Trustees

Officers:

Carole Crosby, President – Sarasota, FL

Prior to her law career, Carole was the principal harpist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, she has always had a passion for the study of law, which she pursued while playing in the Orchestra. Upon graduating as valedictorian, Carole joined a major Detroit law firm. After a lifetime in the Detroit area, she and her husband Larry Wickless moved to Chicago in 2008 for his professional pursuits. There, she became actively involved in the Alliance Francaise de Chicago, serving on its Board of Directors and Executive Committee and as Co-Chair of its Cultural Committee, organizing the yearly French Decorative Arts Symposium. She is also a Life Antiquarian at the Art Institute of Chicago. Carole and Larry purchased a home in the Museum District of Sarasota, having spent part of the third grade here with her mother and twin sister. Her parents, aunt, and uncle later retired to Sarasota. Loving the life and culture here, Carole and her family decided to permanently relocate. In Sarasota, Carole currently serves as President of the Asolo Repertory Theatre, and has previously served as President of The Fine Arts Society of Sarasota and President of the Alliance Francaise de Sarasota. She is honored to be a member of the Hermitage Artist Retreat’s Board of Directors.
 

Stephanie Jones, Vice President – Venice, FL

Stephanie Jones is a native of Richmond, Virginia. Having worked in corporate recruiting for over twenty years, she is currently the Director of Experienced Talent Acquisition for Kroll, a global professional services firm that specializes in helping organizations anticipate and exceed the complex demands surrounding risk, governance, operations, and growth. Stephanie has been in the Southwest Florida region for three years, living with her husband Gene in Venice, who serves as President and CEO of the YMCA of Southwest Florida. They have two adult children who live in Virginia. An amateur flutist and lover of the arts, Jones is excited to work with the Hermitage on their mission of inspiring and fostering the most influential and culturally consequential art and artists of our time.

Steven Adler, Treasurer – Fort Myers, FL

Steven P. Adler is the president and owner of Murex Properties, LLC. Murex currently operates 18 lifestyle communities in four states. The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co and The Carlyle Group are two of Murex’s primary clients working together to acquire new assets around the country. Prior to his current position at Murex Properties, Steven held the position of senior vice-president with Sun Communities (12/02–3/04) and oversaw the development, marketing, and management of most of the developing properties in the Sun portfolio. Prior to accepting the position at Sun, Steven served as president and CEO of Forest Communities (6/99–12/02), a wholly owned subsidiary of Champion Enterprises. Forest was the development arm of Champion whose mission was to acquire, entitle, build, market, and manage new land/lease communities, subdivisions, and other housing opportunities. From 1986–1999, Steven was the director of operations and, eventually, president of Uniprop, a private owner and operator of over 15,000 home-sites in 12 states. As COO of Uniprop, he received the first “Community Operator of the Year” award from MHI. Currently serving on MHI’s National Communities Council, Steven has also played an active lobbying role in Florida and has served on the Michigan Manufactured Housing Commission, and several other industry committees. He is the recipient of the MHI Chairman’s Award, the FMHA Williams Olsen Award and has been nominated for induction into the Manufactured Housing Hall of Fame. Steven holds an M.S. in resource management and an M.A. in sociology. He is a licensed Florida real estate broker.

Sondra Biller, Secretary – Sarasota, FL / Chicago, IL

Sondra Biller’s career began as a registered nurse in Austin, Texas. She earned her nurse clinician certificate at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas. She holds a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in public administration (with a public health focus) from U.T. She also has a certificate from the School of Business’ Management Institute at the University of North Carolina. After graduation, Biller worked at the University of North Carolina Medical Center in Chapel Hill. There, she held positions as nurse educator clinician and nurse manager for a new acute rehabilitation unit. Upon moving to Chicago, she had positions in health care marketing for assisted living facilities and for a sub-acute rehabilitation facility. Her volunteer service in Chicago has included serving as a tour guide at the Chicago History Museum and as a disaster responder for the American Red Cross. Sondra and her husband Gerald moved to Sarasota in 2012, often spending their summers in Chicago. In addition to their commitment to the Hermitage and its mission, Biller has been a volunteer at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and the Ringling Museum, as well as a member of the Ambassador Circle for Embracing our Differences. She recently served as Co-Chair of the 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner.

Trustees:

Ellen Berman – Sarasota, FL / Washington, D.C.

