(Long Island, NY) On October 28th in Astoria, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz installed the fiscal year 2015-2016 Queens Council on the Arts Board of Trustees and its new Junior Board of Trustees, now in its second year.
Hosted at QCA’s headquarters in Astoria, Borough President Katz spoke at length on QCA’s programs, the important role of Queens art and culture as major economic engines, and her longstanding support of the organization’s work. Her father, David, was a well-known conductor who founded the Queens Symphony Orchestra in 1953, and her mother, Jeanne Dale, was a singer who created Queens Council on the Arts in 1966.
Pictured from top left: Morgan Jones, Senior Emergency Management Specialist, NYU Langone Medical Center, Emily Schwartz, Program Manager, Arts Initiative at Columbia University, Aryana Anderson, Associate Producer, Amplify, Inc., Juan “Rick” Rosa, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, QCA Executive Director, Omar Solis, Founder, Digital Villain Studios, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Gianna Cerbone Teoli, Chef/Owner of Manducatis Rustica, Mònica Sarmiento Castillo, Assistant Director, Spanish Graduate Program, St. John’s University, Hal Rosenbluth, President, Kaufman Astoria Studios, Juvenal Reis, President, Reis Studios, Frank “Turtle” Raffaele, CEO & Founder, COFFEED, Nicole “Niki” Reiner, QCA Development Coordinator, and Lilian Chen. Photo Credit: Masud Grant 2015.
The Borough President presided over the swearing-in of the full board. Juan “Rick” Rosa, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Long Island City, was inducted as a first year trustee and was joined with the recurring board trustees Catherine Lee, Senior Director, F&T Group; Juvenal Reis, President, Reis Studios; Hal Rosenbluth, President of Kaufman Astoria Studios, Inc.; Armando Soto, Senior Development Associate, Yenni Capital, Inc.; Victoria Schneps-Yunis, President, Schneps Communications; Frank “Turtle” Raffaele, Founder & CEO, COFFEED; Board Treasurer Maria Odysseos, Vice President & Branch Manager of Investors Bank; and Board President Gianna Cerbone Teoli, owner of Manducatis Rustica in Long Island City.
This year, QCA also inducted a new Junior Board of Trustees comprised of a variety of young professionals from diverse occupational fields and backgrounds who will be mentored by the Senior Board to become ambassadors for the organization, develop diverse leadership pipelines, and who bring new skills and perspectives to the boardroom table.
“We are truly grateful for Borough President Katz’s continuous support of the arts and cultures of Queens. Her mother’s legacy is carrier forward through her ongoing commitment to QCA.” – Hoong Yee Krakauer, Executive Director of QCA
Each QCA board member annually pledges to oversee fiscal operations, raise awareness and generate philanthropic support for the organization, which in turn helps support local artists throughout Queens County.
For more information visit: www.queenscouncilarts.org/
Queens Council on the Arts is the borough-wide arts council of Queens. The mission of Queens Council on the Arts is to foster, and develop the arts in Queens County and to support individual artists and arts organizations in presenting their cultural diversity for the benefit of the community.
