Advisor Bios
Eric Bachrach, founder and
executive director of the Community Music School of Springfield,
is a product of the community music school tradition, having
attended the Turtle Bay Community Music School in Manhattan.
Bachrach holds a Master's degree in Music from the University
of Massachusetts and a Bachelor's degree from Hunter College
in New York. He taught general music, and strings to elementary
students for more than 10 years in the New York City Public
Schools and was awarded the 2001 Frances Hesselbein Fellowship
by the Peter Drucker Foundation. Since 1983 Bachrach has led
the Music School's development, guiding its growth from infancy
to large, community-based institution. He has been responsible
for full institutional management and all aspects of organizational
development, including mission clarification, programming,
staffing, board development and relations, community partnering,
financial management, fundraising, and operations. Bachrach
has managed the School's operating and capital budgets; led
all board engagement, retention and changes in leadership;
spearheaded strategic planning; managed all aspects of development
from annual fundraising programs to special events and capital
campaigns; has authored all of the School's major private
and public grants; does all public speaking on the institution's
behalf; and has led CMSS through periods of great challenge.
Bachrach also has headed the development and transformation
of the School's 34,000-square-foot facility in downtown Springfield.
Under his leadership CMSS won the Massachusetts Cultural Council's
2001 Commonwealth Award. Bachrach serves on the boards of
several arts and human service organizations.
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Kerrie Bellisario is an
Assistant Professor at Lesley University in the Creative Arts
in Learning Division. As a core faculty member, Kerrie teaches
visual art studio and education-based courses and is the coordinator
of the art education master’s degree program. She was
previously Executive Director of ArtWorks!, a contemporary
art center in New Bedford, Massachusetts where she led the
operations, programming, planning, and fundraising efforts
while managing a staff of five full-time and nearly 30 part-time
employees, a 15,000 sq. ft facility, and an operational budget
of about $500,000. She has designed, implemented, and evaluated
exhibitions, artists-in-residence, and educational programs.
She also created and monitored organizational and project
budgets, cash flow analyses, and oversaw bookkeeping and audit
functions. Kerrie has written numerous $100,000 plus grants
for ArtWorks! and has led successful annual fund, membership,
and special event drives. In addition, she worked as a capital
campaign coordinator on Mystic Marinelife Aquarium's $50 million
capital drive, and has taught arts educational programs at
the community and University levels. She currently is the
Chair of Arts New Bedford, a grassroots art activism group
supporting and strengthening the nonprofit arts and artists
of New Bedford, Massachusetts. She has also chaired the Steering
Committee for the highly successful AHA! (Art, History &
Architecture) a collaborative monthly gallery night program
in New Bedford.
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Judy Berk, Founder and
Executive Director of the Cultural Access Consortium, has
collaborated closely with organizations and community members
for over 14 years, creating accessible cultural programming
in Massachusetts and the greater New England region. She has
served as Student Matinee and Access Coordinator at Huntington
Theatre Company; Coordinator of Boston ArtReach for VSA Arts
of Massachusetts; and Co-Founder with The Kennedy Center of
the 504 Access Coordinator Conference. Her publication credits
include co-authoring Deaf-Blind Theatre Access Guide and A
Guide to Audio Description in the Performing Arts. Ms. Berk
currently serves on the Access/Diversity Advisory Board of
DeCordova Museum, Huntington Theatre Company, Museum of Fine
Arts, StageSource, Wang Center for the Performing Arts, and
Wheelock Family Theatre. She is a member of the steering committee
of Arts Services Coalition and Boston's Show of Hands Theatre
Company, an organization established by deaf theatre artists
and their hearing allies.
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Alice Bruce is the Vice President
of Development and Board Relations at the Celebrity Series
of Boston. The Celebrity Series is New England's pre-eminent
presenter of the performing arts. In her role she oversees
all fundraising activities—individual giving, government
funding, foundation grants, corporate membership and sponsorship,
and special events. Alice also coordinates all activities
of both the Board of Directors and Board of Overseers. As
a member of the Board of Directors of the Literacy Volunteers
of Massachusetts, Alice chairs the Development Committee.