Ellen Berman’s 40-year career has spanned the intersection of science, technology, and the arts. Ms. Berman served as president of the Consumer Energy Council of America, the nation’s premier public interest energy policy organization, from its founding in 1973 until her retirement and the organization’s closing in 2006. She has been actively involved in important arts organizations for several decades. Ms. Berman has produced plays on and off Broadway. She is a trustee of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, a director of the Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative, and a member of the Cosmos Club of Washington, DC, having served on the board of directors, the admissions committee, the reciprocity committee, and the house committee. She is an active member of the Council for Arts at MIT, an organization which supports non-curricular projects in the arts at MIT and is designed to heighten awareness of the arts among scientists and engineers.

Christine M. Boone – Manasota Key, FL

Christine Boone is delighted to be joining the Hermitage Board of Trustees, following a long affiliation with the organization. She has lived on Manasota Key for more than 20 years and has spent her time on the Key building, remodeling, and gardening — one of her greatest passions, as she enjoys learning about native Florida agriculture. Following college, Chris traveled to Madrid, Spain, where she met her husband, and they married in 1970. There, she spent most of her afternoons teaching English to Spanish children all while raising her son and daughter. Chris and her husband subsequently moved to Delevan, Wisconsin where they celebrated the birth of their second daughter. Christine has made a living by following another one of her passions: interior design. Following the passing of her husband in 2005, Chris now spends her summers with her children and grandchildren in Northern Michigan, where she has a house on Crystal Lake near Frankfort. She enjoys bridge, tennis, golf, and travel. Chris is deeply committed to supporting the Hermitage artists and their causes. She is honored to be serving on the Board and working with the other trustees to further the mission of the Hermitage.
 
Terry Brackett – Sarasota, FL / Washington, D.C.
 

Ms. Brackett is a retired attorney, having worked in the D.C. area both in government and private practice for 35 years. During that time, she served on the Coalition to End Gun Violence and volunteered for a number of women’s organizations. She has served or is currently serving on the following boards: Asolo Repertory Theatre, WUSF, Library Foundation of Sarasota County, Protect Our Defenders (Advisory Board), Sarasota Canine Search and Rescue, UN Women – USA, and Through Women’s Eyes International Film Festival (Advisory Board). Her interests include women’s and LGBTQ issues, theater, and art. Her fun time is spent playing tennis, riding horses, and attending theater and concerts. She has been an engaged supporter of the Hermitage, regularly attending programs and sponsoring both artist residencies and events. Ms. Brackett is a resident of Sarasota, Florida, but also spends part of her time in the D.C. area, as well as traveling both in the United States and abroad.

Maryann Casey – Manasota Key, FL
 
Maryann Casey is originally from Philadelphia and one of seven children. As a flight attendant with Delta Airlines, Maryann was based in New York and Miami and ultimately decided to make South Florida her home in 1975. For the last twenty years, she has been an active real estate broker with Michael Saunders & Company. Manasota Key has been her home for over two decades, and having the Hermitage as the heart of the island allows her the opportunity to be of service to a wonderful organization that gives back to the community in so many ways.
 

Robyn Citrin – Osprey, FL

Robyn Citrin has lived in the Sarasota area for the past 12 years. She was elected to the Hermitage board in 2018 and served as its secretary from January of 2020 through June of 2021; she is also a graduate of the Gulf Coast Board Institute. Citrin is a former nurse practitioner, who began her career as a psychiatric nurse in New York City, and subsequently worked in obstetrics and gynecology in Denver. She has a master’s degree in nursing leadership. Citron’s volunteer work in Colorado included the Children’s Diabetes Foundation and the Junior Symphony Guild. Since moving to Osprey in 2019, Citrin has volunteered with the Literacy Council of Sarasota, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Oaks Women’s Club (OWC), for which she has been a past board president. She has also been a champion of the OWC’s scholarship program. Citrin and her husband are collectors of Japanese woodblock prints and have been involved with the Ringling Museum of Art’s Asian art collection.

Marletta Darnall – Manasota Key, FL / Chicago, IL 

After a brief career as a junior high school teacher, Marletta Farrier Darnall became a full-time homemaker and mother. She took community leadership roles in Infant Welfare, community service, and parents’ associations; founded an anti-drug and anti-alcohol support network; and served twelve years as a docent for the Chicago Architectural Foundation. During her Chicago suburb years, Marletta served as president, vice-president, and gala chair for multiple high-profile institutions. She is a member of the Guild of Chicago Historical Society, governing member of Brookfield Zoo and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Sustaining Fellow of the Art Institute of Chicago. Marletta has been a trustee of Children’s Home and Aid of Illinois since 1987, and in 2007 was the recipient of its Woman’s Board’s highest honor, the Pauline Palmer Award. In 2010, the Schaumberg Child and Family Center was named for her.
 
