SANTA FE, NM.- The Georgia OKeeffe Museum announced the arrival of eight new members to its Board of Trustees and two new members to its Leadership Team.
We are very excited to have new members on our Board of Trustees and Leadership Team, says Cody Hartley, Director of The Georgia OKeeffe Museum. As we look towards the future, they bring invaluable expertise and knowledge to the organization. I look forward to working with this dynamic group.
Ric E. Abel joins the Board of Trustees after a career as Managing Director and Dedicated Principal at Prudential Capital Energy Partners. Abel is currently a member of the Energy, Development, and Global Environment Advisory Board of Duke Universitys Fuqua School. Abel was a professional ballet dancer for 15 years with the San Francisco Opera Ballet, Irish Ballet, Eglevsky Ballet, and many others.
Val Alonzo is Executive Director of the Regional Development Corporation, in Española, New Mexico. Alonzo has been involved in providing community and business development in Northern New Mexico. Alonzo is also a member of the Rural Economic Development Council, and board member of the New Mexico IDEA Statewide Economic Development Organization, and the New Mexico Student Loan Guarantee Corporation.
Windi Grimes is owner of Windfohr Design, which she started in 2004 after a career in retail management, fine art galleries, auctions, and finance. Grimes currently serves as a Trustee on the boards of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; The Burnett Foundation, Fort Worth; and the Washington International Horse Show.
Donna Kinzer recently retired as the Executive Director of the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission. She is a former Managing Director of Navigant Consulting and Berkeley Research Group, LLC, and Partner at Arthur Anderson. Kinzer has served on the boards of the Marjorie Cook Foundation, Baltimore Theater Project, and the House of Ruth.
Nicole Namingha is from the Tewa tribe from Northern New Mexico, the Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh. For 25 years, Nicole has managed Niman Fine Art in Santa Fe, along with being the in-house photographer. In 2008, she served as an honorary board member for Futures for Children.
Glenn Ramsdell is Director of Worldwide Recovery (Reverse Logistics) at Amazon. His experience also includes leadership roles with McKinsey & Co, Target Corporation, Levi Strauss & Co., and Accenture. From 2005 2014, Ramsdell was a Trustee of San Franciscos Asian Art Museum Foundation.
Anita Webber Smith, owner of Webb Design Interiors, currently serves on the advisory board of Memorial Park Conservancy and the board of Project Row Houses, and is a member of the Missouri Chapter of The Links, Inc. She is a founding donor of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History &Culture.
Jock Soto joins the Georgia OKeeffe Museums Board of Trustees as a former principal ballet dancer at the School of American Ballet (SAB) and a member of SABs permanent faculty. Soto retired from dancing in 2005 after a performance career of 24 years. Sotos extensive repertory includes featured roles in over 40 ballets, of which 35 were created for him.
The OKeeffe is also pleased to welcome Jennifer Foley, Deputy Director for Collections and Engagement and Judy Scharmer, CFO, to the Leadership Team.
Jennifer Foley joins the Georgia OKeeffe Museum as the Deputy Director for Collections and Engagement after five years as the Director of Education and Community Engagement for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York where she worked with a team of educators to lead the museums public programming, community engagement, and interpretation. Previously, she was the Director of Interpretation at the Cleveland Museum of Art and began her career at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. She holds a Ph.D. and MA in art history from Cornell University, and a BA from Brooklyn College, the City University of New York.
As CFO, Judy Scharmer has more than 30 years of experience in accounting, finance, and business operations. Scharmer served for the last 13+ years as CFO for the New Mexico Military Institute. Scharmer brings with her a wide range of accounting experience and business acumen to successfully oversee the management of the Museums financial system. Scharmer holds a Master of Business Administration from Eastern New Mexico University and is a Certified Public Accountant.