion, sex, handicap or familial status or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All residential property advertised in the State of Connecticut General Statutes 46a-64c which prohibit the making, printing or publishing or causing to be made, printed or published any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or:rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, lawful source of income, familial status, physical or mental disability or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.

Keep ReadingShow less
Millerton’s 175th celebration overcomes weather challenges

Customers peruse jewelry and art at a vendor’s station during Millerton’s 175th Fair on Friday, July 17.

Photo by Lucia Iandolo

MILLERTON — The community wrapped up its week-long 175th anniversary fair Sunday, July 19, with sunny skies and a sizable turnout after rain threatened to put a damper on the whole weekend.

Rainy weather on Saturday, July 18, led to reduced attendance, but didn’t kill volunteers’ spirits. Lisa Hermann, who led the planning efforts for the week-long celebration, said the poor weather was unfortunate but plans continued on with slight modifications.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Food pantries, farmers markets adapt after federal aid cuts

Volunteers at St. Thomas Episcopal Church’s Food of Life pantry distribute vegetables and other food to patrons on Friday, July 17, in South Amenia.

Photo by Eloise Pickering

A year after federal funding cuts to supplemental food programs, local farmers markets and food pantries continue adapting to ensure community members have access to food.

Farmers markets throughout the region accept a variety of food assistance benefits, and food pantries are switching to new choice models, allowing their guests and neighbors to choose their food rather than be sent home with a pre-packaged box.

Keep ReadingShow less
Millbrook Fire Department Carnival carries on despite rain, air quality concerns

About to begin dispensing ride tickets at the opening day of the annual Millbrook Fire Dept. Carnival on Wednesday, July 15, the ticket booth was a focus for visitors as they awaited the opening and the start of the rides.

Photo by Leila Hawken

MILLBROOK — Millbrook’s four day Fire Department Carnival that took place between July 15 through July 18 saw community turnout through rain, heat, and poor air quality.

With a looming storm and Canadian wildfires lowering air quality, residents and families still lined Franklin Avenue during the July 18 parade, cheering on local fire departments.

Keep ReadingShow less
Washington officials begin pool renovation talks

MILLBROOK — Washington’s town board will begin workshopping plans for renovations to the town pool next week.

At a regular meeting on Thursday, July 9, the board discussed a preliminary feasibility study on the pool and surrounding park. A monthly workshop, hosted at Town Hall, will begin to address concerns and solidify plans on how to improve the park. The first session will take place on Thursday, July 23, at 6 p.m.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.