BRIC Names Michael Liburd As Board Chair And Announces Four New Board Members

BRIC, the leading presenter of free arts and culture programming in Brooklyn, announced today that Michael Liburd has been elected to serve as the new Chair of the Board of Trustees, and that Susan Jurevics, Jin Kang, Martha Redbone and Kim Soule have been elected new trustees.

A believer in the power of media, art and culture to transform lives, Liburd has been on the BRIC board since 2010, helping to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to the arts.

"It's an exciting time in BRIC's evolution. I'm humbled and honored to serve as the new Chair and to work with Kristina Newman-Scott, BRIC's talented staff and our engaged board to build on our 40 year legacy of serving the community. I love what BRIC adds to the NYC cultural landscape: television, podcasting, live events, visual arts, and arts education. All executed with excellence. No other institution offers what BRIC does under one roof, and has as part of its DNA a mandate to ensure that it's accessible to all," said Michael Liburd.

Liburd, a native New Yorker, runs Griffin Ward, LLC, a partnership that advises companies in management, marketing, live events and content distribution. Before becoming an entrepreneur, he contributed to the success of iconic consumer brands and media properties, such as Viacom's Showtime Networks and Kraft General Foods, through positions in live television programming, marketing, sales and promotions. He's also a trustee of the Brooklyn Public Library and Poly Prep Country Day School.

Michael succeeds Hilary Ackermann who had served as chair since 2013. Under Hilary's tenure, BRIC opened its multifaceted headquarters, BRIC House, featuring television studios and editing facilities, performing arts space, an art gallery, studio space for artists and classrooms for media and arts education. Ackermann worked with the board and senior leadership to significantly expand BRIC's programming, education initiatives, and community engagement work to realize the full potential of BRIC's multi-disciplinary arts and media center.

"For the past six years, I have had the pleasure of serving as Chair and working with Michael Liburd. As I step down from my role, I do so with an excitement for his tenure. He has been a dynamic leader and indispensable colleague. I look forward to seeing BRIC grow under his direction," said Hilary Ackermann.

"We are thrilled to welcome this New Group of board members and our new Chair Michael Liburd, who has been a stalwart board member and champion of BRIC for over nine years," said Kristina Newman-Scott, BRIC President. "Each new member brings a unique perspective and skillset that will further strengthen and amplify our work. We are forever grateful for the time and energy they are dedicating to the success of BRIC."

The new board members represent a broad cross-section of industries in New York, including entertainment and media, finance, and real estate:

• Susan Jurevics, General Manager of Audible Escape
• Jin Kang, co-leader of Aon Special Opportunities Group
• Martha Redbone, Award-Winning Independent Songwriter and Activist
• Kim Soule, Compass Real Estate Broker and Former Film Producer

These new additions will continue to reinforce BRIC's voice as a leader in visual, performing, and media arts. The organization is thankful to its previous Board Chair, Hilary Ackermann, who was honored at this year's BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival REVEL earlier this summer.

Susan Jurevics is a dynamic executive with substantial experience in P&L management and marketing of leading entertainment, media, and consumer products companies. She is currently the General Manager of Audible Escape, a female-targeted content subscription service. Previously, Jurevics led the business transformation of the natural prestige beauty brand bareMinerals, where she was the Global President, bareMinerals at Shiseido Americas Corporation. Prior to that, Jurevics served as the CEO and Board Director of J.K. Rowling's digital publishing company, Pottermore. She joined Pottermore in 2013 after a 13-year career at Sony Corporation of America as the SVP of Global Retail CRM and Brand Marketing where she pioneered its cross-company, entertainment marketing function. She has spent her career connecting fans to beloved characters and universes such as Harry Potter, Spider-Man, James Bond, and Barbie. She is based in New York.

Jin Kang co-heads the Aon Special Opportunities Group, a team dedicated to solving complex, high value issues for clients, and generate new verticals of business for the firm. Jin joined Aon in April of 2013 from Goldman Sachs where he was the Chief Operational Risk Officer of GS Bank USA. In that role, he served on a variety of governance committees including the Risk and New Activities Committees. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Jin worked at the Amaranth Group, a multi-strategy hedge fund in Greenwich, CT. Jin has a B.S. and M.S. in Economics from Lehigh University. He is based in New York.

The multi-award winning musician Martha Redbone is one of the most vital voices in American Roots music today. The independent songwriter, educator, and activist is celebrated for her distinctive style. She fuses the folky mountain blues sounds of her childhood in the Appalachian hills of Kentucky with the eclectic grit of her teens in Brooklyn. With her gospel-singing African American father's voice and the resilient spirit of her Cherokee/Shawnee/Choctaw mother's culture, Redbone broadens the boundaries of Americana music. Redbone is the recipient of the NEFA NTP award, the NPN Creation Fund, the 2018 MAP Fund, and the 2019 Creative Capital Award. Redbone was also a 2015/16 Fellow of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation and currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Carlisle Indian School Project. She is based in Brooklyn.

Kim Soule's extensive background as a film producer has fueled this tireless real estate broker's incredible success over the past fourteen years. Since 2003 she has closed on over $300 million in residential sales, and has been named Rookie of the Year, member of the multi-Million Dollar Club and included in the prestigious President's Council. When Kim is not researching hot new neighborhoods or scaling rooftops for a home inspection, she donates her time and production skills to several local charities. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University and holds a Graduate Degree in Education from Harvard. Soule is currently on the board of the Dodge YMCA and is a member of All in Brooklyn, a women's philanthropic organization that aims to provide grants to fund non-profits in Brooklyn. She is based in Brooklyn.

A full list of board members can be found here: https://www.bricartsmedia.org/about-bric/board-directors-advisory-council

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