CHICAGO—The Terra Foundation for American Art is pleased to welcome Amina Dickerson, Eric T. McKissack, Ravi Saligram, and Amanda Williams to its Board of Directors.
“We are thrilled to welcome these four thought leaders to our Board of Directors to help us envision new futures for American art during this moment of change and transition at the Terra Foundation,” said Joseph P. Gromacki, chair of the Terra Foundation for American Art’s Board of Directors. “Our engaged Board members are working with our President and CEO and staff to develop and test new strategies for the foundation, which will support projects that expand narratives of American art, encourage collaborative practices in the field, and foster intercultural dialogues globally. Amanda, Amina, and Eric each have deep ties to Chicago and decades’ worth of experience supporting the arts and the cultural ecosystem in our home city. Ravi, who once lived in Chicago, expands the Board’s geographic reach in the U.S. as he is deeply invested in supporting the artistic community in his current home of Atlanta.”
Amina Dickerson is President of Dickerson Global Advisors, a leadership coaching and consulting practice, and her work is heavily focused on the intersection of arts, social justice, and community. She was Co-Interim Director of the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art and served as President of the DuSable Museum of African American History. She has held leadership positions at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, the Chicago Historical Society, the Woods Fund of Chicago, and the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, where she is vice president. Dickerson began her career in the theater, studying at Emerson College in Boston and later earning an arts management MA from American University in Washington, DC.
Eric T. McKissack, CFA, is an investment executive, entrepreneur, and independent board member. As founder and former chief executive officer of Channing Capital Management, he was at the helm of the Chicago-based investment firm for 15 years. He currently serves on boards of Farmer Mac; Northern Trust’s FlexShares ETF Funds, where he serves as chair; Morgan Stanley Pathway Funds; and McKissack & McKissack, a family and privately held engineering and design firm based in Washington, DC. His civic engagements include service on the boards of The Arts Club of Chicago, the Graham Foundation, the Berkeley Haas School of Business, and the Grand Victoria Foundation, which he chairs. McKissack is also a trustee of The Art Institute of Chicago and a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. He earned his SB from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Ravi Saligram is the President, CEO, and a member of the Board of Directors of Newell Brands, a Fortune 300 global consumer products company. Prior to joining Newell, Saligram was CEO of Ritchie Brothers and CEO of OfficeMax, where he led the company’s 2013 merger with Office Depot. Since joining Newell in 2019, Saligram has driven the company’s turnaround journey, and under his leadership, Newell has been included in several lists including Fortune’s 2022 World’s Most Admired Companies, Forbes World’s Top Female Friendly Companies 2021, and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation Corporate Equality Index 2021 and 2022. Saligram serves on the board of Church & Dwight Co., Inc., the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and the Governing Board of the Woodruff Arts Center. He is a Trustee on the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board.
Amanda Williams is a visual artist who trained as an architect. She produces creative works and public installations that speak to core questions of equity and value. Williams has been recognized as a USA Ford Fellow and a 3Arts Next Level awardee, and she was the inaugural Artist-In-Residence at Smith College. She is a lecturer, whose presentations include a mainstage TedTalk, and is a trusted advisor to cultural leaders. Williams has exhibited widely, including at the Venice Architecture Biennale and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and she garnered a public commission from the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis. She is co-designer of a permanent monument to Shirley Chisholm in Brooklyn, NY, and is part of the Museum Design Team for the Obama Presidential Center. Her work is in many permanent collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the Smithsonian. Williams sits on the boards of the Graham Foundation, the Black Reconstruction Collective, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, the Hyde Park Art Center, and the Garfield Park Conservatory. Her projects are included in Black Futures and Radical Architecture of the Future. Amanda lives and works on the South Side of Chicago.
“We are delighted to welcome our new Board members to the Terra Foundation, and our work together has already shown us the immense impact they will have on the foundation and the American arts and cultural ecosystem,” said Sharon Corwin, Terra Foundation President and CEO. “Amanda’s work is committed to civic well-being, and her voice is key to reshaping our engagement with artists, arts organizations, and their audiences in Chicago. Amina’s close connection to Chicago’s arts and cultural landscape is invaluable, and her Board appointment comes after she has been an advisor and friend to the foundation for many years, as she was an essential member of the advisory committee for the 2018 Art Design Chicago initiative.
“Eric has committed a deep level of service to multiple foundations and other institutions, including several arts organizations in the city, representing experience that offers new insights into the foundation’s way of working and leading in Chicago. Ravi brings to the board an expertise and proven track record of operational excellence and organizational strategy. He is known for building winning cultures, which is central to our current strategic planning work.
“Together, the Board of Directors will continue to move the foundation forward in new ways, expanding our networks and helping our partners to tell expansive, inclusive stories of American art.”
About the Terra Foundation for American Art
The Terra Foundation for American Art supports individuals, organizations, and communities to advance expansive understandings of American art. Established in 1978 and headquartered in Chicago, with an office in Paris, the Terra Foundation is committed to fostering cross-cultural dialogues on American art locally, nationally, and internationally, through its grant program, collection, and initiatives.
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