The Venice Heritage Foundation (VHF) is a broad-based 501c3 nonprofit organization, big in heart and community spirit, devoted to serving the legacy of the Venice community.
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The Board of Directors is composed of representatives of Venice’s diverse heritage and dedicated individuals from beyond the Venice community who all share a passion for the preservation of Venice history, past and present. 

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​Asterisk (*) denotes Founding Member

VHF BOARD OFFICERS:

KRISTINA VON HOFFMANN, PRESIDENT

Kristina is a born-and-raised Venetian who grew up riding the streets of Venice on her longboard and beach cruiser. She currently serves as the Managing Director for the award-winning climate policy organization, California Environmental Voters, and has spent her career working in nonprofit leadership, program delivery, and event production. As leader of the Board, Kristina guides the organization's volunteer team and core programs, heads up fundraising efforts to launch the Museum, and manages the VHM social media and communications platforms. She is grateful to be giving back to the community that raised her while helping to inspire a newfound love and appreciation for Venice's diverse cultural heritage across generations.
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CAROL LEVY, SECRETARY

Carol is the founder of Pilot Light Foundation, an organization that works with people living in extreme poverty in Africa to help them improve their lives through creating a sustainable, livable income. She first discovered Venice as a teenager and over the years spent much time making friends with local artists. After raising her (now grown) family in Malibu, Carol and her husband moved to Venice ten years ago. She loves the community that is now her home and is fascinated by the rich, diverse history. Carol had wondered why Venice lacked a heritage museum and was thrilled to learn about the group working to make this a reality and to be part of it.
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JUSTIN YOSHIMARU, TREASURER

Justin is a native Venetian with a passion for politics and community empowerment. He brings deep experience in launching outcome-oriented organizations and driving them to achieve lasting national impact. Justin is the Deputy Director at the Los Angeles Parks Foundation where he helps oversee the organization’s development, special projects, and fundraising strategy. He previously worked with Accelerator for America, a non-profit founded by Mayor Eric Garcetti to find and develop solutions to economic insecurity and share them with cities across the country. Justin started his professional career at Creative Artists Agency, where he worked across all departments to maximize value, generate revenue, and oversee business development for the agency’s most prolific and entrepreneurial clients. ​​

VHF BOARD MEMBERS:

SARAH HAFT

​Sarah Haft is an independent exhibit developer born and raised in Venice. She has created exhibits for the Ca Science Center, Grammy Museum, Truman Library & Museum, Natural History Museum of LA County, and La Brea Tar Pits among others. She is excited to help create a community space for locals and visitors alike that celebrates Venice's rich culture and history.
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ED MILLAN, RA AIA

Ed is an architect with nearly a decade of experience working in the Venice area. The relationship between the home, community spaces, and the surrounding environment they inhabit is at the center of everything he explores from a design point of view. He believes in the essential idea that buildings can serve as a bridge between nature, culture, history, and people, and that inspiring surroundings have a positive effect on people’s lives.

His involvement with the VHF began by supporting the organization with design development, site planning, and entitlement process for the proposed museum space in 2018, while working with David Hertz at the Studio of Environmental Architecture. Now, having launched his own firm, Millán Architect Studio, Ed is committed to seeing the evolving vision for Venice’s first-ever Museum realized.
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​MICHAEL MURPHY

Michael Murphy is an agency creative that has also had the privilege to design a traveling exhibition called Vedem Underground, that the Smithsonian hailed as one of the 10 “Don’t Miss…” new exhibits.  
In the last few years Michael created two books and two exhibitions about Santa Monica in 1902 and 1917 respectively as well as a postcard book “Los Angeles: A Look Back To Postcards of the 1930s & 1940s from Today”. He is currently promoting his newly released book called “Googie Modern” (Angel City Press). 
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JASON SUGARS

Jason Sugars is a fourth generation born and raised Venice, CA native. Life started in the loft above the family shop on W. Washington Blvd and led to countless homes all across the Venice neighborhood map. In 2019, Jason ran for and won a seat on the Venice Neighborhood Council — raising his hand and voice in honor of the community and energy that had first helped to raised him.
Before officially joining the board of the Venice Heritage Museum, he'd worked on various projects with VHM, including the production of their Oral History Project and partnering with the Venice Heritage Foundation to produce and present the [   ]AZZ-IS Venice Jazz Festival, an annual event that spotlights and honors the rich and diverse cultures of Venice and takes its name from Billie Harris' AZZ IZZ Jazz Club, which sat on W. Washington Blvd throughout the 1970s, long before the street was renamed Abbot Kinney Blvd.
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TAKARA TOMEONI ADAIR

Takara is a lifelong visual artist specializing in mixed media sculpture, exhibits, and design. She is a native of Venice whose family runs four generations deep, and after moving away, Takara returns to contribute to a dream shared to see Venice have its own museum.

IN MEMORIAM: ELAYNE ALEXANDER*, HISTORIAN

​A Venice historian and author, Elayne served on the board of Venice Historical Society for 18 years and Los Angeles Genealogical Society for a decade, where she held the presidency of each society. She was a founding member of the Venice Heritage Foundation, keen on bringing a museum to life for her beloved city of Venice. Elayne has written six books on Venice history, including an authorized biography of Abbot Kinney, founder of Venice.

We honor the legacy of Elayne's unparalleled service to preserving and celebrating Venice history through the Elayne Alexander Collection — her 10,000+ piece archive of images and artifacts, numerous oral history interviews, and written pieces, which form the foundation of the Museum's permanent collection.

