Board of Directors
Volunteer leaders shaping the future of arts in the Florida Keys
The FKCFA Board of Directors is composed of passionate community members who volunteer their time, expertise, and energy to advance the arts throughout Monroe County. Our board members represent a diverse cross-section of the Florida Keys, bringing professional backgrounds in the arts, business, education, and public service.
Jill Miranda Baker
Chair
Jill recently retired from her business development officer role with the Keys Weekly Newspapers, and instead has returned to her career roots as a writer and is freelancing for Keys Weekly. Prior work includes working for a State Representative, and as manager, marketing and public relations for Mariners Hospital/Baptist Health South Florida. In 2005, she became the manager of medical staff services. She has received numerous awards including Mark of Excellence awards from the Florida Society of Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing, Woman of the Year by the Upper Keys Business & Professional Women's group, and in 2020, named Rotarian of the Year for the Upper Keys Club. Jill is twice past president of the Rotary Club, an ambassador of the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce, and has served on the Boards of the Good Health Clinic, Treasure Village Montessori Charter School, Florida Keys Area Health Education Center, the Rural Health Network of Monroe County and Upper Keys Business & Professional Women, and graduate of Leadership Monroe. Jill is married to long-time backcountry fishing guide Duane Baker and they are proud to have raised two children in the Keys.
Nancy Bunch
Vice Chair
A Keys resident since 1991, Nancy was born and raised in Massachusetts. She has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Emmanuel College, Boston, MA., and a Masters in Business Administration from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA. After serving in the U.S. Navy for 21 years, she retired from NAS Key West as a Commander. Her post-military career included Director, Institute of Criminal Justice, Florida Keys Community College and Director, Public Safety Program, Pasco-Hernando State College. Nancy currently serves as the Chair, Russel Sullivan Memorial Scholarship, College of the Florida Keys; Director-at-Large, Emmanuel College Alumni Association Board of Directors; District II Representative, TDC Cultural Umbrella Committee; and as the Arts Council's Grant Committee Chair. She considers herself a "Wanna Be Artist" and has turned that desire into supporting the art community in the Florida Keys.
Eric Anderson
Treasurer
Born and raised outside of Chicago, Eric moved to Chicago in 1986, where he worked as an information technology professional for various financial planning firms in downtown Chicago for over 20 years, first as an employee and then serving as a consultant. He moved to the Keys in 1997. He serves on the Art in Public Places committee as the appointee for the late Monroe County Commissioner Mike Forster (District 5). Eric has been involved in several nonprofits in the upper keys, and most recently served on the board for Habitat for Humanity Upper Keys. Eric is married to Dr. Stanley Zuba, and manages his medical office, Florida Keys Pediatric and Adolescent Center, Inc, for the past 4 years. In addition to supporting the Arts, his hobbies include coin collecting and travelling.
Mark Hedden
Secretary
Hedden is a photographer, writer, and semi-professional birdwatcher. He has lived in Key West for close to 30 years and may no longer be employable in the real world. He is also the Executive Director of the Florida Keys Audubon Society. His photo work tends to focus on nightscapes, wildlife documentation, and street photography. He did shoot a wedding once and has almost recovered. He writes a weekly column about birds, and the occasional artist profile, for Key West Weekly. His photos have appeared in the New York Times, the Miami Herald, Roads & Kingdoms, Solares Hill, Birder's World, Bird Watching Magazine, Birding, the Bone Island Sun, and on the website of WLRN. He has had three solo shows at The Studios of Key West, has won two Knight Arts Challenge grants, several grants from the Anne McKee Fund, and was one of two Monroe County residents who received the 2020 South Florida Cultural Consortium Award for visual arts.
Joyce W Burd
Past Chair
Joyce has been a resident of Key West since 2012. She received her undergraduate degree from Ohio State University and her masters degree in Expressive Therapies from Lesley College in Cambridge, Mass. She began her professional career as a dance therapist for many years working with a variety of special needs populations. In Philadelphia she was the founder of two nonprofit organizations: Art-Reach, Inc., which enables people with low incomes and disabilities to experience the arts, and Dancing Classrooms Philly, a ballroom dance program for 5th and 8th grade students. What Joyce loves about Key West is the vibrant arts scene and how the Arts Council supports this community. She is a member of Keys Choral Arts. Joyce loves to dance, read, walk, kayak, sail and watch the beautiful Key West sunsets.
