- OFFICERS
- BOARD
- ADVISORS
- CHAIR EMERITI
Barbara Weikel, chair– 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.
Joyce W Burd, vice 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. 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.
Jill Miranda Baker, secretary–Jill is currently a business development officer with the Keys Weekly Newspapers based in the Upper Keys. She previously served eight years as the inaugural executive director of Florida Keys History and Discovery Foundation, which operates the Keys History & Discovery Center in Islamorada. 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.
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 & Adolescent Center, Inc, for the past 4 years. In addition to supporting the Arts, his hobbies include coin collecting and travelling.
Bonnie Greenberg, past 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 on Conch Key and fulfills her own creativity through writing and personal photography.
Leslie Calero – Leslie C. Calero has been a Keys resident since 2013, involved in the community and always willing to help others. She possesses an extensive background in fine art history and art conservation, and is fluent in several languages. In 2014, she decided to apply her knowledge and passion in Fine Art and Cultural Heritage to appraising personal property. Leslie specializes in appraising and determining the market value of antiques, fine art, and historical memorabilia. Her hobbies are related to diplomacy, child advocacy, and Art Law. Currently, she is the founder and director of Department of Appraisals, LLC providing art collection management nationwide, and a passionate Child Advocate for the 16th Circuit Judicial System in Monroe County.
Juliet Gray – creative producer, performer, and writer, is the Chief Creative Officer of The Performing Arts Project, which she co-founded more than 10 years ago alongside Broadway, television, and film professionals in order to provide vibrant theatrical training to the next generation of performers. Juliet is also the Director of the Key West High School Drama Club at Williams Hall and co-founded the Key West Theater, where she served as Artistic Director from 2014-2018. She has guided numerous productions from the page to the stage including Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up by Oscar-nominee Lucy Alibar and Locura by Key West’s own Michael Marrero (which she helped stage most recently at Guild Hall in East Hampton), among many others. Juliet has also written more than 1,000 articles for various national publications and a travel book on the Florida Keys published by Rowman & Littlefield.
Beryn Harty – 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.
Mark Hedden – 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, on the website of WLRN, and other places. 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.
Charlotte Palmer– 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
Nancy Bunch, Ramrod Key; retired U.S. Naval Officer and Police Academy Director, arts supporter
Lucy Carleton, Key West; Social dance instructor, realtor
Claudia Moriarty, Key Largo; retired librarian, visual artist
Theresa Axford, Key West; Monroe County School District Superintendent, Past Chair of the Arts Council
Donna McLaughlin Arnold,Tavernier; commercial photographer
Susan Baan, Duck Key; retail Jeweler, part time painter, arts advocate
Larry Baeder, Key West; professional musician, past president of the Bahama Village Music Program
Janet Bengel, Key West; Fringe Theater of Key West Board President, arts patron
Paige Bethel, Key West; Realtor, Take Stock in Children mentor
Sally Binard, Key West; Visual artist
Lucy Carleton, Key West; social dance instructor, realtor, Sustainable Floridian graduate & Sustainability Advisory Board City of Key West
Sheila Cook, Marathon; artist and former owner/operator of The Art Studio in Marathon
Mary Jean Connors, Key West; painter; former board member/president/current Advisory Board member TSKW, immediate past board president of Key West Art Center, retired newspaper editor/executive.
Susann D’Antonio, Big Pine Key;, Artist, Owner of Framing in Paradise, and Independent Title Abstractor
Mary-Margaret Dale, Key Largo; Arts Administrator, Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, actor and singer
Richard Ericson, Key West; Professional theater director and producer with special expertise in Shakespeare and American musicals. Former producing artistic director, commercial theater and tour producer, and university-level teacher
Marianne Finizio, Layton; VP of Community Relations and Business Development for CHI of South Florida
Lori Gaukel, Marathon; Artist and co-owner of Shady Palm Art Gallery and Photography
Veronica Gutierrez,Tavernier; stained glass artist and art educator
Susan Jankowski, Islamorada; artist and educator
Kreg D. Kelley, Key West; mixed media abstract artist, fine art consultant
Stephen Kitsakos, Key West; opera librettist & theatre director, former Professor of Theatre Arts, former Board President TSKW
Kate Koler, Marathon; owner of Sweet Savannah’s, arts advocate
Jonelle Kop, Islamorada; realtor, Key Players Community Theater Board President, retired government auditor
M. Ann Lynch, Marathon; Artist, member of the Florida Watercolor Society, past Arts Council Board & Cultural Umbrella Committee Member
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
Lisa Mongelia, Islamorada; Executive Director, History of Diving Museum
Claudia Moriarty, Key Largo; librarian, visual artist
Seth Mularz, Key West; artist and independent graphic designer
Anne O'Shea Quattrini, Key West; Minerva Productions - Film and Theatrical Producer
Lucy Paige, Sugarloaf Key; visual artist-acrylic and mixed media
Valerie Perreault, Islamorada: Poet, artist and owner at Portside Studio & Gallery.
Mark Pierson, Key West; artist, producer, manager and arts advocate
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
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.
Alex Rickert, Marathon; Keys Weekly Marathon Editor, Marathon Community Theatre Board Member
Maggie Ruley, Key West; artist and art instructor, owner of Maggie Ruley ~ Island Inspirations
Allison Sayer, Marathon; Music Teacher at Switlik Elementary, Marathon Community Theatre Board Member, vocalist and pianist
Christine Scarsella, Key West; owner of Art@830 Gallery
Christopher Shultz, Key West; author, actor, director & D.J.
Diane Whitney Smith,Key Largo; Retired Art Teacher and practicing artist
Joyce Stahl, Key West; artistic director and producer – Nutcracker Key West
Sandy Sun, Key West; ceramic artist, registered nurse
Jessica Tipler, Cudjoe Key; classical ballet instructor
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
John Vlad, Islamorada; amateur photographer and realtor
GG Weisenfeld, Stock Island; research professor, grant writer, museum and early childhood educator
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.