Berkshire Art Center Announces New Board Chair and Three New Members
Berkshire Art Center (formerly IS183 Art School) is pleased to announce the appointment of a new chair and three new members to its Board of Directors this fall. This brings the number of board members to five.
At the committee’s most recent meeting earlier this month, board member, Mike Zippel, was appointed to the Board Chair position, which was previously held by outgoing board member, Ann Gallo. The three new members appointed to Berkshire Art Center’s Board of Directors include Elissa Haskins-Vaughan, Michael Ibrahim, and Marie Rudden.
Berkshire Art Center’s New Board Chair, Mike Zippel
“On behalf of our staff and faculty, I want to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to Ann for her dedicated years of service on the board,” said Executive Director, Lucie Castaldo. “In this exciting time of growth for Berkshire Art Center, we’re grateful to expand our board with community members who have a strong history of involvement with BAC and a passion for our mission.”
After many years of working with Berkshire Art Center to plan their gala events and having a lifelong love for creativity and all things art, Zippel first joined Berkshire Art Center’s Board of Directors in 2018 and served as Board Clerk for two years. He was born in Alzey, Germany and moved to the Berkshires after meeting his husband, Oskar Hallig in 2002. Zippel completed his BA in Interdisciplinary Studies at MCLA in 2010 and gained his citizenship in 2019. He worked for years at Iredale Mineral Cosmetics and permanently joined Only In My Dreams Events in 2020 as co-owner with Hallig. Together they opened and run The Shop in South Egremont. Since then, Zippel has begun offering his own artwork through his Beloved Buildings series. Zippel has a passion for helping his community thrive through both his business and social pursuits.
New Board Member, Elissa Haskins-Vaughan
As one of the first new members appointed to Berkshire Art Center’s Board of Directors, Elissa Haskins-Vaughan, had been elected at the recent committee meeting to be the board’s new clerk. For the last four years, she has been the Director of Development and Communications at Berkshire South Regional Community Center. After graduating from Mount Holyoke College and receiving her Master's Degree in Museum Studies from The University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the United Kingdom, Haskins-Vaughan returned to the United States where she made a shift to nonprofit development work, primarily in the arts sector. As a full-time resident of Housatonic, Massachusetts, she serves on the Great Barrington Cultural Council and the Steering Committee for the Great Barrington Cultural District. Haskins-Vaughan and her family are active members of Berkshire Art Center’s creative community.
New Board Member, Michael Ibrahim
In addition to Haskins-Vaughan, Michael Ibrahim also joined as a new member to Berkshire Art Center’s Board of Directors. Currently, Ibrahim is the Chief Program and Impact Officer at TSNE, a $70 million nonprofit management and capacity building organization that strengthens organizations working towards creating a just and equitable society. Ibrahim has published works and presented nationally on organizational development, strategic planning, and more with the goal of driving social and cultural impact in communities. Prior to joining TSNE, he was the Cultural Investment Portfolio Manager at the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the lead Program Officer to Berkshire Art Center. Through leading the Council’s Advisory Services and Capacity Building Initiatives for arts, humanities, and science organizations across the Commonwealth, Ibrahim’s work had provided direct consulting services, group facilitation, as well as cohort development to help organizations build adaptive and innovative models of operation.
New Board Member, Marie Rudden
The third appointed board member, Marie Rudden, is the Founder and past Board President of the Berkshire Community Diaper Project, which works with community agencies and food pantries to distribute diapers to those in the Berkshires who cannot afford them. This project is now delivering 1,000 diapers a month to 19 sites throughout Berkshire County. Earlier this year in May, Rudden received the Board Leadership Award from the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires. Recently retired from her clinical practice as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Rudden continues to write and edit in her field. She is also a current student taking painting classes and exploring her creativity at Berkshire Art Center.
“I am thrilled and excited to welcome our three new board members and thank them for donating their passion, wisdom, and time to Berkshire Art Center,” said incoming Board Chair, Mike Zippel. “Art, or in other words, creativity and craftsmanship of any kind should play an essential role in everyone’s life and Berkshire Art Center is here to help make that happen.”
Berkshire Art Center’s Board of Directors meets quarterly to further the organization’s goal of growing and sustaining artists in Berkshire County. For more information on Berkshire Art Center’s programming and initiatives or to make a donation visit www.berkshireartcenter.org.