Prior to joining the Series five years ago, Alice worked in
local corporate development at WGBH, Boston's public television
and radio station as well as at Boston Magazine.
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Dorothy Chen-Courtin is
an independent marketing and management consultant for non-profit
organizations. With a background in both the for and non-profit
sectors, she adapts best practices from the for-profit sector
in her work with non-profit organizations. Her clients include
national and regional foundations, state art commissions and
art councils, as well as performing and visual arts organizations
and museums. A frequent speaker on management and marketing
issues nationwide, Ms. Chen-Courtin is also a regular contributor
of articles on the subject. She developed the arts marketing
module for the distance learning course on arts management
for University of Massachusetts. She is a board member of
The Bostonian Society, Fruitlands Museums, Arts Extension
Institute, and the Herald Tribune World Youth Forum Association.
A Barnard College graduate, Ms. Chen-Courtin earned a Ph.D.
in Oriental Art History from Columbia and a MBA from Northeastern.
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Connie Chin is currently General
Manager of Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival,
School, Archives and Community Programs in the Berkshires,
and also served
as its Marketing Director for four seasons. Her responsibilities
include
oversight of staff, operations, earned income, contributed
income, and
expenses at this $4M organization. In addition, Connie has
been the
Project Director for the Pillow's four-year Leadership and
Excellence in
Arts Participation project supported by the Wallace-Reader's
Digest Funds,
including a wide range of initiatives to deepen and broaden
audience
engagement. She has been Marketing Director for the Oregon
Mozart Players, a
chamber orchestra in Eugene, Oregon; and on the staffs of
the New York
Foundation for the Arts and the San Francisco Ethnic Dance
Festival. On the
corporate side, her experience includes brand management at
Jell-O with
Kraft Foods, and cranberry juices with Ocean Spray. She has
an MBA from Yale
School of Management and a BA in psychology from Harvard University.
Additional training includes brainstorming facilitation and
group dynamics.
She was a freelance modern dancer in New York for ten years.
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Amy Zell Ellsworth
is a senior fellow with The Philanthropic Initiative in Boston,
following a career in the arts as a choreographer, teacher
and performer. She is currently the board president of the
Boston Dance Alliance, an arts services organization that
provides leadership, services and advocacy for the greater
Boston dance community. At The Philanthropic Initiative, a
non-profit consulting firm whose mission is to increase the
effectiveness and impact of philanthropy, Ms. Ellsworth works
on projects ranging from curriculum development for donor
education programs to program research and family foundation
facilitation. She was responsible for rewriting TPI's Philanthropy
for the Wise Donor-Investor: A Primer for Families on Strategic
Giving. Amy has an extensive background consulting organizations
on organizational and board development. She directed her
own company (Zellsworth Dancers) and studio (Dancentral) in
the 1970s and 1980s.
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Lynn Gervens is the Executive
Director of Mudflat Pottery School, Inc. in Somerville, Massachusetts.
She first became involved at Mudflat in 1978 as a studio artist
and teacher, after receiving her BFA in Ceramics from the
University of Illinois. Lynn was Mudflat's General Manager
prior to becoming the Executive Director in 1993. Her responsibilities
include education administration, business operations, financial
management, publicity, grants and fundraising. She is currently
actively working on the purchase and renovation of a new facility
for Mudflat. As a member of Mudflat's faculty, Lynn has developed
and taught clay classes for adults in wheel throwing, hand
building, studio management, surface decoration, glaze chemistry
and kiln firing. She has taught children's classes and workshops
at Mudflat and at other Boston area community art centers
and public schools. She was instrumental in developing Mudflat's
studio outreach program for preschool and elementary schoolchildren
that includes studio tours, demonstrations and hands-on clay
activities, reaching more than 1500 children over the past
12 years. Lynn's professional career in ceramics includes
development of porcelain functional ware for wholesale and
retail markets. Her work has been selected for books and publications
as well as invitational and juried exhibitions nationally.
