Outgoing DA Foundation president of three decades welcomes successor
Jacksonville, Fla. –– July 31, 2024 –– Today, the Douglas Anderson (DA) Foundation Board of Directors announced a new elected President, Erin Skinner, and Vice President, W.C. Gentry and Secretary, Deborah Knauer. In addition, the DA Foundation Board of Directors also welcomes Gary Webber as a new member. After nearly three decades of service, DA Foundation President, Jeff Dunn is stepping down. Under his leadership the Foundation’s purpose and mission were established and many talented artists and students-of-the arts benefitted from the Foundation’s support.
“Though a Foundation Board Member of only four years, Erin Skinner’s expertise and experience on several of our city’s top non-profit boards has already proven to be invaluable. She is a natural leader and the foundation is thrilled to welcome her as its new President,” said Jackie Cornelius, DA Foundation executive director. “The Foundation is honored that WC Gentry, a hero to many, has agreed to serve as Vice President. He is one of our city’s most respected leaders especially regarding quality education for all, the arts and the law. With his long-standing investment in the local arts community, we are excited to have him guide the DA Foundation as Vice President.”
Erin Skinner has a twenty-year career in sales serving as an executive in the marketing and technology industries. She knows how to lead a team to success through strategizing, forecasting and analyzing best practices that elevate a brand. She also has experience in consulting and grant writing. Skinner received her Bachelor of Science in Management from Florida State University and her Master of Business Administration from the University of North Florida.
She has served on boards across Northeast Florida, including tenure as the Chairperson for the Board of Trustees at the Jacksonville Public Library, the Board for Community Connections of Jacksonville (formerly YWCA), the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and is a current board member of Lifework Leadership First Coast.
W.C. Gentry, a Jacksonville native, is joining the DA Foundation’s board as vice president. Over the course of his 40-year career as a trial lawyer, he handled some of Florida’s most high profile cases involving public health, safety and education. Outside of his career in law, he’s invested his time and skillset into bettering the education landscape of Northeast Florida. Gentry served as Chair of the Florida Council on Education Policy, Research & Improvement and a term on the Duval County School Board from 2010-2011. He also founded the Read It Forward Jax Coalition, a 501(c)(3) designed to engage the community around literacy, build a culture of reading in Jacksonville and align community partners and resources with Duval Schools to maximize local children’s reading proficiency.
Deborah Knauer has served as a member of the DA Foundation Board of Directors for eight years and will now serve as its secretary. She has been the Chair of the DA School Advisory Board for several years and is a long-standing supporter of arts education and community organizations. Knauer served as a board member of the Arts Schools Network, a national organization dedicated to empowering leaders of arts schools nationwide. Committed to service, she is a former board member of the Jacksonville Rotary Club and currently isa member of the Jacksonville Women’s Network and currently serves on the Linda Berry Stein College of Fine Arts & Humanities Advisory Board at Jacksonville University.. Knauer is an accomplished attorney who has been practicing law for close to four decades in the state of Florida.
Dr. Gary Webber has served as senior pastor of Aspire Church San Marco since 2008. A native of Dayton, Ohio, Gary grew up in Jacksonville, graduated from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, and earned a degree in Music Education from Jacksonville University. Throughout his career, Webber has been a champion of arts education and students. He has served as the chairman of the School Advisory Council of both LaVilla School of the Arts and Julia Landon College Preparatory School. Dr. Webber has pursued his own career in acting and has performed at the Alhambra Dinner Theater and Theatre Jacksonville, where he is currently a volunteer.
The DA Foundation continues to support and partner with our city’s arts organizations, artists and the talented DA arts students. Graduates from the class of 2024 accumulated $24 million in total scholarships offered with 100% of the seniors receiving their high school diplomas. Out of the 228 graduates, 94% of them have plans to attend colleges, universities and conservatories with 54% pursuing degrees in the arts.
“I’ve had the pleasure of being able to connect with the many passionate individuals over the last thirty years who have supported the DA Foundation’s mission and vision, bringing to life so many dreams for art students and teachers at the arts high school,” said Dunn, outgoing president of the DA Foundation. “I look forward to seeing how the Foundation continues to grow under the leadership of Erin, W.C. and Deborah.”
For information specifically about the arts school, auditions and its performance schedule, go here.
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About the Douglas Anderson Foundation:
The DA Foundation, a non-profit corporation created in 1987, is committed to supporting the arts with a priority of supporting Douglas Anderson School of the
Art’s critical art’s needs. As in most specialized arts schools the arts needs go far beyond what an individual parent-support group or the school district is able to fund, specifically in regards to the demanding arts departments’ needs; such as, master arts classes, collaborative partnerships, specialized arts equipment and projects, summer arts scholarships, arts teacher fellowships, arts events, public relations and arts programming.
The DA Foundation is committed to providing critical funding necessary to ensure that the school is able to meet its mission of supporting arts in our community and providing DA students “cutting-edge” training and intensive arts study, as well as to ensure that DA’s arts programs meet the standards set by our nation’s top arts conservatories, art institutes and universities.