Our history


The Nicodemus Center for Ceramic Studies (NCCS)was founded in 1994 by Renfrew Museum and Park’s Board of Directors and the Borough Council of Waynesboro. It is governed by a board of seven-volunteer directors. 

The mission of NCCS is to preserve and interpret the historic pottery tradition of the Cumberland and Shenandoah Valley region.

The center is named for the late Emma Geiser Nicodemus, who established Renfrew Museum and its historic folk collection of the Bell family pottery as a bequest to the people of Waynesboro.

Since our founding, we have grown to support and encourage future generations of ceramic artists through an active guild and community classes.

Our studios


The Nicodemus Center operates two pottery studios: our downtown Waynesboro location at 13 South Church Street, and the second (and original!) studio located on the Penn State Mont Alto campus.

These studios are both equipped with our full line of in-house made glazes and clays, as well as pottery wheels, slab rollers, and kiln firing capabilities.

Board of Directors

  • Sally Sussman has been a member of the Nicodemus Center for 12 years, and previously served four years as Board President, rejoining the board for her third term in 2019.

    Sally also spearheaded the development of the Ceramic Arts Center of Waynesboro in 2013 as part of the Destination ARTS! initiative by finding the South Church Street location, purchasing the building expressly for this purpose, supervising the renovations, and subsidizing the rent to make it affordable for the organization.

    Sally owns Sussman Enterprises and is a partner in RentinWaynesboro.com. She is a real estate agent with Long and Foster in both Pennsylvania and Maryland.

    Sally has served on the board of the Waynesboro Daycare Center, chaired various events for Renfrew Institute, and has been involved in the Arts Alliance of Greater Waynesboro’s Destination ARTS! initiative since its inception, most recently founding the Community Book Club which meets monthly at Gallery 50/Music Makers.

    Sally and her husband Andrew have three children, Nigel, Adrienne, and Nicola.

  • Olivia Hammond lives in Waynesboro with her husband, Kevin. They have three children: Preston, Savannah and Spencer.

    Olivia works at Penn State Mont Alto as the Academic Fieldwork Coordinator and Instructor in the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program. Prior to working at the college, Olivia worked in the WellSpan Health System as an Occupational Therapist for 16 years.

    Olivia is a parent volunteer in her children’s many extracurricular activities including: Trinity Players, Go Girls Go, Waynesboro Children’s Theatre Troupe, Girls Scouts and Waynesboro Soccer Association. Olivia has previously served on the Noah’s Ark Board of Directors.

    Olivia has attended Nicodemus Center with her daughter Savannah for parties and events. She regularly encourages her occupational therapy students participate in Nicodemus events on campus. Olivia has a love for Downtown Waynesboro, the community and the Nicodemus Center.

  • Debbie Pflager moved to Waynesboro in 1985 with her husband, Bill, and 2 children, Sara and Jay. Two more children, Julie and Daniel soon followed and Debbie worked as a stay-at-home mom while volunteering with Cub Scouts, Band Auxiliary, PTA, Sunday School, Friends of the Library, and Renfrew Institute.

    Once the youngest was in school, Debbie worked at Renfrew Institute as an instructor. In 1997 she accepted a position with the Waynesboro Area School District and worked for almost 20 years as teaching assistant, technology facilitator, and finally as Supervisor of Data Management.

    She retired in December 2017 and is enjoying spending time with her grandchildren, traveling, hiking, and rediscovering hobbies.

    While Debbie has no background in art or pottery, she has a love and respect for the Nicodemus Center and its mission. She supports the opportunities the center has given to folks in the community to dabble in the arts and she loves to bring her out of town visitors to the Pottery Store.

  • Robert “Bob” Nace Bob recently retired from the workforce. After service in the U.S. Army (1973-1975), Bob worked in construction, manufacturing and maintenance. In 1995 Bob began working in human resources as a recruiter for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania moving into other HR leadership roles at county, local, and federal government levels.

    Bob attended Pennsylvania State University earning a Masters of Public Administration and Bachelor of Science in Public Policy. Bob also received a Senior Professional in Human Resource Certification (SPHR), a Public Sector Human Resources Management Certification from PSU and a Professional HR Management Certificate from Villanova University.

    Living in Penn National, Bob and his wife Jody are enjoying retirement fully while they spend time with their children and grandchildren. Bob enjoys reading, hiking, gardening, photography, and especially creating opportunities for his five grandchildren to create and appreciate artistic expression

  • Wayne joins the NCCS Board of Directors as Treasurer, and as its newest member in 2021. A 1974 graduate of the University of Maryland, Wayne holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering. Wayne enjoyed a 40 year career at Mack Trucks, Inc., where he worked as an engineer, manager, and product planner. Wayne also served as the chairman of the SAE Engine Power Test Code Committee for several years, where he was the principle author of numerous engineering test standards and technical documents. Wayne holds the patent for ‘InfoMax Wireless’, the first WiFi-PC based fleet management system for the heavy duty trucking industry.

    A resident of Greencastle PA for nearly 40 years, Wayne retired from Mack in 2014. He currently enjoys the company of his wife, Martha, 3 children and 2 grandchildren. Hobbies include home construction and maintenance, picture framing, and hiking (Wayne is co-leader of the ‘Nanny Goat’ hiking club).

    Wayne would like to note that he “unsuccessfully” tried his hand at pottery at NCCS circa 2016/17. “Despite my shortcomings, everyone I met through NCCS was friendly, talented, patient, and helpful. It’s a wonderful organization”.