North Texas arts organization TACA announces new Board members and officers

by PegNews wire

TACA, the premier umbrella arts organization in North Texas, has appointed five new members to its Board of Directors. In addition, the organization has named its 2009 board officers.

"The Class of 2011 board members and new board officers are successful community volunteers and corporate executives, as well as passionate and experienced supporters of the arts," said Becky Young, president and executive director of TACA. "Their commitment and energy will help TACA raise the funds necessary to support many worthy local arts organizations."

Members of the Class of 2011 include:

Bill Bogart, Heather Esping, Nicholas “Nick” Even, Serena Ritch, and Ann Swisher.

Bill Bogart is currently Managing Director for JP Morgan. He has been active in the Dallas arts community for a number of years. He has served on the boards of Texas Ballet Theater, The Dallas Opera, and the President’s Council of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. Mr. Bogart has also served as President of the Southern Methodist University (SMU) Wesley Foundation, and currently serves on the Associate Board of the SMU Cox School of Business. Mr. Bogart is married to Brenda, and they have six children. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.

Heather Esping was a member of the TACA Board of Directors from 2000-2002. In 2008, she and her husband Bill co-chaired TACA’s Party on the Green. She has served on the Dallas Museum of Art’s (DMA) Junior Associates Steering Committee and has been involved with The Family Place. After receiving a B.A. from SMU, she worked at the DMA as Associate Director of Associate Development, with a focus on the Junior Associate Membership. She left the DMA to establish the Esping Family Foundation, which supports many charities. She and her husband have three children.

Nicholas “Nick” Even is a litigation partner at Haynes and Boone, and has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of complex business disputes and class actions. He is a member of the firm’s Diversity Committee. Prior to joining Haynes and Boone in 1999, Even practiced at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York. He has served on the board for the WaterTower Theatre as president, vice president, secretary and development chair. He has also been involved in Dallas Bar Association’s admissions and membership committee, Lambda Legal, the Human Rights Campaign’s Federal Club, and has worked as an American Red Cross volunteer.

Serena Ritch is Director of Arts Programs for the O’Donnell Foundation, where she manages all grants related to the arts. In particular, she works with the AP Arts and Music Theory Incentive Program, overseeing the Foundation’s AP Arts Incentive Programs, which operate in 21 Metroplex middle schools and 22 high schools. Ritch has vast experience in the non-profit sector, and has previously worked for UT Southwestern Medical Center and Sotheby’s Auction House. Other community activities include the Hockaday Alumnae Association, where she was a board member, and the Oak Hill Academy Long Range Planning and Development Committees. Ritch received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University.

Ann Swisher has been involved in the Dallas community for many years. She is a member of the executive board for the SMU Meadows School of the Arts, and also serves on the Second Century Campaign Steering Committee. Since 2006, Swisher has been on the board of directors for the Turtle Creek Association, and has served as president since 2007. Swisher also serves on the President’s Advisory Council of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts and its Brinker International Forum Board of Advisors. She was employed by 7-Eleven, Inc. from 1987 through 2005. She graduated from SMU with a B.A. in Art History, and completed Sotheby’s year-long Works of Art Course in London, England. She is married to Michael McGehee.

Along with the five new members of its board, TACA also announced that Nita Clark, Wolford McCue, Bill Ogle and Karol Omlor will begin their second three-year terms.

Newly appointed officers for the 2009 TACA Board of Directors are the following:

Chairman: Lynn McBee

Treasurer: Jim Nugent

Secretary: Nancy Carlson

Past Chairman: Ken Travis

Vice Chairman, Programs: Karol Omlor

Chairmen Emeriti include Sis Carr, Jane Dunne, Ed Fjordbak, and Linda Gibbons.

Source: TACA