revised August, 2008

Gayle Hewlett, treasurer - Gayle is a photographer and has lived in Marathon with her husband since 1981. She is a member of the Florida Keys Art Guild and the Bougainvillea House Gallery. She has shown her work at the Pigeon Key Art Festival for the past five years. Currently, Gayle is studying Chinese brush painting, producing her work on traditional rice paper as well as Sea Grape leaves.

Tom Butler – a Key Largo resident, retired as president of Westinghouse for Mexico and for Latin America. He managed numerous subsidiaries in Brazil and Venezuela. He speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese as well as English after 13 years of residence in Latin America. His board service includes Brazil's American Society, Council of the Americas, The Key Players, and Upper Keys Sailing Club.

Nancy Perez Miller – has over 27 years of architectural and construction experience in South Florida. A graduate in Architecture of the University of Detroit and University of Miami, Nancy established her architectural office in the Florida Keys almost 7 years ago. Nancy Perez Miller Architect, Inc. is a full service firm specializing in public, commercial and residential projects of all sizes and complexity. Community service includes working with the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce, St. Justin and San Pedro Catholic Church, sponsor of Brownie Troop 873 and in 2001 and 2002 and UKAA Minor League and Soccer Teams. Member of (BPW) Business and Professional Women Association, Key Largo Federation of Homeowner’s Association and the Islamorada Historical Preservation Society. Nancy Miller was chosen to be part of Leadership Monroe County Class XI. She has resided in the Florida Keys since 1995 and plans to practice Architecture in Paradise forever.

Emily Sorkin - was the owner of the Sorkin Gallery of Tribeca and Soho, NYC.  Her gallery specialized in contemporary art. Many of the artists that were represented there have been in major museum shows or collections. At her gallery she also sponsored poetry readings , artists talks and performance events. Ms. Sorkin studied painting  and graduated from NYU and Hunter College, NYC  with a BS and Masters of Fine Arts degree.  Early on, while teaching art in programs sponsored by the New York State Council on the Arts and the 92nd Street Y, she worked as a private art dealer and curated exhibitions. Of the numerous exhibits she curated, a few notable ones were:  “Matter and Spirit” at Bennington College Vt. and “Ontogeny: Sculpture and Painting by 20th Century American Sculptors”,  at the New York Studio School.  Before opening her own gallery, she worked at several well known galleries in NYC, including the John Gibson Gallery.  Her board service with the Florida Keys Council of the Arts includes art in public buildings.  Emily and her husband David Greenberg, a photographer, live in Key West.

Patricia Unferth- moved to Key West in October 2005 from Morristown, Tennessee where she was the Executive Director of Rose Center and Council of the Arts. At the Rose Center she managed arts programming for a rural region in East Tennessee providing arts education in local schools, rotating art exhibits featuring local and regional artists, and historical exhibits for local communities. She has a B.A. in Business Management, magna cum laude from Maryville College, Maryville, Tennessee. Currently she serves as Strategic Assistant at The Andersen Firm a legal and financial services company. In her free time she enjoys fly fishing in the beautiful waters of the Florida Keys.

emeritus

chair emeritus
June Girard – is Chair Emeritus of the Florida Keys Council of the Arts. Recently relocated to Gainesville, June launched two arts council programs: the Art in the Hospital program at Lower Keys Medical Center, and the Arts in the Afternoon lunch-and-conversation series. Ms. Girard served on the hospital board, hosted the TV show Countyline, was president of the Monroe County League of Women Voters and secretary for the Florida LWV board. She was also president of the Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center Founders Society and of the Red Barn Theatre Band of Angels.

director emeritus
Dr. Shirley Freeman – a founding member of the arts council, Key West resident Mayor Shirley Freeman believes the arts are healthy for the environment, tourism, and the local economy.  She supports positioning the Keys as a national and international arts destination.  Widow of Sheriff William A. Freeman Jr., she follows a long line of Freemans who have held public office in Monroe County for over a hundred years. She is a strong advocate of balancing economy, environment, and quality of life.  Mayor Freeman is a native of Arkansas and is retired after twenty years in school administration in Monroe County.  She was the principal of Douglass and Sigsbee Elementary schools in Key West, and previously she was the principal of the American School in Zagreb, Yugoslavia.  Her Ph.D. in school administration is from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.  Mayor Freeman wrote the introduction to the recently published book Billy Freeman: Florida Keys Sheriff, by AnnieLaura Jaggers.

director emeritus
Bill Andersen – is president of The Andersen Firm, A Professional Corporation, Attorneys and Law, which represents business clients in corporate, tax, management labor and employment, environmental and general civil litigation matters, and individuals in the estate planning and probate matters.  Mr. Andersen graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1976 with the Cleland Leadership Award. He graduated from the Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1984, where he was senior managing editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review. Mr. Andersen had served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Labor in the Bush Administration. He serves on various corporate boards of directors and is a graduate of Leadership Monroe County. A Key West resident, Mr. Andersen is married to an artist turned lawyer; they both love art and strongly support cultural tourism as the future of the Keys.|