Our Board Members Are P.S. ARTS Kids Greatest Advocates

Officers

Maria Bell, President
Maria Arena Bell, a writer and television producer is currently in her third year as chair of the P.S. ARTS Board. 

Ms. Bell’s passion for the arts was ignited as a student in a large Southern California public high school, back when the arts were a part of every student’s curriculum.  Her art history teacher inspired her to major in Art History at Northwestern University and truly opened her eyes to seeing the world with art.  Maria has dedicated herself to arts advocacy and to advancing the arts in America.

In her professional career she is currently the Head Writer and Co-Executive Producer of “The Young and The Restless.”  She has been an essayist for such publications as “T” the Style section magazine of The New York Times, “C” Magazine, Aspen Magazine, Aspen Peak magazine and Women’s Wear Daily where she gives her view of the world a humorous spin. 

She sits on numerous other non profit boards in the arts, including:  Americans For The Arts, for whom she chairs The National Arts Awards, The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, Center Dance, DiCapo Opera Theater and many other arts related committees for institutions around the country.  She is also a Governor Schwarzenegger appointee to The Commission On The Status of Women in California, which upholds and enforces equality for women and girls. 

As an active member of the arts community she has been involved in raising moneys to support the arts and arts education all across the country but particularly here in California. 

She is a mother of two children and resides in Los Angeles with her husband Bill Bell Jr.

Pam Bergman, Chairperson
Pam Bergman is in her first year as Chairperson of the P.S. ARTS Board of Directors and serves as a co-chair of Express Yourself.  She was previously Co-Chairperson of the Board with Maria Bell. Pam's love of the arts and her desire to give arts to all children started with her exposure to music at a young age. Throughout her childhood, she explored many avenues of expression through various instruments including piano (classical and jazz), flute, piccolo, oboe and saxophone. Many of her opportunities to explore music, including classical piano training, state honors orchestral ensemble, marching band, jazz band, musicals and traditional school band settings were part of her public school background.  Many mentoring relationships developed in her interactions with teachers, band leaders and other adults who assisted in exposing Pam to the arts.  She has chosen to continue her arts exploration through advocacy by exposing children to many forms of art through the work at P.S. ARTS. She believes strongly that arts education in the classroom allows children to experience learning in a new and meaningful way while providing the structure and support of mentors for children.  She believes the opportunity for an individual child to express through art should be fundamental to all children's education as it was to her own.

In her professional experiences, Pam brings over 20 years of experience in management, finance and accounting.  She received her BA in Economics/Business from UCLA and began her career as a CPA with Deloitte and Touche in downtown Los Angeles.  She then held numerous positions in management for high tech companies, including fundraising transactions and financial reporting, multimillion-dollar software implementation project management, public company controllership responsibilities and chief financial division responsibilities.  After starting her family, Pamela maintained a management consulting practice offering executive-level advice, focusing on accounting and organizational efficiencies for public companies.   Pam believes in the importance of carrying over lessons from her for-profit experiences in management and project settings to the non-profit sector. Most recently, Pamela has been raising her two children, Ryan and Brett, full time. She has also served in various volunteer capacities for Camp Ronald McDonald events, UCLA Chancellors Associates, and her children's school. Pamela has been involved with P.S. ARTS as a volunteer in various capacities since 2004 prior to joining the board of directors in 2007 and serving previously as Treasurer.

Darcy Pollack, Vice Chairperson
A graduate of both Yale College and Harvard Business School, Darcy has spanned the investment banking and entertainment worlds at companies such as Goldman, Sachs & Co. Real Estate, Warner Brothers, and United Talent Agency.   Combining her real estate and entertainment backgrounds, she then worked for Sony Retail Entertainment where she was integral to developing the original concept and business plan for the Metreon retail entertainment center. Darcy is a Founding Partner of Ridemakerz, a retail entertainment concept in which Build-A-Bear is a strategic partner. In addition, Pollack is co-Founder of Scribble Press, a place where children (and adults!) can write and illustrate books and other products, and have them professionally printed and bound while they wait.  