Leslie Edwards – Englewood, FL
 
Edwards was born and raised in Englewood and worked as a dental hygienist for 25 years. She became a realtor in 2004 and, in 2009, a broker with Key Realty, Inc. She is currently President of Key Realty, Inc., which was founded by her grandfather in 1952. Edwards serves on the board of Kids Needs of Greater Englewood and is an honorary board member of the Suncoast Humane Society, where she has been a key player in implementing a $10 million capital campaign.
 

Tim Flood – Manasota Key, FL

Tim Flood, a retired doctor, is a longtime resident of Manasota Key. He and his wife Suzette were back and forth between Florida and the Chicago area for many years, until they recently relocated full-time to Florida. Tim and Suzette have been longtime friends and supporters of the Hermitage, and they served as Co-Chairs for the 2023 Artful Lobster. In recent seasons, Tim has taken the artists out a few times each year on his boat for a tour of Lemon Bay and the surrounding area. Tim was a vitreoretinal disease specialist in Chicago, IL. He graduated from University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine in 1976 and completed a residency at University of California, Irvine School Of Medicine. A native of San Jose, Calif., Tim graduated from University of California (Berkeley) with a degree in psychology and then went on to study biomedical sciences at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, N.H. He then earned his medical degree from the UCLA School of Medicine. After completing an internship and ophthalmology residency at the University of California (Irvine), Tim completed a retina fellowship at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary. He was a diplomat of the American Board of Ophthalmology and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Tina Shao Napoli – Sarasota, FL
 
Tina Shao Napoli came to the United States in 1993 from her home country of PR China, where she studied Journalism and the Performing Arts at Nanjing Political College. She served as a professional singer and broadcaster for Chinese People’s Liberation Army for eight years. After coming to America, she performed at many notable establishments such as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City. She also performed concerts for Chinese Communities in NYC, cultural exchange events, and charitable events. Expanding upon her cultural diversity, Tina lent her vocal talents to New York City landmarks, including voice-overs for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the United Nations. Tina and her family moved to Sarasota in 2015, and she quickly became involved in local organizations and cultural exchange events with Chinese artists. Through her travels and introductions, Tina has made connections with many famous artists throughout China. After joining the board of directors at the Ringling Museum of Art, Tina has focused her attention on producing numerous concerts and events at the Ringling Museum. Tina’s passion is bringing more Chinese artists to the Sarasota community, and she is delighted to join the Hermitage Board of Trustees.
 

Peter Offringa – Sarasota, FL

Peter Offringa was born in West Point, New York. A graduate of Princeton University, he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science; he also played rugby at Princeton and participated in ROTC. After college, Peter spent four years in the Army himself as a communications officer, stationed in Georgia, South Korea, and Colorado. During his last post at Fort Carson, he managed the army base’s wide area network, providing early exposure to the burgeoning internet. In 1995, Offringa left the Army and moved to Dallas, Texas. There, he started a web development consultancy and began building consumer internet websites as a software engineer. His firm’s largest client was a rapidly growing AdTech company, which then hired Peter to lead development and moved him to San Francisco, where he spent the next eighteen years. He held various executive positions, leading software development at some of the world’s largest consumer internet brands, including roles as VP of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer within Comcast’s Spotlight Division, CBS Interactive, CNET Networks, and Catalina Marketing. His last job in San Francisco was as SVP of Engineering at Zoosk, which was a global online dating service with 30M members across 60 countries. In 2015, Offringa and his wife moved to Sarasota, Florida. He spent several years as the CTO of Boatsetter, the leading peer-to-peer boat rental platform. Peter has since transitioned his technology experience into conducting deep equity analysis within the software infrastructure industry. He founded the equity research service Software Stack Investing, where he publishes analyses and consults with leading hedge funds; through this, he is a guest lecturer for the London Business School’s Masters in Finance program. Peter is also an active venture capital investor and supporter of the local start-up community. He is on the investment committee for venture capital firm Nassau Street Ventures,  the board of Bridge Angel Investors, and the advisory board of the 26 West Entrepreneurship Center at State College of Florida and the Sarasota County EDC Technology and Entrepreneurship Working Group. He is the current President of the Princeton Club of Sarasota, past President of the Ivy League Club, and Chair of the Ivy League Professionals networking group.

