October 14-16, 2007
Statler Hotel at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
About the Conference
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Hosted
by
Grantmakers Forum of New York
Western New York Grantmakers
Association
Grantmakers
Alliance of Northeastern New York
- Conference site: Statler Hotel at Cornell University
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Primary Contact:
Grantmakers
Forum of New York
919 Winton Road South
Rochester, NY 14618-1633
Conference
Committee:
Glenda Cadwallader, Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation
Leslie Cheu, Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation
Lisa
Dahl, Grantmakers Forum of New York
Mary Eberl, Western New York Grantmakers Associaiton
George Ferrari, Community Foundation of Tompkins County
Joanne Florino, Triad Foundation
Cathie Gura, The Children's Guild
Penny Munschauer, The Children's Guild
Nancie Williams, Grantmakers Alliance of Northeastern New York
Phil Buchanan
Executive Director
The Center for Effective Philanthropy
Cambridge,
MA
Phil Buchanan, Executive Director, the first CEP staff member hired in August 2001, has built a research team, secured funding, developed a research agenda, managed the development and introduction of new performance assessment tools, and authored or co-authored CEP's major research reports. Phil speaks regularly on issues of foundation effectiveness, foundation-grantee relations, foundation governance, and assessment of foundation performance at national and regional gatherings of foundation and nonprofit executives and trustees.
He has experience in strategy consulting as a Principal at The Parthenon Group, where he worked with senior executives at a variety of companies to define strategies and assess performance. He also has significant nonprofit management experience at Wesleyan University, where he served as Special Assistant to the President, and Mount Holyoke College, where he was Assistant to the President and Secretary of the College. His writings on education, foundation, and management issues have appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Foundation News and Commentary, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, among other publications. He serves on Independent Sector's Building Value Together Committee, the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector's 990-PF Reform Advisory Committee, and as President of the Board of Directors of the Children's Center of Lexington. He holds an MBA from Harvard University and received his undergraduate degree in Government from Wesleyan University.
Arthur C. Brooks
Professor of Public Administration
Director, Nonprofit Studies Program
The Maxwell School at Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
Arthur Brooks is Professor of Public Administration and Director of the Nonprofit Studies Program at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He is also a consultant to the Rand Corporation, and a Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He holds a PhD and MPhil in policy analysis, and an MA and BA in economics.
Over the past eight years, Mr. Brooks has published approximately 100 articles and books on the connections between culture, politics, and economic life in America. He speaks frequently in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and is a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal's editorial page. His latest book is entitled Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism (Basic Books). He is currently working on a new textbook on social entrepreneurship (Prentice-Hall), as well as a book about the politics of happiness (Basic Books).
In addition to public policy and economics, Mr. Brooks has formally studied music, mathematics, and languages. Preceding his work in academia, he spent 12 years as a professional French hornist, holding positions with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles. He is a native of Seattle, Washington, and currently lives in Syracuse, New York, with his wife Ester and their three children.
Beth Bruner
Chair
Grantmakers for Effective Organizations
Washington, DC
Beth Bruner is currently chair of Grantmakers For Effective Organizations/GEO, a national membership organization which researches and promotes practices that lead to grantee effectiveness. She is Director of Effectiveness Initiatives at the Bruner Family Foundation where she has been active for the past two decades. Bruner was the founding lead funder and chair of the Rochester Effectiveness Partnership/REP, a 7-year highly collaborative project working with 2 professional evaluation trainers and more than 30 non-profit service providers and 10 funder partners to build capacity to understand, do and use program evaluation in Rochester, NY. Currently, Bruner Foundation is exploring the relationships between increased evaluation capacity, use of evaluative thinking and overall organizational effectiveness. Both it's monograph documenting this work and the monthly “Evaluative Thoughts” are available at the foundation's website.
A retired elementary teacher with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vassar College, she has chaired many community organizations including Jewish Family Service, Grantmakers Forum, the Advertising Council of Rochester and the Jewish Community Federation.