Paige Bethel
Board Member
Born and raised in Key West, Paige earned her degrees in Marketing and Finance from Florida State University before returning home to launch a successful career in real estate. Today, she is the broker-owner of Island Home Realty, where she leads a thriving local business rooted in community values and personalized service. As the mother of two 8th-generation Conchs, Paige is passionate about preserving the cultural heritage of the island. She believes that the arts are an essential part of what makes Key West so special—reflecting the island's diverse history, vibrant community, and creative spirit. Paige is honored to support and advocate for the arts through her service on the Arts Council.
Marianne Finizio
Board Member
Marianne is the Vice President of Community Relations and Business Development of the Community Health of South Florida, Inc. (CHI) leadership team. She is a seasoned healthcare executive with comprehensive experience that includes business development, operations, technology, and marketing and promotion of value driven healthcare solutions. Her most recent positions have been with leading payers and academic institutions that focused on domestic and international markets. Finizio's passion is serving others through her commitment and work with various non-profit organizations and institutions.
Beryn Harty
Board Member
Her Connecticut upbringing included a very wide variety of fine arts, and the galleries and museums of NYC were her playgrounds. She majored in Biology (Middlebury College, VT) and minored in History of Art. Her professional background was primarily affiliated healthcare: medical research at the University of Miami School of Medicine and Mount Sinai Medical Center (Miami Beach), Manager Anatomic and Surgical Pathology, Manager Nursing Unlimited. Other stints included Director Operations, CTM Media and Realtor (post 1999). She became a local naturalist after she and husband Rick moved full time to Ramrod Key in 2007. A fan of birds, butterflies, and native plants, her own artistic efforts are usually nature photography, although she does some painting and mixed media. Many Keys visitors and residents have attended her photographic presentations and joined her on nature walks.
Charlotte Palmer
Board Member
Charlotte received her BS from Salem University, West Virginia, and later earned an M.Ed in Pennsylvania. She taught sixth grade for 36 years in York, Pennsylvania before moving to the Keys in 2008. She is past president of the York College of Pennsylvania Alumni Board and a Pennsylvania State Education Association-Retired member. Her passion for the arts led her to join the International Egg Art Guild in 1978, inspiring her own creations and those of her many students. Ballet classes were a big part of her life for three decades. In 1990 she began working with stained glass and continues in that field today. For many years she has been serving on DAC II. Charlotte is a member of the Big Pine Key Botanical Society, and several environmental organizations involving the coral reef, recycling, and the Key Deer.
Board Alternates serve as advisors and representatives from throughout Monroe County, bringing expertise in the arts, business, education, and community service.
- Theresa Axford, Key West — Monroe County School District Superintendent, Past Chair of the Arts Council
- Larry Baeder, Key West — professional musician, past president of the Bahama Village Music Program
- Jill Benado, Key West — photographer, former co-director of educational non-profit
- Sally Binard, Key West — mixed media visual artist
- Sarah Brawer-Bartus, Marathon — psychotherapist, founder/president Florida Keys Trauma Recovery Network, Rotarian, art supporter
- Holly Burger, Key West — Realtor, art enthusiast and supporter
- Leslie C. Calero, Marathon — Regional Director for Freeman-Hindman Auction House, Art Appraiser, and Child Advocate
- Lucy Carleton, Key West — social dance instructor, realtor, Sustainable Floridian graduate & Sustainability Advisory Board, City of Key West
- Mary Jean Connors, Key West — painter; former board member/president/current Advisory Board member TSKW, past president of Key West Art Center, retired newspaper editor/executive
- Nancy Cooper, Islamorada — artist, President of Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder (DPMMR), lecturer for University of Miami/RSMAES
- Susann D'Antonio, Big Pine Key — artist, owner of Framing in Paradise, and Independent Title Abstractor
- Allison Delashmit, Cudjoe Key — environmental advocate and communications professional
- Marlisa Garrett, Marathon — sculptor, painter, performing arts enthusiast
- Dr. John D. Gottsch, Key West — symphony composer, physician and professor, Johns Hopkins University
