Meet Our Board

Executive Committee

Joe Ales

President

Joe Ales is a structural engineer and Managing Principal with Walter P. Moore and Associates and serves as the Managing Director of their Orlando office. He started his career in the firm’s Tampa office and then served as Managing Director of their Los Angeles office before moving back to Florida. He has been a resident of Maitland with his family since 2014 and he and his wife have two children at UCF and one child at Winter Park High School. Throughout his 31 years in structural engineering practice, Joe has served on numerous technical committees and boards. He is a licensed professional engineer in Florida and several other states and is a Fellow of the Structural Engineering Institute. Joe received his Doctorate in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and his Master and Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Though he is unequivocally left-brained, Joe has a deep appreciation for the arts and is proud to be an active member of the Maitland Arts Community.

Barbara Coleman-Foster

Vice President

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Barbara Coleman-Foster currently serves as the Associate Vice President of Organizational Culture and Strategy at Seminole State College of Florida. Although Barbara's academic background is in mathematics, she is an art enthusiast who enjoys museum visits, guided talks, and interactions with artists. Barbara is a proponent of life-long learning and has experience with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at Seminole State and in her community.

Photo courtesy of Seminole State College of Florida

Michael Thomas

Second Vice President

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Michael Thomas is the owner of John Michael Exquisite Weddings & Catering. Michael attended the University of Central Florida where he earned a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management and master’s in business administration. Michael was born and raised in Hartville, Ohio. He moved to Florida in 1987, and owns a home in downtown Orlando with his husband Rustin Davis. John Michael Exquisite Weddings and Catering believes in giving back to the community that has helped us prosper, and, in doing so, have been named Orlando’s 36th most philanthropic company by the Orlando Business Journal.

William Dacko

Treasurer

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William Dacko is a seasoned banking executive with more than three decades of experience in correspondent and commercial banking. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President of Correspondent Banking at ServisFirst Bank, following an 18-year tenure in the same role at Independent Bankers Bank. Earlier in his career, he held leadership positions in marketing and remittance processing with North American Financial Services and the National Processing Company.

A graduate of the University of South Florida, where he earned both his BA and MBA in Accounting and Political Science, William also completed the Graduate School of Banking program at Louisiana State University. His expertise spans credit, commercial lending, and business development, with a career marked by strong client relationships and a deep commitment to community banking.

Dr. Gloria Pickar

Vice President

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Dr. Gloria Pickar holds Nursing degrees and a doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the University of Florida. She has more than 45 years’ experience in higher education and business, including President and Chief Academic Officer of the leading higher education online learning services company acquired by Pearson. She was named six times to Top 50 Women-Led Businesses in Florida. Gloria is also a nursing clinician, educator, and author of two nursing textbooks still in publication. She started teaching nursing at Valencia College and was the founding director of the nursing program at Seminole State. UF College of Nursing awarded her Nursing’s Education Leader for 2020. She served as Co-President of the League of Women Voters of Orange County for three years 2018-2021. She writes for the Orlando Sentinel as a member of Central Florida 100. In addition to serving on the Maitland Art & History Museums’ Board, she is a member of Friends of American Art for the Orlando Museum of Art, Friends of the Orlando Philharmonic, and the Founders Square Council for the new Rollins Museum of Art. Gloria was named an Orlando Super Woman for 2020 by Orlando Magazine. Gloria and her family are committed sustaining members of A&H.

Trent Tomengo

Immediate Past President

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Trent Tomengo is a Professor of Humanities at Seminole State College of Florida, and professionally exhibits his paintings in museums and galleries. He was an Artist-in-Action at the A&H from 2013-15.

Tomengo earned a B.A. in Fine Art from Stetson University, and an M.F.A. in Painting and a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies from the University of South Florida. Upon graduating, he served in dual roles as the assistant curator and program coordinator at the Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts. It was, however, his teaching a semester at Stetson University and at Seminole Community College that prompted Tomengo to pursue a full-time teaching career. He is now also a sought-after public speaker and writer on spirituality and the human condition in art.

