About / Board Members
Christine O’Brien Beydoun
President
Christine O’Brien has spent her entire post-college life in the Gardens. After obtaining her CPA and a job offer at one of the Big 8 accounting firms in 1981, she moved from PA to the Big City where she met co-worker, Kathryn Noumair, who invited her to move into her family home at 24 Seasongood Road. Falling in love with the Gardens, shortly after, she became a resident of 10 Holder Place and moved to her current location on Puritan Avenue when she married long-time Gardens resident, Fouad Beydoun, in 1985. While an officer of a Wall Street firm, she raised two of her children, Natasha and Janine, and “retired” when her third, Aleena, was born.
Since leaving Wall Street, Christine has participated in various volunteer roles at neighborhood organizations such as The Community House School, Forest Hills Gardens Centennial Committee, West Side Tennis Club, The Kew-Forest School, Gardens Celebrations Association and was a Girl Scout leader for neighborhood troops for eighteen years. Currently, as a Past-President of the Women’s Club of Forest Hills, she serves as Chair of numerous Women’s Club committees and chapters, serves on the Communications Committee of the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation and serves as a Trustee on The Kew-Forest School Board.
Christine is honored to serve on the Forest Hills Gardens Foundation Board and looks forward to advancing its mission of sharing and preserving the history and beauty of our neighborhood with others.
Mae Wu
1st Vice President
Mae Wu was born and raised in Forest Hills and has been working in the financial industry for over 20 years. Mae is currently a Senior Vice President at Sterling Valuation Group, Inc., an independent valuation firm providing portfolio valuation services to hedge funds, private equity firms, banks, and other financial institutions in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Her area of focus is on derivatives, valuations of private companies, and bespoke investments. She married her husband Lawrence, who grew up on Harrow Street, and after they lived a few years in Manhattan, they decided to go back to their roots and start their family. In love with the beauty of the Gardens, Mae and Lawrence initially moved in 2014, to 10 Holder Place, where Mae served on its Board. After their second child, they moved to a home at their current location on Tennis Place.
Mae is an avid player at the West Side Tennis Club and serves on the Tennis Committee and New Membership Committee at the WSTC. Mae is honored to serve on the Forest Hills Gardens Foundation Board and looks forward to seeing her daughters grow up in such a beautiful neighborhood with a rich history.
Maureen Shillet
Treasurer
Maureen Shillet, a former senior level advertising executive, moved to Forest Hills Gardens in 1995 when her son Sam was born. After leaving the frenetic world of advertising in 2007 to establish a small business, Maureen used her newfound time to become an active member of the Forest Hills Gardens community. For six years, she served as a Trustee on The Kew-Forest School Board where she Chaired the Marketing and Communications Committee. She also serves on the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation Communications Committee and is on the Board of the Women’s Club of Forest Hills where she Chairs the Evening Chapter. Maureen is an avid tennis player at the West Side Tennis Club and in 2018 served as the elected Chair of the Nominating Committee.
She is honored to serve on the Forest Hills Gardens Foundation and looks forward to helping it continue its mission of preserving the rich history of the community we all love.
Emily Wilcox
Communications Secretary
Emily Wilcox recently moved to the Gardens in 2017 with her husband and daughter. Attracted to the area for it’s beautiful landscaping, quaint neighborhood feel and stunning architecture she hopes to be a resident for many years to come and to play an important part in preserving the rich history of the area. Emily holds memberships to the West Side Tennis Club and the Community House and is an avid runner.
Mina Malik
Corresponding Secretary
Ann Chamberlain
Recording Secretary
Ann Chamberlain is a life-long member of the Forest Hills Gardens community. Her family lived at 10 Holder Place when she was born and later moved to Greenway Terrace. She attended PS 101 for Kindergarten, and Our Lady Queen of Martyrs from first through eighth grades, went away for high school, college and graduate schools, but moved back to Forest Hills in 1983 with her husband, Jim, and their two very young children, Colby and Elizabeth. Ann loved seeing her children enjoying the same neighborhood activities at the Community House and West Side Tennis Club, and annual Children’s Days and Christmas carols as Ann did growing up.
Ann was a corporate partner at two large law firms in Manhattan throughout her 35-year legal career, retiring at the end of 2015. Since her retirement, Ann has joined the Board of the Forest Hills Women’s Club, served on the Forest Hills Gardens Beautification Committee, and volunteers with Christine O’Brien Beydoun on a blueprint conservation project for the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation. She also volunteers for the Learning to Look Program, which teaches second through fifth graders at inner-city parochial schools how to look at and appreciate art.
Ann has graduate degrees in Art History (M.A. Columbia University), Library Science (M.S. in L.S. Catholic University) and Law (J.D. NYU Law School). She hopes to make a meaningful contribution to the mission of the Forest Hills Gardens Foundation drawing on her personal experience, her education and her deep connection to the people and places in the Gardens.
Beatrice E. Hunt
2nd Vice President
Beatrice “Bea” Hunt moved to Forest Hills Gardens in 2002, but has been playing tennis here since 1971, when she joined the West Side Tennis Club. She joined the Foundation Board in 2021, and co-chairs the Archives Committee. Since the mid-1970’s she has volunteered on numerous WSTC committees and served on the Board as Governor, Secretary or VP. She currently co-chairs their Tennis History & Archives Council which recently acquired the Bud Collins Tennis Library, donated by his family. She also serves as Secretary on the Board of the Tennis Collectors of America. She hopes to expand the Foundation’s physical and electronic archives in order to document and preserve our great heritage for residents and researchers worldwide.
