CELEBRATIONS Bruce Museum CEO to leave in June
Robert Wolterstorff, the Susan E. Lynch executive director and CEO of the Bruce Museum, will leave his role on June 30.
Wolterstorff joined the Bruce in June 2019 and assumed responsibility for the New Bruce Capital Campaign, with the goal to more than double the size of the museum with a 43,000 square foot addition.
Under his leadership, the museum finished the $68 million campaign and completed construction of the addition. According to a release from the museum, “Wolterstorff added important promised or loaned art collections to the Museum including the extraordinary Impressionist and Modern art in the William L. Richter Gallery and the David Hockney collection on loan from Roy B. and Edith J. Simpson on display in the Blavatnik Family Gallery.”
The new Bruce opened last April.
Accord to the release, the Board of Trustees of the Bruce Museum has a plan in place to ensure a smooth transition with an interim executive director from the board and has immediately begun a search for a new executive director/CEO.
“With the new building up and running, growing pains being thoughtfully addressed, new fiscal leadership in place, and the strategic plan providing a road map for the future, I feel like I have accomplished what I set out to do. It is a good moment for me to step away,” Wolterstorff said in the release.
In addition to Wolterstorff’s departure, the Bruce has appointed Jonathan Rohner as its new chief operating officer, effective immediately. In this role, Rohner will be responsible for all operations of the museum. Rohner will serve as coleader of the museum, alongside the executive director and report directly to the Bruce Museum Board of Trustees.
Rohner comes to the Bruce Museum from the Yale Peabody Museum/ Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies in New Haven, where he was director of finance and administration since 2016. Prior to Yale Peabody, he served as the finance and administration manager for the Yale School of Art and the Business Manager for the Yale School of Drama and Yale Repertory Theatre.
WMS students mismatch footwear to support classmate
Western Middle School students sported mismatched socks and shoes last Thursday in support of their classmate, Sam Buck.
Buck, a seventh grader, is one of the district’s “best-known and popular students who is famous for his huge smile and mismatched shoes and socks,” according to a statement.
Buck has vanishing white matter disease, a rare genetic brain disease. According to the Mismatched Day flier, VWM is incurable and untreatable. The disease affects 300 people across the world.
Western Middle students donated $10 to wear mismatched socks or shoes on Mismatched Day. All donations will fund research and clinical trials to help find a treatment for VWM.
Donations can also be made online at vwmff.org/donate or through Venmo @vwmff.
YMCA hosts gala
The YMCA of Greenwich hosted its 2024 annual gala April 6, drawing about 275 guests and raising about $415,000.
Held at the Greenwich Country Club, the event featured casino games, a raffle and live auction. The event also honored longtime YMCA member, board member and volunteer Al Brodbeck. Brodbeck has been a member of the YMCA of Greenwich for over 22 years and a member of the Board of Directors for nearly a decade.
Several local organizations and families, who are regular patrons of the Y, backed the gala through table sponsorships. Notable among them was the Waters family, the Platinum Sponsor of this year’s gala. Gold Level Sponsors included Emil Capital and Golub Capital. Silver Level Sponsors included the Bego family, BNY Mellon, Star Mountain Capital and the Zubko family.
The gala is the YMCA of Greenwich’s largest annual fundraiser and all proceeds support the YMCA of Greenwich’s commitment to providing programs and services that serve the diverse needs of the Greenwich community.
The gala is a volunteerled event and is made possible by the gala committee that donate their time, talent and treasure to make the event a success. This year’s gala co-chairs were Stacey Burton, Stacy Pacifico and Sara Mendell.