Susan Christopherson
J. Thomas Clark Professor
Department of City and Regional Planning
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Professor Susan Christopherson has taught at Cornell University for eighteen years. She is an economic geographer (Ph.D., U.C. Berkeley) whose research and teaching focus on:1) economic development;2) urban labor markets and 3) location patterns in service industries, particularly the media industries. Her research includes both international and US policy-oriented projects.
Her recent work in economic development has concentrated on strategies for revitalizing the economy of upstate New York. In the past three years she has completed studies on
1) advanced manufacturing in New York's Southern Tier;
2) the photonics industry in Rochester;
3) the role of universities and colleges in revitalizing the upstate New York economy; and
4) production trends affecting media industries in New York City.
Her new book, Re-making Regional Economies: Labor, Power and Firm Strategies in the Knowledge Economy (Routledge, 2007) focuses on barriers to regional economic development in the U.S. economy. She has written numerous articles for academic journals and the popular press and has appeared on national television and radio.
In 2006, she was named J. Thomas Clark Professor of Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise at Cornell in recognition of her teaching and research in the field of economic development.
Brian Cloyd
Vice President of Global Community Relations
Grand Rapids, MI
Brian Cloyd is vice president of Global Community Relations for Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry. Steelcase delivers a better work experience to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work. Its portfolio includes architecture, furniture and technology products.
His responsibilities are: coordinating Steelcase efforts in the areas of diversity, government relations and public policy, corporate relations and community giving and volunteer programs. He also works with the environmental team to ensure that Steelcase's sustainability strategies are included in the broader point of view.
Previously, Brian was director of Corporate & Community Relations for Steelcase North America. In that role, he was responsible for all community and corporate relations at the local, state and federal levels.
Brian joined Steelcase in 1978 as an employment representative. Since then, he's held various positions in employment and human resources, including employment supervisor (1980-1984), employee relations manager (1984-1986) and manager, Human Resources, Planning and Assessment (1986-1994). In 1994, Brian was promoted to director, Human Resources, for Stow Davis Furniture, a position he held until 1996. From 1996 to 1998, he was director, Human Resources, for the Steelcase Design Partnership (SDP), and from 1998-2000, he was director, Diversity and Staffing services, where he was responsible for hourly and salary hiring, supplemental staffing, management/supervisor selection and succession strategies. From 2000-2002, he was director, North America Human Resources, responsible for all human resources practices and process for Steelcase North America locations.
Before joining Steelcase, Brian worked for the City of Grand Rapids as a supervisor. His primary objective was job training for economically disadvantaged people.
Brian serves on the boards of directors for the West Michigan Center for Arts & Technology, Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, the Student Advancement Foundation, and the Workforce Development Council. He serves on the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Board as vice chair for Diversity and as a member of the Diversity Advisory committee and the Regional Issues committee. He is a member of the board of trustees for Northern Michigan University and the advisory council for Grand Valley State University College of Business. Additionally, Brian is co-chair of the Education Reform Initiative and a member of Michigan Business Leaders for Excellence in Education.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Detroit in 1973 and a master of arts in public administration from the University of Detroit in 1976.
Roberto Cremonini
Chief
Knowledge and Learning Officer
Barr Foundation
Boston, MA
Roberto Cremonini has over 15 years of experience in the field of knowledge management. As a consultant, Roberto has advised executives of national and international corporations on how their companies can use technology to improve their processes and practices. In 2001, driven by a desire to apply his expertise in the social sector, Roberto began working with nonprofits and foundations to help them advance their performance and impact through the use of new knowledge practices supported by innovative technology solutions. Since October 2003, he is Chief Knowledge & Learning Officer at the Barr Foundation, where he facilitates the flow and re-use of knowledge within the foundation and between the foundation and its grantees and is responsible for the technology infrastructure and investments of the foundation. His current interests include online collaboration technologies, electronic dashboards and scorecards, and social network analysis. Roberto was previously Director of Knowledge Management at a global internet professional services firm where he was responsible for all knowledge management initiatives from conception to implementation. He began his career as a researcher at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. Roberto received his MS in Electronics Engineering, summa cum laude, and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Bologna (Italy). He also holds an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management.