Bea is a principal hydraulic engineer at AECOM, where she specializes in bridge hydraulics. She has a BA in psychology from Franklin & Marshall College, and a BS and MS in engineering mechanics from Columbia University. She is a licensed Professional Engineer. Bea is a past president of the Metropolitan Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and has chaired or been a Board member of numerous civil engineering professional organizations.
James Ng
3rd Vice President
James Ng is a longtime Queens resident, living in Forest Hills Gardens for over 10 years. Enthralled with the beauty and historical importance of Forest Hills Gardens to New York City, James welcomes the opportunity to be part of the Forest Hills Gardens Foundation to help preserve this rich history.
James’ professional background includes being a partner in a software development company, sales & marketing management for Sony Electronics Inc., and most recently a co-owner of a local UPS store.
His community efforts include being a co-founder of the Elmhurst History & Cemeteries Preservation Society, a board member of the Station Square Inn Apartments, a member of the West Side Tennis Club History & Archives Council, a Rego-Forest Preservation Council volunteer, a Queens Preservation Council participant, and a board member of the Newtown Civic Association.
James is honored to serve on the Forest Hills Gardens Foundation board and is looking forward to applying his professional experience and civic involvement to help execute its mission.
Annaliese (Liese) Kambour
Director and Assistant Treasurer
Liese first discovered Forest Hills Gardens on a cold gray November day in 1995. Not the loveliest day for a stroll around the neighborhood, but she had to explore. Her previous experiences of Queens had consisted of airports, drives to and from airports, and the Science Museum. Who knew Queens was hiding this gem? Three years later, she was fortunate enough to be able to buy her favorite house from that first tour.
Prior to retiring in 2018, Liese was a tax partner at Paul Weiss and later global head of tax for Time Warner. She has 2 kids (one in college and one who unaccountably chose to live in Brooklyn). Other interests include training circus aerials, making Halloween costumes and building elaborate gingerbread houses.
Bruce Eaton
Director
Bruce Eaton is a relatively new (since 1999) resident of the Gardens and has served as President of the FHGC (overseeing the effort to renew the Covenants) and as both Treasurer and President of the West Side Tennis Club. Bruce has long had an interest in history and architecture and was drawn to the Gardens because of the history and convenience of the Gardens. He is an avid tennis player at the WSTC.
Sinead Whelan
Director
Sinead Whelan has worked in the advertising and marketing industry for three decades both within Ad Agency companies such as Ogilvy, JWT, Rapp Collins to name a few as well as in-house at American Express, Fidelity Investments and her most recent post at JP Morgan Private Bank. Sinead’s path to Forest Hills was after attending a wedding in 1999 and was amazed at the beauty of the neighborhood. Sinead and her husband Gerry got the chance to move to Forest Hills in 2001 initially living on Nansen Street and then moving to Summer Street. Sinead became very active in the community joining The Women’s Club of Forest Hills and becoming chair of the Evening Chapter. Sinead also performed with the WCOFH’s Drama Singers. Sinead is also a tennis playing member of the West Side Tennis Club and served as Governor of the Board. Sinead took some time away from Forest Hills from 2013 – 2018 to work in Boston at Fidelity Investments. Sinead is happy to be back to Forest Hills with her new position and is honored to serve on the board of the Forest Hills Gardens Foundation.
Kristen Cattell
Director
Kristen Cattell, a Senior Project Manager, delivers tangible experiences, both digital and physical, through her skills in brand identity and UX/UI design. Whether building an engaging website, guiding a workshop, or shaping a cohesive brand, Kristen thrives on organizing ideas with real-world impact.
A Forest Hills resident for over a decade, Kristen is drawn to the neighborhood's charming parks, unique architecture, and vibrant cultural events. She joins the FHGF board to help shape a thriving future for the community.
Anne Patin
Director
Anne has been a Forest Hills resident since 1997. After moving to the Gardens in 2000, Anne has been raising her two sons who have been blessed with growing up in a unique New York City neighborhood that perfectly balances the best of urban and suburban living with immaculate architecture, parks and trees, proximity to the nation’s cultural and financial center, a diverse population and a distinct sense of community. Anne graduated from Brown University with a dual concentration in urban studies and art history, and thereafter obtained a
Masters of Science in Historic Preservation from Columbia University. After graduate school,she worked as an urban planner and preservationist before attending Fordham Law School.
Currently, Anne is a partner at Seward & Kissel LLP, a financial services law firm, where she has spent her entire 30-year legal career. She practices primarily employment law by counseling clients, litigating and supporting mergers and acquisitions regarding employment matters. During her free time, Anne plays tennis at the West Side Tennis Club where she has been a
member for many years. In joining the Forest Hills Gardens Foundation board, Anne looks forward to giving back to the preservation movement after a hiatus from the field and meaningfully participating in the effort to maintain the history and integrity of Forest Hills Gardens for future generations.
Soraya R. Baharestani
Director
I came to the United State in August 1979, six months after the Iranian revolution. The trip was meant to be a one-month long visit to my siblings who were then university students in Boston. However, the political situation in Iran resulted in my staying here permanently and becoming a US citizen. I lived in Boston, Los Angeles and Darien and eventually married my husband, Frank, in 1981. Happily, he already owned our house in Forest Hills Gardens – where we had our engagement party. I have always loved living in this remarkable community, including its historic architecture and beautiful parks, with easy access to transportation and shopping areas.
I was a stay-at-home mom to three daughters until they were in high school. Although I have a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and was a second-grade teacher in Iran for two years, my work experience here has been as an office manager and bookkeeper. Along the way I took several accounting courses at Queens Community College. After other positions, I joined a private school in 2001, where I ran the business office and took charge of A/R A/P (account receivable/ payable). And then in November 2023, I promoted myself into retirement.
