The Venice Heritage Foundation is a broad-based organization, big in heart and community spirit, devoted to serving the needs of the greater Venice community.
The Board of Directors is composed of representatives of Venice’s diverse culture and dedicated individuals from beyond the Venice community who all share a passion for the preservation of Venice history, past and present.
The Board of Directors is composed of representatives of Venice’s diverse culture and dedicated individuals from beyond the Venice community who all share a passion for the preservation of Venice history, past and present.
Asterisk (*) denotes Founding Members
KRISTINA VON HOFFMANN, PRESIDENTKristina 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 Senior Operations Director for the award-winning climate solutions and advocacy organization, Climate Resolve, and has spent her career working in nonprofit management, program delivery, and event production. As a leader of the Board, Kristina heads up the Capital Campaign Committee raising funds 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 newfound love and appreciation for Venice history across generations. ELAYNE ALEXANDER*, HISTORIANA 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. Elayne has written six books on Venice history and a soon-to-be published biography of Abbot Kinney, founder of Venice. 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. GRANT FRANCISA retired woodshop teacher from Venice High School (you might know him as “Mr. Francis”), Grant worked on Venice High’s 100th Anniversary and the Myrna Loy statue restoration project. A skilled carpenter, he heads up our Red Car renovation team. COMMITTEE MEMBERSHuge thanks to our current committee volunteers:
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STEPHEN POULIOT*, VICE PRESIDENT
A writer / producer of television specials, including The Oscars and political events. Stephen restored one of the oldest homes in Venice, The Venice of America House. The home is now a National Landmark and a Los Angeles Historic Monument. CAROL LEVY, SECRETARYCarol 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. JUSTIN YOSHIMARU, TREASURERJustin 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. SERGIO ENRIQUEZSergio is a recent graduate in Sustainable Cultural Heritage from the American University of Rome. He is enthusiastic about showcasing Venice’s unique and oftentimes unknown history within Los Angeles County. His ultimate goal as a board member is to motivate diverse communities to participate in cross-cultural interactions for the conservation of Venice’s cultural heritage. MICHAEL MURPHYMichael Murphy is a former agency creative gone independent design professional and real-estate entrepreneur. He has 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 focusing his efforts on a book called “Googie Modern” coming spring 2022. |
Since our founding, the Venice Heritage Foundation Board has been an active presence in the local community—here are just a few of our members' contributions:
Abbot Kinney Festival — we’ve presented several booths at the annual festival featuring a photo funnies backdrop & vintage 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 — a yearly Caddyshack/Big Lebowski-themed fundraiser on behalf of the museum project in partnership with our local treasure, Penmar By The Sea Golf Course
USC Archives Bazaar — we present a table year-over-year at the 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, Tongva 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
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 brought here 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, heralding the beginning of Summer!
HONORARY & ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
OUR HONORARY BOARD consists of Representative Jane Harman, former Member of Congress, 36th District; Representative Ted Lieu, Assembly member, 33rd District; Orson (d.2020) & Alley Mills Bean; Tony Bill; The Estate of Ray Bradbury (d.2012); Roy & Carol Doumani; Frank Gehry; Robert Graham (d.2008); Huell Howser (d.2013); The Kendrick Kinney Family; Harlan Lee; Fred Machado; Elly Nesis; Earl Newman, 1960s-70s Venice artist; George Pryce, Grandson of Irving Tabor; Tom Schnabel, DJ and sound selector, and Alex and Edizen Stowell, Venice Paparazzi.
OUR ADVISORY BOARD consists of Chance Foreman, That Step Productions; David Hertz, AIA, Studio for Environmental Architecture; Josh “Bagel” Klassman, Underground Venice Photographer; Juri Koll, Venice Institute of Contemporary Art; Spanto, Co-founder, Born x Raised; and Pep Williams, Fine Art Photographer.
OUR ADVISORY BOARD consists of Chance Foreman, That Step Productions; David Hertz, AIA, Studio for Environmental Architecture; Josh “Bagel” Klassman, Underground Venice Photographer; Juri Koll, Venice Institute of Contemporary Art; Spanto, Co-founder, Born x Raised; and Pep Williams, Fine Art Photographer.
EMERITUS BOARD MEMBERS
- Maxine Leral*: A 30+ year Venice Canals resident, Maxine, together with her husband, Murray, spearheaded the massive 10-year restoration of the remaining historic Venice Canals. Maxine is a past-president of the Friends of the Venice Library, the Venice Canals Foundation, and Venice Canals Association.
- 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 15 years, including the Fowler, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Bard Graduate Center.
- 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*
- Paul Tanck*: A graphic designer, historian, and poet, Paul wrote a column and book on Venice history, entitled “Venice Firsts.” Paul designs many VHF publications. 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 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.