Oolite Arts, a local nonprofit and residency program for artists, announced the appointment of its interim CEO following the retirement of the organization’s previous leader earlier this month.
Tania Castroverde Moskalenko, a veteran arts leader with administrative experience in organizations across the country, will assume the role as Oolite conducts a national search for the CEO position. In May, Dennis Scholl, who had been Oolite’s CEO and president for six years, announced his retirement as he pursues his own art career.
Castroverde Moskalenko steps into the role just in time for the beginning of Miami’s busy arts season in the fall and Art Basel Miami Beach in the winter. In the meantime, the organization is preparing to break ground on its new, state-of-the-art headquarters and campus in Little River. The ambitious $30 million building, possibly Scholl’s largest accomplishment as CEO, will replace Oolite’s current home on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.
“We are delighted to appoint Tania as the Interim CEO of Oolite Arts,” Marie Elena Angulo, the Oolite Chair of the Board of Directors, said in a statement. “Tania’s appointment as Interim CEO provides us with solid, skilled and consistent leadership as we begin the process of searching for a permanent president and CEO and prepare for the next stage in the building of our new campus.”
Founded in 1984 as an artist studio space, Oolite Arts, formerly known as ArtCenter/South Florida, is one of the region’s largest artist support organizations. It offers free studio spaces, awards funding for projects, hosts exhibitions, organizes residency programs and provides housing stipends for local artists.
“We are honored to have Tania at the helm while we conduct a national search for a new president and CEO,” said Thomas Knapp, Chair of the Executive Search Committee, in a statement. “Oolite Arts is an integral part of our cultural community and we’re looking forward to finding the right person to lead the organization and to help build Miami’s next creative chapter.’
Castroverde Moskalenko is currently an arts and culture consultant and previously served as Miami City Ballet’s executive director from 2018 to 2022. While at the ballet company, she launched and completed a $55 million capital campaign during the pandemic, secured touring partnerships across the United States and helped develop the company’s first diversity, equity and inclusion strategy.
In Chicago, Castroverde Moskalenko was CEO of The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, a National Historic Landmark. In Indiana, she served as president and CEO of The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. In Tennessee, she was the executive director of the Germantown Performing Arts Centre. In her hometown of Miami, she is the co-chair elect of Philanthropy Miami.
Castroverde Moskalenko, who is Cuban American, earned a bachelor’s degree in theater and dance from the University of Memphis and a master’s degree in philanthropy from Indiana University. She also received an executive certification in non-profit financial management from Harvard Kennedy School, and an executive certification in arts & cultural Leadership from Harvard Business School.
“I am honored and excited to step into the role of Interim CEO at Oolite Arts during this time of transition. I am eager to work with the team to build on its strong foundation and chart a course for the future,” Castroverde Moskalenko said in a statement.
This story was produced with financial support from The Pérez Family Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
