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The Portsmouth Arts and Culture Committee: Who We Are
Current members of the Portsmouth Art and Cultural Center Committee include:
- George Furbish (chair) — George is a board member and treasurer at the Newport Art Museum. He served on the building committee and on the town council when he lived in Vernon, Conn., where he was vice president for marketing and underwriting at the Travelers Insurance Co. He is a practicing artist, music lover and a board member of the Portsmouth Arts Guild. Contact
- Bill Clark, director of business development for the Town of Portsmouth, serves in an ex officio capacity.
- Wanda Coderre, a Portsmouth artist, serves on the board of the Portsmouth Arts Guild. She has chaired the Portsmouth Zoning Board, has done extensive volunteer work with Newport Hospital and hospice, and is a member of the Art League of Rhode Island, the Providence Art Club, and the Rhode Island Watercolor Society. Contact
- Mark Nickel (secretary) — Mark is currently director of communications at Brown University, where he has worked for more than 25 years. He is a member and former board member of the Providence Singers and also performs with Sine Nomine, an early music chorus based in Fall River. Contact
- Tom Perrotti — A musician (guitar and mandolin), theater educator, and retired Portsmouth teacher, Tom is president, musical director and technical director for Common Fence Music. Contact
- Jennifer Sunderland (vice chair) — Jennifer, a resident of Portsmouth, is executive director of the arts program at Tiverton Four Corners. Contact
- Priscilla Wimpress — Priscilla is a co-founder of Portsmouth Community Theatre and continues to serve PCT as a board member. She is a graduate of Cornell College in mathematics and education and did graduate work in arts administration at American University in Washington, D.C. Contact
The committee extends special thanks to Eric Broudy, a longtime Portsmouth resident who chaired the committee during its first three years, led the successful project for a public opinion survey, and sustained the committee’s momentum through to its final report. A writer, photographer, and former communications officer at Brown University, Eric lived in Rhode Island for more than 25 years and in Portsmouth since 2000. He and his wife Daisy moved to Amherst, Mass., in November 2011.
We thank our colleagues who worked with the committee for Part I of the project— from the beginning through the presentation of the Interim Report to the Town Council 18 months later:
- Jan Gordon — Jan is a self-employed marketing specialist, who consults on development and marketing strategies for the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. She has interest and expertise in conducting usage, sustainability, and feasibility studies. Contact
- Len Katzman —Len is a business attorney with with a focus on intellectual property matters. He has served on a variety of boards of directors, including for the Portsmouth Arts Guild and the congregation at Touro Synagogue. Born and raised in Portsmouth, he served two terms on the Portsmouth Town Council. Len is also a musician and enjoys a life-long love of music. Contact
- Mike Miller — Mike is an attorney with expertise in real estate matters. He is a board member at the Newport Art Museum, the Portsmouth Arts Guild, the South County Art Association, the Newport Photo Guild, and other arts organizations. Photography is his preferred art form.
- Laurie Spaner — Laurie has 27 years of experience as a singer, director and producer of theater and musical theater in the Boston area and in Rhode Island. She is currently a freelance vocalist, a cast member of the Ocean State Follies, and musical educator with Clubsprouts Kids’ Club. Contact
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