Who We Are
Staff
Jessica Shaefer
Executive Director
×Jessica Shaefer
Executive Director
Along with a deep personal connection to the Bolinas community, Shaefer brings a wealth of experience leading arts programs and fostering partnerships that support artists, celebrate creativity, and engage diverse audiences.
Shaefer has previously worked with Gray Area for Google, where she led an international program commissioning large-scale art installations. Previously, she led public programming and partnerships at Meta Open Arts. She has also worked with Sites Unseen, producing public art installations and activations in downtown San Francisco, and with Creative Time in New York City, helping to bring groundbreaking public projects to national attention. She is currently a member of the board of directors of Artadia and The Lab.
Leah Vermulen Lopez
Director of Operations
×Leah Vermulen Lopez
Director of Operations
Leah Vermulen Lopez Following a 12-year career as Sr. Vice President at Tiburon Research Group in San Francisco, she founded LVL Research, an independent equity research boutique. During her 15 years in San Francisco, Leah leaned into her Art History/Business degrees advising local artists and fashion designers and is excited to be putting the credentials back to use in West Marin.
As a mechanism to “celebrate” the epic light of coastal fog and to keep up with the growing body of artwork from her young daughter, Leah is currently working on her own fine art eco-photography. Prior to joining the staff, Leah sat on the Board of Directors from 2018 - 2025 and served as Board President (2023-25). She hopes to contribute to the continued success of the Bolinas Museum by bridging gaps in community and engaging more youth.
Elia Haworth
Director of History & Permanent Collection
×Elia Haworth
Director of History & Permanent Collection
For several years before joining the staff of Bolinas Museum, Elia Haworth volunteered and curated several exhibitions for the museum. In 1999 the museum director Dolores Richards asked Elia to be her assistant for a month. That was 19 years ago and today she holds the institutional memory of the organization. Elia has worn many hats at the museum including curating more than 100 exhibitions and gathering Bolinas community history. Elia supported herself as an artist in many mediums before joining the staff. Her creativity is inspired by nature and natural history. She has lived in coastal Marin for 47 years.
Kirston Lightowler
Registrar & Visual Materials Archivist
×Kirston Lightowler
Registrar & Visual Materials Archivist
Originally from West Marin, Kirston Lightowler is a writer, curator, publisher, and archivist. She has twenty years of experience as an archivist working with rare books, audiovisual materials, and special collections—in both small museums and large academic institutions. Kirston founded Epidote Press in 2014, an independent publishing imprint based in Inverness, CA. Epidote Press is devoted to publishing historical texts, as well as art and writing concerned with landscape and the poetics of place. When Kirston is not at the museum or the press, you can find her hiking, swimming in the bay, or foraging for thimbleberries.
Noelle Hiam
Curatorial & Development Associate
×Noelle Hiam
Curatorial & Development Associate
Noelle Hiam is an artist living in Bolinas. Her work has most recently been centered around clay, but is also concerned with textiles, weaving, and food.
Asha McGee
Communications Coordinator
×Asha McGee
Communications Coordinator
Asha Kilgallen McGee is a curator and communications coordinator, currently based in the North Bay. She earned her B.A. in Art History from UC Santa Barbara in 2023, where she began to explore the ways contemporary art can hold memory, build community, and speak across disciplines. Constantly inspired by her Bay Area roots, she is committed to highlighting the region's unique creative legacy by collaborating with both emerging and established artists.
Board of Directors
Marialidia (Mols) Marcotulli
President
×Marialidia (Mols) Marcotulli
President
Dr. Marialidia (Mols) Marcotulli is an avid surfer, often seen riding one of her custom single fin displacement boards on a left-breaking wave. She is an advancement entrepreneur, technology advocate, innovator, curator, and art collector. Born in Rome, Italy and raised in Venezuela, she comes from a long heritage of car racers, engineers, architects, and artists. Mols received her Ph.D. 2019, in Community, Liberation and Ecopsychology, with a focus on the human relationship with water.
Judy Penner
Vice President
×Judy Penner
Vice President
Following a 20 year career in the Fashion Industry, Judy has focused her attention on assisting philanthropic organizations to reach their full potential and serve their community. Judy served on the Board of the Pasadena Art Alliance, for 14 years, recently as President - raising grant money for upcoming artists, exhibitions and institutions in greater Los Angeles. Judy, her husband George and two children are excited to be a part of the Bolinas community. Their appreciation for art and architecture led them to restore and update an historic farmhouse close to town.
