First Coast Cultural Center has announced the appointment of Silvia Romero as senior director of operations as of Saturday, March 1. Romero replaces former President and CEO Donna Guzzo, who has been at the helm of the nonprofit organization for the past eight years.
“Silvia brings such a unique blend of knowledge and experience in both the arts and the nonprofit sector,” according to Scott St. Amand, chair of the Board of Directors for FCCC. “We feel so fortunate to be able to work alongside her during this transition to continue to seamlessly grow the mission of the center.”
Romero, who joined FCCC as director of programs in 2023, has a long list of qualifications for this role. After receiving a BA in art history at the University of North Florida, Romero was a museum educator and then associate director of education for the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, where she managed a $1 million endowment to provide arts integration to underserved students for six years.
Through her career, she led arts fundraising for a Deaf preschool’s annual gala, worked as an arts and Montessori educator, and then became arts education manager at Shorelake Arts, a nonprofit organization in Seattle, Washington.
“The communities between Jacksonville and St. Augustine will continue to have high quality arts programming available for children and adults,” according to Romero. “Our goal is to carry out the team’s vision of serving the public through classes and presentations, while infusing arts integration during the school day for children with disabilities.”
A graduate of the Beaches Emerging Leaders Program and the Jim Moran Institute of Global Entrepreneurship’s Nonprofit Executive Program, Romero will work alongside Fundraising Manager Kimberly Sheridan, who has been with FCCC since 2021 in various roles. Sheridan now oversees membership, events and local grants.
In addition, Candice Sirak will continue in her role as senior music therapist and Sound Connections music therapy manager, providing much-needed services to students with disabilities in St. Johns County Schools. KickStART after-school arts enrichment will also continue to serve students. Meanwhile, Charlotte Chastain, formerly Guzzo’s administrative assistant, will teach more of her popular art classes at the center.
“I am leaving FCCC in great hands,” Guzzo said. She added that FCCC’s next step is finding an experienced capital campaign manager to oversee renovations of their “forever home” purchased in July 2023 in Ponte Vedra Beach. “This is an important piece in continuing our mission of bringing the arts to life in the community through education, exhibitions and outreach while honoring a donor-driven philosophy.”
