LENOX, Mass. — The Mount, Edith Wharton Cultural Center, announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Trustees: bestselling novelist and short story writer Lauren Groff and landscape architect Mark Strieter, principal at the distinguished firm Nelson Byrd Woltz.

 

These appointments reflect The Mount's continued commitment to bringing together voices in literature, design, and the arts to advance its mission as a vibrant center for intellectual and artistic exchange.

 

"We are thrilled to welcome Lauren and Mark to The Mount's Board," said Barbara Cooperman, Chair of The Mount's Board of Trustees. "Lauren's profound engagement with Edith Wharton's work and her stature in contemporary American letters, together with Mark's exceptional expertise in revitalizing cultural landscapes, each bring invaluable perspective as we continue to expand The Mount's reach and shape the institution's next chapter. We look forward to the creativity and leadership they will bring to our work."

 

"Lauren and Mark each bring a longstanding engagement with The Mount and with Edith Wharton's enduring legacy," said Susan Wissler, Executive Director of The Mount. "Lauren's 2024 In Conversation program demonstrated the continuing power of literature to spark dialogue across generations, while Mark's work on The Mount's Landscape Master Plan has helped us think more deeply about the estate as both a historic home and a significant cultural landscape. As we continue our evolution as The Mount, Edith Wharton Cultural Center, and embark on a new strategic plan, their insights will be enormously valuable."

 

Lauren Groff

 

Lauren Groff is The New York Times–bestselling author of the novels "The Monsters of Templeton," "Arcadia, "Fates and Furies," "Matrix," and The "Vaster Wilds," and the celebrated short story collections "Delicate Edible Birds," "Florida," and, most recently "Brawler." She has won The Story Prize, the ABA Indies' Choice Award, France's Grand Prix de l'Héroïne, and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and has been a finalist three times for the National Book Award. Groff was presented the Howard D. Vursell Memorial Award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and was named to Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People list in 2024. Her work regularly appears in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and elsewhere, and has been translated into thirty-six languages.

 

A devoted admirer of Edith Wharton, Groff last appeared at The Mount in 2024, captivating audiences with her deep knowledge of and affection for Wharton's work and world. Her appointment to the Board marks a natural deepening of a relationship rooted in shared literary passion.

 

Mark Strieter

 

Mark Strieter is a principal at Nelson Byrd Woltz, one of the nation's most distinguished landscape architecture and planning firms, which he joined in 2011. He holds a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has earned numerous honors in his field, including the Kluesing Prize for Art in Landscape Architecture, the ASLA Honor Award, and recognition in the ASLA National Design Competition.

 

Throughout his career, Strieter has focused on revitalizing and interpreting complex cultural sites and ecological systems, working at the intersection of landscape, history, and public life. His portfolio spans urban and rural contexts alike, from Hudson Yards in New York City to comprehensive landscape planning for rural cultural institutions in California. His current projects include the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Tang Wing for Modern and Contemporary Art, Vizcaya House and Gardens in Miami, Filoli Gardens in Woodside, California, and the Shaker Museum in nearby Mt. Lebanon—as well as The Mount's own ongoing Landscape Master Plan.