Elizabeth Ondaatje, Secretary
Elizabeth joined the P.S. ARTS Board in 2003 and currently serves on the Executive Committee as the Board Secretary. Ms. Ondaatje is an arts policy expert, formerly at the RAND Corporation, who has published on a wide range of issues in the arts and arts education, including Gifts of the Muse: The Debate About the Benefits of the Arts; Arts and Culture in the Metropolis: Strategies for Sustainability; and A Vision for the Arts in Los Angeles.  She is a graduate of Harvard University and University of Cambridge (UK) and also serves on the Boards of SOL-LA Music Academy, Windward School, and the Fulbright Enrichment Program.

Joshua B. Tanzer, Treasurer
Josh Tanzer has spent the last 20 years working with private companies and fund managers providing assistance in raising capital and merger and acquisition advice. He has produced over $5.0 billion of venture gains for his investors from transactions he has agented during his career. Mr. Tanzer joined Revolution Partners in January of 2006 from Lazard Freres & Co. where he was a Managing Director. At Lazard, he raised $175 million of private equity capital for Virgin America, the largest amount
of private equity raised for a de novo airline.

Mr. Tanzer is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). He received a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Denver. Mr. Tanzer served on the Board of the University of Denver's School of Accountancy and ODC Dance Company. Mr. Tanzer was also a volunteer member of the United States Peace Corps and Big Brothers of New York City.

Roger Weaver, Crossroads Representative
Roger Weaver, Headmaster of Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences has served on the P.S. ARTS board for 6 years. Mr. Weaver has been involved with the organization, which was in its early years housed at and funded by Crossroads school, since its creation by then Crossroads headmaster Paul Cummins.  Having been at the school since 1983, Mr. Weaver provides a direct tie to the long P.S. ARTS Crossroads School partnership.    

Directors

Stephanie Addis
Stephanie Addis has worked in costume design for television and worked in production for over 10 years.  She led the Art Booth Committee for 4 years, helping to conceive and develop a rich, educational and art-based experience for all children who attend Express Yourself.  In addition, she has helped break fundraising records for both 10th Street Preschool and Canyon Charter School in Santa Monica, where her two children attend school.

Kimberly Brooks
Kimberly Brooks is an acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist and P.S. Arts spokesperson who is dedicated to restoring arts education to the public schools of Los Angeles.  Her work has been featured in numerous juried exhibitions including curators from Whitney Museum of American Art, MOMA, California Institute of the Arts and LACMA. She hosts weekly artist column called 'First Person Artist' on the Huffington Post.  She also founded the new media agency Lightray Productions Brooks resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.  She maintains her studio in Venice, CA. www.kimberlybrooks.com.

Carleen Cappelletti
Carleen Cappelletti has been a leading presence in the events field for over 16 years, conceiving and producing some of the most high-profile entertainment, corporate, political and fashion events in the U.S. and abroad.  Prior to events, she worked in television specials. 

A founding partner of Merv Griffin Productions, her clients have included The GRAMMY® Awards, The Golden Globes after events, Paramount, Disney, Rolex, Gucci, Hermes, Valentino, LG, Charles Schwab, Hasbro, Vulcan Inc., and many more.  Her experience with political events run the gamut, and include the 2004 March for Women’s Lives in Washington D.C. for 1.2 million attendees.  In addition, Carleen has developed and produced numerous charitable galas and fundraisers, as well as advising and serving on several foundation boards. 

Carleen also runs marathons, and is looking forward to her eleventh.

Paul Cummins, Founder
Dr. Cummins, published author and authority on education reform, is also the lead founder of Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences, New Roads School and New Visions Foundation. Dr. Cummins’ creative mind and visionary leadership has led the board and supporters to consistent growth both financially and programmatically. Dr. Cummins remains an active member of our board.

Stephanie Ejabat
Stephanie Ejabat retired in 2001 from hedge fund Oakmont Corporation where she was Senior Vice President, Technology. She, her husband Mory, and daughter Carissa split their time between San Francisco and Malibu.  Stephanie also serves on the Board of Trustees for the San Francisco Ballet, and is a member of the San Francisco Modern Art Council.

