- OFFICERS
- BOARD
- ADVISORS
- CHAIR EMERITI
Bonnie Greenberg, chair – is passionate about creativity and the positive impact the cultural arts have on the quality of life in our community. She has 30 years of grant writing and business management experience and holds a BFA in professional writing from Emerson College. She’s been involved locally with Marathon Community Theatre, Habitat for Humanity (Upper Keys), Leadership Monroe, REEF, and The Florida Keys History and Discovery Center. She lives in Key Largo and fulfills her own creativity through writing and personal photography.
Carl Hower, vice chair– is a painter, former gallery owner and retired Art Educator. Carl is a graduate of Montclair State College and taught Art for 33 years in the Newark, New Jersey public school system. He was a member of the executive board of the Art Educators of New Jersey (AENJ) for 10 years, where he also served as President. In 1998 and 2004, he received the New Jersey Governors Awards for Excellence in the Arts. In 1998, Carl was designated as the NJ Art Educator of the Year and in 2004, he was named a Distinguished Fellow. Carl is a full time Key West resident where he lives with his husband, John. Carl's small paintings can be seen at the Gallery on Greene in Key West.
Michael Marrero, secretary – is a Cuban American artist whose entire life has been dedicated to the creative. He was born and raised in Key West. To call this unique, odd and wonderful would be an understatement. It was a time of smugglers, crooked politicians, rooster fights, the Mariel boatlift, Navy brawls and Shrimp Boat Row throw-downs. Following a formal education in arts he established himself as a driven professional with a sharp eye for both the micro and the macro - the moving image and the still image. His assignments have taken him from tropical paradises to shantytowns in Central America. He has dealt with the volatile and the delicate always finding the compassion and humanity of his subjects. He is currently the
Executive Director at the Tropic Cinema.
Barbara Weikel, treasurer– received a BA in Mathematics from Winthrop College (now Winthrop University) in South Carolina. Having spent the majority of her career with Eastern Airlines, Barbara has also been a realtor, IT analyst, and office manager. She moved to Key West in 2007 and fell 'in love' with the arts community. Barbara is married to photographer/author, Ralph De Palma. She is co-publisher/co-editor of The Soul of Key West, Volume I & II.
Theresa Axford, past chair – is the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning for the Monroe County School District. Terri has also served the local school district as principal and assistant principal for nineteen years, with numerous years recognition as Principal of the Year, and a teacher for five years. She has been named a Distinguished Educator by University of Florida, and a Technology Leader by the Florida Council of Instructional Technology and has been an Adjunct Professor for Barry University, Nova Southeastern University and St. Leo College. Terri has also been a past president of the Zonta Club of Key West, and has served the Arts Council as a Board member and on the Executive Committee as Secretary. Terri and her husband Bob have lived in Key West since 1976. She has two grown children and one grandchild, Isabella (the apple of her eye).
M. Ann Lynch – is a year round resident living in Marathon since 1984. She received her BA in Art Education from the University of Cincinnati. Mrs. Lynch has served as a Board member for the Florida Keys Watercolor Society and the Marathon Community Theater. She also served a 3 year term on the Tourist Development Council’s Cultural Umbrella Committee. Most recently, she has been leading the Marathon Book Discussion Group. As an artist, she is a signature member of the Florida Watercolor Society, and an associate member of the AWS and NWS. Her art work has been shown in galleries in Ohio, Florida and in private collections across the country. Currently her work is exhibited at various Marathon business locations as well as the Key West Art Center. She has been listed in Who’s Who of American Women.
MaryCarlin Porter – has been a Key West resident since 2002. Her love of the arts, especially music, began in childhood, as her mother was a Concert Pianist. She has served as an Advocate and Patron of the Arts in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts and The Arena Stage. She is a certified Library of Congress Reader. She holds an AB in English Literature and a BS in Chemistry from Loyola University, and spent her career as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse. She enjoys traveling around the world with her husband, Bill. MaryCarlin is a Key West Ambassador, Keys Chorale member, and a former Executive Board Member of The Key West Botanical Garden Society.
Juliet Gray– In addition to co-founding The Performing Arts Project, Juliet also co-founded the Key West Theater and is currently a theatrical and film producer. Her recent producing highlights include: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, directed and choreographed by Broadway choreographer Andrew Palermo, the new plays Locura (staged most recently at Guild Hall in East Hampton), and Eclipse, as part of the first theatrical exchange between the U.S. and Cuba in more than 50 years; the world premiere of the original musical Oklahoma Smith and the Pantheon of Annihilation; the East Coast premiere of Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up by Oscar-nominee Lucy Alibar; the short film Frances Eaton: the Untold Story of a World Champion, which she also wrote, directed, and starred in, as well as numerous shows and fundraisers including the annual island-wide Tropic Cinema 72-Hour Film Challenge in Key West and Let Me Try That Again at 54 Below in NYC. In addition to her producing career, Juliet helped create the Drama Club at Key West High School, where she currently coaches the students. Juliet was also the Artistic Director of the Key West Theater from 2014-2018, has written more than 1,000 articles for AOL, Delta Sky, Glamour, and NBC, among others, and also written a travel book on the Florida Keys published by Globe Pequot Press in the fall of 2018.
