she said, explaining her approach to service on the Board.

Ceil Cirillo, retired executive director for the City of Santa Cruz’s former Redevelopment Agency, spearheaded the city’s purchase and renovation of the Salz Tannery, which included a historic renovation of the Kron House where the Arts Council is now located. Cirillo, who is also a Medici Circle member, credited Charman with guiding the organization through a challenging time of change.

“Linda really believed in a higher vision for the Arts Council and she had the tenacity to see it through,” Cirillo said. “She knew the central role the organization could play in the entire arts community and how critical it was to make Arts Council a landmark presence at the Tannery.”

Patrick Mulhearn, who succeeded Charman as president of the Arts Council’s Board of Directors, said he learned a great deal from serving alongside her.

“It was in fact her leadership that set the foundation for what our organization has become: a stellar example of the right way to run a non-profit,“ Mulhearn said. “I am so very grateful for her example of service, commitment, and leadership and feel privileged to have worked with her and to know her as a friend.”

Although Charman termed off the Board of Directors in June 2015 after six years, she is anything but removed from the art world. Every eight weeks, local curator D. Hooker rotates artwork hanging in Vanguard’s gallery-like office on Soquel Drive.

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