Giving Rye is a feature series highlighting non-profits and community groups in and around the City of Rye. Today meet Suzanne Clary of the Jay Heritage Center.
Your Name: Suzanne Clary
Name of your organization: Jay Heritage Center
Your role: President, Board of Trustees
MyRye.com: Tell us your organization’s mission
Clary: Our mission is to transform the 23-acre Jay Estate into a vibrant educational campus, hosting innovative programs about American history, historic preservation, architecture, social justice, and environmental stewardship. Our certificate of incorporation also directs us to preserve and protect “the ecosystem” of which we are a part which includes safeguarding the watershed of the Jay Estate, watercourses and habitats that we share with our neighbors at Marshlands Conservancy. Think of us as a smaller version of the New York Historical Society and the New York Botanical Gardens rolled into one in your backyard.
How long have you operated in or around Rye?
Clary: We were chartered by the NY State Board of Education in 1990. Thirty-five + years later, we will be a major venue for the 250th celebration of American Independence in 2026 and the 200th anniversary of Emancipation in New York in 2027.
What programming or work is the organization best known for?
Clary:
- Historic Preservation and Environmental Stewardship.
We are best known for safeguarding history and habitat and sharing the nuts and bolts of that process. We believe in transparency and public input.
In the 80s, when development threatened to pollute Long Island Sound and forever change the historic character of Rye’s most significant stretch of land, our organization spearheaded the 1993 designation of the Boston Post Road Historic District to be a National Historic Landmark District (NHLD), the only one in all of Westchester County (other NHLDs in the country include Nantucket and Charleston). The district includes 5 properties: the Jay Estate, Marshlands, Lounsbury, Whitby Castle and the private Jay Cemetery. Now other organizations and students come to our site to learn how we did that. With academic partners at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP), we are training the next generation of preservationists and environmental advocates.
- Free Author Talks, Exhibits and Concerts
We are known as the place to hear renowned scholars, poets, children’s authors, scientists, naturalists and changemakers talk about modern issues that have their roots in the founding of our country. We got our very first Best of Westchester Award for Events in 2024 with the encouraging comment “What a lovely setting to reflect upon our society’s past and future.” When the Wachenheim Center reopens, talks and art shows will resume there. Our “Jams at Jay” concerts have featured bluegrass, jazz, opera, a cappella and classical artists. This year’s concert with Indie folk artists Bandits on the Run drew over 200 people to the mansion lawn. Think of Tanglewood just steps from your door.
- School Trips and Group Tours
For over 18 years, we have offered free school trips to groups of up to 150 4th – 8th grade students and chaperones from schools throughout Westchester County. Free bus transportation is provided by the New York State Parks Connect Program and all other expenses paid through a grant from Con Edison. Kids learn about our nation’s flawed but precious democracy, followed by tours of our buildings and gardens. They learn about being good stewards of our natural resources and how to distinguish between native and invasive species using iMapInvasives and iNaturalist. We’ve been training young citizen scientists since 2007.
Looking forward to 2026, what will be your top initiatives?
Clary:
- We plan to complete Phase I of work on the Wachenheim Center and open the building to the public in September 2026.
- We plan to continue our unique summer fellowship programs which have resulted in groundbreaking, original scholarship by high school, college, law school and graduate architecture and preservation students including the Margaret Nolan “Maggie” O’Neill Fellowship, the Jay Fellowship, The Purdy-Bell Fellowship, the Elizabeth Haub Environmental Law Fellowship and the Columbia GSAAP Fellowship
- We have a robust calendar of events for America 250 including a Constitutional Symposium that will tell our whole shared history.
Tell us about the population you serve and how they can get involved with your programming and services.
Clary: We serve adults and families throughout Rye and Westchester especially through joint collaborations with other nonprofits and academic institutions. We send out a regular newsletter with announcements about up-and-coming offerings. You can sign up to get alerts through our website.