Dale Davis
Executive Director
Rochester, NY
Dale Davis' distinguished career as a writer, educator, publisher, producer, and advocate for young people began as one of the founding poets of New York State Poets In The Schools. In 1979, she co-founded The New York State Literary Center where she continues as Executive Director.
In 1990, The New York State Literary Center's Arts In Education programs began to concentrate on young people at highest risk for educational failure, in residential placement and day treatment facilities, juvenile detention centers, juvenile justice facilities, and jails. Davis pioneered teaching literacy and communication skills using hip-hop culture as an education tool. She has written and directed two hip-hop theater pieces adapted from the writings of young people with whom she works, which have been performed in juvenile justice facilities. She also has edited and published a series of children's books written by incarcerated adolescents, and produced thirty CDs that feature the poetry, spoken word, and rap of young people.
The New York State Literary Center's work with high-risk young people has received national recognition from The National Alternative Education Association and The National Dropout Prevention Association. It has been featured in New York Magazine, on Tuft University's Eliot Pearson Department of Child Development website, and praised by The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies' Stop The Violence Through The Arts program. In 2007 The New York State Literary Center's partnership with the Youth and Justice Programs of the Rochester City School District and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office was featured at the first national Arts In Criminal Justice Conference. Her work with young people in a juvenile detention center in St. Louis was the subject of a 2005 Fox News Documentary.
Dale Davis' writing has appeared in publications from The Iowa Review to The New York Times. Her installations, combining the writing of young people and her own photographs, have been exhibited in several prominent venues. As an expert on Youth Culture, she served as a consultant to The Children's Dignity Project, ABC Network and was selected to participate in Harvard University's Institute on The Arts and Civic Dialogue. Dale Davis also cofounded the Association of Teaching Artists in 1998 and New York State's Arts In Correctional Education Network.
Bonnie DeVinney
Vice President and Chief Program Officer
The Greater Rochester Health Foundation
Rochester, NY
Bonnie DeVinney, Vice President and Chief Program Officer of the Greater Rochester Health Foundation, has over 30 years of experience providing healthcare, conducting population-based community health planning, and building community partnerships. Prior to coming to the foundation, DeVinney was Executive Director of the Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency. She has served on several local and state advisory boards focusing on access to care for vulnerable populations and establishing New York State health policy. DeVinney is looking forward to continuing her work in the community, to achieve the mission of the foundation.
Joel L. Fleishman
Professor of Law and Public Policy
Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy
Duke University
Durham, NC
Joel Fleishman joined the faculty of Duke University in 1971 as a professor of law and public policy, when he was appointed the founding Director of what is now the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. In 1983, he resigned to become Chairman of Duke University's Capital Campaign for the Arts & Sciences and Engineering which raised more than $200 million in endowment. In addition, he served successively in several senior administrative positions at Duke, including First Senior Vice President. In 1993, he became President of the Atlantic Philanthropic Service Company, Inc., the US program staff of Atlantic Philanthropies. Through his years with APS, Mr. Fleishman continued as part-time Professor of Law and Public Policy Studies and Director of the Sam and Ronnie Heyman Center for Ethics, Public Policy and the Professions at Duke University. He returned to full-time status in 2003, when he also established and assumed the leadership of the Duke Foundation Research and Teaching Program.
