New College Foundation Elects Five Trustees
March 11, 2011 — The New College Foundation has announced the election of five individuals to its Board of Trustees. The Foundation raises funds to support New College of Florida, the state’s designated honors college, ranked among the country’s finest and most affordable liberal arts institutions. The new trustees are: Ruth I. Dreessen, Christine L. Jennings, David Lipsey, Dr. Lou Bertha V. McKenzie-Wharton and Julie Riddell.
New College alumna Ruth I. Dreessen (’73) is a managing director at Lion Chemical Capital, LLC in Houston, Texas. She has more than 20 years of experience in financial leadership roles, specifically in the chemical industry. Dreessen serves as a director of Versar, Inc. and the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston. Dreessen was employed by JPMorgan Chase & Company (formerly Chase Manhattan Group) for 21 years where she served as managing director and subsequently at Westlake Chemical Corp. and TPC Group, Inc where she served as Chief Financial Officer. Dreessen received her Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University.
An active leader in the Sarasota community, Christine L. Jennings has extensive experience in financial management and community service. She is the executive director of the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe and is past president of five community organizations – the Mental Health Association of Sarasota County, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Board of Trustees, the Sarasota Film Festival, the Downtown Association of Sarasota and the Sarasota Ballet. Jennings has served as a board member of the Sarasota Orchestra, the American Cancer Society, Big Brother/Big Sister and Community Aids Network.
New College alumnus David Lipsey (’71) works with contemporary content issues—both analog and digital—in the studio, television, newspaper, magazine, trade and technical publishing and information aggregation industries and museums. Lipsey has held senior executive positions with a media & entertainment concentration for SAP and FTI Consulting. He serves as chair of the Henry Stewart Conferences on the Art and Practice of Managing Digital Content in New York, Los Angeles and London. Lipsey lives in McLean, VA.
The educational career of Dr. Lou Bertha V. McKenzie-Wharton includes positions as a teacher/supervisor in the Chicago public school system, central office administrator and director of federal and state government funding in the West Hartford, CT school system and executive director at Wharton & McKenzie-Wharton in West Hartford, CT and Lakewood Ranch. She is president-elect of the Glasser/ Schoenbaum Human Services Center, volunteers at the Woman’s Exchange in Sarasota, and served on the Women’s Leadership Council and Boys and Girls Club of Sarasota.
Before residing full-time in Lakewood Ranch, she was Vice Chairperson, Connecticut Civil Rights Advisory Committee, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; Treasurer, Greater Hartford (CT) YWCA Board of Directors; Treasurer and Chair, Fundraising Committee, Farmington Valley Chapter (CT) of Links, Inc.; Executive Board, Connecticut Historical Conservancy; and Alumni Council, Teachers College, Columbia University.
Dr. McKenzie-Wharton received her B.A. and M.A. degrees in History and M.A. degree in Elementary and Secondary Educational Administration from Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL; and M. Ed and Doctorate in Educational Administration (School Systems) from Columbia University, NY.
Julie Riddell arrived in Sarasota in 1983 with her husband, attorney Jeff Riddell, and currently serves as board chair of the New College Library Association. She has been active in the volunteer community, serving as a chair of the Library Association’s Pique-Nique sur la Baie and the Mistletoe Ball. A Michigan native, Riddell attended Northwestern University and graduated from Wayne State University. She is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Sarasota, an active member of the Sarasota Orchestra Association and The Field Club and past president of American Cancer Troup. She co-owns Riddell Title & Escrow, LLC with her husband and is currently a Registered Representative of Riddell Financial.