We are looking for people who can commit the time to join our Program Committee or help with our America 250 – themed Soiree in the fall. Interested individuals can email me directly. For gardeners we have a standalone newsletter curated by our Horticulture Director Lucia Maestro. Gardening workshops are free and some are conducted in Spanish. All are welcome. We have over 100 volunteers and flexible shifts to suit your availability. Parking is free too.
Are you a 501(c)(3) non-profit with tax exempt status?
Clary: Yes. We are proud to have consistently received a four-star rating on Charity Navigator.
Looking back across 2025, what were your organization’s top achievements?
Clary:
- Environmental: JHC’s work to restore and enhance our natural resources and habitat has not gone unnoticed.
- We hosted five major environmental events that drew attendees from Westchester, Connecticut, Long Island and Washington, D. C. and included the signing of a new bipartisan Comprehensive Conservation & Management Plan (CCMP) to protect Long Island Sound. We had representatives from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Long Island Sound Partnership (LISP), Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), and US EPA Planning. We are exceptionally proud to be known for our record on protecting the environment. Being asked to host significant events like these reflects that.
- We were added to NY State’s Birding Trail – since restoration of our landscape began there have been increased sightings of native birds including eagles, indigo buntings, red-headed and pileated woodpeckers, warblers, hummingbirds, ospreys, red tailed hawks and more.
- Historic Preservation & Landscape Stewardship: We made great strides with both the Jay Estate grounds and buildings.
- Work at the Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III Exhibit and Performance Center shows that the greenest building is the one that is already built. All the mahogany ceilings have been stripped of over a century of grime and soot thanks to the artisans of 53 Restorations. The shellac surfaces had been blackened by age and combustion fumes from when the building was once used to house automobiles. There was some water damage and missing woodwork. Our team milled new cornices to match and stripping revealed the original caramel tones of the boards. We discovered an entirely new set of pocket doors with intact screens. The results are truly glorious!
- Volunteers helped clear a portion of the 1822 dry laid stone ha ha wall at the end of the meadow and removed invasive multiflora rose, wineberry, and Japanese knotweed. They helped remove debris from the historic East Stream and West Creek that are home to turtles and American mink.
- Our park is even more welcoming than before. A new extra wide, looping trail in the meadow has become a favorite of local runners, dog owners (who politely keep their friends on leash!) and photographers.
- Arts & Culture:
- In February, we were featured in the cover article about Black History in Westchester Magazine: “Today, the Jay Heritage Center in Rye not only preserves the former home of the founding father but also honors the legacy of the enslaved and free individuals who lived and worked there.” We hosted talks by authors Julie and Dev Seely, Sarah Bracey-White and Joseph McGill, Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey and Tracey Baptiste. We also published two articles about local African American history in Westchester and funded our first Purdy Bell Fellowship in Black History (recipient Chase Gray), and a Jay Fellowship (recipient Caitlin Solis).
- JHC installed its second fine art exhibit in the Jay Estate Gardens. This exhibition by noted artist Spanish-American artist Jorge Otero-Pailos is titled Analogue Sites and will be on view again when the gardens open in 2026. Timed to open for Hispanic Heritage Month, it celebrates John Jay’s legacy as a diplomat and nation builder.
- Additionally, we received new recognition from the Heritage Rose Society and the KK Auchincloss Fund – proceeds of these awards will go towards expanded horticultural and architectural programs for families.
How can local residents support your organization?
Clary: Since we have never received and still receive no annual tax dollars from the City of Rye, Westchester County or NY State, financial support of our general operating budget for keeping the lights on, the gardens watered and salaries for our amazing staff is always at the top of our wish list. You can donate funds online by visiting our website and help us save paper. Our wish list also includes a John Deere gator for use on the grounds – we have a lot of trails to cover!
Starting in March, both novice and experienced gardeners can volunteer in our gardens and help us with pruning roses or harvesting fresh vegetables for our weekly donations to the food pantry at Meals on Main Street. We love working with high school students interested in community service or research.