Mr. Fleishman currently serves as Chairman of the Urban Institute Board of Directors, as a member of the Board of Trustees of the John and Mary R. Markle Foundation, and as trustee of the following organizations: Brandeis University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America; the Artscroll Mesorah Heritage Foundation; the American Hebrew Academy; the Center for Effective Philanthropy and the Partnership for Public Service. He is also Chairman of the Visiting Committee of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He was elected in 2003 as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Mr. Fleishman was a member of the distinguished Expert Advisory Group contributing knowledge and expertise to the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector (2004), and is a member of the Boards of Directors of Boston Scientific Corporation, the Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, and the James River Insurance Group.
Mr. Fleishman received A.B., M.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an LL.M. degree from Yale University.
He is the author, co-author, or editor of numerous books and articles reflecting his long-standing interest in ethics, public policy, and nonprofit organizations. Mr. Fleishman's newest book, The Foundation: A Great American Secret—How Private Wealth is Changing the World, was published January 2007.
Jennifer Leonard
President and Executive Director
Rochester Area Community Foundation
Rochester, NY
Jennifer Leonard is president and executive director of the $225-million Rochester Area Community Foundation, which engages area philanthropists in strengthening greater Rochester, New York. The Community Foundation grants more than $20 million annually for the arts, civic engagement, education, environment, health and historic preservation, and for programs benefiting children, youth, women and seniors.
With 25 years in her field, Leonard has chaired the national Community Foundations Leadership Team, Standards Action Team, and the Coalition of Community Foundations for Youth. In Rochester, she serves on the Mayor's Literacy Commission and Educational Leadership Council and on the boards of Odyssey of Humanity and the Genesee Valley Club. In 2003, Rochester Business Journal named Leonard to its inaugural class of “20 Most Influential Women.”
Leonard graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wellesley College and was a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs. She holds an urban studies master's degree from Occidental College. She lives in Rochester with her husband, New York Times reporter and author David Cay Johnston, and three daughters.
Lance E. Lindblom
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Nathan Cummings Foundation
New York, NY
Lance Lindblom was appointed President and CEO of the Nathan Cummings Foundation in 2000. Before joining the NCF staff, Lindblom served as Program Officer at the Ford Foundation, focusing on democratic accountability, economic and social policy, and globalization. Prior to that position, Lindblom was the Executive Vice President at Soros Foundation's Open Society Institute/Open Society Fund. Previously, he worked at J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation, first serving as Executive Director from 1980-1984 and then as President and CEO from 1984 to 1994.
Lindblom has served in governmental positions as well: Deputy Director of the Chicago Mayor's Office of Budget and Management; Chief of Special Projects Unit and Senior Program Analyst and Budget Examiner at the Governor's Office of Illinois Bureau of the Budget; and Economic and Program Analyst at the Illinois Economic and Fiscal Commission of the Illinois General Assembly. Lindblom also was a litigator at Jenner and Block, a law firm in Chicago.
Lindblom graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College. He received a master's degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University and a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Jean McPheeters
President
Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce
Ithaca, NY
Jean McPheeters is the president of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, Ithaca, NY. The Chamber provides services and advocates for the business community, and manages the County's Convention and Visitors Bureau.
From 1994 to 1999 she worked as the Coordinator of Community Education for Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) in Ithaca. In 1993 and 1994, McPheeters worked as the District Administrator for U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey. She served as district representative for Congressman Matthew McHugh from 1986 through his retirement in 1992.
McPheeters currently is a member of the Boards of Directors of Tompkins County Area Development, Tompkins County Workforce Investment Board, Cayuga Medical Center, Tompkins Cortland Community College Foundation, and United Way of Tompkins County. She is a member of the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency and has recently been appointed to the Zone Advisory Board for Tompkins County's new Empire Zone. From 1983 to 2002, McPheeters served as a trustee of Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, New York and served as chair of the board for 5 years.
McPheeters was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She attended Tompkins Cortland Community College and Cornell University (labor relations). She holds a B.S. degree from Empire State College. She lives in Brooktondale with her husband, Daniel.
