Hello Everyone,

As many of you know, I am away this week and next but wanted to send a note anyway. (I guess that means I miss being on our home turf!)

Today I am at TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair) in Maastricht, Amsterdam with Sasha Suda. All is good.

Some of you have asked me “What is the AGO board and what does it do?” Here is my attempt to answer:

The Art Gallery of Ontario Board of Trustees is comprised of 27 voting trustees, and 13 non-voting emeritus trustees. Their job is to develop high-level strategy, provide financial oversight, and ensure the organization is well run (which includes hiring the director). They are a diverse group of individuals who have been very generous to the AGO, and they are proud of the work we all do. (*editor’s note: Shelagh Barrington, AGO Volunteer President, is a voting Member of the Board of Trustees)

There is another board called The Art Gallery of Ontario Foundation Board of Trustees, which is comprised of 13 trustees. Their job is to manage endowments and other funds to help ensure financial security for the future. (I will write a message about endowments and how they work another time.)

And there is a third board called the American Friends of the AGO Board of Directors, which is comprised of 5 people. They are responsible for making sure Americans have a way of contributing monetary gifts and works of art to the AGO while receiving tax benefits in the US.

The boards are key to our success. All of Leadership Team helps with the boards (yes, it is kind of like having 50 bosses) with Erin Prendergast as Corporate Secretary (ensures good governance practices and implementation of board decisions) and Amanda Dench as Deputy Corporate Secretary.

More to come, enjoy next week, see you on March 20 back at the AGO!

Stephan