THE SOCIETY OF
FOLIO FALL 2018
Development Director joins Four Arts’ team years ago, a mentor S everal asked Bridget Baratta to picture
“To this day I can still remember a poster of Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World hanging above my kindergarten desk,” Baratta said. “It was the beginning of a lifelong appreciation for artists and art itself.
her dream job in Development.
“I explained that if I could work anywhere, I would love to be at The Society of the Four Arts,” Baratta said.
“I am excited to work with so many talented and committed colleagues and board members and to bring my passion for the Four Arts, my knowledge of our community and experience in facilitating philanthropy to this unique community treasure.”
The Four Arts is pleased to make that dream become reality, recently adding Baratta as its Director of Development, overseeing a talented department that also includes Special Events and Communications. She began at the Four Arts on September 1, following three years as Chief Development Officer for the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society, almost two years as the Director of Philanthropy & Strategic Partnerships at Oxbridge Academy, and a decade as Executive Director of the Martin County Community Foundation. “When I am asked what type of work I do,” Baratta said, “I explain that I help people make the world a better place. I have had the tremendous privilege of working with numerous local individuals and families, helping them share some of their wealth with the causes and institutions they care about, as well as helping non-profit organizations to facilitate impactful relationships with philanthropists.” Baratta is a voracious reader, a member of three different book
Photo: Capehart Photography
clubs and a lifetime member of the Athenaeum in Philadelphia. Her appreciation of both the performing and fine arts began during her early years in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where she grew up playing the violin, attending ballet classes and a primary school where art was everywhere.
Baratta holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from George Washington University and a Master of Education Policy and Administration from the University of Pennsylvania. This season, she is especially looking forward to meeting Walter Isaacson on January 8, hearing Curtis on Tour on February 27 (as a graduate student at Penn, she often did her homework on the steps of the Curtis Institute, listening to rehearsals through open windows), and viewing the art exhibitions. “My biggest challenge will be figuring out where to set up my air mattress at the Four Arts,” Baratta said, laughing, “This will be a very busy season for my development team, and there are so many programs that I want to attend, that I think it’s going to be hard to leave and drive home!”
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