Judy is looking forward to supporting the Bolinas Art Museum and continuing to help foster its exceptional reputation.
Sara Brody
Treasurer
×Sara Brody
Treasurer
Sara is a partner with Sidley Austin LLP, where she heads the Northern California litigation practice and is the global co-leader of the Securities and Shareholder Litigation practice. Sara, her husband, two children, and their dog have been part-time residents of Bolinas and frequent visitors to the Bolinas Museum for over 15 years. She is also on the board of the Legal Aid Society in San Francisco. Sara joined the Bolinas Museum Board in 2014 and serves on the Finance & Governance Committee.
Eileen Sheldon
Secretary
×Eileen Sheldon
Secretary
Eileen has maintained an active role as a volunteer and board member at a variety of organizations in the Bay Area. Her earlier career was spent as a high-yield research analyst in New York City. A move to London, England provided an opportunity to work in the arts where she spent time interning in the Director’s Office at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Her experiences at the V&A helped inspire a passion for collecting and enjoying art.
Eileen lives in Marin with her husband and two boys. They love time spent in Bolinas and recognize it as the perfect place to retreat as a family.
Starrs Arnot
Board Member
×Starrs Arnot
Board Member
Born and raised in Marin, Starrs has enjoyed its beauty and its artistic community all her life. Growing up surrounded by artists and creators, she is a passionate art appreciator and collector. At Smith College Starrs studied Art History, along with East Asian studies, before living and working in China in the 1990s. She has traveled the world both for work as a camera assistant on movies and for pleasure, though if you ask her to name her favorite place she is likely to say the Big Mesa, where she and her family have spent as much time as possible for the past ten years.
Starrs loves the Bolinas community, and the museum, particularly the history room, which tells the stories of so many interesting people and times. She is honored to be joining the museum board and to be helping continue the legacy of art in West Marin.
Lara Deam
Board Member
×Lara Deam
Board Member
Lara Deam is an entrepreneur and philanthropist based in Mill Valley and Bolinas. She is the founder of Dwell magazine, a highly influential publication that redefined modern home and architectural design by making it more accessible to a broad audience. Beyond publishing, Deam has been an active supporter of the arts, architecture, and environmental conservation. Today, she is passionate about psychology and promoting the concept of partner acceptance through The Center for Partner Acceptance. Her care for community informs her approach to fostering meaningful connections between art, design, and the public.
Theresa Donohue
Board Member
×Theresa Donohue
Board Member
Terry has been a resident of West Marin for 30 years. She is best known for her extensive work as a sales and rental agent for Bolinas Real Estate.
Terry earned a BA in Literature from SUNY at Oneonta, and then attended St. Nicholas School of Theater in Chicago while working for various stock/options brokerages on the CBOE trading floor. The early ‘80’s found her involved in innovative theatrical productions of the Chicago scene as actor, director, stagehand, and/or costume designer. She moved to Stinson Beach in 1986 and produced a number of community theatrical events like The Bong Show, Cirque du Lagoon, and three Stinson Beach Haunted Houses. She also co-coordinated the capital campaign to move the Stinson Beach Library to its current location and refurbish the Bolinas Library. While raising her son, Taran, her day jobs included a managerial apprenticeship with The Point Reyes Jeweler then as Director of Volunteers and Assistant to Bolinas Museum’s then Executive Director, Dolores Richards. In 2001, after she embarked on her real estate career, she was invited to join the Museum Board in 2003 and is a member of the Curatorial Committee.
Thanks to the museum, she produced Bruno and Darlene Frascone’s Mainstring Theatre Marionette show at the Peace Barn (2001), and curated two popular exhibitions: :Going Origami: From Art to Math to Science + Beyond” (2009); Barry McGee “Leave it Alone” with Clare Rojas “Together at Last” (2010).
Terry has been a licensed EMT during her entire time in West Marin joining first the Stinson Beach Volunteer Fire Department then, for the last 15 years, the Bolinas Volunteer Fire Department.
Katie Geminder
Board Member
×Katie Geminder
Board Member
Katie Geminder is a product and design leader with a background in pioneering social media and technology platforms. She has held key leadership roles at Facebook, Apple, and other influential tech companies, shaping user experiences at a global scale. She worked at Zynga, where she played a leadership role in product design and user experience. A resident of Bolinas, with a deep appreciation for innovation and the arts, she brings strategic insight to projects that blend technology, creativity, and social impact.