Liz Richardson – Manasota Key, FL / Boston, MA

Liz Richardson is a passionate advocate for the arts, education, and conservation. She began her career in the healthcare industry as a clinical speech pathologist, treating neurologic patients. Richardson subsequently moved into management as a quality management and program evaluation director, and she completed her professional healthcare career by building a healthcare quality management consulting practice. In the non-profit world, Richardson has been a vigorous public education advocate in support of Newton’s public schools. She served as PTO president at elementary and high school levels and helped organize campaigns to support enhanced education funding. She subsequently joined the board of the Newton Schools Foundation, serving as its president for multiple years, raising private funds in support of curriculum innovation related to STEAM and equity for 12,000 Newton students. Richardson has also served as a volunteer and board member for “Understanding Our Differences,” an award-winning national disability awareness and acceptance program. Following the graduation of her three boys, she shifted the focus of her non-profit work to the environment. Along with other Boston area women, she began the non-profit “Women Working for Oceans,” increasing awareness of and participation in ocean conservation. She has also been politically active for many years as a board member of Boston’s “Invest to Elect,” a non-profit dedicated to electing women to positions of federal leadership. Now spending half of their year in Florida as residents of Manasota Key, Liz and her husband Duncan are proud supporters of the Hermitage Artists Retreat and its inspiring mission.

Ellen Sandor – Sarasota, FL / Chicago, IL

Ellen Sandor is a new media artist and Founding Director of (art)n, with works in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution, Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, International Center of Photography, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and Victoria & Albert Museum. As a recent Visiting Scholar of Culture and Society, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, she co-edited and contributed to New Media Futures: The Rise of Women in the Digital Arts. In 2014, she received an honorary doctorate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and she was the 2016 Artist in Residence at Fermilab. In 2017, she was honored by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists for her longstanding commitment to integrating art and science. Sandor is additionally a Life Trustee Emeritus, The Art Institute of Chicago. She is Secretary of the Board of Eyebeam and is a board member of the American Friends Musée d’Orsay et de L’Orangerie, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and Asolo Repertory Theatre. In 2012, she received the Thomas R. Leavens Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts through Lawyers for the Creative Arts. In 2013, she received the Gene Siskel Film Center Outstanding Leadership Award as longtime Chair of the Center. She is also co-founder of the Richard and Ellen Sandor Family Collection.

Edward M. Swan, Jr. – Sarasota, FL / Martha’s Vineyard, MA

Edward M. Swan, Jr. lives in Sarasota and spends part of the year on Martha’s Vineyard. Swan has more than 35 years of experience in institutional investment management with many of the nation’s largest pension funds among his clients. He has served on corporate and not-for-profit boards, including Tufts and Dillard universities, and The Ringling. He has previously been involved with the Hermitage as an active member of both the outreach and education committee and the marketing committee. Swan has a longstanding interest in the arts and community service and has volunteered at several Sarasota schools, developing programs designed to help lower-income students understand what they need to do to be successful in high school and beyond. Swan received a BA from Tufts University and an MBA from the Wharton School. He also attended the director development program at the Kellogg School (Northwestern University) and was a captain in the US Air Force.
 
Mary Lou Winnick – Sarasota, FL / New Haven, CT
 
Mary Lou Winnick is a native of New England. She graduated from Wellesley College and received an MA in Education from Harvard. Mary Lou taught high school until her three children were born with husband Ed. Eight grandchildren are her lucky result. Wellesley’s college motto is “non ministrari sed ministrarum,” loosely spelled and translated: “Do not expect to be taken care of but give to others.” Mary Lou has followed this path in her career and volunteerism, serving as an officer on many boards and commissions during the New Haven years, including her twenty-year service on the Board of Selectman of Woodbridge, CT; her presidency, first woman, of both the New Haven Jewish Federation and the State Federation; and her time as a trustee of Yale New Haven Hospital. In Sarasota, Mary Lou has served on the boards of the Asolo and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. At Asolo Rep, she has served as co-chair of the Endowment Campaign, President of the Board, and now a trustee of the endowment. During that period, she also served as President of the Harvard Club of Sarasota.
 