Ann F. Mnroe
President
Community Health Foundation of Western and Central New York
Buffalo, NY
Ann Monroe is president of the Community Health Foundation of Western and Central New York, a health foundation serving the Buffalo and Syracuse regions and focused on improving the health outcomes of frail elders and children in communities of poverty. She has 30 years of leadership experience in public and private sector programs in mental health, community health, managed care and philanthropy. She previously directed quality and health insurance initiatives for the California HealthCare Foundation and was a senior vice president of Blue Cross of California. Monroe sits on the Boards of Western New York Grantmakers Association, Grantmakers in Health, and The Leapfrog Group.
Kenneth Schoetz
Upstate Chief Operating Officer
Empire State Development Corporation
Buffalo, NY
As Upstate Chief Operating Officer, Empire State Development, Ken Schoetz oversees efforts to recruit new business and support existing business for the seven regions of Upstate New York: Capital Region, North Country, Mohawk Valley, Central New York, Southern Tier, Finger Lakes and Western New York.
Previously, Schoetz served as an Assistant Attorney General to then Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, and was responsible for all operations in the Attorney General's largest regional office in Buffalo. He directed and supervised the defense of cases pending against New York State in the Court of Claims, federal and state courts and investigated and prosecuted significant consumer matters to protect NYS residents.
From 1988 to 1999 he worked in Erie County government, serving as First Assistant Erie County Attorney and later serving as Erie County Attorney. From 1992-1996, Schoetz served in the Hamburg Village government, first as Village Trustee and then as Deputy Mayor.
Schoetz received his B.A. in Political Economics from Williams College in Massachusetts and obtained his J.D. from the University at Buffalo Law School where he served as editor-in-chief of the Law Review. Born and raised in Western New York, he resides in Hamburg with his wife and daughter.
Tom Schryver
Director of Finance
Triad Foundation
Ithaca, NY
Tom Schryver joined the Triad Foundation as Director of Finance at its founding in 2003. As the Foundation's finance officer, he has responsibilities for asset allocation and manager selection for Triad Foundation's $250 million portfolio. Prior to the Foundation, he worked for UBS Investment Bank in their technology investment banking group and has a background in consulting in the software industry. Schryver has a bachelor's degree in History and Government from Cornell University, and received his MBA from Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management, where he was an Albert Fried Fellow. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his wife and son.
Mary Margaret Shoenfeld
Community Development Manager
Washington, DC
As Community Development Manager, Mary Margaret Schoenfeld develops partnerships and programming, provides technical assistance and serves as a content resource for arts-based community and economic development. She works to support and develop various councils and interest groups within Americans for the Arts.
Schoenfeld most recently worked for ten years at the Cultural Affairs Division of Arlington County, Virginia. She managed the Arts Incubator Program, which provides free and low-cost access to rehearsal and performance space, as well as a variety of design and organizational capacity building services in addition to grants. The program was the first public sector arts program awarded the Kennedy School/Ford Foundation Innovations in American Government Award. Prior to her work in Arlington, she served as Executive Director of the League of Historic American Theatres, Grants Officer at the Vermont Arts Council and as a gallery assistant at the Women's Art Registry of Minnesota in Minneapolis. A Vermont native, Schoenfeld earned a BA in Government from St. Lawrence University and an MA in Public Affairs from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, focusing on Community and Economic Development and Technology, Energy and Environmental Policy. While in graduate school, she held research assistantships at the Center for Women and Public Policy and the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs.
Patricia Skinner
Executive Director
Capital District Childcare Council
Albany, NY
Patty Skinner is the Executive Director of the Capital District Child Care Council. She was an early childhood teacher and director before joining the Council as an educator twelve years ago. She became the Director of Operations at the Council in 1997, working with the Board to update personnel policies and processes. Skinner has had extensive experience in the early childhood field, with an emphasis in the area of child care center program operation. She has been responsible for leadership workshops for child care directors and for the implementation of a pilot quality rating system in the area. Skinner has been a member of the National Association for the Education for Young Children (NAEYC) for many years and has served as a validator for NAEYC'S Accreditation Program as well as an instructor and mentor for the Child Development Associate (CDA) program. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education fromEastern Illinois University and a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education from the College of St. Rose in Albany.