Chrysanthe Gussis
Board Member
×Chrysanthe Gussis
Board Member
Chrysanthe Gussis is an investor and advisor to early stage companies. She has deep finance, operational, legal and business strategy experience shaping new industries, new business models, and new asset classes, and scaling high volume, high growth businesses. She has particular expertise in financing strategy with businesses whose products reduce carbon emissions. Additionally, she serves on several corporate, government, non-profit and advisory boards.
As an early hire at SolarCity during an 8-year period of year-over-year doubling in growth, Chrysanthe helped make solar energy cheaper by developing scalable, lower-cost financing. She played a key role in SolarCity’s growth from a small startup to a transformative energy platform and publicly traded company, deploying gigawatts of solar assets across the United States. She also has 20 years of experience in a wide range of financings, partnerships, acquisitions, and consumer, commercial, and corporate transactions.
Chrysanthe splits her time between San Francisco and Bolinas with her husband and 6 year old daughter. During her free time, among other things, she paints large abstract canvases. A student of art history and ancient archeology, art has always been a part of her life. She loves the changing exhibitions at the Bolinas Museum, and the community it has brought to her life. She has served on the Board since 2016.
Randolph Rush
Board Member
×Randolph Rush
Board Member
Randolph Rush is a retired endodontist. He and his artist wife Donna have maintained a home in Bolinas since 1975. They spend their free time traveling and flyfishing. He has been involved with the Bolinas Museum since its beginning. Randy joined the Board in 2010. Randy serves on the Finance and Governance committee.
Scott Trattner
Board Member
×Scott Trattner
Board Member
Scott Trattner is a creative leader, designer, and advisor known for his work in brand storytelling and digital experiences. As VP of Global Creative at Airbnb, he has played a foundational role in shaping the company’s brand, blending design, technology, and a deeply human approach to storytelling. Before Airbnb, he served as Executive Creative Director at Apple’s advertising agency. Trattner has served on the boards of the San Francisco Art Institute and UCLA, where he earned a BFA in painting and an MFA, respectively. An avid surfer, Scott recently purchased a home in Bolinas, where he has spent time and cultivated relationships since childhood.
Kim Tully
Board Member
×Kim Tully
Board Member
Kim Tully has deep roots in Bolinas as her family has been part of the fabric of this town since the 1890s. Growing up in Marin, Kim would come to Bolinas regularly with her family as well as her grandparents – and she can vividly remember her grandmother telling stories of how she would travel to Bolinas from San Francisco in the 1920s. Over the last 20+ years, Kim has shared her love of Bolinas and what it means to be part of this unique community with her two daughters – and in fact when her daughters were younger, they volunteered at many Bolinas Museum functions! Having worked in the energy industry for more than 15 years in a variety of roles, currently Kim is a global marketing manager. Outside of work and spending time in Bolinas, you can find Kim playing all sorts of racquet sports or walking her Goldendoodle, Ginger.
IN MEMORIAM
JOHN (JACK) WILLIS LADD JR. (1940 – 2025)
We are deeply saddened to share that long-time Bolinas Museum supporter and Board of Directors member, Jack Ladd (84), passed away in January, surrounded by his wife Adrienne, their son Joseph, and daughters Alexandra and Jessica.
Jack, a life-long learner, led a rich and varied life even before settling in the Bay Area. He graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in history and later earned an MBA from Stanford University. His career began with Time-Life and Time magazine in New York City, followed by a move to Tokyo, where he managed Time’s Asia circulation desk. In 1975, Jack founded Ladd & Associates, a marketing software and consulting company in San Francisco. He also bought a home overlooking the ocean in Bolinas, where the family spent much of their time.
Jack shared a passion for golf with his wife and son. He served as President of the Presidio Golf Club in San Francisco and could often be found practicing golf strokes from his Bolinas deck. The Ladds were avid travelers and had recently enjoyed a joyful family gathering for a wedding in Europe.
Jack was also deeply committed to his Bolinas community, where he had many friends. In addition to supporting Bolinas Museum and attending nearly every exhibition, he was a long-time member of the Bolinas Rod and Boat Club and served as board chair for the Point Reyes Bird Observatory.
Jack will be greatly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Read the obituary published in the San Francisco Chronicle.