MWPAI names Anthony Spiridigloizzi president

The Utica OD reported that Anthony Spiridigloizzi is the newly appointed president of Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute.

“I feel very, very positive about our future here,” he said Tuesday, despite the gloomy weather outside his corner office. “I see it every day looking out this window. I see people coming through this back door and enjoying what we have to offer. It’s about connecting people with art.”

With that in mind, he said, his main goals for MWPAI include improving the visitor experience at the institute’s Museum of Art and strengthening the bonds between the community and the institute as a whole, including its school of art and performing arts program.

Projects under consideration for the future include creating a more welcoming rear entrance for the museum – since 95 percent of visitors come in through the parking lot doors instead of the main entrance on Genesee Street – adding a café, and expanding social events such as docent-led tours and art receptions.

“We want to really create a welcoming environment … to focus on the visitor, provide some better visitor services and additional visitor services” Spiridigloizzi said.

The institute also will continue cultivating its PrattMWP college program, which currently enrolls 100 new students each year, he said.

Moving forward will require an increased focus on fundraising.

“Our challenges, like many nonprofit organizations, particularly cultural organizations, are financial,” Spiridigloizzi said. “This economic environment has really hurt a number of organizations. The institute is stable, but it needs to build a base of support in this community … out of that will come really a much more vibrant, exciting institution.”

Spiridigloizzi started at MWPAI as treasurer in 1982, having previously served as comptroller for the local United Way. After adding vice president of operations to his title in the 1990s, he served as “second in command” under former institute presidents Milton Bloch and Daniel O’Leary, and as acting president after each man’s departure.

He was appointed president by the institute’s board of trustees on Dec. 20, although the decision wasn’t made public until Tuesday.

In a release, MWPAI board Chairman William Locke said Spiridigloizzi’s 29 years of service and dedication were one of the assets that led to his appointment.

“Tony has worked tirelessly to advance the mission of MWPAI and has a clear vision for its future,” Locke said. “I am proud to announce that the decision was easy and unanimous.”

Spiridigloizzi, for his part, said he was “very honored and very excited” to be appointed on a permanent basis. It has not yet been decided how his previous position will be filled.

Unlike O’Leary, who resigned in January 2010 after less than two years as head of the institute, Spiridgloizzi is a native of Oneida County with strong ties to the community. He graduated from Thomas R. Proctor High School in 1969 and Utica College in 1973.

The New Hartford resident said he recognizes that MWPAI has a role to play both here at home and in the national arts scene.

“I think we can serve both,” he said. “We can be community-minded as well as advance the reputation of this museum across the country, and that’s good for the community as well.”

Recent exhibits have been successful at spurring attendance, with more than 14,000 people viewing the “Wedded Perfection” dress exhibit this summer, and more than 7,000 visiting the “Ansel Adams: Masterworks” collection.

Spiridigloizzi said he hopes to “continue the progress we’ve made over the past year” with a diverse array of exhibits in 2012 and beyond. “LitGraphic,” an exhibition of art from graphic novels opening in March, is just one example of what’s to come.

“I think there’ll be a blend, a mix of exhibitions – some that are broad and popular in appeal, but always, always maintaining the quality we’ve been known for,” he said.

