Rick Werwaiss -
Rick was initially elected to the Town Board in 2021. He serves on the Town's Citizen Advisory Grants Committee, Citizen Advisory Financial Planning & Economic Development Committee, Citizen Advisory Broadband / Cellular Committee, and Citizen Advisory Climate Smart Committee.  He served as President of the North Chatham Free Library for over 25 years. His two daughters attended Ichabod Crane Schools. He has almost 4 decades of experience in nonprofit management and is also a pig farmer at Lovers Leap Farm, in Kinderhook. Rick is currently on staff at Albany Law School. 

Rick was active in the development of Chatham’s Comprehensive Plan and continues to advocate for the role of agriculture and open land use in the town. His experience includes work in financial management, land-use planning, and conservation. He was recently appointed as a representative from Chatham on the Columbia County Democratic Committee.  Rick has identified the importance of expanded housing options for members of the local workforce, and expanded broadband to encourage economic development.  He also is advocating for a pro-active solar law that will protect agriculture and critical habitats in the town.

Lisa Simonetti -
Lisa was born in Queens, NY and moved to California with her family when her father was assigned there as a B-52 pilot in the Air Force. She had family ties and familiarity with the Hudson Valley, and she and her wife, Robin, moved to Chatham full time almost three years ago in anticipation of retirement. Since then, Lisa has engaged and contributed to Chatham and the surrounding community. She serves on the Town’s Planning Board and newly-created Financial Planning and Economic Development Committee.  She is a member of Tri-Village Fire Company where she has completed various training courses, including basic exterior firefighting; and she recently obtained her NYS license as an Emergency Medical Technician. 

Lisa recently retired from a large law firm, where she focused on defense of class actions and government investigations in the consumer financial services space.  Her clients were national and regional banking institutions, loan originators, loan servicers, and financial technology companies. A graduate of UCLA and Loyola Law School, Lisa’s legal work included cases around the country in state and federal courts, including appeals.