Fritz Messere, president of the board of directors of View arts and community center in Old Forge announced the appointment of Peggy O’Shea, former president & CEO of The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, as View’s interim executive director as of December 31, 2016. O’Shea succeeds Jennifer Potter-Hayes, who retired in December after leading View for six years.View, founded in 1951, has evolved into a sophisticated art and community center, housed in a “green”-certified 28,000 square foot gallery, theater, workshop and studio facility on Route 28.
O’Shea’s extensive background in non-profit leadership brings to View excellence in philanthropy, non-profit management, and organizational transformation. At the Community Foundation from 2005 through 2014, she guided its reinvention from reactive grant-maker into catalytic community investor, and under her guidance The Foundation earned the Council Foundation’s National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations, the most rigorous standard for philanthropy. She also has served as a member of Governor Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council in 2011−2012 and on the boards of the Funders Alliance of Upstate New York. She currently serves on the Excellus BCBS Advisory Board of Directors and the Young Scholars Liberty Partnerships Program of Utica College.
O’Shea has an abiding passion for the Adirondacks, as witnessed by her former service as trustee at Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks and her current board membership in Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust.
O’Shea said, “I consider it a privilege to be working with the leaders and stakeholders at View, an institution that distinguishes itself by being the very place where individuals meet and connect with all forms of art. View is home to the area’s only pre-school, Kinderwood, as well as world-class exhibitions and first rate workshops and performances.”
Messere commented, “Peggy O’Shea brings a wonderful mix of administrative experiences and appreciation for the arts and the Adirondacks. While we will be undertaking a national search for a permanent director of View in 2017, the Board is extremely pleased that during our transition O’Shea can provide us with the leadership necessary to advance our goals and operations.”
O’Shea is a magna cum laude graduate of the State University of New York College of Technology at Utica-Rome, from which she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree. She has also completed the University of Wisconsin’s Certification Program for Excellence in Not-for-Profit Management and the Indiana University School of Philanthropy’s Certificate Program in Fundraising and the Council on Foundations Program on Community Foundation Leadership.
View is located at 3273 State Route 28 in Old Forge. To learn more about View programming, visit www.ViewArts.org or call (315) 369-6411.