Ari Emanuel & Sarah Emanuel
Mr. Emanuel is a founder and senior partner at the Endeavor Agency. He and his wife Sarah have served on the P.S. ARTS board for six years and are both very involved in raising necessary funding and awareness for our cause. As a demonstration of their commitment to funding arts education in underserved neighborhoods, they were the first board members to officially “Adopt-a-School”.

Kelly Fisher Katz
Kelly Fisher Katz works as a Corporate Spokesperson and Voiceover Artist. Additionally, she also works extensively with her husband, Beverly Hills Jewelry Designer Martin Katz. In Los Angeles, she serves on the Board of Directors at United Friends of the Children, which addresses the unmet needs of foster youth (chairing their Gala in 2007).  Kelly sits on the board of the Kennedy Center National Committee for the Performing Arts.  She is the past President of the Rape Treatment Center Support Council (chairing events in 2006/2007 and serving as Auctioneer). She is active with the Los Angeles Music Center’s Blue Ribbon and involved in AVIVA, which provides professional help to abused and neglected adolescents. Kelly and Martin reside in Beverly Hills and enjoy their mountain home in Sun Valley, Idaho. They travel extensively and are scuba diving, skiing and golfing enthusiasts. With their enjoyment of great food and wine they are members of the Napa Valley Reserve in St. Helena, CA.        

Laura Fox
Before retiring in 2001, Laura was responsible for overseeing business and legal affairs for live action films at DreamWorks SKG.  Previously, she was the Vice President of Legal Affairs for Walt Disney Pictures and Touchstone Pictures. She began her professional career at Latham and Watkins in Los Angeles, after graduating from the University of Chicago Law School.  She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Para Los Ninos, and on the Board of Trustees of the Brentwood School.

Nora Halpern
Trained as an art historian and visual artist, Nora Halpern is an independent curator and Vice President of Leadership Alliances at Americans for the Arts in Washington, DC. Prior to her work in the nation's capital, she spent four years in Oxford, England, where she was advisor to doctoral candidates in art history at Oxford University, as well as continuing her own work as an independent art advisor, writer, and curator.  Ms. Halpern spent much of her career in Los Angeles, where she was Curator of the Frederick R. Weisman Collections, Founding Director of the museum at Pepperdine University, as well as Vice President and Director of Fine Arts for Sotheby’s, Los Angeles. She has served on the board of the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, The Santa Monica Museum of Art and the Advisory Board of the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation.  

Travis Hansen
Travis Hansen is a native of Los Angeles and an active member of the Los Angeles art community. Travis is a dealer with clients in 32 countries and represents such noted artists as, Fernando Botero, Robert Indiana and the Estate of Auguste Rodin to name a few. Travis is active with charities focused on serving youth and was a member of the Board of Directors for Boys and Girls Town for five years. His wife Penny is also a native of Los Angeles and is an active member of the Luminaires Juniors.  

Patrick Herning
Originally from the Bay Area, Patrick grew up on the Peninsula south of San Francisco. He studied at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and received a BA in Sociology in 1996.

In 1998, after living in New York for two years following graduation, Patrick returned to San Francisco and began working as a Business Development Executive for CyberSource, a back-end eCommerce processing Software Company. The firm went public in 1999 and Patrick stayed with them until he joined Versign in 2003. Throughout this time, Patrick managed and executed several multi-million dollar partnerships with great success. During his lucrative career in eCommerce, Patrick also became heavily involved in philanthropy. He chaired several events such as the Opening Nigh Gala for Symphonix, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Human Rights Campaign Gala. To publicize and underwrite the events he chaired, he leveraged his business background to develop media relations and corporate sponsorships.

In 2005, Patrick resigned from Versign after it was acquired by eBay/Paypal. Aiming to merge his business and philanthropic background to create new business opportunities using his access to influencers and media outlets, he relocated to Los Angeles. In early 2006, Patrick incorporated Fathom.

