The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County (CAFC) recently made changes to their Board of Directors, electing two new members and naming a new President and Vice President. Cheryl Williams and Kim Morque were named President and Vice President, respectively, and Patricia Rattray and Bill Purcell stepped onto the Board as new members.
Cheryl Williams, formerly Vice President of the Board, was elected President at the July 2021 annual CAFC Board of Directors meeting. She takes the place of Cindy Vaccaro, who has been President since 2015. Cheryl lives in Norwalk and joined the Board in December 2015. She was with CBS for over 30 years in engineering, operations and production management, most recently as Director of Production for CBS News. Cheryl is the principal and founder of Cherwill Designs & Events, a company focused on technology & creativity, offering operations & production support, virtual and in-person event planning and digital marketing. Cheryl has a BA from Spelman College, a BS in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and an MBA in Finance from NYU.
The new Vice President of the CAFC Board of Directors is Kim Morque, co-owner of Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, who joined the Board in December 2019. Kim has been a principal with Spinnaker since 1998 and has over thirty years of experience in land use, real estate development and management, commercial construction, and place making.
Patricia Rattray was elected unanimously onto the CAFC Board of Directors in July. She lives and works in Stamford. She is a real estate professional working for William Pitt Sotheby's, as well as a business consultant helping small business owners on strategic planning and business operations across a variety of industries including construction, manufacturing, property management, professional services and non-profits. Patricia graduated from Brown University with a Bachelors in Education. She also gained a Master's Degree in Drama Therapy from New York University. Patricia has volunteered for United Way of Western Connecticut, was the co-founder of Stamford's chapter of Lean In, a discussion group for professional women, and is also a board member of New Neighborhoods.
The Board thanked Cindy Vaccaro for her leadership and service to the CAFC Board. She will remain on the Board as Past President. Cindy joined the CAFC Board in December 2012 and took over the presidency from Elizabeth Morten in May 2015. During her tenure, CAFC established the ACE Awards and received a grant of $215,000 from the Daniel E. Offut, III Charitable Trust. She has been an indefatigable fundraiser and financial contributor to the Cultural Alliance. She has always been a strong proponent of arts advocacy and arts education and spearheaded two special CAFC fundraising events - "Purple Dreams" and "Designers Celebrate the Arts." Angela Whitford, former executive director during Cindy’s tenure said: "Cindy Vaccaro’s dedication, hard work, and vision in leading the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County were extraordinary. I am grateful for her commitment to the organization’s growth during challenging times and her steady leadership’s impact. Working with her for more than five years was a privilege, and I wish her much happiness and some well-deserved rest.”
Questions may be addressed to David Green at CAFC: david@culturalalliancefc.org