NEFA’s Board of Directors Welcomes New Members

(Boston, MA) Ann Smith, chair of the New England Foundation for the Arts, announces the appointment of three new members of NEFA’s Board of Directors.

“The class of 2023 brings unique expertise, both artistic and operational, to NEFA’s board,” said board chair Ann Smith. “The board is committed to including artists’ voices – particularly Black, Indigenous, and people of color – in our leadership.” The new members are: 

Edwige Charlot, Artist and Director of Community Learning, Alliance of Artist Communities

A Haitian, French immigrant artist, designer, and strategist, Edwige has worked in the social profit sector over the past decade in previous roles at AS220, the Maine College of Art, and Creative Portland. Her community engagement and service include being a founding member of blackearth lab; a founding member of the Portland Global Shapers, an initiative of the World Economic Forum; an advisor of the People of Color Fund at the Maine Community Foundation; and the Artist Thrive activator at the Emily Tremaine Foundation. She earned her BFA in Printmaking from Maine College of Art. In her artistic practice, Charlot borrows from installation, collage, and printmaking to create hybrid works and a lexical visual language. She keeps space for a visual creole by blending and mixing mediums and techniques. Charlot has received support for her work from St. Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist Award, the Maine Arts Commission Good Idea Grant, and the Parent Residency Fellowship from the Sustainable Arts Foundation. Charlot's work has been exhibited in New England, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon, among others. She has been an artist in residence at Tides Institute & Museum of Art in Eastport, ME, the Quimby Colony and the Maine College of Art in Portland, ME, and the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT. Having spent part of her childhood in Deep River, CT, Edwige currently resides in Providence, RI, with her son and partner.

Erinn R. King, CFA®, Managing Director, Payden & Rygel

A founding member of Payden & Rygel’s Boston office, Erinn is responsible for client relations and business development for the East Coast, Bermuda, and Canada. She also leads the firm’s global insurance practice. Erinn is a Past Chair of the board for the CFA Society Boston. She is also a trustee for Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre and a member of the Boston Club. She has previously served as Co-President of the board for the Boston Dance Alliance. Erinn earned an MBA in Finance at Boston University and also holds a BFA and MFA in Dance from the University of Oklahoma. While at university, Erinn danced with the Oklahoma Festival Ballet and then professionally with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company in Canada. She currently resides in Boston.

Madeline Sayet (Mohegan), Executive Director, Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program

For her work as a director, writer, and performer, Madeline has been honored as a Forbes 30 Under 30 in Hollywood & Entertainment, TED Fellow, MIT Media Lab Director's Fellow, National Directing Fellow, Native American 40 Under 40, and recipient of The White House Champion of Change Award from President Obama. Her solo performance piece Where We Belong, first shown in London at Shakespeare's Globe, will have its U.S. Premiere in DC as part of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company's coming season. She is currently co-writing and directing a series of radio plays about moments in Mohegan History for HartBeat Ensemble. Recent directing work includes: Staged at Home: a Virtual Benefit Concert (Long Wharf Theatre), Henry IV (Connecticut Repertory Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream (South Dakota Shakespeare), Whale Song (Perseverance Theatre), She Kills Monsters (Connecticut Repertory Theatre), As You Like It (Delaware Shakespeare), The Winter’s Tale (Amerinda/HERE Arts), Poppea (Krannert Center, Illinois), The Magic Flute (Glimmerglass), Miss Lead (59e59).

About NEFA

The New England Foundation for the Arts invests in artists and communities and fosters equitable access to the arts, enriching the cultural landscape in New England and the nation.  NEFA accomplishes this by granting funds to artists and cultural organizations; connecting them to each other and their audiences; and analyzing their economic contributions. NEFA serves as a regional partner for the National Endowment for the Arts, New England’s state arts agencies, and private foundations. Learn more at www.nefa.org.