Although arguably a newcomer on the LA PR scene, Fathom has already worked with an impressive roster of clients including Mercedes-Benz/Maybach, Range Rover, Versace, Carolina Herrera CH and MOCA. Patrick continues to support several charities including the P.S. ARTS, Children’s Action Network, Van Ness Recovery House, MOCA, Glide Memorial, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Natalya Hudis

Chris Klein  

George Kotsiopoulos
George Kotsiopoulos is a fashion editor, consultant and stylist. He is currently the Style Editor at Large for C Magazine, the national luxury lifestyle title for all of California.  He has styled Julianne Moore, Courtney Cox Arquette, Heidi Klum, Carolyn Murphy, Debra Messing, Anne Hathaway, Meg Ryan, Milla Jovovich, Mandy Moore, Ashley Judd, Amber Valetta and Christina Ricci among others for C covers since its September 2005 launch.

In addition to his full-time magazine posts, Kotsiopoulos is a Fashion Consultant for select celebrities, socialites and CEOs. He has worked with a wide variety of celebrities including Lindsay Lohan, Katy Perry, Gerard Butler, Rebecca Romijn, Kristen Stewart, Ray Liotta, Kate Hudson, Emma Roberts, Zooey Deschanel, KD Lang and Freida Pinto among many others.

Prior to C, he worked in the Style department at The New York Times Magazine for over eight years. In his capacity as Fashion Associate, he was Market Editor and Producer for photo shoots all over the world with celebrities including Julia Roberts, Salma Hayek, Eve, Kirsten Dunst, Eva Mendes, Kate Beckinsale, Gwen Stefani, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Cate Blanchett, among many others.

Kotsiopoulos is lending his style expertise to the “The Young and the Restless” and RestlessStyle.com, an online fashion magazine that coincides with the launch of the “Y&R” in-show print magazine Restless Style. He will also be appearing as himself on the #1 rated daytime drama. He also appears on seasons 2 and 3 of the Style Network’s “Style Her Famous.”  He was recently cast in “Glam it Up”, a television pilot for the CW network.  He co-hosted the “Sephora” pilot for E! Entertainment/Style Networks and was a fashion and style correspondent for MSNBC’s “Entertainment Hot List.”  He has also made numerous television appearances as a fashion expert and stylist on shows such as  “Good Morning America,” “E! News Daily,” “KTLA News,” “Access Hollywood,” “YourLA,” “Good Day LA,” “American Inventor,” “House of Boateng,” “Style Star,” “How Do I Look,” and “CW Now” among others.

He co-founded and co-hosts the annual “Bag Lunch” charity event for P.S. ARTS, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring arts education to the public school system of which he is on the Board of Directors.  The one-day shopping event of luxury handbags generously donated from over one hundred designers including Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Versace, Christian Dior, Marc Jacobs and Balenciaga is the hottest ticket in LA for celebrities and socialites to spend guilt free. The fifth annual “Bag Lunch” was held in March 2008.  The events have raised a total of approximately $700,000 with one hundred percent of the proceeds going directly to the charity.

Kotsiopoulos began his career in Hollywood as an entertainment publicist.  He lives and works in Laurel Canyon.

Susie Krevoy
Susie Belzberg Krevoy holds an MBA from Columbia University in New York.  She worked as an investment banker for Paine Webber and owned and operated a fast food franchise, How Lee Chow.  In 1994 Susie founded SMB & Associates, a special events and fundraising company whose clients included many of the major studios, feature film independents, and charities.  Susie has served on several local boards.  Susie lives in Santa Monica with her husband, Brad and three daughters, Olivia, Sophia and Alexandra.

Lisa Kudrow 
Emmy Award-winning actress Lisa Kudrow continues to bring her original sense of comedic timing and delivery to every role she takes on.

Currently audiences can see Lisa in the DreamWorks film Hotel for Dogs. Last year she starred in P.S. I Love You with Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler and in the independent film Kabluey which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival and at the 2007 Hamptons Film Festival.

Her upcoming films include the recently completed independent films Paper Man opposite Jeff Daniels, 17 Photos of Isabel with Natalie Portman for director Don Roos, Powder Blue with Forrest Whitaker and Ray Liotta and Bandslam for writer/director Todd Graff.

