The John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art has announced a new a slate of officers and appointed four members to the board. Nancy J. Parrish will serve as Board Chair, Jeffrey R. Hotchkiss as Vice Chair, Edward M. Swan, Jr., CFA as Treasurer and Dr. Sarah H. Pappas, as Secretary for the next fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2020. The Honorable Dennis Archer, Leon R. Ellin, Leslie (Les) Victor Pantin and Debra Short were named to the Board.

Nancy J. Parrish, Chair, is a private investor and collector. Nancy was founding co-chair of Human Rights Watch, northern California Chapter. She served two terms as Development Trustee of Friends of UCSF’s Dept. of Psychiatry’s Hospital Board, focusing on the creation of a children’s center. Nancy served as a board member and Chief Negotiator with the federal government for Plum Orchard Foundation, whose mission was to preserve the historic Carnegie estate within the Cumberland Island National Seashore. She currently serves as vice president of The Children’s Guardian Fund of Sarasota.

Jeffrey R. Hotchkiss, Vice Chair, is a retired President of Teradyne (NYSE:TER), a Boston based manufacturer of systems for the testing of electronic products. In Mr. Hotchkiss’ thirty-eight year career at Teradyne, he has held roles in various sales, marketing and division management positions, including chief financial officer from 1997-1999. In 2000, he founded Empirix Inc. and served as the president and chief executive officer for four years, before returning to Teradyne as President of the Systems Test Group.

Edward M. Swan, Jr., CFA, Treasurer, is a resident of Sarasota spending part of the year on Martha’s Vineyard. He received a BA from Tufts University and a MBA from the Wharton School. He also attended a director development program at the Kellogg School (Northwestern University). He was a captain in the U.S. Air Force. Ed has over 35 years of experience in institutional investment management, marketing and enterprise management.

Dr. Sarah H. Pappas, Secretary, was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and spent the early years of her life in Havana, Cuba and Mexico City. Her family later moved to the United States where she attended high school and Penn State University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree, a master's degree from the University of South Florida, and her doctorate from Nova Southeastern University. Her experience in Florida's higher education system includes 44 years of holding progressively more responsible positions at three community colleges and the University of Central Florida.

The Honorable Dennis Archer is the Chairman and chief executive officer at Dennis W. Archer, PLLC. His areas of practice include appellate, arbitration, commercial and business litigation, and labor law. After earning his law degree, Mr. Archer practiced as a trial lawyer and taught as an associate professor at the Detroit College of Law and an adjunct professor at Wayne State University Law School. In 1994, Mr. Archer succeeded Coleman Young to become Detroit’s 59th mayor.

Leon R. Ellin serves as chief financial officer and Executive vice president for Voit Corporation, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas Mr. Ellin is 75 years old and has served as a business consultant for the following companies: Champion Products, Inc.; Wilton Brands, LLC (Wilton Industries, Inc.); Edward Don & Company, LLC; and Colgate- Palmolive Company.

Leslie (Les) Victor Pantin is Founder and President of Pantin/Berber Silverstein Public Relations. The firm, whose services include media and community relations, social media, crisis communications and special events, is a unit of Berber Silverstein Group (BSG), a full service advertising, marketing and media placement agency.

Debra (Deb) Short grew up in the Midwest and attended the University of Missouri- Columbia, majoring in Art History. However, after 25+ years in the retail management and buying arena for Bealls Department and JC Penney Department Stores, Short was fortunate to find her way back to her first love, the appreciation of art, by volunteering at The Ringling.