Tomengo’s intelligent, provocative, and finely crafted paintings are well known in Central Florida, where he has been featured in selected solo and group exhibitions. His work is primarily concerned with exploring ways of conveying the universality of all human beings. Tomengo has earned numerous awards for his art, and has been a judge at various art festivals in the Central Florida area, including Walt Disney World’s Festival of the Masters.

Directors

Nate Balint

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Nate Balint is a corporate attorney and a partner at Akerman LLP, specializing in mergers and acquisition transactions and other corporate representations. He is originally from New York and moved to the Orlando area in 2006. Nate is a graduate of the University of Rochester, with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science, and obtained his law degree from New York University School of Law. Nate has also been a non-profit board member with Health Workforce NY and ACG Orlando, and has done volunteer legal and teaching work with low-income youth. Nate is an appreciator of the arts and enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and coaching and playing basketball.

James B. Dorman, Jr.

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James B. Dorman, Jr., CPA/PFS, CFP®, is the President and founder of Dorman Financial Management, P.A.. Jim holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration, Accounting from Stetson University (1980).

Jim's work experience includes 8 years with Arthur Andersen & Co., at the time the largest international accounting and consulting firm in the world. As controller of a large corporation in Orlando, Florida, Jim also served as the company's administrator to their retirement plan of over $30 million in assets.

Jim is a member in good standing with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, having also successfully taken and passed the Certified Public Accountants' (CPA) examination. In addition, Jim has completed the AICPA's requirements for obtaining the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation.

Jim also serves on the board for the Maitland Art and History Museum, as well as the Enzian Advisory Council.

Christopher Grim

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Christopher Grim serves as a Partner for Grennan Fender CPAs, leading their Outsourced Accounting Department. Mr. Grim has more than 25 years of experience in public accounting, corporate accounting and financial management. Prior to joining Grennan Fender, Chris was the Chief Financial Officer for a defense contractor, and he has held senior positions in a number of highly regarded accounting firms, where he was chiefly responsible for audit and financial review functions. Chris has served clients in a variety of industries including construction and real estate, defense, nonprofit, manufacturing, distribution, and technology. Chris possesses an MBA from Rollins College in Florida and a B.S. in Economics from the University of Delaware, and has been a licensed CPA in the State of Florida since 1999.

Lisa Junkerman

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Both a strategist and practitioner, Lisa Junkerman has 25 years of applied, integrated marketing expertise on national and global levels. She is currently Chief Marketing Officer and Director of Business Development for ITEC Entertainment, a global themed entertainment solutions provider. Lisa previously worked for Fortune 250 companies, including Motorola, Inc. and Progress Energy/Duke Energy, and in the higher education industry where she was Assistant Vice President and CMO for Marketing for Rollins College. Lisa is also Principal of Chief Marketing Associates, Inc., an integrated marketing communications and branding firm. She has an MBA degree from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College and a BA in Business Administration with a marketing major from the University of South Florida.

Carole Munroe

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Carole Jackson Munroe is an accomplished communications and marketing executive whose career has been shaped by organizations inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., Walt Disney, and Conrad Hilton. She most recently served as Vice President of Brand Communications for Hilton Worldwide, leading PR for brands from Hampton to Waldorf Astoria and launching award-winning campaigns including It Matters Where You Stay and To New Memories. Her earlier roles include Director of Public Relations for Walt Disney World Resort and Special Assistant to Coretta Scott King at The King Center in Atlanta. Today, she leads her own firm—CommSense JEMC Marketing and Public Relations—offering consulting, training, and leadership development. In her spare time, Carole enjoys movies, travel, entertaining, and time with loved ones.

