The Wolfsonian–Florida International University announces the appointment of four new members and three officers to its advisory board. The advisory board exists to support the mission and continued growth of The Wolfsonian; it advises the director on issues including programs, policies, and short- and long-range plans; and assists in fundraising efforts.
“Having these distinguished individuals on our advisory board is an incredible honor for The Wolfsonian,” says Wolfsonian director Cathy Leff. “With their wide-ranging professional and personal interests and their diverse backgrounds, they not only bring a tremendous amount of experience and a variety of perspectives to the institution, but they reflect the vital and eclectic nature of our community and our audience.”
The members serve an initial one-year term and are then considered for a three-year appointment. Joining The Wolfsonian advisory board are:
Peter L. Corsell, chairman and CEO of GridPoint, an established leader in the smart grid, energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. MIT’s Technology Review magazine has recognized Corsell as one of the world’s top innovators under age 35, and the World Economic Forum named him a Young Global Leader in 2010. Corsell is a frequent speaker on energy issues and is a regular participant in CERAWeek, The Economist’s Innovation Summit, Goldman Sachs’ Alternative Energy Conference, and the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. His commitment to the environment and society is evident in his background and work outside of GridPoint. He was chairman of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Sustainable Energy (2008-2009) and is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative and the Electrification Coalition. Corsell also serves on Newsweek’s Global Environment and leadership advisory committee and the board of directors of Entech Solar, a developer of concentrating solar energy systems. Previously, Corsell served with the U.S. State Department in Cuba and as a political analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency. He holds a B.S. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
Neil Flanzraich, vice chairman and president of IVAX Corporation, from May 1998 until its acquisition by Teva Pharmaceuticals in 2006. He was chairman of the life sciences legal practice group of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, a 600-person West Coast law firm, from 1995 to 1998. Flanzraich became chairman of the board of North American Vaccine, Inc., a company specializing in the development and manufacturing of vaccines, in 1990 and served until its acquisition by Baxter International in 2000. He served as the senior vice president, chief counsel and a member of the corporate executive committee of Syntex Corporation from 1981 to 1995, when it was acquired by Roche Pharmaceuticals in 1995. Currently, he’s a director of the following public companies: Bellus Health Inc., Continucare Corporation, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Equity One, and Javelin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company. He received an A.B. degree from Harvard College and a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School.
Sharon Lombard Miller, a South African-born designer, recently restored a Cape Dutch-home within Coral Gables’ Dutch South African Village. The house is decorated as an artist would approach an installation, melding contemporary Dutch and African objects in a “post-apartheid” celebration. Miller’s latest accomplishment garnered two preservation awards and appeared in Ad France and Home Miami magazines. In 1979, she emigrated, along with her family, to the United States and later attended the Winchester School of Art in England, graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1986. Married to artist Amos Miller, the couple lived in Cincinnati where they exhibited art work, used an unusual design approach to renovate housing, and immersed themselves in a variety of projects, including a set for an Ohio Museum, and art for a children’s hospital. Miller continued her artistic endeavors by writing and drawing comics, making shoes and clothing, painting, printmaking, and becoming involved in the building of their contemporary farmhouse. The latter attracted architectural attention internationally and was featured in various magazines and a book. In addition, Miller designed and built furniture for clients, ventured into conceptualizing a retail store promoting good design in a small rural community, and taught a variety of children’s art classes. After ten years, the long winters eventually drove the Millers to Miami, where her artistic involvement continues.
Jeri Waxenberg Wolfson, involved in national philanthropic activities, serves as president of her own foundation as well as a trustee of several family foundations. Wolfson is currently on the national advisory board of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, having previously served as board chair. Wolfson is on the board of directors of the Audubon House and Gardens in Key West, Florida and is a member of the Collector’s Council of The Wolfsonian. She has also served as a member of The National Endowment for the Arts Museum Access/Heritage & Preservation Panel. There have been two exhibitions of her collection of modernist women artists that included two catalogs of original scholarship. She is a healing arts practitioner with a private practice and serves on the advisory board for Integrative and
Complementary Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Appointed as The Wolfsonian 2010 officers and serving a two-year appointment are:
Charles Cowles, vice chair, an art dealer and collector, and former proprietor of the Charles Cowles Gallery in New York, established in 1980. After studies at Stanford University, he served first as the associate publisher, and then publisher and president, of Artforum magazine from 1965-79, during which time he also was curator of modern art at Seattle Art Museum from 1975-79. A former trustee of the NY Studio School, Alliance for the Arts, NY, and Moving Theater, NY, he is now a trustee with Longhouse Reserve, East Hampton, NY, as well as an honorary trustee of Laumeier Park, St. Louis.
Michael N. Kreitzer, chair, an attorney with Bilzin, Sumberg, where he is co-chair of the Litigation Department and sits on the Executive Committee of the firm. He has practiced law since 1987 and been a Florida Bar board certified attorney in business litigation since 1997. His practice focuses on complex commercial disputes, lender liability and related financial institution litigation, construction litigation and shareholder and partnership disputes. Kreitzer also represents clients in eminent domain concerns, trusts and probate matters, intellectual property claims, professional malpractice and commercial landlord/tenant disputes; he has substantial experience in the laws and litigation related to construction projects, with extensive involvement in work-out and takeover strategies related to troubled development and construction projects. Kreitzer co-chairs the Federal Rules Revision sub-committee of the American Bar Association and sits on the board of WLRN, the NPR affiliate for South Florida.
Philip Scaturro, vice chair, retired in 2006 from Allen & Company Inc., a boutique investment banking firm based in New York City, where he served for many years as executive vice president and managing director. The firm is considered a leading expert in media, entertainment and telecommunications. Scaturro has been a trustee of the New School University since 1989, first serving as treasurer of the board, and then in a variety of roles including chair of the Mannes College of Music Board of Governors (a division of New School University), and chair of the board’s Audit Committee. He was chancellor of New School University from 1999 to June 2002, and then its chairman of the board until 2008. Scaturro continues to serve as vice-chair of the school’s board. A member of the board of Lincoln Center’s New York City Opera for 23 years, he acted as chair of the Finance Committee and treasurer until his resignation in 2006. Currently, Scaturro is a trustee of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, Massachusetts. He holds a juris doctorate and master’s degrees from Columbia University, and his bachelor’s degree from Williams College.
About The Wolfsonian–Florida International University
The Wolfsonian is a museum, library, and research center that uses objects to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design, to explore what it means to be modern, and to tell the story of social, historical, and technological changes that have transformed our world. The collections comprise approximately 120,000 objects from the period of 1885 to 1945—the height of the Industrial Revolution to the end of the Second World War—in a variety of media including furniture; industrial-design objects; works in glass, ceramics, and metal; rare books; periodicals; ephemera; works on paper; paintings; textiles; and medals.
The Wolfsonian is located at 1001 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, FL. Admission is $7 for adults; $5 for seniors, students, and children age 6 -12; and free for Wolfsonian members, State University System of Florida staff and students with ID, and children under six. The Wolfsonian, presently on a Summer Schedule through September 15, 2010, is open Thursday from noon-6pm; Friday from noon-9m; Saturday and Sunday from noon-6pm; and is closed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Contact us at 305.531.1001 or visit us online at www.wolfsonian.org for further information.