Meet the Board

George Negroponte

Co-chair
George Negroponte is Director Emeritus of The Drawing Center and was appointed the first President of the institution in 2002. Mr. Negroponte is a fundraising consultant to several non-profit organizations and serves as the President of the Board of ARCAthens.  He studied art at Yale University and has had 20 one-person shows at numerous galleries worldwide. Further, he has taught painting and drawing at The Studio School, Parsons School of Design, The School of Visual Arts and Princeton University. His work has been included in numerous exhibitions at galleries and museums around the world, including The Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Mr. Negroponte resides in East Hampton with his wife and three sons.​

Judi Caron

Co-chair
​In addition to serving as a co-chair on the board of Hamptons Community Outreach,
Ms. Caron is the co-chair of i-tri girls and has also served on the Boards of French American Cultural Exchange, Julia Mandle Performance and the Sag Harbor Partnership. She has worked for Independent Curators International and volunteered for Partnership for the Homeless and Student Sponsor Partners, which is an organization that sponsors and mentors high school students in the Bronx.
In addition, she is a devoted mom and grandmother who enjoys yoga, hiking, swimming, cooking and walks on the beach with her dog Charley.

Nick Gazzolo

Board member
Nick Gazzolo is a founding Partner of Denver-based Solar Fund SolRiver Capital. He has also been an early investor in successful software companies Riskalyze and Intelligent Generation. Mr. Gazzolo previously worked for Habitat for Humanity International, Options Xpress, and Charles Schwab. He has served as President of the boards of the John Jermain Memorial Library and The Sag Harbor Partnership. Other boards include the Breakwater Yacht Club and Sag Harbor Cinema. He loves movies and sailing and feels lucky to call Sag Harbor home with his partner Renee and dog Atticus.​

Denise Silva-Dennis

Board member
Denise “Weetahmoe” Silva-Dennis (Shinnecock/Hassanamisco-Nipmuc) is an artist, arts advocate and retired Elementary School art teacher.
Her professional achievements include selection of several works for the “In Beauty It Is Begun…,” a joint exhibition for The Smithsonian and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  She also won the Parrish Art Museum’s Judge’s Award in the painting category.
Ms. Silva-Dennis is also an accomplished beadwork craftswoman. The traditional Eastern Woodland style of beadwork was handed down to her from the elder women of the Shinnecock and Hassanamisco-Nipmuc Nations. Her work includes traditional jewelry, beaded medicine fans, walking sticks, and beaded cradleboards. Her beaded necklaces have been shown at the Louise Himelfarb Gallery and at The Studio Connection, both in Southampton, NY.  Several Native American exhibitors carry an assortment of her beaded creations to Powwows throughout the Northeastern United States.

Joseph Kieffer

Board member
Joseph (“Joey”) Kieffer is the Global Co-Head of Leveraged Finance Capital Markets at Jefferies. Prior to joining Jefferies in 2017, Mr. Kieffer was a Managing Director at Credit Suisse where he worked in Syndicated Loan Capital Markets.  He received his BA in Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara and lives in Southampton Village with his wife Sabrina and three children.

Frances Cole Jones

Board member
Frances Cole Jones is an author, media, and presentation coach. Her books include “How to Wow: Proven Strategies for Selling Your (Brilliant) Self in any Situation”, “The Wow Factor: The 33 Things You Must (and Must Not) Do to Guarantee Your Edge in Today’s Business World” (Ballantine Books/Random House) and the e-book “Wow Your Way into the Job of Your Dreams” (Open Road). Forbes.com voted Frances' blog one of the top 100 websites for women. Speaking.com voted Frances one of the top 5 speakers in Communication. In addition, Frances is a practicing yoga therapist; her 3.5 year program with Yoga Well in San Francisco concludes in 2025.

Solange Schipani

Board member
​Solange Schipani is a marketing consultant and co-founder of Wonderhood Toys, an educational toy company with a mission to empower young girls to develop key skills through play. Prior to launching her own companies, she was a brand manager for the Colgate-Palmolive Company. She earned her BA from Georgetown University and her MBA from Columbia Business School. Solange spends her time in both New York City and East Hampton with her husband, two daughters, and their dog, Brunello. She enjoys traveling, cooking, playing tennis, and volunteering in her communities.

Amalie Bandelier

Board member
​Amalie Bandelier is a philanthropist at heart, an amateur interior designer, an avid equestrian and a travel enthusiast. Born and raised in Northern Michigan, Amalie graduated from Northwestern University and went on to become a Vice President at a top public relations firm in New York City, managing corporate communications for Fortune 500 companies. Her focus involved working with companies to manage their global philanthropic efforts. Switching gears after moving full-time out east, Amalie brings this expertise to her charitable work and is thrilled to be making a difference in her local community. Amalie has been a board member of CTREE, the Center for Therapeutic Riding of the East End, since 2018 and has had the privilege of serving as the Board President since 2020. She lives in Sag Harbor with her husband, two daughters, her horse and their golden retriever.