Chris Deam is a designer and architect negotiating the realm between furniture design, architecture, interiors, and product design. His studio CCD is an interdisciplinary design studio whose work reveals a refined yet powerful vision over an expanding plateau of innovative projects. His work builds upon the aesthetic standards and exquisite restraint of previous modern masters and represents the core values of a designer who believes in design that is direct, honest, and unadorned. The son of a navy pilot, Chris grew up moving between coasts and was shaped by constant mobility and beach culture. He studied architecture and design in both the US and Italy and received his masters from the University of Notre Dame. Chris joined Headlands’ Board in 2011 and Chairs the Governance Committee.
Deborah Rappaport is the President of the Rappaport Family Foundation and founder and Managing Partner of Skyline Public Works. Both the foundation and SPW work to broaden civic participation and access to channels of communications among traditionally underserved populations. The Foundation has supported many youth-vote and civic participation organizations over the past several years. Its current focus is increasing civic participation among community college students. Deborah is also a jewelry designer and maker, working as Quail Pond Designs. Deborah serves on the boards of People for the American Way, the Courage Campaign, Creative Capital, and the Bolinas Museum. She lives in San Francisco and Bolinas. Deborah joined Headlands’ Board in 2012 and serves as Chair of the Development Committee.
Erin has practiced public accounting in San Francisco for more than 10 years, and is currently a senior audit manager with Seiler, LLP. Erin provides audit and advisory services to private equity firms, privately held businesses, private foundations, and public not-for-profit entities. Born and raised in the Napa Valley, Erin graduated from the University of Tennessee. She resides in San Francisco with her husband, Jim Hastings. Erin’s sister-in-law and close family friends are professional artists and Headlands alumni. Erin served on the Finance Advisory Committee for two years prior to joining Headlands’ Board of Directors in 2010 and currently Chairs the Finance Committee.
Kathryn is a visual artist represented by Stephen Wirtz Gallery in San Francisco. Her paintings have been exhibited at SFMOMA, the Oakland Museum of Art, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and numerous other museums and galleries. Kathryn was an affiliate artist at Headlands from 1996 to 1998 and an Artist in Residence in 2000, the year she received the SECA Art Award from SFMOMA. Kathryn holds a BA from UC Berkeley, a BFA from California College of the Arts and an MFA from the Yale School of Art. She lives in Marin where she is the Chair of the Annual Fund at Marin Horizon School and also serves on their development committee. Kathryn joined Headlands’ Board in 2009 and serves on the Program Committee.
Jamie Alexander is the Gallery Director and Co-owner of Park Life, an independent retail store and art gallery on Clement Street in San Francisco. The retail space features art and design products culled together from all over the world, featuring hard to find, limited edition, and unique items that include books (art, type, design, photography, etc.), modern design objects, prints, paper goods, tee-shirts, homewares, jewelry, and artist multiples. The Park Life Gallery seeks to showcase the most engaging contemporary art being created today, holding 10 exhibits each year. Jamie also publishes books and catalogs under the imprint Paper Museum Press, and he has published works with artists including Andrew Schoultz, Ian Johnson, Brendan Monroe, and Tournesol Awardee Shaun O’Dell. Jamie studied design and art history and has been a patron of Bay Area arts for over 15 years. Jamie joined Headlands’ Board in 2010.
Melissa Barber was employed by Gap International Inc. for almost a decade. Melissa worked for the International Visual Merchandising Department where she traveled extensively to Japan, Europe, and Canada. Melissa resigned in 2000 and currently takes care of her two children, Mason and Margaux. She lives in San Francisco where she has been involved with the San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary, serving on the Executive Board for the past 5 years as well as serving as the Public Relations Chair for the past 2 years. Melissa has also been a supporter of the San Francisco Parks Trust, helping to build the Presidio Heights Playground, from the fundraising to the actual plan of the park. Melissa grew up in Orinda, California and studied Art History in Arizona. Melissa served on the Benefit Auction Committee for several years before joining Headlands’ Board of Directors in 2013. She currently serves on the Development Committee.
Marnie Burke de Guzman specializes in strategic branding, marketing, program and content development, and community relations for nonprofit and cultural organizations. In December 2010, Marnie completed her most recent assignment as Director of Marketing and Audience Strategy at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), where she oversaw marketing, public relations, editorial, and visitor services. As a member of the executive management team, Marnie led strategic communications and program and content development efforts for SFMOMA’s 75th Anniversary, as well as for the launch of the museum’s expansion project and partnership with the Fisher Collection. Prior to joining SFMOMA in March 2009, Marnie directed West Coast website development and organizational market intelligence efforts at One Economy, a global nonprofit utilizing innovative approaches to deliver the power of technology and information to low-income people. From 2001 to 2006, Marnie was the Director of External Affairs at the UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) where she oversaw marketing, publications, graphic design, and visitor services, in addition to supporting efforts to plan a new facility and directing capital campaign communications. Marnie brings more than twenty years of experience helping cultural organizations such as the Walker Art Center and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company better understand their audiences, engage stakeholders, and communicate with and serve visitors more effectively. She has developed a broad perspective on content development and audience engagement issues through previous experience at Acoustiguide Worldwide, Inc. and Museum Management Consultants; conducting extensive evaluation projects funded by The Bush Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and The Wallace Foundation; and as a cultural writer for newspapers such as the San Francisco Examiner and the Boston Phoenix. Marnie rejoined the Headlands’ Board in 2009, and Chairs the Audience Engagement Committee.