Sinuhé Vega Negrin

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Sinuhé Vega Negrin is a Cuban-American visual artist and entrepreneur based in Orlando. With over 15 solo exhibitions and numerous group shows across Miami, Orlando, New York, and Puerto Rico, his work has received recognition in various esteemed venues, including the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) and the A&H Maitland Museum in Orlando. Sinuhé's artistic journey is profoundly influenced by his childhood experiences in his father's art studio and his immersion in Miami's dynamic art community. He refined his skills further at Arte Sotto un Tetto and the Florence Academy of Art in Italy.

In addition to his artistic pursuits, Sinuhé is a successful entrepreneur, having co-owned various restaurants in the Miami Design District, Upper East Side, and Downtown North Miami. He has also invested in real estate, owning four commercial buildings that house 24 tenants. Known for his keen eye for emerging neighborhoods, Sinuhé was an early pioneer in Wynwood and the surrounding areas.

Ryan Peterson

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Ryan Peterson has been part of the Greater Orlando community for more than 25 years and is proud to call Central Florida home. He currently works in medical device sales, partnering with major health systems across the region to improve patient outcomes and strengthen healthcare relationships.

A lifelong supporter of the arts, Ryan joined the Maitland A&H Museum Board as a way to stay connected to the creative pulse of the community and to channel his own creative energy into something meaningful. He enjoys exploring Orlando’s diverse arts, music, and food scenes with his wife, Zaghie.

Zaghie (Z) Peterson

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Zaghie Peterson is a program and communications leader with experience at Tesla, Fidelity, IFC and Duarte Design, where she has overseen initiatives for clients including Meta, LinkedIn, and Samsung. She excels at guiding teams to deliver executive communications, strategic programs, and presentations that drive clarity and impact. Her expertise lies in connecting strategy with execution, ensuring complex ideas are translated into actionable outcomes. Zaghie is the founder of The Salty Botanical (www.thesaltybotanical.com), a wellness brand offering therapeutic, non-toxic bath products. She is also a yoga teacher, integrating her passion for wellness into her work by fostering balance, resilience and sustainable growth. She joined the A&H Board to give back to a space that celebrates creativity, connection and the kind of inspiration that has shaped her own path, and in her free time she can be found practicing yoga, exploring local markets and spending time with her husband and two little dogs.

Patrick Terry

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Patrick Terry was born and raised in Winter Park, a close neighbor to Maitland, and his family has been a member of the local community since the 1970’s. Since 2011, he has worked as an engineer at Siemens Energy, an international industrial conglomerate supplying hardware and service to power providers. He is a proud graduate and current student of the University of Florida, where he earned a BS in Materials Science and Engineering in 2014, and is currently pursuing an MS in Industrial and Systems Engineering. Since 2014, he has served on the board of FHSMUN, Inc., an educational nonprofit serving domestic and international middle and high school students. Patrick’s goal in joining the A&H board is to preserve and enrich a unique piece of history and culture in Central Florida.

Board Opportunities

Art & History Museums – Maitland seeks remarkable individuals to serve on the Board of Directors; individuals who desire to make a difference in Central Florida; individuals who are passionate about arts education for all ages and preservation of our cultural heritage, including a National Historic Landmark; and individuals who are dedicated to the Museum’s mission to “stimulate thought, spark the imagination, enrich the spirit, and foster appreciation in art, historical research and preservation.”

Ideal Board Candidates will have:

Capacity to directly support the institution;
Connections to supporting resources in the region; and
Knowledge, experience and skill sets in leadership areas, such as legal, financial, fundraising, and business development.

Please contact A&H at 407.539.2181 or [email protected] for more information.

Executive Committee

Joe Ales

Barbara Coleman-Foster

Michael Thomas

William Dacko

Dr. Gloria Pickar

Trent Tomengo

Directors

Nate Balint

James B. Dorman, Jr.

Christopher Grim

Lisa Junkerman

Carole Munroe

Sinuhé Vega Negrin

Ryan Peterson

Zaghie (Z) Peterson

Patrick Terry

Board Opportunities

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Additional Resources

About Us