Newport Restoration Foundation Announces Transition in Board Leadership

The Board of Trustees of the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) is announcing a transition in Board leadership.

After seven years serving on the Board of Trustees in various capacities, James H. Ross, Esq. is stepping down as Chair of the Board. His expertise in real estate and finance greatly contributed to the professional financial leadership of the institution and helped guide the organization through the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. NRF maintains the largest collection of colonial residences leased in the nation, and Ross was instrumental in helping NRF create more sustainable policies regarding this long-standing Tenant Steward program. Under his leadership, the Board approved a strategic plan for the stewardship of Rough Point and a phased-Restoring Rough Point project that will provide for the long-term care of the building, while also enabling Rough Point to become a more community-centered site by expanding access to previously inaccessible spaces in the building.  Ross’s experienced leadership contributed to significant policy and institutional strategies which have helped NRF move forward with more sustainable and efficient operations.

Amy Berkowitz, currently the Vice-Chair of the Board, will step into the Chair position. Berkowitz is a life-long Newporter and an educator who has served on numerous boards of various educational and cultural heritage non-profits such as the New York Botanical Garden, the Groton School, and the Children’s Storefront in Harlem, and she has also locally served on the Education Committee of the Preservation Society of Newport County.  She is passionate about Newport’s history and historic architecture and has been a member of the NRF Board of Trustees for over five years. “I am honored to lead the Board of Trustees, and to continue the Newport Restoration Foundation’s important work in the Newport community,” she says. “The Board is committed to following the legacy of our founder Doris Duke, who was a visionary philanthropist dedicated to the economic restoration of Newport through the preservation of the architectural and cultural heritage of the City.”

C. Hugh Hildesley, MBE, current Chair of NRF’s Collections Committee, and former Vice Chairman of Sotheby’s Americas will become the new Vice-Chair of the Board.

“We thank Jim for his stewardship and years of service on the Board of Trustees,” says Frankie Vagnone, President of NRF and Director of Rough Point. “Amy Berkowitz’s demonstrated leadership as Chair of the Collections Committee and as Vice-Chair of the Board will lead NRF into this next chapter of our ongoing transformation into a more sustainable, community-centered organization.”