Northwest Florida Ballet 2018-2019 Board of Directors
Julia Sandwith
President
Julia Sandwith
Since then, she has worked as a physician assistant and has gained extensive experience in surgery (Cardiothoracic) at The Mid-America Heart Institute in Kansas City, MO and The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN as well as internal medicine (Cardiology) at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL. She is currently working for Dr. Eleanor McCain and Dr. Sandra Hanson. Julia is a current member of Impact100 and has served on the Board of Directors for the Montessori Learning Center of Fort Walton Beach. In her spare time, Julia dances classical ballet in the adult ballet class at NFB and spends time with her husband Eric, and her children Hannah, Adelaide, and Crawford.
Bob Saxer
Immediate Past President
Bob Saxer
Bob’s lifetime of local knowledge, 34 years of firsthand experience in development finance, and experience in the local real estate market provides his clients with unique advantages in the sale and purchase of Commercial and Residential real estate. Bob along with his wife, Elia of 36 years, are active in the local community. Bob currently serves as President of the Board of the Northwest Ballet, and Elia is an accomplished, galleried artist who is active in Okaloosa Public Arts and the Women Artists Network.
Position Vacant
Secretary
Position Vacant
Treasurer
Todd Eric Allen
Artistic Director/CEO
Todd Eric Allen
Todd Eric Allen is the Artistic Director/CEO of the Northwest Florida Ballet. He grew up in Fort Walton Beach, Florida and began his training in classical ballet at the age of 14 with Bernadette Clements. One year later he received a scholarship to attend the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, where he studied for five consecutive years; he attended Virginia Intermont College as a scholarship student and was awarded a Dance Magazine Scholarship in 1985 to the Choreographer’s Conference in Geneva, New York.
Mr. Allen has danced with the Louisville Ballet, Boston Ballet and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and has performed as a guest artist and teacher throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. He has also had the honor of performing at the prestigious Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., on two separate occasions, for Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton. Allen has an extensive background in the classics and Balanchine ballets, and has performed featured roles in ballets by Elisa Monte, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Nacho Duato, James Kudelka, Hans Van Manen and Lucinda Hughey. In May of 2000 Mr. Allen was one of fourteen dancers asked to perform in Ocean Dance 2000 featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov and the White Oak Dance Project. In 2004 he was invited to perform with the Broadway cast in the Tony Award winning Musical, Movin’ Out, choreographed and directed by Twyla Tharp, music by Billy Joel.
He has choreographed 30 original works and classical ballets and 8 operas, has taught at The USA International Ballet Competition and many master classes and workshops in the US and internationally and has served on the jury of NBA Ballet’s Japanese National Ballet Competition in Tokyo, Japan.
In the summer of 1995 Todd returned to his hometown of Fort Walton Beach, Florida as Artistic Director/CEO of the Northwest Florida Ballet. Over the past 20 years, he has committed himself to his community by developing young minds and bodies through innovative dance education programs, creating an awareness of dance in Northwest Florida and exposing his audiences to a variety of classical and contemporary works. In 2003 Mr. Allen received the Cox Bravo Champion of the Arts Award in Northwest Florida for his work in establishing the NFB Académie, a free academic and artistic education elementary and middle school. He has also received the Elvie DeMarko Dance Achievement Award from The Arts Council of Northwest Florida and has served on various grant panels in the state of Florida for the Division of Cultural Affairs and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation in Baltimore, Md. His groundbreaking work in arts education was featured in Dance Teacher magazine (Nov, 2004) and in Teacher Magazine, a Department of Education publication (May 2005). The Northwest Florida Ballet is now one of the largest and most respected arts organizations in Northwest Florida and has received national recognition for its innovative programs.
In 1992 while dancing with Boston Ballet Mr. Allen choreographed his first ballet, IYANU, on dancers from the company for a performance benefiting the Boston Ballet Dancer’s Career Transition Fund. Blue Tango, a tribute to Astor Piazzolla and collaboration with Argentine composer Claudio Ragazzi, once again highlighting the talents of Boston Ballet Dancers and featuring a live tango quintet, followed this first work. After the premier performance Christine Temin of the Boston Globe described Mr. Allen as “a choreographer of genuine talent”. Allen went on to create works for Festival Ballet of Rhode Island, the dancers of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Mobile Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, Chattanooga Ballet, Ruth Mitchell Dance Theater, Pensacola Opera, Pensacola Symphony, Mobile Opera and his own company, Northwest Florida Ballet. Allen has since been described as “one of the most original and exciting choreographers I know” by Fernando Bujones.