DeLisle-Heath named as new Utica Zoo executive director

After nearly a quarter of a century in the emergency response field, the head of the local American Red Cross will make the transition to conservation and recreation.
Andria DeLisle-Heath announced Wednesday she will step down as the executive director of the American Red Cross of the Mohawk Valley on June 3 to take over the executive director’s position at the Utica Zoo on June 13.
“Although I am leaving one very important organization in our community, I am thrilled to be joining another that plays a vital role in the Mohawk Valley,” said DeLisle-Heath in a news release.
DeLisle-Heath said during an interview on Wednesday she is excited to get started at the “new Utica zoo.”
“The board and staff have had a vision that has come to fruition,” she said.
This started with the African Alley, which includes new lions, zebras, hyenas and ostriches. She said the zoo is also bringing in an Asian realm, which will include some new arrivals at the zoo. The total number of animals at the zoo by the end of the year will be 270, nearly a hundred more than the number the zoo had at the end of last year, said DeLisle-Heath.
“The Utica Zoo Board of Trustees has searched for years for a talented executive director with the leadership skills, management experience, dedication to nonprofit organizations and a true devotion to the community possessed by Ms. DeLisle-Heath,” Joseph DeTraglia, board president for the Utica Zoo, said in a news release.
“She will continue the work of the board and staff in creating a new and improved zoo, and will continue to take this organization to the next level. She brings a level of professionalism that is unmatched and we are lucky to have her as part of the Utica Zoo team,” he said.
DeLisle-Heath’s background in nonprofit service began after she got her associate’s degree in business from Herkimer County Community College and her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Utica College. She said this provided her with a great background to lead at nonprofit organizations.
In 1987, she joined in a leadership role at the YWCA, which provides crisis response for domestic and sexual violence victims, before leaving to head the Red Cross chapter in Herkimer County in 1997. She took a hiatus from the organization from 1999 to 2001 to spend more time with her family, before she decided to return, which was a month before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
After the attacks, the Herkimer chapter became the training ground for several chapters for those who wanted to volunteer. She said the chapter oversaw 80 people become new volunteers after the attacks.
Then in response to Hurricane Katrina four years later, the chapter was able to send 23 people from the Mohawk Valley to assist affected areas.
Both the chapter’s response to Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina stand out as accomplishments for DeLisle-Heath during her tenure, which she points out could not have happened without the chapter’s “amazing” staff, board of directors and volunteers.
“I never did any of this alone. Even with my departure, all of these great things will carry on at the Red Cross,” she said.
DeLisle-Heath said she has many ideas for the zoo, and is excited with the direction they are going in. DeLisle-Heath said she also has a sentimental connection with the zoo, as that is where she spent her first Mother’s Day over 20 years ago.
“Living in the Mohawk Valley has allowed to me to appreciate all of the hometown attractions for entertainment and quality of life enjoyment that we have available,” she said in a news release. “The Utica Zoo is a place where fun, wonder and education all come together. I believe that each family in our region can do just a little bit to ensure that the zoo, which has provided enjoyment for over 95 years, can continue to be a local icon.”
She also said she plans to still be involved with the Red Cross as a volunteer and as a donor.
“She’s such a wonderful, wonderful representative for the Red Cross,” said Red Cross board of directors member John Cipriano. “It’s going to be really difficult to replace Andria DeLisle-Heath. A more dedicated individual you’ll never find.”

New United Way director looking to ‘make a difference’

Brenda Episcopo enjoys helping other people.

She has a wonderful chance to do that after being named Wednesday executive director of the United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica Area.

“This gives me a great new opportunity to make a difference in this community,” she said at a news conference at the organization’s new location on Lafayette Street.

The hiring marks the end of the year-long search to fill the position after the nonprofit’s former executive director, Phil Hayne, resigned in July. Interim Executive Director Tim Reed, also the Utica Boilermaker Road Race executive director, will hand over duties to Episcopo June 6.

“Brenda is a wonderful addition to the United Way staff,” Board President James Wallace said in a news release. “Brenda’s leadership skills, resource development and campaign experience and community involvement are exactly what our organization needs to continue on the right path and take us to the next level to best support our community.”

Episcopo is not a newcomer to the United Way. She served as a volunteer and former officer of the United Way Nonprofit Executive Director’s Group.

She said her goals are to make this year’s fundraising campaign better than it ever has been, as well as raising year-round awareness about the United Way’s work.

Of her new role she said, “It’s the person who keeps the ship on the right path.”

Episcopo has served for the last eight years as the executive director for the Peacemaker Program, an organization that provides services to resolve conflict and achieve positive outcomes for children, families and the community.

Episcopo has been a board member of the New York State Dispute Resolution Association, and has served on the advisory boards for the criminology department at Mohawk Valley Community College and sociology department at SUNYIT.

She has a master’s degree in applied sociology from SUNYIT, and is an instructor at MVCC, teaching a course on mediation within the criminal justice system.

Original article from UticaOd.com

Community Foundation Appoints Richardson Executive Director

At its meeting Tuesday, the Northern New York Community Foundation board of directors appointed Rande S. Richardson as the Foundation’s executive director. In 2008, Mr. Richardson was selected as the organization’s first associate director as part of a plan to place a successor to Alex C. Velto upon his retirement. Mr. Velto died December 17, 2009. Mr. Richardson has been serving as acting director since that time.

Mr. Richardson, 39, was executive director of the Jefferson Community College Foundation from 2005 to 2008. Prior to that, he was a licensed funeral director for 15 years. He has served on various community boards including the Watertown Urban Mission, Hospice of Jefferson County and the City of Watertown Planning Board. In 2001, he was elected to a five-year term on the Watertown City School District Board of Education. He was also chairman of the committee that raised funds to restore the Gov. Roswell P. Flower Monument located in Downtown Watertown. Read more here.