She has served as a panelist for the Somerville Arts Council
LCC grant applications, has been a juror for local exhibitions,
and serves on the Edgerly Education Center School Council.
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Donna Glick is the
Director of Education at the Huntington Theatre Company, where
she has designed and implemented model theatre education,
performance and community outreach programs, including The
Mirror Performance Project, STAGES, Storytelling for the Ages:
Oral History in Performance, and Know The Law, a program recently
named one of the top 50 arts-in-education programs in the
country. Her newest initiative, a collaboration with Dorchester's
Codman Square Charter School, has earned a 2003 Champions
of Arts Education award from the Massachusetts Alliance for
Arts Education. Ms. Glick was an actress, performing in over
35 productions in the Boston area, and is a founding member
of the New Repertory Theatre in Newton. She is a member of
the class of 2000 of the National Conference of Community
and Justice's LEADBOSTON program. She currently serves as
a board member for Cultural Access Consortium and United Methodist
Urban services. Ms. Glick holds a B.A. in Drama/Literature
and an MFA in Acting from Boston University, and has worked
with the Massachusetts Cultural Council in a number of consulting
positions.
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Barbara Haber is Visual
and Performing Arts Teacher in Charge for Cambridge Public
Schools. She served as the Content Specialist in the Arts
for the Massachusetts Department of Education in a two-year
sabbatical appointment. As an arts administrator, she has
served as the Program Supervisor for Fine Arts for the Stoneham
Public Schools, and as the District Department Head for Fine
Arts for the Wappingers Central School District in New York
State. She has also served as a Curriculum Coordinator, K-8,
for School Union #7 in Maine. In addition, she has been an
arts education consultant to numerous school systems and cultural
organizations on the East coast. She represented the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts on SCASS ARTS, the States Collaborative on
Assessment and Student Standards. She is presently a member
of the Professional Materials Review Committee of the National
Art Education Association. She held faculty appointments in
Art Education at the University of Kentucky, the City University
of New York and the University of Southern Maine. She has
also served as an adjunct lecturer in Art Education at the
School of Visual Arts in N.Y.C., the Maine College of Art
and currently teaches at Lesley University. Ms. Haber is a
painter represented by the Aucicisco Gallery in Portland,
ME.; her most recent solo show was in July 2001.
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Jed Hickson is a
Consulting Software Engineer at EMC Corporation with 25 years
experience in the design and integration of computer systems.
His professional experience includes working for non-profit
organizations of all sizes. Mr. Hickson developed computer
systems for use in public broadcasting at South Carolina Educational
Television, one of the largest public broadcasting centers
in the country. In addition, Jed has worked as a photographer,
media specialist and curator for a small Ohio art museum.
Currently, he is chair of the Norwood Cultural Council and
has overseen numerous grant cycles, successfully worked to
enhance municipal relationships, and coordinated a strong
local membership. His combined technology and LCC experience
allow him to understand the technology needs of local cultural
councils and small non-profit organizations. Jed has knowledge
of Windows, Unix, and Mainframe computer systems. He also
served on the MCC focus group that led to the design of the
LCC Online Toolkit and served as both a tester and early adopter
of the Toolkit system.
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Marshall K. Judges is the Executive
Vice President / Chief Operating Officer for Zoo New England.