What local Rye residents and area businesses have been the longest, steadiest supporters of your organization?
Clary: Our trustees, staff, volunteers and Westchester residents have always been our steadiest supporters, hailing from Rye but also from Mamaroneck, White Plains, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Scarsdale, Greenwich and even Manhattan.
The Aresty, Jay and Wachenheim families have been pillars of our organization from 1990 to the present, helping to spearhead a coalition to prevent the destructive over-development of the Jay Estate. People forget that where our park stands today, there could have been offices and condos. Instead, thanks to the ongoing leadership and major gifts from these families, our buildings and grounds are being sustainably restored and demonstrate the power of adaptive reuse.
Con Edison has been our longest corporate supporter dating back to the early 90s – the grants they award fund free field trips to our site for middle school children throughout Westchester. NY State Parks has been a partner from our inception and we are collaborating with them on NY 250 to tell our whole history.
Our longest non-profit partners have been the African American Men of Westchester (AAMW), the American Women of African Heritage (AWAH) and the Friends of the African American Cemetery, Federated Conservationists of Westchester, Save the Sound, the Long Island Stewardship Partnership, Rye’s Human Rights Commission, the Blue Skies Campers Program, Parks & Trails NY, The Lower Hudson Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, The Port Chester Youth Bureau, Rye Sustainability Committee, Japan Society of Greater Fairfield County, Columbia University, the Rye Garden Club and Little Garden Club of Rye and The Clark Center at Manhattanville just to name a few.
Tell us about you:
How long have you been in your current role?
Clary: Twenty-six years as a volunteer diving in at Jay Day in 1999 to help with a quilting activity. Fifteen years total as the volunteer executive director (2007-2019; 2023-present)
Is the role full time or part time? Paid or volunteer?
Clary: My role is full time with a good dose of self-imposed overtime. It never feels like a job because I enjoy all the people I meet, especially volunteers, educators and changemakers. The range of preservation, education and environmental stewardship projects that come across the transom are endlessly fascinating. I’ve met aerial photographers, Pulitzer-Prize winners, botanists who study lichens and moss, AME Zion pastors, Navy SEALs and veterans, documentary film directors, tribal officers, archaeologists, descendants of families that can trace their trees back to the earliest residents of Rye, hummingbird photographers, 5 year olds who love gardening, and people who remember when there was an apple orchard on the property (which we hope to replant!)
How would your friends and family describe you in one word?
Clary: Passionate
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Scarsdale but I’ve spent over half my life in Rye (33 years). I had an aunt, uncle and cousins in Rye and we’d visit them lots. I remember shopping at JP Cox and Rags, taking our kids to eat at Cosmos and Café Livorno. There used to be a wonderful hardware store.
What principles guide you when you have to make a difficult decision?
I try to look at problems from 30,000 feet. What are the long-range benefits or negative impacts to others. And what will be the ripple effects of decisions 5, 25, or 50 years from now? Measure twice, cut once.
Can you share a time when failure taught you more than success ever could?
My first major grant application was rejected. I thought I had put so much work into it and I had to wait a year to reapply. I spent that 12 months asking more questions, sitting through webinars, talking to grantees who had won, visited their sites, and refined dollar figures. But above all, I asked for help and I listened harder. I involved more people and partners in the process. We got the grant the second time around.
What excites you most about the future—for yourself or for the world?
I’m seeing more people getting outside and truly drinking in our serene, natural green spaces, dawn to dusk. They are getting off their phones and making eye contact. They are having real conversations with each other in the rockers on our veranda, in the gardens, while walking their dogs outside. Parents are modelling this example for their children and swapping indoor screens for outdoor activities like sketching, storytelling under a tree, birdwatching or just blowing milkweed seeds. It’s encouraging to see more people be intentional and present.
Thanks Suzanne!
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