Broadway Theatre League names new leader

The Broadway Theatre League has announced the appointment of New York City resident Christopher McDonald as its newest executive director.

Thirty-nine-year-old McDonald will succeed former executive director Robert Lewis, who is retiring after 17 years at the helm.

McDonald, who is set to begin on Monday, was chosen from 100 applicants based on his past work experience. That experience includes production work for Nickelodeon, “The Montel Williams Show” and the Broadway production of “Mary Poppins.”

“We wanted to make sure the person we selected would be a good steward of our organization,” said league Vice President Eileen Pronobis.

“Bob Lewis has been such a good steward, we wanted to make sure we had someone at that level to take his place.” Read more here.

New President and Goals for Munson Williams Proctors Art Institute

The Utica OD featured a look at the new president's goals for Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute.

Daniel O’Leary, who took the helm this week after a months-long search to replace former president Milton Bloch, said a key goal he wants to achieve is strengthening ties between the museum and the Stanley Center for the Arts and other local arts organizations.

Other goals include increasing museum membership and focusing on student enrollment. “I’m very interested in membership,” O’Leary said during a news conference Tuesday morning.“I think it’s always about winning trust and support and making people think of Munson Williams-Proctor more frequently with better memories of the last time they were here. Opportunities are so great here.”

Ron Thiele, executive director of the Stanley, said he is excited about working with O’Leary.
“Any time you get new leadership, it brings a fresh perspective on what is possible,” Thiele said. “I invite him and look forward to working with him to create a strategic alliance that can help the community.”

O’Leary said that the museum already has a strong foundation, and that he’d like to build upon that foundation by enlisting some help from younger generations.

“Students are the best way to escape from the status quo,” O’Leary said. “You can’t just parade students in and show them what you want to show them. They have more imagination and creativity; they are certainly going to show you the next interesting thing in the arts.”

And, despite a tough economy, he said he did not anticipate needing to make any major cuts to any part of the institute.

Daniel E. O’Leary Named New President of MWPAI

Daniel E. O’Leary, Ph.D., director of the Winslow Homer Studio Project in Scarborough, Maine, has been named president of Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute by a unanimous vote of the MWPAI board of trustees.

O’Leary will begin his duties April 6, 2009. He succeeds Milton Bloch who retired at the end of 2008 after 18 years at the Institute.

O’Leary was chosen after an extensive national search which began in spring 2008. John Stetson, MWPAI board of trustees member and chairman of the search committee, said nine candidates were interviewed before O’Leary was chosen. Stetson cited O’Leary’s successful work at other art institutions, particularly in the area of development. “He has all of the experience and qualifications we were seeking,” Stetson said. “He is the perfect fit for our staff, the community and all the constituencies we serve.”

O’Leary said he was drawn to the position by the diversity and scope of the Institute’s programming and resources. “The chance to play a role in Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute's future represents an opportunity that comes only once in a lifetime,” he said. “There are very few places in America where one cultural institution achieves such a full and diverse mission.”

O’Leary has more than 24 years experience managing arts institutions. He is currently pursuing completion of an $8.3 million campaign to acquire, preserve, and interpret the studio and home of Winslow Homer at Prouts Neck, Maine.

Prior to that, he served 15 years leading the Portland Museum of Art in Maine. Over his tenure he strengthened staff and increased the endowment significantly. He raised $13 million for the restoration of two of the Museum’s historic buildings.

As assistant director of the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, he coordinated a four-year effort that increased annual attendance from 280,000 to 575,000 and completed a major capital campaign. While serving as director of Artrain USA in Ann Arbor Michigan, he raised corporate donations 250% and doubled national attendance.

“This is an exciting time for the Institute,” Michael Cominsky, chairman of the MWPAI board of trustees, said. “Dan has a long history of successes and we look forward to what his many strengths will bring to us.”

“MWPAI offers extraordinary opportunities for many thousands of people,” O’Leary added. “I look forward to finding ways that these great assets can be even more widely shared and celebrated.”

After exploring the greater Utica region with his wife, artist Kathy Bouchard, O’Leary became enthusiastic about the area. “In addition to the cultural resources of MWPAI and the extensive natural resources of the area, we have found the warmth and appeal of the people here to be extraordinary,” he said. “We look forward to becoming very active and caring members of this community."

O’Leary holds a Ph.D. in history of art from the University of Michigan; an M.B.A. in marketing and management, an M.A. in history of art and an M.A. in English literature, all from the University of Michigan; and a B.A. in history of art from Princeton University.