OUR TEAM
Traditional Arts in Upstate New York is backed by a dedicated professional staff whose work in the day-to-day operations ensures the organization is meeting its mission with efficiency and integrity.
Kathryn Grow Allen
Executive Director
Debbie Courtney
Folkstore Associate
Debbie joined TAUNY in 2016. Debbie and her husband live outside the Village of Canton with their 4 rescue critters. Debbie retired from St. Lawrence County after 33 years of employment. They enjoy hiking, snowshoeing, gardening and boating on the St. Lawrence River. If they are outdoors, they are happy.
Kathy Flanagan
Folkstore Associate
Kathy works closely with Debbie to keep the Folkstore running smoothly. Kathy is a Canton native, as is her husband Jack. They have two sons: Sean and Kyle. Kathy worked for Kinney Drugs for 35 years before coming to TAUNY. She enjoys camping and spending time with her extended family.
Virginia Burnett
Folkstore Associate
Ginny joined TAUNY in 2023. Virginia has always been “irresistibly drawn to textiles and to things that sparkle.” As a young girl, she developed an appreciation of handcrafts from watching both of her grandmothers create a variety of beautiful textile art. She took weaving as an independent study in her senior year in college, but ultimately became fascinated with beadwork. Beadwork led to silk dying, and then to Shibori, quilting, embroidery, felting, crocheting and yarn dyeing. The TAUNY Folkstore’s collection of Virginia’s work represents both her textile art and bead jewelry. Her “Garden Companion” necklace won first place in Interweave’s Bead Embroidery category for 2023.