Directors
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Elaine Gerdine – President
Elaine Gerdine is a writer of marketing communications for a top technology company. For more than a decade she has planned and implemented marketing and other communications campaigns, written extensively on a variety of business and technology topics, and managed content for a web site that markets the company's services to the Federal government.
A classically-trained pianist, Ms. Gerdine has penned several librettos, including those for a set of short operas based on folk tales, which have received numerous productions. "Chicken Little," first in the set, was commissioned by Texas Opera Theater (the touring unit of Houston Grand Opera), which toured it extensively. The second, "The Ugly Duckling," premiered in New York City as part of Golden Fleece Ltd's Square One series. For many years, she taught piano and worked as a performing musician – vocal accompanist, church organist and rock-and-roll pianist.
Ms. Gerdine's involvement in the arts also includes several years as a consultant for the New York State Council on the Arts and the Brooklyn Arts Council, where she participated in the evaluation of grant applicants. Her articles on the arts and artists have appeared in New York and Texas publications, including Houston Business Journal, for which she wrote a column on classical music events. Ms. Gerdine holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Texas A & I at Corpus Christi and did graduate work at the University of Houston.
Ms. Gerdine has been involved in workplace giving for many years. In addition to being a founder of the Arts Federations, she serves on the board of Partners for a Better World, a federation that provides access to various state and municipal campaigns.
Judi Holley
Judi Holley is president of Village by Village, a CFC federation for U.S. organizations providing humanitarian, educational, economic, and other forms of support in developing nations in Latin America and elsewhere. For several years in the 1990s and early 2000s, she was a board member and the president of Do Unto Others (DUO) – another federation representing international emergency relief, development and humanitarian charities.
A retired federal employee, Ms. Holley has been involved in the Combined Federal Campaign for nearly 30 years. In addition to her extensive work with CFC federations, she has been a CFC donor and a local CFC volunteer. During her tenure as DUO's president, she participated in the National CFC Committee as the designated representative of her federation
Ms. Holley is a long-time participant in nonprofit organizations in her home state of Washington. These activities include: The Governor's Advisory Council for Vocational Rehabilitation, the Criminal Justice Training Commission, South Puget Sound Cultural Diversity Coalition, several local charities focusing on immigrant education, employment and housing, and the Pierce County Sheriffs Advisory Board. She is currently leading a Pierce County pilot program for community involvement originally sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Edward Nilsson
Edward Nilsson is a founder and principal of Nilsson + Siden Associates, Inc., an architecture and planning firm experienced in educational, institutional, commercial and residential projects. Arts-related clients include the Jones Gallery of Glass & Ceramics, Tufts University, Massachusetts Bay College, and Salem State College, including their recent Glassworks Studio at the SSC Enterprise Center. Nilsson co-authored Rivervision 2020: A Charles River Basin Master Plan, prepared under the auspices of the Boston Visions Program. Rivervision 2020 was recognized with an Urban Design Citation by the regional component of the American Institute of Architects.
Prior to founding his own firm in 1981, Mr. Nilsson served as Project Architect for Constitution Quarters (Building 42) at Boston’s Charlestown Navy Yard, a rehabilitation of the historic former machine shop/forge complex into housing. His article, “Rehabbing Historic Structures with Energy Conservation: Constitution Quarters, Charlestown Navy Yard,” was documented in the American Institute of Architects Conference Proceedings “Building Redesign and Energy Challenges,” Boston, 1984. While at The Architects Collaborative from 1971 to 1977, he was Project Architect for several urban mixed-use projects totaling over $50M. During this time he also lectured in history and theory at the Boston Architectural Center.
Among community activities, Mr. Nilsson is a founding member of CEANS, the Creative Economy Association of the North Shore. He also served as Planning Board chairman, Marblehead, MA, where he directed the update of the town's Master Plan and Site Plan Review Guidelines. From 1996 to 2000 he served as Warden at St. Michael's Episcopal Church, Marblehead. He is currently a trustee of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge MA and serves on the Board of Directors of Historic Salem, Inc.
Mr. Nilsson received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from The Cooper Union, a Master of Architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and a Master of Business Administration from the Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College.
Michael Wartofsky
Michael Wartofsky is an emerging leader in fostering new works for the musical stage. In 1997 he joined the faculty of Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he introduced musical theater writing to the curriculum. The same year, with a vision of turning Boston into a spawning ground for new works, he founded the New Opera and Music Theater Initiative. NOMTI's workshops support composers, lyricists and bookwriters in the creation of new works and provide a community in which new approaches can be explored and new collaborations born.
Mr. Wartofsky graduated Harvard College magna cum laude in 1991. He went on to obtain advanced degrees at New England Conservatory and New York University. Mr. Wartofsky has received grants, awards and commissions from sources including the Massachusetts Cultural Council, The ASCAP Foundation, and Seattle Artists' Trust.
A composer, lyricist and performer in his own right, Mr. Wartofsky has written extensively for the musical stage. His works have been produced in New York City and at regional theaters around the U.S. He is director and pianist for the Berklee Klezmer and Yiddish Music Ensemble.
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