• Connecting communities through music, dance, and culture
• Exploring the world through music and dance
• Inspiring and mentoring the next generation of leaders

Jim Madigan (President)

Jim Madigan joined the FAC Board in 2016, and has been a membership elected director since 2017. He currently chairs the FAC Technology Committee, serves on the board's Nominating and Personnel committees, and is a contributing member of the Balkan Music Night organizing committee.
 
Professionally, Jim retired from a long career in Information Technology, hoping to enjoy time away from the computer - dancing, hiking, and traveling. When Covid-19 arrived, he returned to the computer to help spearhead FAC's pivot to virtual programming on Zoom, and can still be found behind-the-scenes at many FAC virtual events.
 
Jim started folk dancing at Yale in 1974 and has remained active in folk dance communities ever since, including stints in Oregon and Washington DC, before arriving in Boston in 1988. Jim is married to a Yale Slavic Chorus alumna (Daphne), and has two sons (Elliot and Julian), who are alumni of FAC’s FolkDays at Pinewoods Camp.

Ron Wilkinson (Vice President)

Ron Wilkinson discovered international folk dancing in New Haven in 1974 and found it a great source of multicultural awareness, exercise, comradery, and fun! Upon moving to Boston in 1977, Ron quickly connected with both the MIT Folk Dance Club and the Folk Arts Center of New England for their rich offerings of weekly dance sessions and seasonal special events. In the early 80’s, Ron was a member of the MIT Folk Dance Club’s Performing Group, known colloquially as the “PG”, which performed at NEFFA, First Night Boston, nursing homes, and assorted other venues.
 
Ron met his wife, Almas Dossa, in 1981 at a Folks Arts Center weekly dance session. Their wedding reception in 1986 featured the Mandala Folk Orchestra and guest Marianne Taylor showing some of their non-folk dancing family and friends how to join in the fun! After 35 years of marriage, Ron and Almas count folk dancing as one of the great highlights of their lives together!
 
Ron has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale and Masters degrees in both Statistics and Computer Science from Boston University. He has spent his professional life applying information technology to healthcare, in 2022 rounding out his 28th year at Boston Children’s Hospital and still not quite ready to retire. In addition to dancing, Ron enjoys, bicycling, photography, hiking, reading, and international travel.

Carl Lazarus (Treasurer)

Carl Lazarus has been active in folk dancing since 1976, and met his wife, Joyce, at MIT folk dancing. His 40-plus-year professional life was spent in computer software and services, beginning in medical computing; two computer start-ups provided him with a variety of business and technical challenges.
 
He is retired, lives in Newton with Joyce and two parrots, has two adult children out of the nest, and loves travel, reading, all kinds of music (including classical, opera, and jazz), Frank Lloyd Wright, and Alfred Hitchcock. Carl attends and gives classes at the Brandeis Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and is active in the Balkan Music Night organizing committee. He is most happy when he can combine travel and folk dance.

Almas Dossa (Secretary)

Almas Dossa grew up in India and Pakistan and came to the United States in 1977. She went to her first Friday night International Folk Dance in the Fall of 1981, where she met her husband, Ron. They continued to dance at both FAC and MIT events and had a folk dance wedding with the Mandala Folk Orchestra in 1986. Almas was an active member of the International Folk Music Club for many years until the pandemic hit.
 
Almas worked for 20+ years as a physical therapist both in the clinical and academic field and has her PhD in Health/Social Policy from Brandeis University. She has worked in the research field for many years primarily in the elder wellness and disability arena and has presented at conferences both nationally and internationally. Currently, Almas works for Massachusetts Medicaid (MassHealth) to direct and manage health care policy initiatives and implementation. As a member of the Brookline Unitarian church, she actively participates in the Racial Justice Action Committee to fulfill its mission of demanding social justice and dismantling racism. She enjoys reading fantasy novels, bicycling, hiking, travelling, and cross-country skiing.

Barbara Merson

A third generation folk dancer, Barbara began dancing in New York and then migrated to the Boston area where she danced at MIT and Brandeis. After graduation, she returned to New York and performed with the George Tomov dancers. She currently lives in the Portland, Maine area where she teaches and leads international and Israeli folk dance groups. Barbara is also an avid belly dancer, swing dancer, and fitness instructor. She plays the dumbek with All Girl Band in the Boston area and the Portland Middle Eastern Ensemble.
 
Barbara has had extensive experience as a nonprofit leader with a wide variety of organizations, including the Maine Jewish Film Festival. She currently teaches nonprofit management at Colby College in Maine. She is on the board of Folk Dance Brunswick, Mainewoods Dance Camp, the National Folk Organization, and the Folk Arts Center of New England.

Carolyn Ramm

Carolyn Ramm has served on FAC's Board of Directors for over 20 years and during that time has come to care deeply about the organization and its people. Her background is as a musician, and she appreciates and supports FAC's involvement in traditional music as well as dance.
 
In her professional life Carolyn has been a practicing attorney for many years, with a special emphasis on corporate governance, and holds an M.B.A. in nonprofit management.

David Salstein

David Salstein started folk dancing in the Boston area in 1974, and has danced in other parts of the country while working outside of Boston. He is enthusiastic about many forms of music; he plays piano and often accompanies his wife, Jane, who plays flute. David and Jane both perform with the Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra as well as help with that orchestra’s finances.
 
Professionally, he is a researcher in atmospheric and Earth science, with a background in mathematics. His work at an environmental company has been supported through his government grants. David collaborates with scientists internationally, and has traveled for collaborative projects and meetings in Europe, Asia, and South America. He enjoys bicycling, hiking, languages, concerts, and theater.

Susan White

After a career as a modern dancer, Susan was introduced to international folk dancing in the Boston area through family dances, which led her family to FAC and Pinewoods. Since then, they have been enjoying and appreciating the music, teachers, dancing and the folk dance community.
 
Susan has worked in Education and Administration for over 40 years. Inspired by the child-development philosophies of Emmi Pikler and Waldorf Education, she was an early childhood teacher specializing in birth to three years, as well as a School Director for many years.
 
Susan and her husband, Guy, have traded the sounds of the ocean on the North Shore of Boston to the wild woods of New Hampshire, where they now reside.