Managing the Operations Division, Mr. Judges' responsibilities
include the Animal Care, Veterinary Services, Horticulture,
Facilities, Security and Marketing / Public Relations departments,
as well as managing and coordinating Capital Projects. Judges
has over 27 years of managerial experience. Prior to joining
ZNE, Mr. Judges was employed in the private sector, first
as a Project Manager for the Barton Malow Company. Several
representative projects that he was assigned to while with
BMC were Disney's Imagineering inspired Port Discovery, The
Baltimore Children's Museum and the University of Maryland's
Medical Biotechnology Center. Also, while in the private sector
Mr. Judges was employed by Enterprise Homes, Inc., an affordable
housing developer. He was responsible for the coordination
and oversight of $250 million of housing and neighborhood
development. For 18 years, Mr. Judges served as a member of
the management team for the National Aquarium in Baltimore
(private, non-profit), as Director of Facilities and Capital
Projects. Experience includes start up and commissioning of
original National Aquarium facility ($25 million), the
Marine Mammal Pavilion expansion ($30 million) and a
$13.5 million renovation project. Mr. Judges has been
a Professional Fellow of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association
for over 25 years.
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Lory Newmyer is
the Executive Director of the Hull Lifesaving Museum Inc.,
a 26-year old organization that combines traditional museum
activities with social services and outdoor education initiatives.
Lory has administrative and creative oversight of all programs
and initiatives within the institution. She is responsible
for developing and managing the museum's budget (approximately
$500,000 annually), overseeing and evaluating the performance
of a full-time staff of seven and part-time staff of 15, and
guiding the organization's strategic and long-range planning.
In addition, she works closely with the museum's Board of
Directors, and is the primary liaison to fellow institutions.
Lory is the museum's principal grant-writer, manages the Annual
Fund and Capital Campaigns, and has tripled the organization's
budget over eight years, in part by developing non-traditional
funding sources. She oversees production of the museum's publications,
shares in the development of exhibits and interpretation,
and, as a senior experiential educator specializing in work
with "at-risk" youth populations, and designs programming
and curricula for a highly varied constituency. Lory has served
for over 10 years on non-profit Boards, and has extensive
experience with Board development, processes, and protocols.
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Linda Plaut has been the Director
of the Newton Mayor's Office for Cultural Affairs since 1986.
She is charged with nurturing and supporting arts activities
in 13 villages, fostering cultural and ethnic diversity, increasing
support for the activities of local artists, musicians and
cultural organizations and sponsoring creative cultural opportunities
for the entire community. Outstanding among the programs and
events designed, produced and sponsored by the Office for
Cultural Affairs are Newton's Tricentennial Celebration, the
Newton2000 celebration, development of educational programs
in the arts for children and numerous concerts, festivals,
performances. For 25 years, she has sponsored a folk concert
series, The Jackson Homestead Folk Concert Series, Sunday
evening ethnic festivals, year-round children's performing
series, large outdoor craft shows and 4th of July celebrations.
Creating a collaborative of all of Newton's arts organizations
to help strengthen all of Newton's cultural organizations,
Discover Newton Arts, is her newest activity. Extensive experience
in program development, fundraising to underwrite all of these
programs, attracting volunteers, developing effective boards
of directors and cooperatively developing marketing strategies
are among her accomplishments.
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Jeffrey Poulos has
been the Executive Director of StageSource, the Alliance of
Theatre Artists and Producers, since November 2000. Previously,
Jeff worked for eleven years at the Huntington Theatre Company
as Assistant General, Interim Marketing Director, Events Coordinator,
Systems Manager and Audience Services Manager after getting
his start in the box office. Prior to the Huntington, Jeff
worked as General Manager at the New Repertory Theatre. Jeff
currently serves on the Arts Services Coalition of Boston,
as Treasurer and Board of Directors member for Massachusetts
Advocates for Arts Sciences and Humanities (MAASH-ED), and
on the Watertown Cultural Council. Jeff is a graduate of the
Theatre Arts Department at Ithaca College.
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Kenneth C. Turino is Director
of Exhibitions and Programs for the Society for the Preservation
of New England Antiquities. For the past three years he has
overseen programming for all historic properties open to the
public. Specifically he developed the Boston based public
programs. In addition he is responsible for developing a traveling
exhibitions program of both large and small exhibitions. Ken
holds his MA degree in Museum Education from the George Washington
University and has worked at both large and small institutions
including the Paul Revere House and the National Museum of
American History, Smithsonian Institution. Previous to coming
to SPNEA he was Director of the Lynn Museum for 14 years where
he oversaw all operations of this active community based historical
museum. Ken is on the Board of Directors of the Bay State
Historical League Society and is the New England Area Regional
Chair for the American Association for State and Local History
Awards Program.
