Board of Advisors

NEW BOARD LEADERSHIP

Christine O. Robb

At the conclusion on the 2020-21 year The Block Museum of Art Board of Advisors celebrated the extraordinary service and leadership of Christine O. Robb (WCAS ’66) (SP WCAS ’66) (Parent ’93) and welcomed new co-chairs Cheryl Johnson-Odim (WCAS MA ’75, WCAS PhD ’78) and Stuart H. Bohart (WCAS ’89, Parent ’25).

Robb has served as the chair of The Block Board of Advisors since 2006 and has been integral to the museum’s evolution and growth, including her contributions to the 2012 appointment of Lisa Graziose Corrin as The Block’s Ellen Philips Katz Director. Robb’s leadership has also been central to the museum’s surpassing its $26 million fundraising goal as part of We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern, including the establishment of a collective Board of Advisors endowed fund.

“Chris Robb has been an extraordinary friend and ally in championing the crucial role of the art museum in a multi-disciplinary Northwestern education. She has been a trusted sounding board since I arrived at the University, passionately advocating for our work and its impact on faculty and students within the many communities she serves,” said Lisa Corrin.

The Block Board of Advisors consists of 35 leaders from the worlds of the arts, academia, and business who support and advise the museum’s director. Robb will remain an active member of The Block’s Board of Advisors, while supporting the leadership transition to new co-chairs to strengthen the museum’s ongoing impact on campus, locally, and nationally.

“We are honored to welcome two extraordinary leaders to helm our Board of Advisors. Both Cheryl and Stu bring rich experience guiding cultural institutions at the national and international level, and deep insight regarding the role an art museum can play in disseminating knowledge and impacting the student experience. We are grateful that they will be bringing this experience to bear on ensuring that Northwestern’s art museum achieves its full potential in its ability to serve campus and community,” Corrin said.

Stu Bohart Cheryl Johnson-Odom

Cheryl Johnson-Odim holds a doctorate in history from Northwestern University. Her former posts have included provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Dominican University (Illinois), dean of the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Columbia College Chicago, chair of the History Department at Loyola University Chicago, and assistant director of the Program of African Studies at Northwestern University. She has taught at Northwestern University, Loyola University Chicago, and Columbia College Chicago, among others. Her community service is extensive, including serving as chair of the Board of Trustees of the Higher Learning Commission, vice chair of the Illinois Humanities Council, chair of the Joan Kelly Prize Committee of the American Historical Association, member of the founding board of associate editors of the Journal of Women’s History, member of the board of the African Studies Association, and co-convenor of its Women’s Caucus. She was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement with Friends of the Student Nonviolent (later National) Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in New York, as well as other organizations during that period.

Stu Bohart is a partner at FORT Investment Management, a hedge fund employing systematic quantitative strategies for institutional investors. He has been in the asset management and securities industry for 30+ years and spent most of his career at Morgan Stanley, where he was a division head and a member of the Management Committee. He has worked and lived in the PRC, Japan, and the UK. Stu is active in charities related to the arts and education; he is chairman emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, a past board member of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum, former vice-chair of NYC Outward Bound Schools, and a past trustee of Ethical Culture Fieldston School. Stu and his wife, Elizabeth, have three daughters and live in Aspen, Colorado.

BOARD OF

ADVISORS

Winnetka, IL, Appointed 2011, Chair, Board of Advisors, President and CEO, Artists’ Concepts, Inc. (WCAS’66) (SP WCAS’66)

Christine O. Robb

Chicago, IL, Appointed 2015, Art Collector (SP KSM’97) Anu Aggarwal

New York, NY, Appointed 2017, Vice Chancellor, Marketing and Communications, Rutgers University (MDL’81) New York, NY, Appointed 2018, Director of Exhibitions, Guggenheim Museum (Parent ’22) Los Angeles, CA, Appointed 2015, President/Founder, Vitameatavegamin (WCAS’85) Chicago, IL, Appointed 2019, Medical Director, Northstar Healthcare, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, UIC