Lisa has received rave reviews for her previous feature film roles.  She won the Best Supporting Actress Award from the New York Film Critics, an Independent Spirit Award nomination and a Chicago Film Critics Award nomination for her role in the Don Roos scripted and directed film The Opposite of Sex (1998).  She won a Blockbuster Award and received a nomination for an American Comedy Award for her starring role opposite Billy Crystal and Robert DeNiro in the Warner Bros. boxoffice hit Analyze This (1999) for director Harold Ramis.

Lisa’s additional film credits include starring roles in Happy Endings (2005) for writer/director Don Roos which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival; Wonderland (2004) with Val Kilmer, in which she portrayed Sharon Holmes, wife of porn star John Holmes, in the film based on the infamous Wonderland Avenue murders; the Warner Bros. film Analyze That (2002), the sequel to Analyze This (1999), the Columbia Pictures film Hanging Up (2000) opposite Meg Ryan and Diane Keaton, Paramount’s Lucky Numbers (2000) with John Travolta, in the critically acclaimed hit comedy Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion (1997) with Mira Sorvino, Clockwatchers (1997) in which she starred opposite Toni Collette and Parker Posey and the Albert Brooks’ comedy Mother (1996).

Having successfully moved beyond the role of Phoebe Buffay, the character she brilliantly portrayed on the NBC hit comedy series Friends for ten seasons, Lisa formed the production company, Is or Isn't Entertainment, in the fall of 2003 with writer/producer Dan Bucatinsky.

Is or Isn’t Entertainment, which is based at NBC/Universal has already garnered great success. In addition to having four pilots ordered since it's inception, Is or Isn’t’s first television series, the critically acclaimed HBO series The Comeback garnered three Emmy Award nominations including one for Lisa for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

At present Is or Isn’t Entertainment is currently in production on a documentary series for NBC called Who Do You Think You Are, which traces the genealogy of a well-known person in each episode and they have produced a webseries called Web Therapy in which Lisa stars which can be found at www.lstudio.com.

While on Friends, Lisa was nominated for an Emmy award five times and won once for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She has also received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, an American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Female Performer in a Television Series and a Golden Globe Award nomination.

David Leyer
Dave Leyrer is a co-founder of Boulevard Capital Management, an investment
firm based in Beverly Hills, Ca.  Before that he was a co-founder and General Partner at Nexus Group LLC, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco.  Earlier in his career he was a Director of CSFB Technology Group and DMG Technology Group in San Francisco. He began his career at Salomon Brothers in New York.  Dave is a board member of Adopt-a-Classroom, a member of the Young Leaders Circle at the Milken Institute and a member of the Society of Fellows at the Aspen Institute.  Dave is a graduate of Lafayette College.  

Stephen McCray
Involved with K-16 education for over 30 years, Stephen McCray has served as a bilingual teacher, administrator in the public schools, lecturer for the School of Education at California State University and consultant for School Support Services, California Department of Education. Mr. McCray has worked as a national consultant, keynote speaker and trainer on student achievement, leading change, effective instruction, safe schools and cultural relations in educational communities. Mr. McCray’s most recent areas of focus have been Closing the Achievement Gap and Preparing Students for College Success. Mr. McCray also served on the Consent Decree Monitoring Team and the California Schools Recognition Team for the California Department of Education as well as on the boards of several charter schools and non-profit organizations. Co-author and presenter of two videos on successful learning communities and safe schools, Mr. McCray has been active in community arts as a performer and promoter of arts education in schools. He is currently the Principal of William Green School in Lawndale, winner of the 2008 Golden Bell Award.

Robin McMonigle
Robin McMonigle began her charitable involvement at a young age, matriculating through the National Charity League’s prestigious Debutante program in San Marino – through which she worked at the Crippled Children’s Society and Boys and Girls Club.  During her career in fashion, she also participated in Liz Claiborne’s pro bono charity projects in New York City.  Now a mother of four, Ms. McMonigle resides in Irvine where over the past decade she has established herself as one of the leading society patrons in Orange County, earning renown as an effective and passionate fundraiser and supporter of causes ranging from the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to the Orange County Rescue Mission, the Orange County Museum of Art, and Irvine’s Great Park Conservancy. 