Drusie Davis has been a San Francisco Bay Area resident since 1989, living at various times in the city and Marin County. As a high technology executive in Silicon Valley she specialized in building ground up marketing organizations for computer networking companies. Over a ten year period Drusie worked at 3 start ups and experienced different exit strategies: re-absorption into the funding company, sale to larger a company, and initial public offering. As a member of the executive staff and a director of the company that went public, Drusie was intimately involved in all aspects of its operation and IPO. Thanks to hard work and being in the right place at the right time, Drusie now focuses her time on raising two daughters while giving back to the community. She has an ongoing interest in the arts and education and supports these through philanthropic giving with the Drusie Davis Family Fund. Drusie most recently completed a 3 year term as secretary and marketing chairperson on the Board of Trustees for Montessori de Terra Linda, a private school in San Rafael. Drusie joined Headlands’ Board of Directors in 2012, and serves on the Governance Committee.
Eric Johnson is a Bay Area realtor with Sotheby’s International Realty. A California native, Eric has lived in San Francisco since 1986. Eric has been involved with modern and contemporary art in San Francisco for about 15 years. He is active with SFMOMA’s SECA, Photo Forum, the Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art, and an avid art collector himself. Eric joined Headlands Board of Directors in 2013, and serves on the Development Committee.
Cynthia Lohr is the Vice President of Marketing for J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, where she oversees the family winery’s advertising, public relations, editorial, promotional, Internet marketing, branding and communications initiatives, and is involved in direct-to-consumer strategy and partner sponsor relationships. Prior to joining J. Lohr, Cynthia was a vice president at Alexander Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, where her division served an array of clients including Covad Communications, TurboLinux, HomePNA, iPIX, Preview Systems, and Vicinium Systems. In addition, while at technology public relations firm Niehaus Ryan Wong, Cynthia led Yahoo!’s pre-IPO strategic messaging efforts, helping to build the company’s consumer brand throughout the mid-90s. She also directed strategic communications initiatives and executed numerous product launches for VeriSign, InsWeb and Organic Online. Before joining Niehaus Ryan Wong, Cynthia was the director of business development at PRx, a strategic marketing communications firm serving Silicon Valley technology clients. She was also an elementary school substitute teacher in Oakland, California, and was a program director for Saint Mary’s College School of Extended Education in nearby Moraga. Cynthia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in French with minor in Psychology from U.C. Davis. Her diverse background also reflects her passion for family and community, leadership, the arts and education. She lives in San Francisco with her husband Sam Lucente and her two daughters, Annabella and Emily, and serves on the Board of Edgewood Center for Children and Families. Cynthia is also an experienced ethnic vocalist, who has performed in 19 languages. Cynthia joined Headlands’ Board in 2008, and serves on the Audience Engagement Committee.
Erin joined the Headlands board with over a decade of experience in merchandising, buying, and product development. Employed by Gap, Inc., for most of her career, Erin resigned from her role in Gap Women’s merchandising to become a full time parent in 2006. She currently serves on the board of Children of Shelters, a San Francisco non-profit designed to support the educational and emotional needs of the approximate 4,000 homeless children in the city. Originally from Pittsburgh, Erin and earned her BA from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. She and her husband John live in San Francisco with their daughters Annabelle and Georgia. Erin joined Headlands’ Board in 2008 and serves on the Development Committee.
David Maisel is a visual artist and photographer whose practice has focused on environmentally impacted sites, in a multi-chaptered series called “Black Maps.” His large-scaled aerial photographs show the physical impact on the land from industrial efforts such as mining, logging, water reclamation, and military testing. David ’s “Library of Dust,” depicting copper canisters housing the cremated remains of patients from a state-run psychiatric hospital, was the subject of a symposium organized by the New York Institute for the Humanities in 2009. “History’s Shadow,” his most recent work, is the subject of a monograph published by Nazraeli Press in Spring 2011. In this series, David has re-photographed x-rays of art objects from antiquity, seeking to reveal previously invisible aspects of past civilizations. He received his BA from Princeton University, and his MFA from California College of the Arts, in addition to study at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. David was a Scholar in Residence at the Getty Research Institute in 2007 and an Artist in Residence at Headlands in 2008. He has been the recipient of an Individual Artist’s Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and was short-listed for the Prix Pictet in 2008. He lives and works in the San Francisco area, where he has been based since 1993. David joined Headlands’ Board in 2011 and serves as Chair of the Program Committee.
Rebecca Martinez is an artist who works primarily in the medium of photography. Her series preTenders explores society’s relationship with the idea of motherhood through use of life-like baby dolls. Rebecca joined Headlands’ Board of Directors in 2009.
Ben Ospital is a partner at MAC- Modern Appealing Clothing, two clothing stores in San Francisco. Ben has also developed products and projects for SONY, Paper Magazine and MTV. Ben’s Board experience comes from serving on Creative Growth Art Center, PAWS, Destination Foundation and Zeum boards. Ben joined Headlands’ Board of Directors in 2013 and serves on the Governance Committee.
Jane Scott is an art collector and a travel agent who specializes in art-related travel. She has organized unique arts trips for institutions such as SFMOMA and the Craft and Folk Art Museum, and serves on the SECA Council and Artist Circle Committee at SFMOMA. Jane lives in Sausalito and has served on the Board of the Marin Country Day School. A long time supporter of Headlands, she joined Headlands’ Board in 2009 and serves on the Governance Committee.
Aaron Waxman is a financial advisor at Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough LLC, a $2.5B independent wealth management firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM. Aaron works primarily with high net-worth individuals, providing fee-only (i.e. product-free) investment and financial planning services. He is also a Board Director for the Blind Babies Foundation and Board Trustee for Step One School in Berkeley. Aaron lives in Albany with his wife, Amy, and two children, Madeline and Calvin. Aaron joined Headlands’ Board of Directors in 2013 and serves on the Finance Committee.