2026 Board and Staff

Ariel Lauryn, Grants Manager
Eleanor McQueeny, Assistant Manager & Social Media Coordinator

Past board members:
Melissa Abbott, Pam Arciero, Leslee Asch, Eric Bass, Robert N. Bromberg, Raymond Carr, Ping Chong, Bradford Clark, John Farrell, Faz Fazakas, Kathee Foran, Janie Geiser, Albert Gottesman, Chris Green, Thea Hambright, Jane Henson, Jim Henson, Heather Henson, Lisa Henson, Kurt Hunter, Dan Hurlin, Lynn Jeffries, Liz Joyce, Allelu Kurten, George Latshaw, Mark Levenson, Jon Ludwig, Steven McIntosh, Roxanna Myhrum, Roman Paska, Tarish “Jeghetto” Pipkins, Martin P. Robinson, Nancy Staub, Carol Sterling, Leslie Strongwater, Blair Thomas, Chamindika Wanduragala, Maiko Kikuchi, Kristin Haverty, and Caroly Wilcox

“I believe puppet theater is true, transformative theater. Too much theater today lacks magic, imagination, poetry. It’s too much realism which the cinema and media can do so much better. Theater should be its own unique form and mostly it isn’t today. Puppetry is still carrying the torch for true theater. I wish there was more support in the United States for puppetry. The potential is limitless. Here’s to puppetry!!!” – Ping Chong

2025
2024	2023
2022	2021
2020	2019
2018	2017
2016	2015
2014	2013
2012	2008

Cheryl Henson – President
Cheryl Henson is the President of The Jim Henson Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors of The Jim Henson Company.  From 1992 – 2000, Cheryl executive produced the award winning biennial Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater.   During this time, Cheryl was also a Vice-President of The Jim Henson Company and worked with Sesame Street. In 1995, she co-wrote the book Muppets Make Puppets for Workman Press. In 2005, she edited a book of her father’s philosophy for Hyperion, It’s Not Easy Being Green and Other Things to Consider. Cheryl was a puppet builder and designer and worked on many productions including The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, The Muppet Show, The Storyteller, Bunny Picnic and Song of the Cloud Forest. Cheryl is a graduate of Yale and has a degree in textile design from F.I.T.  Cheryl has been the President of The Jim Henson Foundation since 1992.  She is also a member of the board of directors of The Center for Puppetry Arts and The Jim Henson Legacy. 

Richard Termine – Vice President
Richard Termine began his career on Sesame Street where he received an Emmy Award for his puppet design and fabrication work. He also began photographing on-set which launched his career as a Performing Arts Photographer for The New York Times, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. He received a BFA & MFA in Puppetry from the University of Connecticut and is a founding member of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Puppetry Conference.

Hanne Tierney – Secretary
Hanne Tierney is the founder and director of Five Myles, an exhibition and performance space in Brooklyn. She has performed her work at the Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum, BAM, Lincoln Center, HERE, the Public Theater and at several Jim Henson International Festivals, and has performed in museums and festivals throughout Europe.

Louis Borodinksy – Treasurer
Louis Borodinsky is a tax partner with Eisner Advisory Group, LLC with over 35 years of accounting experience in individual, estate and trust income taxation, estate and trust administration and public and private foundation filings and administration.

Ariel Lauryn – Grants Manager
Ariel Lauryn is a theater maker, puppeteer, and educator. She currently teaches at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Puppetry credits include: original cast of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, international tour of Feathers of Fire, and Small Acts of Daring Invention at HERE Arts Center.MFA Ensemble Based Physical Theatre from Dell’Arte International.

Eleanor McQueeny – Assistant & Social Media Coordinator
Eleanor McQueeny is an artist, doll maker and fabricator. She holds a BFA in Film/Animation/Video from the Rhode Island School of Design, class of ’21.

Consultants:

Debra Venable – Finance Manager & Bookkeeper

Eisner Advisory Group, LLC – Accounting

Jeff Lofvers – Website Programming & Design