Worcester Art Museum Elects New Board President

WORCESTER, MA — The Worcester Art Museum has elected a new president of its Board of Trustees.

Worcester attorney George W. Tetler III was elected alongside new vice presidents Christina Villena and Carl D. Rapp during the museum’s 130th Annual Meeting of the Corporation, held virtually on Wednesday. The museum also welcomed three new trustees and 10 new corporators.

A total of 126 museum staff members, corporators and trustees attended the meeting, according to the museum at 55 Salisbury St.

Tetler, a partner at Prince Lobel Tye LLP, has more than 40 years of experience in business and finance law. He joined the museum’s board in 2020 and previously served as a vice president, co-chair of the Facilities Committee and a member of the Executive Committee.

He received the Isaiah Thomas Award for distinguished community service in April 2025. He also recently served as chair of the New England Commission of Higher Education, becoming the first non-academic to hold the position.

More On New VPS: Villena, Rapp

Villena is vice president of risk solutions and premium audit at Hanover Insurance Group. She joined the museum’s board in 2020 and serves as chair of the Human Resources Committee and co-chair of the Facilities Committee.

Rapp, a Worcester native, is president of Philadelphia Gear and the Power Systems group at The Timken Company. He became a museum corporator in 2013 and joined the Board of Trustees in 2023.

Museum's Three New Trustees, 10 New Corporators

The museum’s three new trustees are UniBank CEO and former Worcester City Manager Ed M. Augustus Jr., architect Marla Curtis and Bonhams Boston General Manager Robin Starr.

Augustus previously served on the museum’s board from 2021 to 2023. He most recently led the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and previously oversaw Worcester’s Canal District and Kelley Square redevelopment, including the construction of Polar Park.

Curtis has operated an architectural and consulting firm in Boxford for more than three decades, with a focus on affordable housing in historic buildings. Starr has held several leadership roles during her more than 30 years with Bonhams and appears as an appraiser on PBS’ “Antiques Roadshow.”

The museum also elected Nicholas Benoit, Jonathan Bober, Karmen Bogdesic, Heath Boote, Carol Donnelly, Dennis F. Kerrigan, Robin Kornegay-Rougeau, Andrew Pillsbury, Judy Pugh and Amy Wolf as corporators.

“This has been a year of transformation for the Worcester Art Museum,” said Matthias Waschek, the Museum’s Jean and Myles McDonough Director. “The opening of our Arms and Armor Galleries last November was a defining moment in the Museum’s history. All within this same year, we reimagined and reopened our galleries for American art, modern art, and Chinese and Korean art, continuing a trend of change and revitalization that has been years in the making.”

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