 ADVISORY COUNCIL

Our Advisory Council is comprised of individuals who lend us the invaluable resources of their expertise and lived experience as we work towards bringing the Venice Heritage Museum to life. These council members include:

Senator Ben Allen, California Senate District 26
Max Benator, Co-Founder & CEO of Orca
Jason Benesch, Cultural writer & Community Coordinator
Ray Bradbury, in memoriam (in partnership with the Estate of Ray Bradbury)
Steven Ehrlich, FAIA, Founding Partner, EHRLICH  YANAI  RHEE  CHANEY  Architects
Sergio Enriquez, MA, Sustainable Cultural Heritage and Creative Director
Grant Francis*, Master Carpenter and 35+ Year Venice High Teacher
Frank Gehry, Internationally renowned architect
Dr. Judith Goldman, Psychologist and Venice housing activist
David Hertz, Architect & Founder, Studio of Environmental Architecture
Karen Kiss, Nonprofit Grants & Administration Expert
Josh “Bagel” Klassman, Underground Venice Photographer
Juri Koll, Founder & Director, Venice Institute of Contemporary Art
Francisco Letelier, Visual Artist, Writer, Educator
Rob Lissner, Co-Founder, The Venice West, BeachLife Festival & BeachLife Ranch
Lisa Marquez, Event producer and multigenerational Venetian
Earl Newman, 1960s-70s Venice artist
Dr. Naomi Nightingale, Social justice advocate & Oakwood community leader
Stephen Pouliot*, Writer, producer, and restorer of The Venice-of-America House
Michael Preiss, President, RSFLA Inc. | Commercial Real Estate | Leasing and Investment Sales
Marilyn Ramirez, Photographer & Community Coordinator
Hallie Reiss, Professional Archivist
Tom Sewell, Multimedia Artist & Venice restoration expert
Spanto, Co-founder, Born x Raised (In Memoriam)
Alex and Edizen Stowell, Founders, Venice Paparazzi
Pep Williams, Fine Art Photographer

Since our founding, the Venice Heritage Foundation team has been an active presence in the local community—here are just a few of our members' contributions:
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​Abbot Kinney Festival — we’ve presented several booths at the annual festival featuring a vintage photo funnies backdrop & postcards for sale​
Abbot Kinney’s Birthday Celebration — hosted a party in partnership with Hama Sushi to celebrate our founder’s birthday.
“A History of Venice” — produced a month-long exhibition at Beyond Baroque in collaboration with the Venice Institute of Contemporary Art. The People/Place/Art/Word/Sound Exhibition showcased installations that highlighted the diverse and influential histories of Venice through the eyes of its residents
Gopher Scramble — an annual Caddyshack/Big Lebowski-themed golf tournament fundraiser on behalf of the Museum project in partnership with our local golf course, Penmar By The Sea
USC Archives Bazaar — we present a table each year at this premier gathering for historical associations in Southern California
Venice Community Calendar — founding Board members produce an annual calendar honoring elements of Venice history and culture. Recent years have covered the Black History of Venice, Indigenous History, and the Venice Piers.
Venice Grand Prix Centennial — hosted a celebratory night of storytelling at the Del Monte Speakeasy in honor of the 100th anniversary of the famous car race won by notorious driver, Barney Oldfield
Venice Heritage archival image library — lending vintage ambience to local institutions such as The Townhouse, Hama Sushi, Hoagies, The Venice V Hotel, and others from our extensive archives
Venice High School Alumni Association — sponsoring the annual Jackets of Excellence program for students
Venice Mardi Gras — we have helped resurrect a favorite festival of the 1930s-1940s era introduced by the original African-American families who settled in Venice, bringing their traditions from the Louisiana bayou
Venice Neptune Festival — helping bring another Venice tradition back to life, a beachside parade and festival heralding the beginning of Summer!

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FOUNDING BOARD MEMBERS EMERITUS

We are thankful to the following board members who formed the Venice Heritage Foundation to help sow the seeds for our much-needed cultural heritage institution:​

• Nadine Parkos: With a long record of Venice volunteerism, she has served on the boards of the Venice Neighborhood Council, the Venice Canals Association, Friends of the Venice-Abbot Kinney Memorial Library, the Venice Canals Foundation, and the Venice Historical Society.
• Bonnie Poon: With credentials in History, Art History, and Arts Administration, Bonnie has worked in museums for over 15 years, including the Fowler, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Bard Graduate Center.
• Stephen Pouliot: Stephen is a 40+ year Venice resident who restored the Venice of America House, which is listed on the Historic Register. He is a career writer who scripted awards shows such as the Academy Awards.
• Daniel Samakow: The well-known restauranteur of Venice’s own James’ Beach, and the former Danny’s Deli and Canal Club. Daniel is a Venice historic preservationist and spearheaded the re-creation of the Venice Sign in collaboration with Todd von Hoffmann (noted below).
• Sarah Schacht: An educator and administrator, Sarah and her husband, John, are 40+ year residents of the Canals and prolific collectors of Venice historical ephemera.
• Paul Tanck: A graphic designer, historian, and poet, Paul wrote a column and book on Venice history, entitled “Venice Firsts.” Together, Stephen Pouliot and Paul Tanck create unique Venice historical community calendars and postcards, which have become collectors’ items.
• Todd von Hoffmann: A specialist in event programming, Todd was a lead organizer of the Venice Centennial celebration and served as Project Manager for the Venice Sign Restoration Project. He also helped lead the team behind the beloved annual Oakwood BBQ Picnic in partnership with Fire Station 63 for a decade.

In addition to the VHF’s Board & Advisory Council members, we thank the many other enthusiastic Venetians and supporters who are contributing their time, talents, and financial support to help realize this exciting project.