Carolyn Powers
Carolyn Clark Powers works with numerous visual and performing arts institutions in both Aspen and Los Angeles. She serves on the Board of Directors at the Aspen Art Museum (chairing their Freestyle Gala from 2006-2008), the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet (chairing multiple events plus being their 2007 Gala Honoree) and Jazz Aspen Snowmass (chairing their yearly fundraiser).  Carolyn is on the Board of P.S. ARTS in Los Angeles, which is dedicated to bringing art programs to children in low income public schools, plus Carolyn works with the Thelonious Monk Institute providing music education programs and instruments to children in rural areas in southern states. Carolyn is active with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and she sits on the Board of the Los Angeles Music Center’s Blue Ribbon.  In 2008 Carolyn and Bill Powers were the LA Alive Honorees (raising over two million for the Music Center). Carolyn sits on the board of the Kennedy Center National Committee for the Performing Arts. In addition to her work with the arts, Carolyn is also involved with multiple health-related charities including the Painted Turtle (Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Camp for seriously ill children in Malibu). An avid runner, she has finished marathons in Washington, D.C., Boston, New York, Honolulu and Chicago. Carolyn resides in Los Angeles and Aspen with her husband, Bill, and their children. Carolyn and Bill are avid travelers, skiers, art collectors, and lovers of fine food and wine!

Amy Rappeport
Amy Rappeport is a partner in Mind Over Media, LLC - a Los Angeles based, cross-media marketing strategy and content development consultancy. Rappeport is involved in helping to define a full range of potent – and meaningful - marketing activities for P.S. ARTS.  

Ilene Resnick
Ilene Resnick Weiss is a Los Angeles native and a proud participant in the Santa Monica community for the past 16 years. She currently focuses her considerable energy and talents in the areas of education reform, environmental causes and social services. Having worked as both an entrepreneur in the restaurant business and as a consultant for a large multinational corporation, Roll International, Ilene brings her experience and expertise to her various concerns.

In the recent past she has acted as a mentor for the Fulfillment Fund and as a board member for P.S. ARTS.  Since 1997 Ilene has been an active member of the Westside Food Bank, where she also serves on the board of directors.  Currently she is involved with a new venture, Scribble Press, a make-your-own-book store, which opened in May at the Westside Pavillion.
 
Ilene received her undergraduate degree from Bard College and her Master’s in Business Administration from the Anderson School at the University of California, Los Angeles. She currently resides in Brentwood with her husband, two children and two dogs.

Brigette Romanek

Fred Sands
Mr. Sands is the Chairman of both Vintage Real Estate, LLC and Vintage Fund Management, LLC.   Mr. Sands is the former Chairman and sole shareholder of the second largest real estate and financial services company in California, and the seventh largest in the United States. Mr. Sands was appointed by President George W. Bush to the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts and liaison to the Kennedy Center.   Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him to the California Arts Council.  In addition, Mr. Sands is the Chairman of The United Way’s Million Dollar Roundtable.   Active in numerous community activities, Mr. Sands was a founder of the Museum of Contemporary Art and currently serves as its Vice Chairman and Trustee, as well as Chairperson of its Investment Committee.   He also serves on several Boards, including Chrysalis, the Los Angeles Opera (including its Executive Committee), and the Los Angeles Police Foundation.

Kim Schall
Ms. Schall is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara with a BA in Economics.  In addition to managing Inviting Designs, a social stationery business, she is involved in a variety of community interests including the Everychild Foundation, Jewish Federation of Los Angeles Woman’s Board and the Junior League of Los Angeles.

