Biographies of Our Steering Committee

Susan Haigh Houpt, Chair
Community Volunteer
Fulltime Community Volunteer, has served on the United Way of Schenectady County Board of Directors from 1998-2007 (Chair 2003-2006). She presently sits on the Board of the United Way of the Greater Capital Region. She is on the steering committee of the Community AIDS Partnership of the Capital Region and serves as Co-Chair of the Food Task Force of the Food Pantry of the Schenectady Inner City Ministry. (Schenectady County)

Karen L. Bilowith
Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region
Karen Bilowith was named President and CEO of CFGCR in February 2009. She joined CFGCR as Senior Director of Philanthropic Services in May 2008. She served as President of United Way of the Greater Capital Region after the merger of the United Ways of Schenectady County and Northeastern New York in July 2007. Prior to the consolidation, Karen served as President and CEO of UWSC for six years. She came to the Capital Region from Washington, D.C., where she was senior program officer for the National AIDS Fund. She has broad experience in community-building and fundraising for nonprofit organizations throughout the country, including the American Red Cross and the Denver Zoological Foundation. Ms. Bilowith holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Boston College. (Schenectady County)

Mary A. Shaheen
Vice President, United Way of New York State
Mary A. Shaheen is Vice President of United Way of New York State, a membership organization serving 38 local United Ways throughout New York State. Her work centers on financial stability, school readiness/school success and organizational development and excellence; supporting local United Ways through advocacy, public policy, training, facilitation and technical assistance. Mary currently serves as a member of United Way Worldwide’s Health Advisory Committee. She is a member of 2-1-1 New York’s Application Review and Oversight Committee as well as the NYS Early Childhood Advisory Council and its Strong Families Workgroup. Previous volunteer commitments include the Board of Directors of the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, NY Chapter, the Board of Directors for the Junior League of Schenectady, the Schenectady Task Force on Violence Against Women and her school district’s elementary enrichment committee.

Tricia Tauss
Chief Information Officer, GE Global Research
GE Global Research is one of the world's largest and most diversified industrial research organizations, providing innovative technology for all of GE's businesses. Tricia and her team provide information technology support and services for GE Global Research’s facilities in Niskayuna, NY, Bangalore, India, Shanghai, China, and Munich, Germany. Her volunteer experience includes activities with GE Volunteers, and sitting on the Steering committee of the GE Women’s Network (Capital Region). She recently joined the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement after several years volunteering as a JA classroom instructor. She holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Siena College.