Joanne Sloan – Joanne Sloan worked as a major gifts fund raiser for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Buffalo State College. After retiring, she took up painting and became involved in the Keys arts community first showing at the Bougainville Gallery in Marathon. Currently she is a juried member of Artists in Paradise, Big Pine Key and the Key West Art Center. She is the recipient of numerous awards and is a full time Keys resident.Board Alternate
Joyce Burd, Key West; retired arts administrator
Beryn Harty, Ramrod Key; photographer, mixed media artist, arts patron, naturalist & biologist, realtor
Maria Perez, Islamorada; administrative coordinator for Ocean Sotheby’s International Realty & Roberto Russell Galleries
Eric Anderson, Tavernier; Practice Manager, Florida Keys Pediatric & Adolescent Center, AIPP member, Habitat for Humanity Board member.
Jill Miranda Baker, Islamorada; Executive Director, Keys History & Discovery Center, retired hospital administrator
Janet Bengel, Key West; Fringe Theater of Key West Board President, arts patron
Sharon Braunberns, Key Largo; Treasurer of the Art Guild of the Purple Isles, artist and business owner
Nancy Bunch, Ramrod Key; retired U.S. Naval Officer and Police Academy Director, arts supporter
Leslie C. Calero,Marathon; Fine Art Appraiser and Art Conservator
Lucy Carleton, Key West; social dance instructor, realtor, Sustainable Floridian graduate & Sustainability Advisory Board City of Key West
Sheila Cook, Marathon; artist and owner/operator of The Art Studio in Marathon
Alyson Crean, Key West; spokeswoman for the City of Key West, journalist and community activist
Susann D’Antonio, Big Pine Key, Artist, Owner of Framing in Paradise, and Independent Title Abstractor
Kate Divoll, Key West; Program Director at Bahama Village Music Program and illustrator
Rita Felts, Marathon; business owner, seashell artist
Lori Gaukel, Marathon; Artist and co-owner of Shady Palm Art Gallery and Photography
Mark Hedden, Key West; Writer, Director, Bird Watcher and Executive Director of the Florida Keys Audubon Society.
Janice Kay Lee, Key Largo; retired realtor, past president of Art Guild of the Purple Isles, visual artist
Wendy Lefere, Key West; artist, art educator
Dr. Joanne Mahoney, Key Largo; physician, arts patron
Claudia Moriarty, Key Largo; librarian, visual artist
Michael Nusser, Little Torch Key; painter, sculptor, and musician, former Gallery Owner & Event Coordinator
Anne O'Shea Quattrini, Key West; Minerva Productions - Film and Theatrical Producer
Lucy Paige, Sugarloaf Key; visual artist-acrylic and mixed media
Charlotte Palmer, Big Pine Key; DAC II member, retired teacher, community activist, arts patron
Valerie Perreault, Islamorada: Poet, artist and owner at Portside Studio & Gallery.
Mark Pierson, Key West; artist, producer, manager and arts advocate
William Porter, Key West; career and business coach
Dr. Betty Powell-Klimock, Summerland Key; retired psychiatrist, portrait artist, member of Lower Keys Artists Network, arts advocate
Laura Richardson, Key West; owner of Salt Island Provisions, former Development Director of Key West Theater
Michele Rodriguez, Key West; Former classroom teacher, art lover and philanthropist, office manager for Ocean Sotheby’s International Realty and Board member, The Florida Keys Children’s Shelter.
Molly Ross, Key West: artist and community organizer
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 & D.J.
Joyce Stahl, Key West; artistic director and producer – Nutcracker Key West
Simone Stanton, portrait painter, sculptor, teacher, former president of Art Behind Bars
Emma J. Starr, Key West; visual artist, analog photographer, web designer.
Janis Jo Stevens, Key West; portrait painter, sculptor, teacher, former president of Art Behind Bars
Sandy Sun, Key West; ceramic artist, registered nurse
Dr. Lesley Thompson, Summerland Key; education administrator, board member of Florida Keys Health System and Monroe County Special Olympics
Jessica Tipler, Cudjoe Key; classical ballet instructor
Jane Tomlinson, Tavernier
Melissa Trader, Key West; owner of Stone Soup Gallery and Key West Art Guide
Jill Zima-Borski, Islamorada; journalist, author, speaker, actor, acrylics artist, Art Guild of Purple Isles member
Key West; FKCA founding member; former Mayor, Monroe County; retired (20 years) Monroe County school administrator
June Girard
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.