President
Ithaca, NY
David Skorton is the 12th president of Cornell University. A cardiologist, computer scientist, national leader in research ethics, and jazz musician, Skorton came to Cornell from the University of Iowa in 2006, where he served as president since 2003 and as a faculty member since 1981. At Cornell, President Skorton holds faculty appointments in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Weill-Cornell Medical College (WCMC) in New York City and in Biomedical Engineering at the College ofEngineering on the Ithaca campus.
Co-founder and co-director of the UI Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, President Skorton has focused his research on congenital heart disease in adolescents and adults, cardiac imaging, and computer image processing. President Skorton earned his bachelor's degree in psychology in 1970 and an M.D. in 1974, both from Northwestern University. He completed his medical residency and cardiology fellowship at The University of California, Los Angeles. He has published numerous articles, reviews, book chapters, and two major texts in the areas of cardiac imaging and image processing.
President Skorton has served on the boards and committees of many national organizations, including the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the American Society of Echocardiography, the Association of American Universities, the Council on Competitiveness, and the Korea America Friendship Society. He has traveled widely in Europe and Asia on behalf of both academic and community projects, and has engaged in service to the community particularly in regional and state economic development.
President Skorton worked as a professional jazz and R&B musician in the Chicago area and once hosted a weekly jazz program, “As Night Falls.” His wife, Cornell Professor Robin Davisson, holds a joint appointment in the Department of Biomedical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Weill-Cornell Medical College.
Rusty
Morgen Stahl
Executive Director
Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy
New York, NY
Rusty Stahl is the Executive Director of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP), a national network launched in 2002 to strengthen the next generation of grantmakers. EPIP is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations, and has six recognized chapters and six emerging chapters across the United States. Governed by a 14-person Board of Advisors composed of emerging practitioners, EPIP's national headquarters are in New York City.
Vitamin
L
Janice Nigro, Director
Ithaca, NY
Vitamin L, a youth chrous from Ithaca, NY, uses music to encourage positive character development. Vitamin L sings fun songs to offer positive messages and uplifting ideas to inspire young people to be loving, kind, caring, helpful, respectful, and to make good choices.
In 1987, at the request of a teacher friend, Jan Nigro wrote some songs about universal human values for elementary age children. There was tremendous positive response to the songs, and in 1989, Jan and his wife Janice (director of Vitamin L), formed Lovable Creature Music, a small music business to make professional quality recordings for the public. Today there are four recordings; all four have been chosen as best products for children by The Parent Council. Walk A Mile is a winner of the national Parent's Choice Gold Award.
Thousands of children have heard the Vitamin L music at concerts in schools, camps and summer festivals. Schools use the materials and you can hear them on children's radio programs and digital cable audio as well. Vitamin L music enriches the lives of many children.
Bill Woodward
Executive Director
Glens Falls, NY
Bill Woodward joined the Wood Theater in September of 2006 as Executive Director. During his year at the Wood Theater he has spearheaded a fund-raising campaign that reduced a $465,000 mortgage debt to zero and an increase of use days at the theater by15% annually. He has also initiated a program with local merchants to offer discounts to Wood Theater patrons, thereby increasing foot traffic and downtown business. Woodward, a 34-year resident of Glens Falls, spent many years as a downtown merchant, civic volunteer, and an active participant in the local community theatre. His work history includes 11 years of Nursing Home events planning, 3 years as the Social and Entertainment Director at the Sagamore Resort on Lake George where he produced dinner theater, opera and murder mysteries and 5 years as an eBay online merchant. His avocations include playwriting, acting, directing, and organizing Senior programs in music and theater.