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For Immediate Release

All Three Have Extensive Records Of Leadership In The Arts Community

Washington, D.C.—Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading arts policy information organization, announced today the appointment of three new members of its Board of Directors:

• Barbara Robinson from Cleveland, Ohio—Chair, Arts Midwest; Chair Emeritus, Ohio Arts Council; and, Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign, Cleveland Institute of Music;
  
  
• Emily Malino Scheuer from Washington, DC—Member, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities; Commissioner, The National Fine Arts Commission;
  
  
• Ann E. Sheffer from Westport, Connecticut—Board Member, the Westport Country Playhouse; Board Member, the Eos Orchestra; Chair, Westport Library, Museum, and Arts Committee.

"We are pleased to welcome Ms. Robinson, Ms. Scheuer, and Ms. Sheffer to our Board of Directors," said Robert Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts. "All three have shown exemplary leadership in arts advocacy in their communities and across the country. Their contributions and commitment to improving the state of the arts in America will play a valuable role in our organization."

Barbara Robinson is currently Chair of Arts Midwest, Chair Emeritus of the Ohio Arts Council, of which she was Chair for a record 13 years; and, Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign for the Cleveland Institute of Music. She previously served an unprecedented four terms as Chair of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, and she recently completed a five-year term as Chairman of the Board of the Cleveland Institute of Music. She was also a founding Trustee and President of the Cleveland Ballet.

A recipient of the Ohio Governor’s Award for outstanding achievement in arts and culture, Ms. Robinson is a former member of the piano faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music and performed as a piano soloist with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra.

Emily Malino Scheuer is a Member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and is a Commissioner of The National Fine Arts Commission. She is Chair Emeritus of The Woodrow Wilson Governing Council of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and she is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of The Shakespeare Theatre. A professional design consultant in Washington, DC, Ms. Scheuer wrote a nationally syndicated weekly column on design for ten years.

Ann E. Sheffer is a Board Member of the Westport Country Playhouse and a Board Member of the Eos Orchestra. Elected a member of the Westport Representative Town Meeting, she is also Chair of the Library, Museum, and Arts Committee. Long involved with the issue of arts in education, she has previously served as a Member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, as a Commissioner on the Seattle and King County (WA) Arts Commissions, and as Curriculum Coordinator/Grants Manager for the Seattle Public Schools.