In the summer of 1995 Todd Eric Allen was invited to return to his hometown of Fort Walton Beach, Florida as Director of the Northwest Florida Ballet. In the nine years he has held the position of Artistic Director, Allen has committed himself to his community by developing young minds and bodies through innovative dance education programs, creating an awareness of dance in Northwest Florida and exposing his audiences to a variety of classical and contemporary works. In 2003 Mr. Allen received the Cox Bravo Champion of the Arts Award in Northwest Florida for his work in establishing the NFB Académie, a free academic and artistic education elementary school located in the NFB studios. His groundbreaking work in arts education was featured in Dance Teacher magazine (Nov, 2004) and in Teacher Magazine, a Department of Education publication (May 2005). In 2005 he accepted a 3-month engagement to perform in the Broadway hit, Movin’ Out. He served as an instructor at the 2006 USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi.
Bernadette Sims
Founder
Bernadette Sims
In 1969 she founded the Fort Walton Beach Ballet, now the Northwest Florida Ballet, and under her direction, the company performed locally and throughout the State of Florida and the Southeast. Her ballet Silk Road Suite won the Panoply Choreographic Competition. She retired as Director of the company in 1996 and since that date, she has continued as a Master Teacher and a member of the Board of Directors.
Kim Christopher
Board Member
Kim Christopher
Kevin Greene
Board Member
Kevin Greene
His involvement in the arts began during his school years as a percussionist in the school orchestra and as a national ballroom dancing competitor representing the Mary French Dance Studio of Wellesley, MA. Kevin fell in love with ballet while attending ballets performed by the San Francisco Ballet and The Boston Ballet.
Kevin’s past non-profit involvement includes being appointed to the Board of Trustees with the University Club of San Francisco and serving on the House Committee for the Eastern Yacht Club of Marblehead, MA. Kevin graduated from Boston College, with a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude. His personal activities include time with his family, running, sailing, golf and tennis.
Todd Jackson
Board Member
Todd Jackson
Thereafter, Jackson was a founding member of HCA’s Performance Improvement Group whose mission was to enhance operational efficiency and strategic alignment. He is an alum of HCA’s Executive Development Program and also served as the Chief Operating Officer at East Houston Regional Medical Center before promoting to Fort Walton Beach in 2016. Todd is board certified in healthcare management and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Throughout his career, he has served on several boards and educational foundations, participated in numerous fundraising campaigns supporting local and national healthcare initiatives, and is a Paul Harris Fellow with Rotary International. Todd currently is active in the local Northwest Florida community with the Destin Chamber of Commerce, Northwest Florida Ballet, and Northwest Florida’s “Forward” Council aimed at enhancing growth, economic health, and education throughout the region. In addition to a bachelor’s degree in business, Todd has a Master of Healthcare Administration, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Todd and his wife, Tina, have twin children Houston and Emily.
Jeff Landreth
Board Member
Jeff Landreth
Jeff founded Check Six, LLC that currently provides small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS “drones”) services and consults with local authorities on safe and legal drone operations as a subject matter expert. Jeff serves as an expert witness regarding real estate related issues and currently serves on the MidSouth Bank Advisory Board.
Jennifer Schaffer
Parents Leading in Education (PLIE) President
Jennifer Schaefer
Barbara Speni
Board Member
Barbara Speni
When Barbara first arrived in Florida her natural attention went to the local hospital services because of their daughter with serious medical problems since birth. She served on the sacred heart foundation board for almost 10 years to help build the new facility in Miramar Beach.
Barbara also had a love of dance. She never received formal training but did lyrical dance at university of Florida where she graduated in special education. One of her daughters was a lovely ballerina and they enjoyed many trips to Lincoln center to see swan lake and the nutcracker. After seeing the NWF ballet production of the Nutcracker several times, she agreed to be on their Board. She has enjoyed making new friends and admiring the devotion of Todd and his staff.
Linda Watson
Board Member
Linda Watson
Linda has loved ballet all her life. While searching for a ballet class for her three-year-old granddaughter, Linda met Bernadette Sims after a ballet performance at Lisa Jackson Park in about 1991. Bernadette soon asked her to serve on the Board of Directors. She has immensely enjoyed experiencing all the performances since. Linda’s passions in life are her family, children and ballet. She also enjoys walking on the beach, reading, and yoga.