Board Member

Connie Palumb

Former President of HOCPA for several years; an Employee Assistance Professional and registered nurse by trade; retired from a thirty-year stint with the Syracuse City Schools As the EAP Coordinator.

Board Member

Sue Greenhagen

Sue received her BA from Mount St. Mary College, MA at St. Bonaventure University, and MLS at Syracuse University. She worked as a Librarian at SUNY Morrisville and is now retired. She is the Historian of the Village of Morrisville and Co-Historian in the Town of Eaton. Sue is a member of Morrisville Historic Preservation Commission Board of Directors, Morrisville Rural Cemetery, Association of Public Historians of New York State, Onondaga County Civil War Round Table, and Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

Board Member

David Haas

Born and raised in the city of Syracuse, David lives in the Eastwood neighborhood where volunteers for several community organizations. A graduate of SUNY Oswego (BS ‘09) and SUNY Cortland (MS ‘11), he is the Executive Director of Sarah’s Guest House, a healthcare hospitality home. A person who stutters, David is the leader of the Syracuse chapter of the National Stuttering Association. He often speaks to local schools, organizations and agencies and has given a TEDx Talk on the topic. Most notably, David owns and operates the Instagram account, @SyracuseHistory, for which he has received various local and state awards and recognition.

President

Rick Naylor

Rick is a native Syracusan and lives in the Bradford Hills/Nottingham neighborhood with his wife Diane and teenage twin girls. He has always been a huge fan of old cemeteries, gravestone carvings, mausoleum architecture, history and collects lanterns, old railroad and nautical stuff. He can be often found in Oakwood enjoying a peaceful walk or working hard to keep up with the “Crypt Keepers” and Karl on cemetery projects. Rick has spent over 30 years as an Insurance and Financial Advisor in private practice and lastly in a corporate planning position.  He now owns an education consulting business based in the insurance industry. He’s has served many years on different boards and enjoys event planning, fundraising and membership.

Board Member

Hilary Donohue

Hilary Donohue is a registered architect and the owner of City Link Architecture PLLC based out of the Westside of Syracuse. She graduated from Syracuse University’s School of Architecture in 2010 and has been working to improve the housing stock in Syracuse ever since. She is an active and engaged resident involved as a facilitator for the Westside TNT, treasurer on the Near Westside Initiative board of directors and, most recently, a member of the HOCPA board. You can often find her walking through Oakwood and staring at trees with dog and baby in tow.

Treasurer

Chrissy Burd

Chrissy grew up on a farm in the small town of Boylston, located in Winona State Forest in the heart of Tug Hill. After attending the School of Architecture at Syracuse University she relocated to Seattle and returned to Syracuse in 2021 after almost 30 years away. Out of curiosity for the history, fondness for the nature, and appreciation for the structures, Chrissy frequented Oakwood Cemetery while attending SU. She is overjoyed to be able to visit the cemetery again at whim and even more pleased to be a contributing board member of HOCPA. Chrissy is an artist & avid gardener living in the Westcott neighborhood, and she works as a comptroller for a massage & acupuncture business in Seattle, as well as a bookkeeper for an architecture firm in Olympia. As a remote worker, HOCPA is the perfect way for Chrissy to engage in and be of use to the local community in a meaningful way.

Board Member

Karl Orlick

Karl owned and operated an auto repair business and has been a member of HOCPA since its inception in 1991.  He is known for Karl’s Rambles, the tours he leads.  HOCPA’s Mr. Fixit also maintains the physical plant, including securing the chapel and the office, building the Dedication Valley kiosk and currently installing location signs in each section of the cemetery.

Board Member

Eileen Hollis

Eileen Hollis was born and raised in Syracuse, NY and grew up above her father’s business, Hollis Funeral Home. She became a fully licensed funeral director in October 2017 and will be taking over her fathers business in the distant future! Eileen has a deep love for Oakwood Cemetery. Her ancestors are buried there and she has fond memories of sledding down the cemeteries snow covered roads as a little kid. Eileen became a HOCPA board member in the Fall of 2020. She has quite the following on TikTok, too. Feel free to ask her all the funeral related questions you’ve been dying to know!

Board Member

John Auwaerter

John has been a member of HOCPA since shortly after moving to Syracuse in 1997, and is happy to finally contribute as a board member.  John is a Co-Director of ESF’s Center for Cultural Landscape Preservation, leads the Center’s work developing preservation plans for the National Park Service, and serves as an advisor to the ESF Friends of Oakwood student group. He has degrees in history, historic preservation planning, and landscape architecture.

Board Member

Karen Sgarlata

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Board Member

Elizabeth Hildreth

A native of Central New York, Elizabeth resides in Baldwinsville and works in downtown Syracuse. She is an alumna of Christian Brothers Academy and Le Moyne College. Currently, Elizabeth serves as Vice President of Marketing at Momentum, a telecommunications company. Elizabeth’s fascination with cemeteries began as a teenager when her grandmother introduced her to a fundraising event for the chapel at Oakwood. Captivated by the history, beauty, and uniqueness of the space, she developed a lasting passion that led her to join the Communications and Events Committees at HOCPA in 2021.