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Charles J. Washburn has worked
for VSA arts of Massachusetts since 1987 and has served as
Executive Director since 2000. He holds his BA in History
and Education from Fairfield University and a Certificate
of Special Study in Management and Administration from Harvard
University. He taught Kindergarten and early primary students
and is experienced in the use of the arts in education to
support learning by students with and without disabilities.
He was director of an urban art center and festival known
as Summers's World in Worcester Massachusetts, and is one
of the founders of First Night Worcester where he continues
to serve as a member of the Board of Directors. Charlie has
also worked in human services on improvement of community
based programs. Charlie is familiar with the application of
Universal Design principals to cultural program development
and he is a skilled collaborator and an able mediator. He
serves the Mass. Advocates for the Arts Sciences and Humanities,
the state's art's lobby, as President and was one of its founders.
He was a member of the Mass. Arts Curriculum Framework Committee
and Chair of the Mass. Department of Education's Arts In Education
Advisory Council. He served as chair of the VSA National Advisory
Council and as a member of the Board of Directors of VSA arts.
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Jason Weeks is the Executive
Director for the Cambridge Arts Council (CAC), a public non-profit
in Cambridge, MA that provides arts services and programming
in Cambridge that is designed to stimulate public awareness
of and support for the arts. In this capacity, he works with
an Advisory Board, several commissions, the city of Cambridge
administration, and a full-time staff to oversee core agency
programming that includes an award-winning Public Art/Percent-for-Art
Program, the annual Cambridge River Festival, the CAC Artist
Grant Program, Summer in the City, a Gallery & Exhibition
program, and a lively Street Performer Program. In addition
to his role at CAC, Jason lectures at schools and universities
in the Boston area and makes regular appearances at conferences
and symposia to discuss issues, challenges, and effective
strategies at work in the field of arts administration. Prior
to his work with CAC, Jason worked with several non-profit
organizations to develop and produce arts festivals and spent
ten years working in the for-profit business sector to develop
products and services associated with educational travel and
language learning.
Jason has a background in music and theatre and holds a
BA in Music from the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, NC and a Masters degree in Arts Administration from
Boston University. His affiliations include memberships with
Americans for the Arts, the American Association of Museums,
the Boston Jazz Society, and the Alliance of Artists' Communities.
Jason lives with his wife and daughter in Maynard, MA.
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Virginia Vogel Zanger,
EdD., is Vice President of the The Boston Children's Museum,
where she directs the Museum's educational work with teachers
and schools. In 2000, Dr. Zanger and her staff of 10 opened
the Harcourt Teacher Leadership Center at The Children's Museum,
an 8,000 square-foot conference, training, and resource facility
that serves over 5,000 elementary, pre-school, and after-school
teachers annually. Dr. Zanger is responsible for raising money
to support the Teacher Center's yearly budget of $500,000.
Dr. Zanger created and oversees three initiatives that connect
The Children's Museum, Boston Public Schools and Boston after-schools.
She also oversees the development and marketing of Museum
resources to teachers, in alignment with state and national
standards and the federal "No Child Left Behind" Act. An expert
on issues of linguistic minorities' academic achievement and
education reform, Dr. Zanger researched, published, and worked
with educators across the state for fifteen years prior to
joining the Museum's leadership team. She also brings 16 years
of experience working in Boston Public Schools, where she
taught elementary and high school immigrant students. She
is past president of the Massachusetts Association for Bilingual
Education and a former member of the governor's Massachusetts
Bilingual Study Commission. She is the author of the internationally
used ESL textbook, Face to Face: Culture, Communication and
Collaboration. Dr. Zanger holds degrees from Harvard and Boston
University.
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