The Broward Performing Arts Foundation has welcomed four new board members for the 2021/2022 season:
Jodi Peck, a widely recognized arts leader and philanthropist, has been recognized for her commitment to the arts with numerous awards and has served on the boards of Milwaukee Ballet, United Performing Arts Fund, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Funding Arts Broward and Public Television. She was the Founding Board Chair of the Trey McIntyre Project, an international touring dance company where she led the growth of a national board of directors and patron base across 40 states. She and the Peck Foundation have supported the Broward Center for the Performing Arts since it opened in 1991. Over the years, the Peck Foundation has donated $2.5 million to the Broward Performing Arts Foundation with gifts to the Broward Center’s building campaign, naming the Peck Courtyard at the Broward Center; Vision Campaign to retire the debt and establish an endowment; Encore! Campaign to renew and revitalize the Broward Center; and most recently to the Campaign for The Parker where their $1 million gift named Bernie Peck’s Bar in the S. Donald Sussman Lobby of that iconic theater.
Bobby Schroeter is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Spirit Airlines, where he oversees advertising, brand, communications, pricing and revenue management, omnichannel commerce and guest care initiatives. Schroeter is also a distinguished board member of the Spirit Charitable Foundation. Prior to joining Spirit in 2005, Schroeter held various positions at several airline and travel industry companies including US Airways, LasVegas.com and America West Airlines. In recognition of multi-year support from Spirit Airlines, the Club Level at the Broward Center was renamed the Spirit Club Level. A resident of Fort Lauderdale, Schroeter is a devoted supporter of the arts and education.
Eric Vainder is Senior Market Executive for Broward County for Northern Trust and a member of the company’s East Region Business Leadership Council, overseeing growth and brand awareness in the region. He has closely advised high-net-worth families, individuals and foundations in all areas of wealth management during his more than two-decade tenure at Northern Trust. Vainder’s involvement in the South Florida community extends beyond his role at Northern Trust and includes serving as Board Chair of Easterseals of South Florida, board member of the Overtown Youth Center, Chair of the United Way’s Professional Advisors Committee in Miami-Dade, Advisory Board Member for Philanthropy Miami, and member of the Nationwide Gift Planning Advisor Council for the American Cancer Society. Northern Trust is a Lifetime Benefactor of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
Deborah Wendt is Founder and Director of Stress Less Yoga, LLC and a Chopra Center Certified Instructor in the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga. A world-renowned yoga therapist, stress management coach and leading international educator of mind-body-spirit practices with more than 20 years of experience, Wendt is well-known for bringing the ancient wisdom of yoga and meditation alive for modern practitioners in creative, dynamic and life-transforming ways and producing international yoga and meditation retreats on Harbor Beach in Fort Lauderdale. The Wendt Terraces at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts and the new exclusive donor lounge, The Place To Be – A Gift from the Wendts, at The Parker, are in recognition of the Wendt family’s donations.
For more than 30 years, the Broward Performing Arts Foundation has been instrumental in providing support for the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. The Foundation was established in 1985 to deliver the required private funding to build the Center and create an endowment to sustain its operations. Over the years, the Foundation has successfully raised funds to support the Broward Center’s innovative and diverse programming, arts-in-education initiatives, community engagement activities and capital projects. The Foundation recently completed a $30 million capital campaign to renovate and restore the iconic Parker Playhouse. Prior to this, it raised $60 million to complete the Encore! capital campaign to renovate, renew and revitalize the Broward Center.
For more information about the Broward Performing Arts Foundation, call 954-468-3284 or email Foundation@BrowardCenter.org.