Board of Directors
Liesl Tommy
AFOZM Co-President and Founding Board member
Liesl is a South African American film director well known for her direction of Aretha Franklin’s biopic Respect. She became the first woman of color to be nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play.
Naledi K. Khabo
AFOZM Co-President
Naledi is the Chief Executive Officer of Africa Tourism Association in New York. Her 25 years of strategy leadership includes serving as Chief of Staff at the United States Small Business Administration My Brothers Keeper Millennial Entrepreneurial Initiative.
Roger Ross Williams
AFOZM Secretary and Founding Board member
Roger is an American director, producer and writer and the first African American director to win an Academy Award.
Rosalind Batheja
AFOZM Treasurer
Rosalind is a South African based in New York. She is the Senior Vice President of Operations and New Business at Novita Communications.
Mariane Ibrahim
Mariane is a Somali-French art dealer. Her gallery program is focused on showcasing artists from underrepresented regions such as Africa and the Middle East. In addition to her Chicago gallery, in 2023 she opened an immense new space in Mexico City.
Photo by Sofia Giner
Monetta White
Monetta is the Executive Director of The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco. She has previously served as Vice President of the Small Business Commission for the City of San Francisco and sits on the board of several non-profit and business organizations.
10 x 10 Founding Patrons
Sarah Arison
Sarah Arison is the President of the Arison Arts Foundation, President of MoMA New York and Chair of the Board of the National YoungArts Foundation.
Sarah de Blasio
Sarah de Blasio is the Vice President of Chartwell Family Services engaging in arts philanthropy with the DeBlasio Family Foundation.
Allison Berg
Philanthropist, writer and attorney Allison Berg is the Founder and President of the A&L Berg Foundation.
Nicole coward
Photo by Damora Regala
Pat Mitchell
Erina Pindar
A lifelong traveler raised in Indonesia and based in Manhattan, Erina Pindar is the Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner of SmartFlyer, a full service travel agency.
Nicole Coward ESQ is the founder of
Nicole J. Coward PLLC., a Manhattan based
boutique law firm catering to global clients in the arts, entertainment, media, sports, politics, and philanthropic sectors.
Pat Mitchell's remarkable career includes roles as President of CNN Productions, the first woman President and CEO of PBS and the Paley Center for Media. In 2010, Mitchell launched TEDWomen. She was the inaugural President of American Friends of Zeitz MOCAA.
Deborah Calmeyer
Born in Zimbabwe and living between Cape Town and Miami, Deborah Calmeyer is the CEO & Founder of ROAR AFRICA, an esteemed experiential travel company.
Shari Sant
An environmental philanthropist and ocean activist, Shari Sant is President and Founder of Code Blue Charitable Foundation, secretary/trustee of the Summit Charitable Foundation, among others.
AFOZM Patrons
2024-2025
Patrons
The Arison Arts Foundation
Diane and Charles Frankel
Dave Ross
Emma Menell
Julie Mehretu
Michael Silver
ROAR AFRICA LLC
Simone Leigh
SmartFlyer
Tracey and Phillip Riese
Wangechi Mutu
Yinka Shonibare
Past
Patrons
Jochen Zeitz
The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation at The Miami Foundation
Adam Sheffer
Unfinished
Untapped Global
AFOZM
Ambassador
Ellen Port
New York Ambassador
Members
in 2025
Anneliese Klein
Anurima Bhargava
Catalina Maria Escobar Restrepo
Catherine Terc Owens
Cindy Schwarzstein
Dana Beth Ardi
Ellen Port
Graham Steele
Joan Malliband
Joy Simmons
Kate Fellens
Maile Gamez
Maria Olga Ochoa Sierra
Michelle Rose Seydel
Montague Hermann
Nikol Popovská
Niv Alexander
Patricia Mitchell Seydel
Ramiro Escobar Aristizabal
Scott O’Sullivan Seydel
Stephanie Manasseh
Susan Mathisen
Trevyn McGowan
Vincent Magagula
Past
Members
Past Members include:
Amanda Maples, Barbara Shuster, Christa Clarke, Dave Ross (now Global Council member) Fiona Mackay, Halim Flowers, Jim Chu, Jose Carlos Díaz, Cecile Raubenheimer, Robin Rankin, Yona Backer
Individual
Supporters
Chris Abbate
Stephanie Wagner
2025 Technology Grant
Sarah De Blasio
2025
Sponsors
Past
Patrons
The Whitney Museum of Art
The Brooklyn Museum of Art
The Bass Museum of Art
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair
Independent New York
Southern Guild
The Armory Show
Montague Contemporary
Nicola Vassel
2023-2024
Sponsors
2023 Activation Partners
The Queens Museum
The Armory Show
PhotoFairs New York
Our Team
