Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art Board of Trustees Elects Seven New Members; Gerard Lupacchino Re-Elected as Board President
The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees has elected seven new Trustees to join the Board of the nation’s oldest continuously operating public art museum, and re-elected a slate of officers.
Elected on November 17 by the Wadsworth’s Board of Electors were notable arts, community, and business leaders Claire Burns, Carol L. Cheney, Brook Hazelton, JoAnn H. Price, Esther Pryor, and Nina F. Scherago. Kimberly Kersey, Executive Director of The Amistad Center for Art & Culture, joins the Board as an ex-officio Trustee.
Gerard Lupacchino was re-elected to serve as President of the Board and Duffield Ashmead, IV was re-elected as Senior Vice President. Ashmead will also serve as interim Treasurer of the Board. Joining them as officers of the Board are Cheryl A. Chase, Vice President; Michael F. Klein, Vice President; Hy J. Schwartz, Vice President; and Emilie de Brigard, Secretary.
“It is an honor and privilege to serve as Board President, as we move forward with the next chapter in the remarkable history of this extraordinary, world-class institution,” said Lupacchino. “I congratulate the new members of our Board and appreciate their willingness to contribute their time and considerable talent to the meaningful endeavors ahead. We are also incredibly fortunate to have a skilled and experienced leadership team and staff that brings expertise and passion to their work every day. Our collective commitment is to bring art, art-making, conservation, and collecting alive through reinvigorated storytelling and energizing exhibitions.”
Lupacchino is Senior Vice President of Human Experience for Hartford HealthCare and has been a member of the Wadsworth’s Board of Trustees since 2018, having previously served on the Board of Electors since 2014. He is President Emeritus of the TheaterWorks Board of Trustees and earned an MBA from the University of Hartford. He is a life-long resident of Connecticut and member of the Wadsworth.
Also re-elected to the Board of Trustees for a four-year term through 2026 were Alison D. Davis, Laura R. Harris, Gerard Lupacchino, and Matthew A. Schaefer.
Elected as new members of the Wadsworth’s Board of Electors, for a three-year term, were State Rep. Julio A. Concepcion, Tyron V. Harris, Carol A. Urick, State Rep. Edwin Vargas, Jr., and Joseph Walker. Re-elected was Claire S. Galli, to her third term.
Claire Burns is Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at The Hartford, where she oversees the enterprise marketing, branding, digital, customer experience, media relations, communication, and community relations functions, and chairs of the company’s Sustainability Governance Committee. Throughout her career, she has helped U.S. and global companies innovate their products and services, devise growth strategies and transform organizations and cultures.
Carol L. Cheney recently retired as founding president of Cheney & Company, a New Haven-based marketing communications agency with a national clientele among schools, colleges and other nonprofit institutions. Earlier, she served as a trustee and president of the Alumni Association of Sarah Lawrence College. She was a longtime member of the executive committee of the Board of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, and has been president of the Cheney Family Association since 2002.
Brook Hazelton is an experienced art world executive, currently serving as Advisory Board Chairman for LiveAuctioneers, the leading online marketplace for auction houses, and ThePackengers, a provider of e-logistics and shipping for unique items. He previously served as President of Christie’s for North & South America, was global CEO of Phillips auction house, and held leadership positions with Goldman Sachs in Geneva and The Carlyle Group in London.
JoAnn H. Price is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Fairview Capital Partners, Inc. and served previously as president of the National Association of Investment Companies. She serves on the boards of the Apollo Theater Foundation, Trinity Health of New England, Blue Hills Civic Association, and is immediate past Chair of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
Esther Pryor is Chef Owner of EAPRYOR LLC, a boutique chocolate company established in 2013, and is the Managing Director of a private family foundation. She is an Advisor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, serves on the Board of Directors of the Hartford Stage, the University of Hartford, and Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and had previously served as a Wadsworth Trustee.
Nina F. Scherago has devoted her career to investing on behalf of preeminent U.S. endowed charities. She is co-founder of Edgehill Endowment Partners, which provides comprehensive investment office management to mid-sized endowed institutions, and has served on the boards of foundations, independent schools, and colleges. Ms. Scherago currently serves as a trustee of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, which is devoted to advancing the study and preservation of European art up to the 19th century.
The newly elected Trustees join Duffield Ashmead, IV; Cheryl A. Chase; Mally Cox-Chapman; Robert Dance; Alison D. Davis; Emilie de Brigard; Lily de Jongh Downing; Philippa Feigen Malkin; Joseph R. Gianni; G. Duncan Harris; Laura R. Harris; David G. Jepson; Michael F. Klein; Gerard Lupacchino; Merrill F. Mandell; Timothy P. McLaughlin; Elsa M. Núñez; Eileen S. Pollack; Matthew A. Schaefer; Hy J. Schwartz; and Michele Wren Cook.
Kimberly Kersey, ex officio member, has more than 25 years of legal, business development, and community relations experience, and has worked with national corporations as well as small nonprofits. She served as Assistant Counsel to New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey and on the policy transition teams for President Barack Obama and U.S. Senator Cory Booker. She was selected to the 100 Women of Color class of 2022 and serves on the Board of Ambassadors at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts and on The President’s Community Advisory Council for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the University of Hartford. She has led The Amistad Center for Arts & Culture as Executive Director since 2020.
In addition to Kersey, ex-officio members of the Board include Wadsworth CEO Jeffrey N. Brown; Wadsworth Director Matthew Hargraves; Wadsworth Docent Council President Ann B. Mulcahy; Designee of the Mayor of the City of Hartford Cynthia J. Bulaong; Designee of the Office of the Governor Caroline Cunningham Young; Friends of the Wadsworth Atheneum President Carolyn M. McGrattan; and President of The Amistad Center for Art & Culture’s Board Tamara Williams.
The Board expressed appreciation to retiring members of the Board of Trustees Marta Bentham, Jeffrey G. Marsted, Carol A. Urick, Jean-Pierre van Rooy, Barbara G. Ward, and Henry M. Zachs, as well as retiring Electors Marcia Reid Marsted and Carol L. Cheney. Marsted, van Rooy, Ward, and Zachs were named to the distinguished roster of Honorary Trustees.
About the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Founded in 1842 with a vision for infusing art into the American experience, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art is home to a collection of nearly 50,000 works of art spanning 5,000 years and encompassing European art from antiquity through contemporary as well as American art from the 1600s to today. The Wadsworth Atheneum’s five connected buildings—representing architectural styles including Gothic Revival, modern International Style, and 1960s Brutalism—are located at 600 Main Street in Hartford, Conn.
Current hours are noon–5pm Thursday–Sunday. Admission: $5–15; discounts for members, students, and seniors. Free admission for Hartford residents with Wadsworth Welcome registration. Free “happy hour” admission 4–5pm. Advance ticket registration via thewadsworth.org is encouraged, not required. Phone: (860) 278- 2670; website: thewadsworth.org.