Jennifer Schiff

Rona Sebastian  
Rona Sebastian is a senior executive with national and international experience in non-profit arts and cultural organizations, philanthropy, higher education, for-profit music companies and consulting.  As President of the Herb Alpert Foundation, Ms. Sebastian defines, plans and administers the foundation's areas of funding and program development. She also collaborates with partners, institutions and other foundations to strengthen and enhance current and future programs and develop consortiums to address areas of shared interest.  Before assuming the Presidency of the Herb Alpert Foundation in 2004, Rona Sebastian served for four years as the Vice President of The University of the Arts in Philadelphia.  Before that she spent 15 years at The J. Paul Getty Trust, with 12 of those years as the Deputy Director of the Getty's Conservation Institute.  She holds an MBA from the Anderson School of Business at UCLA, and attended the Institute of Educational Management at Harvard's Graduate School of Education.

Julia Sorkin  
Julia Sorkin joined the Board of P.S. ARTS in 1999.  She served as Chairman of the Board from 2004 to 2005 and now co-chairs the Event Committee.  Julia graduated from Loyola Law School and served as Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs at Walt Disney Pictures and Castle Rock Pictures before becoming a full-time mom. 

Elizabeth Stewart  
Elizabeth Stewart is a fashion editor and celebrity stylist based in Los Angeles, after twelve years in New York in the style department of the New York Times Magazine and W magazine. She produces and styles fashion editorials as well as photo shoots with a list of celebrities including Reese Witherspoon, Cate Blanchett, Julia Roberts, Salma Hayek, Warren Beatty, Hilary Swank, Gwen Stefani, Charlize Theron, and many more.

Elizabeth’s specialty is creating high-concept shoots that merge the worlds of A-list Hollywood celebrities and the creativity of fashion editorials. She has worked with many renowned photographers including Matthias Vriens, Ruven Afanador, Stephane Sednaoui, Miles Aldridge, Peggy Sirota, Matthew Rolston, David LaChapelle, Mark Seliger, Deborah Turbeville, Norman Jean Roy, Herb Ritts, Jeff Riedel and Annie Leibowitz.

In addition to The New York Times Magazine, Elizabeth has worked on cover shoots for Vanity Fair, In Style, Esquire, Arena, Harper’s Bazaar, Interview, ID, Premiere, GQ, Marie Claire, and Entertainment Weekly. She has also worked on print campaigns or television commercials for clients including Lancome, Maybelline, Nuetrogena,  Bebe, Guess, Levi’s, TNT, Fox Television, Interscope Records, Neiman Marcus, Max Mara, Campari, and Cutty Sark. She also does red carpet styling for various celebrities including Cate Blanchett, Kristin Davis and Calista Flockhart.

Her children’s shoots for The New York Times Magazine have won awards from the Society of Publication Designers, Communication Arts, The Art Directors Club, and the Society of Newspaper Design.

After graduating from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Elizabeth began working as a fashion editor for Fairchild Publications, where she spent 6 years at Women’s Wear Daily and W Magazine, her last two years in Paris as the Paris Fashion Editor for W.  She then moved on to the New York Times Magazine, first in New York, and then several bi-coastal years as Creative Director, then West Coast Editor-at-Large based in Los Angeles.

Elizabeth was brought to Los Angeles after her marriage to a Hollywood television producer. She now resides in Santa Monica with her husband, Rob, and her two children, Ivy, 10, and Ben, 8.

Michael Thornton
Michael Thornton is currently Executive Vice President of business and legal affairs for Disney*ABC Domestic Television, the domestic distribution arm of The Walt Disney Studios and ABC Studios. Prior to joining The Walt Disney Company three and a half years ago, Michael oversaw programming for DIRECTV for six and a half years. Michael is a graduate of Dartmouth College, UCLA Law School and the Anderson Graduate School of Business at UCLA. Although he has sat on a number of
for-profit boards throughout his career, P.S. Arts is his first charitable board appointment. He resides in Hermosa Beach and spends as many weekends in Colorado as his 12-year-old daughter, Jade, will allow.

Sarah Watson
Sarah Watson received a BA in Art History from Vassar College. She began her career at the Paula Cooper Gallery, NY in 1993.  In 1994 teamed up with Jeffrey Deitch, eventually opening Deitch Projects in 1996 as Director.  In 1997 she moved to Los Angeles to become the Director of Patrick Painter Inc., in Santa Monica and in 2000 she became the West Coast Director of Onview.com, a virtual art gallery.  She joined Gagosian Gallery in 2001 where she was as a Director for seven years and is currently the Senior Director of L + M Arts, a New York based gallery, and plans to open their west coast gallery in Venice early next year.

