- 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 on Conch Key and fulfills her own creativity through writing and personal photography.
Carl Hower, vice chair– is a painter, former gallery owner and a retired Art educator. Carl is a graduate of Montclair State College and taught for 33 years in Essex County, New Jersey public school systems. He was a member of the executive board of the Art Educators of New Jersey (AENJ) for ten years, where he also served as President. In 1998 and 2004 he received a New Jersey Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 1998 Carl was designated as the New Jersey Art Educator of the Year by the National Art Education Association (NAEA). In 2004 he was named a Distinguished Fellow of the AENJ. Carl is a full time 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.
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 – Theresa Axford is Executive Director of Teaching and Learning for Monroe County School District. Terri served the school district as an award winning Principal and Teacher. During her three decade career, she has been named Distinguished Educator for Monroe County by the University of Florida and Technology Educator of the Year by FCTIL. She was an adjunct faculty member for Barry University, St. Leo’s and Nova working in their education and business management degree programs. Terri was a former president of the Zonta Club of Key West and served on the Advisory Board to MARC. She has served the Arts Council as a Board member and on the Executive Committee as Chair and Secretary. prior to becoming the Chairperson and participated as Secretary for the Executive Committee. Terri and her late husband Bob have lived in Key West since 1976. She has three grandchildren, Isabella, Gage and Layla, and they consume all her free moments.
Joyce W Burd – 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.
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.
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.
Maria Perez – Office Manager for Ocean Sotheby’s International Realty and the Roberto Russell Galleries. She has been a full-time resident of the Florida Keys for the past 31 years, and currently lives in Islamorada. In her free time, she enjoys serving her community, cooking, entertaining, and spending time with her friends and family.
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 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. Juliet helped create the Drama Club at Key West High School, was the Artistic Director of the Key West Theater from 2014-18, has written more than 1,000 articles for AOL, Delta Sky, Glamour, and NBC, and a travel book on the Florida Keys published by Globe Pequot Press.
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 Bougainvillea 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 Lower Keys resident.Board Alternate
Melissa Trader, Key West; Owner of Stone Soup Gallery and Frame Shop
Charlotte Palmer, Big Pine Key; retired teacher, stained glass artist
Claudia Moriarty, Key Largo; retired librarian, visual artist
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
Sally Binard, Key West; Visual artist
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
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.
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
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, Board President TSKW
Wendy Lefere, Key West; artist, art educator
Dr. Joanne Mahoney, Key Largo; physician, arts patron
Lisa Mongelia, Islamorada; Executive Director, History of Diving Museum
Claudia Moriarty, Key Largo; librarian, visual artist
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
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
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.