Mary Baglivo

Clare Bell

Maria Bell

Daniel S. Berger

Pacific Palisades, CA, Appointed 2016, Artist (Parent ’17, '23) Christine Bernstein New York, NY Appointed 2019, Art Collector and principal and founder of the interior and floral design firm Cambridge Bell Flowers New York, NY, Appointed 2016, Former Financial Advisor, Fortress Investment Group (WCAS ’89) Brooklyn, NY, Appointed 2016, Curator and Advisor, PVC Fine Arts, LLC. (WCAS’85) Glencoe, IL, Appointed 2014, Former Public Defender; Community Volunteer (WCAS’90) (Parent ‘20)

Chicago, IL, Appointed 2013, Gallerist, Corbett vs. Dempsey Gallery, and professor (Comm PhD ’94)

Evanston, IL, Ex-officio, The Ellen Philips Katz Director of The Block Museum

Evanston, IL, Appointed 2013, Grant Writer (WCAS’92) (SP WCAS’93)

Darien, CT, Appointed 2013, Former Art Dealer; Community Volunteer (WCAS’92)

New Haven, CT, Retired, Yale University Art Gallery (TGS PhD ’83) Chicago, IL, Appointed 2013, Founder/President, 555 International Chicago, IL, Appointed 2012, Retired Ophthalmologist (FSM’74 ’76 ’80) (SP FSM’75 ’79 ’80)

Julie Bernstein

Stuart H. Bohart

Priscilla Vail Caldwel

Stacey Cantor

John Corbett

Lisa G. Corrin

Nicole Druckman

Kristin Peterson Edwards

Kate Ezra

James Geier

Lynn Hauser

Steven P. Henry New York, NY, Appointed 2018, Senior Director at Paula Cooper Gallery (WCAS’85) Rashid Johnson New York, NY, Appointed 2019, Artist

Cheryl Johnson-Odim Evanston, IL, Appointed 2020, Provost Emerita, Dominican University (WCAS MA ’75,WCAS PhD’78)

Ellen Philips Katz New York, NY, Appointed 2005,Trustee, Northwestern University (WCAS’70)

Zeynep Keyman Zürich and Istanbul, Appointed 2013, Art Collector, (Parent ’07, ’12) James A. Klein Riverwoods, IL, Appointed 2010, President, Acrobat Marketing Company (MDL ’68; ’69)

Dianne Loeb Seattle, WA, Appointed 2014, NU Regent; Community Volunteer (KSM’80) (SP KSM’81)

Angela Lustig Chicago, IL, Appointed 2014, Artist; Former VP/Group Creative Director, Abelson Taylor (SP MDL’67 ’68)

R. Hugh Magill Winnetka, IL, Appointed 2006, Senior Vice President, Northern Trust Company (SP Music ’86) Kim Allen-Niesen Los Angeles, CA, Appointed 2017, Art Collector (Parent ’16, ’19)

Craig Ponzio Evergreen, CO, Appointed 2019, Retired CEO, Art Collector, (Parent '22) Irwin Press Chicago, IL, Appointed 2012, Retired Professor, Notre Dame University; antd co-founder, Press Ganey Associates (WCAS ’59) Richard M. Rieser, Jr. Northbrook, IL, Appointed 2013, Founder and former CEO, First Oak Brook Bancshares (SP SESP ’70)

Sandra L. Riggs Lake Forest, IL, Appointed 2012, Board Member, The Alumnae of Northwestern University (Comm’65)

Selig D. Sacks New York, NY, Appointed 2007, Managing Director and General Counsel, Ruton Capital (WCAS’69) (Parent ’17)

Jean E. Shedd Evanston, IL, Retired NU Associate Provost for Budget, Facilities, and Analysis (KSM’97) Diane Solomon New York, NY, Appointed 2012, Art Collector (Parent ’10, ’15)

Lisa Tananbaum New York, NY, Appointed 2015, Art Collector (WCAS’86)

Martha Tedeschi Cambridge, MA, Appointed 2017, Director of the Harvard Art Museums (WCAS PhD’94)

Ken Thompson Lincolnshire, IL, Appointed 2015, Managing Director, Level X Consulting (WCAS ’91)

Susan Wilson Evanston, IL/Santa Barbara, CA, Appointed 2015, Community Volunteer (MDL’70) (SP WCAS’70 KSM’74)