Pat Jenny outlines plans as Salisbury Forum president

SALISBURY — Pat Jenny is the new president of The Salisbury Forum.

The organization has been bringing speakers to the region since 2005.

Jenny replaces Mary Close Oppenheimer as president.

In a phone interview Sunday, July 10, Jenny, who retired in 2019 after 35 years at The New York Community Trust, the community foundation for NYC, Westchester, and Long Island, said she does not plan any dramatic changes.

The Salisbury Forum is a small nonprofit and run by volunteers. It has no staff.

Jenny said at a recent strategy session it was decided to work on beefing up the video production side of the speaker series, and to investigate live-streaming.

The pandemic-inspired switch to Zoom has given the group some experience in remote presentations, she said.

In general, the speakers come from somewhere within reasonable driving range ­— the New York metro area or New England.

The use of Zoom during the pandemic allowed for both speakers from much further away and for a wider audience.

However, the tradition of having in-person speakers at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, The Hotchkiss School, and The Salisbury School will remain intact.

Jenny said The Salisbury Forum will continue to bring speakers to talk about subjects “of global and local interest” while trying to appeal to a younger audience.