NIAD Art Center is thrilled to announce Alexandra McFarland’s transition to Chair of NIAD Art Center’s Board of Directors.
As Former Chair Pamela Martin steps down, she remarks,
“It occurs to me how remarkably vital this legacy of continuity truly is at NIAD. Alexandra’s dedication is already formidable, and I look forward to her ideas, expertise, and camaraderie as she leads the Board in these next two years.”
In tandem with this exciting change in leadership, Board Members Michelle Jones and Antonia Dapena-Tretter will also transition out of their roles, and new Board member Anne Mercogliano will begin her term.
Antonia recalls her time at the helm of the Board:
“NIAD is a happy place filled with art, creativity, and just a dash of magic–impossible to replicate! I have made truly valuable friendships through NIAD and cannot express my gratitude to the organization for those connections. While I am terming off the board after two consecutive three-year terms, I am not going anywhere. I will remain active on the Fund Development and Recruitment committees. I am particularly excited to watch NIAD grow under its new board chair and strong leadership.”
Executive Director Amanda Eicher voices NIAD’s appreciation for their service:
“NIAD has been gifted, since I joined the organization in 2018, with a board that seemingly holds superpowers. Stewarding unforeseen growth, negotiating a pandemic, expanding the board through effective recruitment, ensuring NIAD’s well-being during exceptional periods of transition and change: through it all, the dedication of NIAD’s leaders on the board has been unparalleled, and has provided an extraordinary foundation for the incoming board’s success.
As an Executive Director, I couldn’t have asked for a stronger pair of leaders than Antonia Dapena-Tretter and Pam Martin with whom to learn, collaborate, and build trust over my first five years.
Along with the expertise and strategic vision of incoming chair Alexandra McFarland, these leaders represent a foundation for board leadership, wisdom, and vision that will strengthen NIAD’s future as we see it unfold.”
Read the full text of Pam Martin’s statement.
New titles and biographical information for NIAD’s new Board can be found below.
Alexandra McFarland
Board Chair
Alexandra McFarland is a Senior Level Organizational Effectiveness Consultant/Program Manager recently with Unify Consulting, and formerly the Director of Program Management at AncestryDNA.com.
She is recognized for her extensive experience in organizing, leading and facilitating teams in the development – and implementation, of business strategies and initiatives. Her leadership style contributes to establishing an effective/cohesive culture by energizing and empowering individuals and teams to achieve shared goals.
As an accomplished facilitator with extensive training in multi-cultural facilitation and conflict resolution, she has successfully led a variety of groups such as corporate executives, global account teams and non-profit boards through strategic planning sessions.
Currently, Alexandra is broadening her professional experience to include mission driven organizations. She has personal and family experience with a sibling with developmental disabilities, and feels it is a natural fit for her to extend her experience in service of NIAD. She is honored by and looking forward to beginning her tenure as Board Chair of NIAD.
Alexandra holds a BA in Philosophy and Literature from Santa Clara University and a MBA from the American Graduate School of International Management (ASU). She has been actively engaged in volunteering at the St Francis Center in Redwood City CA, as well as local community issues in Palo Alto, where she lives.
Pam Martin
Board Vice-Chair
Pam Martin is a former Chairperson of NIAD Art Center’s Board of Directors, and was a facilitator there for many years. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Santa Clara University (1980) and an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute (2002). Her work has developed in various media while engaging both solo and collaborative practices. She has exhibited at Headlands Center for the Arts, Luggage Store Gallery, The LAB, as well as other venues both nationally and internationally.
Currently, through drawing, painting, and writing she examines concepts of enmeshment as it relates to relationships and other root bodies. Her current visual work Decomposing Display was exhibited at Alley Cat Books in San Francisco. Her most recent writings, Wishbookin’ and Ramparts Internal, have appeared in [ 2nd floor projects ] limited editions and Zyzzyva. She has taught at the San Francisco Art Institute. She lives and works in Woodacre, CA.
Portrait of Pam by former NIAD artist Aisha Ivery.
Anne Mercogliano is currently the CEO of Gretchen Rubin Media, building in the podcast, app, and creator space. Previously she served as VP of Growth and CX at Good Eggs overseeing product, brand, and growth and IFTTT’s VP of Marketing & Business Operations.She joined Twitter as a founding member of their Small and Medium Business Marketing team growing it into a multimillion revenue global organization. She has served as a growth strategist in the Retail & CPG groups of L.E.K. Consulting and in the Business & Planning group of Arnold Worldwide (Havas) as well as running demand generation at Trulia.
She is a Member of Mount Holyoke College’s Art Museum Advisory Board, and volunteers in fundraising roles with Planned Parenthood Northern California and Live Oak School. She has served on Planned Parenthood’s National Product and Innovation Council and as co-chair of the San Francisco Women’s March. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She lives in San Francisco with her partner, daughter and lovely dog.
NIAD’s full Board of Directors consists of: Chairperson Alexandra McFarland; Vice-Chairperson Pam Martin; Treasurer Jay Youngdahl; Secretary Craig Goodman; Karen DiDomenicis; Lizeht Zepeda; Lauren Vassell; Joey Enos; Ben Choi; Nicole Ferdinando; Anne Mercogliano.