Candie Weitz

Christine Hayes Weller
Christine Weller graduated from Duke University in 2000. She is married to Jeff Weller and lives in Pacific Palisades with their two children, Caroline and Hayes.  In addition to PS Arts, Christine is actively involved with The Luminaires, Juniors, her children’s school and her alma mater.

Joanne Wiles  
After graduating from The Wharton School with an undergraduate degree she worked as a financial analyst in the Merger & Acquisition Group at Salomon Bros before beginning her career in the entertainment industry.  She worked at Miramax Films for Harvey Weinstein and Columbia Pictures in the management-training program before making the move to an agency.  It was at ICM that Ms. Wiles was promoted to Agent.  From ICM, Ms. Wiles went to smaller agency, Susan Smith and Associates before going to the William Morris Agency where she represents musical, television and film talent.

Ari Wiseman  
Ari Wiseman is the Deputy Director of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. In this capacity he works with the Board of Trustees and Chief Executive Officer to help lead and direct MOCA and oversees collection management, exhibition production, and operations.

Mr. Wiseman also curated the recent MOCAFocus exhibition Matthew Monahan: Five Years, Ten Years, Maybe Never. In 2005 he co-curated MOCA’s exhibition Visual Music. Additionally, Mr. Wiseman served as a Commissioner on the Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission of the City of West Hollywood. Prior to joining MOCA in 2001, he worked for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Mr. Wiseman received his MA in the History of Art from The Courtauld Institute of Art, London and his BA in Art History from Northwestern University, Chicago.

Gennifer Yoshimaru
Gennifer Yoshimaru began her tenure at Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in 1986 as a Spanish teacher.  In addition to spending ten years in the classroom, she has held several administrative roles, including many years as Director of Admissions.  Currently the Direction of Institutional Advancement, she oversees all aspects of communications, advancement, admissions, public relations, and institutional community outreach for the school.  Gennifer holds a BA and MA from UCLA and taught there in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.  She is Vice-Hair of the Hill and Dale Family Learning Center Board and was a founding Board member for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

Laurie David, Board Emeritus
Laurie David is an author, global warming activist and a producer of Academy Award winning film An Inconvenient Truth, the HBO documentary Too Hot Not to Handle and the primetime comedy special Earth to America! A trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Ms. David founded the Stop Global Warming Virtual March with Senator John McCain and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  She was the first ever guest editor of the green May 2006, 2007 and 2008 issues of Elle Magazine.  In 2006 Laurie published her first book, the bestseller, “Stop Global Warming: The Solution is You” and Scholastic published The Down to Earth Guide to Global Warming, co-authored with Cambria Gordon, written for kids of all ages and has been published in 7 languages.  In the spring of 2007, Laurie launched the Stop Global Warming College Tour with Sheryl Crow, where they visited college campuses throughout the South East on a biodiesel tour bus and raised awareness and inspired students to become part of the movement to stop global warming.

In 2008 Laurie received a U.S. EPA Climate Protection Award for her efforts to spread awareness about the importance stopping global warming.  In 2007 she was awarded the Feminist Majority’s Eleanor Roosevelt Award, Audubon Society’s Rachel Carson Award and National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Achievement Award Special Achievement.  In October 2006, Ms. David was honored by and featured in Glamour Magazine as one of its “Women of the Year,” for her tireless mission to stop global warming.   Earlier that year, she was awarded NRDC’s 2006 Forces for Nature award for her work against global warming.   In 2003, Ms. David was honored by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Riverkeeper organization.

Laurie has been featured on Oprah, The Martha Stewart Show, Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN and MSNBC.  She has been profiled in People, Glamour, Vogue, Rolling Stone Magazine, Elle Magazine, Wired, House and Garden, Outside Magazine, The New York Times and Vanity Fair, which called her the “Bono of climate change.”