CGP Grad Weighs In on New Role at the Chamber

By DARLA M. YOUNGS
COOPERSTOWN

As of the first week of June, Deanna Nicolari is the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce’s new operations coordinator. Not to be confused with Deanna Smith, as we inadvertently identified her in the July 10, 2025 installment of “News from the Noteworthy…”

“This job truly is a bit of everything,” Nicolari wrote in an e-mail recently. “Social media, answering phones, helping visitors, planning events, sending e-mails, mailing promotional material, helping members with their benefits, chatting with people in town who stop to say hi. The list could go on!”

Nicolari earned her bachelor’s degree in history at SUNY Oneonta in 2022. After taking a year off to work, she then attended the Cooperstown Graduate Program where, in 2025, she earned a master of arts in museum studies with a concentration in history.

“I took an interest in development work and saw the chamber as a great way to put my skills to the test,” Nicolari said. “Nonprofit work is the core of what CGP teaches, for those who think that museum work has nothing to do with the chamber.”

“The chamber is thrilled to have Deanna on the team,” said Co-Vice President Cassandra Harrington. “It’s a win for everyone when Cooperstown Graduate Program alumni remain in the community. She has been a great addition to this organization that strives to support the local business community.”

First and foremost, Nicolari said, she loves helping others.

“Problem solving is at the core of this job. But mostly, being a seasoned multi-tasker who loves running to do the next thing has proven to be beneficial here,” she said of her new position.

Nicolari said she recently became engaged “and discovered that wedding planning is harder than it looks!” She and her fiancé live just outside the Village of Cooperstown with their cat, Tony.

“In my spare time, I write short stories, go antiquing, go fishing with my fiancé, and am an avid music lover.

Music is my favorite,” she wrote, “specifically country, folk and bluegrass. While I cannot play anything, finding new music, or new-to-me music, is my greatest joy.”

Those who visit the chamber offices will find that she’s always got music playing, Nicolari said.

Her love of music figured prominently in a summer 2024 internship at The Museum at Bethel Woods, the original site of the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

“While there, I co-curated an exhibit called “The Folks Who Made the Festival.” My main assignment was interviewing those who attended Woodstock in 1969. I grew a deep appreciation for the music, the culture and the love that radiates from those who attended Woodstock,” she said.

On the heels of her very first Cooperstown Artisan Festival, an annual chamber event, Nicolari described it as “so much fun.”

“The vendors are truly some of the most creative and interesting people I’ve had the pleasure to meet in Cooperstown,” she continued. “For only having a short amount of time to plan the event, I’m extremely proud of everything we were able to accomplish.”

What’s next?

“While we’re always working on tourism and membership-related things, our next big event will be our Scoop It Up! Online Auction,” Nicolari said.

She will be reaching out to local businesses in the coming weeks to solicit auction items, which will be listed and sold online—“perfect for Christmas gifts, or just something fun for yourself!” Proceeds will support the chamber’s general fund.

The Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce is located at 31 Chestnut Street. To learn more about membership or upcoming initiatives and events, call (607) 547-9983 or stop by to meet Nicolari and check out her playlist.