- Juliet Gray, Fernandina Beach — theater producer and travel writer
- Bonnie Greenberg, Vero Beach — past Arts Council chair, creative and grant writer
- Channing Griggs, Key West — multi-instrumentalist playing bass, banjo, guitar, flute, saxophone and clarinet
- Jody Gross, Key West — Board member Anne McKee Artists Fund, former health care administrator, retired registered nurse
- Erika Heffernan, Winter Garden — visual artist, educator, and owner of Why Not Create
- Kristie Killam, Big Pine Key — retired park ranger, biologist, author, teacher, outdoor enthusiast & conservationist
- Stephen Kitsakos, Key West — opera librettist & theatre director, former Professor of Theatre Arts, former Board President TSKW
- Jonelle Kop, Islamorada — realtor, Key Players Community Theater Board President, retired government auditor
- Sandra Lee, Marathon — Artist, Photographer, Videographer, Teacher, Rotarian
- Kathryn Lyons, Key Largo — Innkeeper, art lover
- Dr. Joanne Mahoney, Key Largo — physician, arts patron
- Michael Marrero, Key West — artist and playwright, Williams Hall Director of Operations, past Arts Council Executive Committee Board Member
- Kaya McCoy, Key Largo — sculptor, owner of coral restoration non-profit, VP of the Art Guild of the Purple Isles
- Lisa Mongelia, Islamorada — Executive Director, History of Diving Museum
- Claudia Moriarty, Key Largo — retired librarian, visual artist
- Vivian Morrison, Islamorada — NPO management and fundraising, Vivian Morrison Consulting
- Miriam Novotny, Key West — Broker Associate, Real Estate Agent, Transformational Life coach
- Anne O'Shea Quattrini, Key West — Minerva Productions, Film and Theatrical Producer
- Lucy Paige, Sugarloaf Key — visual artist, acrylic and mixed media
- Joshua Eli Pancamo, Key West — business owner, supporter of the arts
- Valerie Perreault, Islamorada — poet, artist and owner of Portside Studio & Gallery
- MaryCarlin Porter, Key West — arts patron, past Arts Council Board Member, Keys Choral Arts member, retired Advanced Practice Registered Nurse
- Dr. Betty Powell-Klimock, Summerland Key — retired psychiatrist, portrait artist, member of Lower Keys Artists Network, arts advocate
- Alex Rickert, Marathon — Keys Weekly Marathon Editor, Marathon Community Theatre Board Member
- Michele Rodriguez, Key West — former classroom teacher, art lover and philanthropist, The Florida Keys Children's Shelter Board Member
- Carol Rose, Tavernier — Retired Judge, attorney, arts philanthropist
- Maggie Ruley, Key West — artist and art instructor, owner of Maggie Ruley ~ Island Inspirations
- Christine Scarsella, Key West — owner of Art@830 Gallery
- Christopher Shultz, Key West — author, actor, director & DJ
- Diane Whitney Smith, Key Largo — retired art teacher and practicing artist
- Larry Smith, Key West — Musician, pianist, musical director, composer, educator, coach, and performer
- Joyce Stahl, Key West — artistic director and producer, Nutcracker Key West
- Blair Shiver-Nealis, Marathon — owner of Food for Thought
- Sandy Sun, Key West — ceramic artist, registered nurse
- Lisa Swanson, Sugarloaf Key — Broker Associate, Real Estate Agent
- Timothy Swanson, Sugarloaf Key — Sales Associate, Real Estate Agent
- Jane Tomlinson, Islamorada — artist, Art Guild of the Purple Isles member
- Melissa Trader, Key West — former owner of Stone Soup Gallery and Key West Art Guide
- Nancy Truesdale, Key Largo — artist, recovering attorney, teacher, Librarian Associate at Key Largo Library
- Kelly Walkotten, Islamorada — Artist, Art Advocate, Program Chairman Art Guild of the Purple Isles
- Kim Weaver, Key West — Waterfront Playhouse volunteer, art enthusiast, former TV broadcast journalist
- GG Weisenfeld, Stock Island — research professor, grant writer, museum and early childhood educator
- Barbara Weikel, Key West — Arts Council past Chair, music lover, retired airline supervisor, realtor, office manager
- Jane Wood, Big Pine Key — Artist, Key Deer Wildlife Refuge Volunteer, Marketing Research Executive
- Jill Zima-Borski, Islamorada — journalist, author, speaker, actor, acrylics artist
- Jeremy Zoma, Key West/NYC — Actor and Director, Williams Hall Key West High School Drama Club Director
- Mayor ProTem Holly Merrill Raschein — BOCC Liaison
Dr. Shirley Freeman
Director Emeritus / Monroe County Commissioner Liaison
Key West; FKCA founding member; former Mayor, Monroe County; retired (20 years) Monroe County school administrator.
June Girard
Chair Emeritus
FKCA Board 1999–2006, Chair 2002–2004. Patron of the Arts. Served as Chair on Lower Keys Medical Center Board, as President of the Founders Society, as Chair of Red Barn Angels, President for the Keys' League of Women Voters and Secretary for Florida State Board of League of Women Voters.