(New York, December 15, 2015)—Daniel Brodsky, Chairman of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced today that Debra R. Black has been elected to the Museum’s Board of Trustees. The election took place at the November 10 meeting of the Board.
In making the announcement, Mr. Brodsky stated: “We are very pleased that Debra Black will join our Board. Her work as a producer on Broadway, her involvement as a trustee at major cultural and educational institutions, and her broad philanthropic activities with her husband Leon are all evidence of a high level of commitment to the arts and science. We welcome her as a Trustee of the Met.”
Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Museum, continued: “As dedicated collectors and philanthropists, Debra and Leon are superb partners for the Met and its future. We could not imagine a better way to continue their involvement with the Museum than with Debra joining the Board. I look forward to working with her in the years ahead.”
Debra Black is Co-Founder and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Melanoma Research Alliance. Since 2007, when she and her husband founded the MRA, it has become the largest private funder of melanoma research worldwide. To date, MRA has awarded nearly $68 million to 179 research programs to make transformative advances in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer.
In her work as a Broadway producer, she has won two Tony Awards—for The History Boys and The Pillow Man. She is a member of the board of Rockefeller University and has served as Vice Chair for The New York State Council on the Arts and on the boards of Lincoln Center Theatre and The Public Theater.
Debra and Leon Black have been Chairman’s Council members at The Metropolitan Museum of Art since 1999 and have made numerous gifts to the Museum’s curatorial and conservation departments in addition to supporting its programming. Additionally, Leon Black served the Museum as a Trustee from 2000 to 2015. They are avid art collectors and philanthropists who support numerous cultural and medical institutions in New York and throughout the United States. They reside in Manhattan and have four children. She holds a B.A. in English from Barnard College.
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December 15, 2015
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