Doug Wright – New York, NY
 

Doug Wright is a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright. He is a proud Hermitage alumnus and also served as a juror for the inaugural Hermitage Major Theater Award in 2021. He has remained an engaged and active member of the Hermitage alumni community. Doug Wright’s play Quills premiered at Washington, D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in 1995 and subsequently had its debut Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop. Quills garnered the 1995 Kesselring Prize for Best New American Play from the National Arts Club and, for Wright, a 1996 Village Voice Obie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting. In 2000, Wright wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of Quills, which starred Geoffrey Rush. Wright’s play I Am My Own Wife was produced Off-Broadway by Playwrights Horizons in 2003. It transferred to Broadway where it won the Tony Award for Best Play, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The subject of this one-person play, which starred Jefferson Mays, is the German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. In 2006, Wright wrote the book for the stage adaptation of Grey Gardens. The musical is based on the Maysles brothers’ 1975 film documentary of the same title about Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale (“Big Edie”) and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale (“Little Edie”), Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ aunt and cousin. He has adapted the Disney film The Little Mermaid as a Broadway musical, which opened in 2007. In 2009, he was commissioned by the La Jolla Playhouse to adapt and direct Creditors by August Strindberg. In another La Jolla commission, he wrote the book for the musical Hands on a Hardbody, with the score by Amanda Green and Trey Anastasio. The musical had a run on Broadway in 2013 after premiering at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2012. He has also written the book for the musical War Paint, with a score by Scott Frankel and Michael Korie, and starring Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole. His play Good Night, Oscar – developed in part at the Hermitage – premiered at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre before transferring to Broadway in 2023, earning a Tony Award for Sean Hayes. For television, Wright worked on four pilots for producer Norman Lear and teleplays for Hallmark Entertainment and HBO. In film, Wright’s credits include screenplays for Fine Line Features, Fox Searchlight, and DreamWorks SKG. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, where he served as President for many years. He also serves on the boards of New York Theatre Workshop and Yaddo. He is a recipient of the William L. Bradley Fellowship at Yale University, the Charles MacArthur Fellowship at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, an HBO Fellowship in playwriting, and the Alfred Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University. In 2010, he was named a United States Artists Fellow. Mr. Wright lives in New York City with his partner, songwriter David Clement.

Ex-Officio:

Andy Sandberg (Artistic Director and CEO)
Click here for bio.

 

Emeritus Trustees:

Larry Bold – Manasota Key, FL

Larry Bold attended the University of Michigan, where he received a B.B.A. in 1961 and an M.B.A. in 1962, graduating second in his class from the law school at the University of Missouri in Kansas City in 1965. Upon receiving his CPA certificate upon graduation, Larry worked for several accounting firms. He was the sixth attorney with a law firm that eventually became Morris, Larson, King, Stamper, and Bold. When he retired from the firm in 1986, it had approximately 45 lawyers. In 1990, Larry co-founded Utility Resources Corporation, a consulting company that helped large manufacturers all over the United States reduce their cost of electricity and natural gas. This business was sold in 2008. In 2001, Larry and his wife Carol White Bold completed building their home on Manasota Key, where the Bolds have been active members of the Hermitage community. Larry was an avid motorcyclist, riding over 15,000 miles a year, and a dedicated supporter of the Hermitage, where he served terms as both President and Treasurer of the Board of Trustees.

Tom Dignam – Englewood, FL

Tom Dignam is known widely in Englewood, Florida as the longtime owner and president of Key Agency, a four-generation-owned insurance agency founded in 1952 by his father George Dignam. Tom joined the company in 1962, when they built their first office on Manasota Key’s Beach Road. After ten years, Key Agency needed a larger location and built their current Corporate Headquarters on McCall Road in Englewood. Key Agency is known regionally for being very community-minded, supporting education, the arts, youth and adult sports, environmental causes, and more. Each year, Key Agency and the Dignam family contribute generously to various nonprofit organizations, as well as giving thousands in educational scholarships to those who wish to further their education. Mr. Dignam was one of the Hermitage’s earliest champions, perhaps best known for both his financial (and physical) support in restoring the beachfront studios now known as the Tom Dignam Beach Cottage. The Annette Dignam State College of Florida Residency in Literature at the Hermitage was named in honor of Tom’s late wife; their son David and daughter Leslie have both held active leadership roles with the Hermitage.

