Grounds For Sculpture Announces Four New Members of its Board of Trustees

Today, Grounds For Sculpture announced that four new members have been elected to its Board of Trustees. Michelle J. Bajwa, Cataldo Doria, and Umesh Gaur joined the Board in December 2021, and Nick Pahade joined in June 2022. In addition, longstanding Trustee Penelope Lattimer has assumed the position of Vice President. The cohort joins the leadership of Grounds For Sculpture at time when the institution remains committed to expanding and deepening its impact by growing as a cultural hub, strengthening its engagement with a diverse audience, and maximizing its educational reach throughout the region and beyond.

As community leaders across industries including medicine, finance, digital media, education, and information technology, the incoming Trustees bring a wide range of skill sets, a diversity of backgrounds, and philanthropic initiative to the Board. Together, they will work with current board members and staff leadership to further Grounds For Sculpture's position as a leading cultural organization in New Jersey that invites a diverse public to create, learn, and discover personal meaning in their interactions with art, artists, nature and one another.

"We are thrilled to welcome these four outstanding community leaders to our Board of Trustees, and to see Dr. Lattimer assume a greater leadership role following her 7 years of service. We are eager to tap into their knowledge and expertise as we continue to build on a vibrant, 30-year foundation of success to develop the next chapter of Grounds For Sculpture's history," said Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. "Together, we share the common goal of creating a truly inclusive, reflective, and responsive oasis that serves local communities and provides a culturally and educationally enriching experience at the intersection of art and nature."

Michelle J. Bajwa

Michelle Bajwa is an entrepreneur in the IT space, and currently serves as Vice President of Bizratings.com/360score.me, a startup software services company she co-owns with her husband and business partner Rashaad Bajwa. Previously, she co-founded Domain Computer Services, Inc while still a college student. For the next 20 years, Domain established itself as a leader in the managed IT services space. Bajwa completed her undergraduate degree at Rutgers University.

In addition to her professional endeavors, Bajwa is an active community member and serves as the President of the Board of Directors at Womanspace, Inc. and as a Trustee Member for Chapin School in Princeton. Previously, she partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County to create an IT internship called "The Domain Future Tech Academy," which sponsored basic IT experiential learning opportunities for high school students.

Cataldo Doria

Cataldo Doria is an internationally renowned surgeon who serves as Medical Director at the Capital Health System Cancer Center in Pennington, NJ, where he oversees clinical operations including disease specific clinical performance groups, clinical research, and cancer care advancements. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Doria has held faculty positions at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Temple University College of Science & Technology, IsMETT - UPMC Italy, the Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center (Pittsburgh, PA), Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and the University of Perugia (Italy).

Dr. Doria received his medical degree at University of Perugia School of Medicine, where he also completed his internship and residency. He is a member of a number of professional societies and associations, including the American Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Society of University Surgeons, and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons

Umesh Gaur

Umesh Gaur, Ph.D. is the President of Gaur Asset Management and its principal portfolio manager. Gaur holds a master's degree from Indian Institute of Technology, and a doctorate in chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He completed Financial Planning Institute's program to be a Certified Financial Planner at Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1998. He is presently a member of the South Asian Art Advisory Committee at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and previously served on the Board of Overseers at the Peabody Essex Museum (Salem, MA).

Together with his wife Sunanda, Gaur has amassed a significant collection of modern and contemporary Indian art. The Gaur Collection includes about 400 paintings, works on paper, prints, tribal and folk paintings, sculptures and photography, and has been exhibited at a number of institutions including the Rubin Museum of Art (New York), the Surrey Art Gallery (Surrey, Canada), and the Frost Art Museum (Miami).

Penelope Lattimer

Penelope Lattimer is the former Director of the Rutgers Institute to Improve Student Achievement (RIISA). Dr. Lattimer is a former Assistant New Jersey State Commissioner of Education, and has served as an Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, a high school principal, and teacher.

In addition to her career in the education sphere, Dr. Lattimer is a community leader committed to arts advocacy and philanthropic endeavors. She has been a member of the Grounds For Sculpture Board of Trustees since 2015, and recently served as the President of George Street Playhouse Board of Directors. Previously, she sat on the boards of Crossroads Roads Theatre Company and American Repertory Ballet/Princeton Ballet School, and was a member of the New Jersey Council on The Arts.

Nick Pahade

Nick Pahade is a pioneer of digital marketing with over two decades of leadership experience across digital and media agencies as well as ecommerce and technology platforms. Currently, he serves as CEO of CrowdHere, a digital services agency he recently incubated.

Previously, Pahade served as CEO and Chairman of Poptent, leading its merger with Vizy, and led U.S. and Canadian operations as President and CEO of Initiative North America, one of the Interpublic Group's two worldwide media networks. He has also served as CEO of digital media management platform Traffiq, President of TrueAction, President of Denuo, and Managing Director of Mediacom Digital. Pahade holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biopsychology and marketing from the University of Michigan.

About Grounds For Sculpture

Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late artist and philanthropist Seward Johnson. Featuring nearly 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage all visitors in the artist's act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers rotating special exhibitions in its six indoor galleries, rich educational programs, and dynamic family events. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from both the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas and is now open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.

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