David Green – Manasota Key, FL / Bigfork, MT

David Green has a 45-year career of marketing and branding leadership with emphasis on strategic planning, passionate execution, motivating consumer communication and team building based on quality relationships and mentoring. As a marketing and branding consultant, he has worked with corporations including Boston Market, Redbox Video, Snap-On Tools, and Chipotle Mexican Grill. For 30 years he worked for the McDonald’s Corporation, directing and supervising marketing and advertising, climbing to the position of senior global marketing officer. At McDonald’s he brought the Ronald McDonald House concept from a local market activity to an international charity, introduced the “Happy Meal” on both a national and international level and developed long-term partnerships with the Olympics and World Cup Soccer. From 2007 to 2013, he served on the board of Tuesday Morning Inc. He currently serves on the board of the Sarasota Orchestra and is the Vice-Chair of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and attended the Boston University Graduate School of Public Communications. David and his wife Linda live on Manasota Key and in Bigfork, Montana.

Andy Maass – Longboat Key, FL

Andrew “Andy” Maass led an expansive career as an art museum director for thirty years, including eleven years at the Tampa Museum of Art, five years at the Mississippi Museum of Art (Jackson, MS), as well as the Tucson Museum of Art and Fresno Arts Center. He retired in 2001 from full-time directing to consulting as an interim Museum Director (including the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale and the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg). He has held leadership and board roles with a number of human rights organizations, including the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Florida Humanities Council. Andy joined the Hermitage Board of Trustees in 2006 and served as longtime Governance Chair. Andy and his wife Ruth have lived full-time in Longboat Key since 2001. The couple met as freshmen at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and have two children and four grandchildren.

Nelda Thompson – Manasota Key, FL
 
Nelda Thompson is a native Floridian who made Englewood her home in 1969. In 1978, she and her husband moved the family to Manasota Key, and she has called the island home ever since. Nelda Thompson and Associates, LLC, was formed in 1990 with a focus on selling Manasota Key property. Over the years, Nelda has established a reputation as the most knowledgeable and trusted agent in the area. She is referred to by many as the “Queen of Manasota Key.” In 2019, Nelda semi-retired from real estate. Some of her volunteer work includes: President of the ElsieQuirk Library, Chair of the Women’s Board of Venice Hospital Foundation, Chair of the Venice Hospital Foundation, and serving on the boards of the Venice Hospital, the State College Of Florida Foundation, and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. She was a member of the original committee selected to form the Hermitage and presently serves on the Hermitage Board of Trustees.

Honorary Trustees:

Charlie Huisking – Sarasota, FL

Charlie Huisking is a Sarasota native who has been involved with the local cultural community for decades. After returning to Sarasota upon graduation from the University of Notre Dame, Huisking served as arts writer and columnist for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune for 33 years. He chronicled the growth of Sarasota’s arts institutions and interviewed visiting artists ranging from Helen Hayes and Gregory Peck to Audrey Hepburn and Luciano Pavarotti. Since his retirement, Huisking has been a proud supporter of a wide range of arts and social service organizations, including the Hermitage Artist Retreat, and has served on the boards of the Asolo Rep, Key Chorale, the Library Foundation for Sarasota County, and the Barancik Foundation.

Flora Major – New York, NY / Sarasota, FL

Flora Major moved to Sarasota in 2005 and immediately became involved in the region’s arts and culture scene. Originally from Hungary, Flora was a successful entrepreneur in the telecommunications business in New York and the textile industry in North Carolina. She has served on several nonprofit boards through the years, including the Duke University Eye Center, the Duke University Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Advisory Board of Lenox Hill Hospital, Sarasota Orchestra, Asolo Repertory Theatre, and the Raoul Wallenberg Committee of the United States. Major has been a longtime supporter of the Hermitage, and she was proud to significantly increase her engagement and support upon the arrival of Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg. In 2021, she worked with Sandberg to establish and launch the prestigious Hermitage Major Theater Award (HMTA). Now celebrating its fourth year, the HMTA is one of the largest unrestricted non-profit arts commissions in the United States, annually awarding a $35,000 cash prize to create an original work of theater, an extended Hermitage residency, and a workshop in a notable arts capital. Flora has chaired multiple galas and events for the Hermitage, and she is proud to now be an inaugural Honorary Trustee. She is also currently on the board of the Council for the Arts at MIT, Ringling College of Art and Design, and Sarasota Art Museum (founding member). She launched the DIAL (Diversity in Art Leadership) program in Sarasota in collaboration with Americans for the Arts and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. She is an avid art collector and supporter of the arts, especially the theater; she has produced and supported several plays in New York and London. With her husband Steven Deak, she currently lives between Florida and New York.