The Bruce Museum announced the election of new Board Officers and five new Trustees, whose expertise across the fields of art, science, finance, and community engagement will be integral in advancing the Bruce’s continued growth and impact. Board Officer appointees include William F. Ruprecht, who joins Karen S. Keegan as Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees; Charles M. Royce as Vice Chair; Abiodun Tobun as Treasurer; Richie Prager as Assistant Treasurer; and Laurie Rubin as Secretary.
Alongside these appointments, the following new Trustees have been elected to join the Board Class of 2029: Duncan Bourgoin, David Fisher, Kathy Georgas, Mary Pescatello Melvin, and Rebecca West. Lile R. Gibbons, Carolyn Westerberg, and Andrew Wiener will serve a second three-year term.
“On behalf of the Bruce Museum, we are delighted to welcome our new Officers and Trustees,” said Keegan. “Their leadership and expertise will be invaluable as we continue to advance the Museum’s mission and build on the accelerating momentum of the Bruce under the directorship of Mary-Kate O’Hare.”
The Bruce is grateful to its dedicated Trustees whose service ends this year: Shaun Fletcher (3 years of service), Robert H. Lawrence, Jr. (13.5 years), Qahir Madhany (3 years), Chris Wolfe Nichols (6 years), Nicole Reynolds (12 years).
More information about the Bruce’s Board Officers for FY2027 and incoming Trustees follows below.
Karen S. Keegan, Co-Chair (Class of 2027), has served on the Bruce Museum Board of Trustees since 2021 and as a member of the Finance, Strategic Planning, Capital Campaign, and Governance Committees, including as Governance Committee Chair. A longtime civic leader in Greenwich, she previously chaired the Greenwich United Way Board and served on the Greenwich Academy Board of Trustees, where she co-led a major capital campaign. She currently serves on the Greenwich Library Board of Trustees. Keegan began her career in finance at First Boston Corporation and holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson and a BA in Studio Art and Art History from the University of Pittsburgh.
William “Bill” F. Ruprecht, Co-Chair (Class of 2028), is the former Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Sotheby’s, where he led the company’s transformation into a global leader in the art market and expanded its offerings beyond auctions to include private sales, financing, e-commerce, and educational programs. He currently operates an independent art consultancy and brings deep expertise in fostering organizational alignment and collaboration. Ruprecht has served on the boards of several leading organizations, including Wildenstein Plattner Institute and the Bessemer Trust, where he served for 15 years.
Charles “Chuck” M. Royce, Vice Chair (Class of 2027), is the founder of Royce Investment Partners and an investor, philanthropist, and preservation advocate. He is currently initiating a family office, Deer Mountain Capital Partners. A longtime supporter of education, the arts, and community revitalization, Royce serves on the boards of institutions including The Frick Collection and the Berkeley School of Divinity at Yale University. A devoted supporter of the Bruce Museum, Royce has served in numerous leadership capacities on the Board of Trustees over the years, including Honorary Trustee, Honorary Board Chair, Vice Chair, and Member-at-Large, and established the Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund.
Abiodun “Abi” Tobun, Treasurer (Class of 2027), is Executive Vice President, Head of Taxable and Tax-Exempt Trading, at PNC Capital Markets, where he leads the firm’s fixed-income trading operations. Before joining PNC, he held senior roles at National City Investments and Residential Funding Securities. A graduate of the University of Lagos with a degree in computer science, he also earned a master’s degree in Management and Systems from New York University. Abi and his family are active members of the Greenwich community.
Richie Prager, Assistant Treasurer (Class of 2028, is a retired financial services executive, advisor, investor, and philanthropist. Following a 38-year career that included senior leadership roles at BlackRock, he now serves as a founding member of Spiral Horn Advisory and advises several private companies. An avid conservationist, Richie assembled and donated a significant collection of Federal Duck Stamp artworks to the Bruce Museum, which were featured in the exhibition Conservation Through the Arts: Celebrating the Federal Duck Stamp. He currently serves on the Museum’s Collections Committee and is President of the Camp Fire Conservation Fund Board.Richie has a B.S. in Zoology from Duke University.
Laurie Rubin, Secretary (Class of 2027) is president of Laurie Rubin Fine Art/MSFA, Inc., an advisory and consulting firm she founded in 1993. Her expertise spans curatorial work, art advisory services, and market analysis. Trained as an art historian, she holds both a BA and an MA in Art History from Brown University and has organized more than 75 solo and group exhibitions, working directly with artists such as Frank Stella, Sean Scully,and Dan Flavin. She is also active in several nonprofit organizations supporting arts education and mentorship, including The Scholastic Alliance for Young Artists and Writers and the Richard Rubin Mentoring Fund at Swarthmore College.
Duncan Bourgoin, Trustee (Class of 2029), is a Senior Vice President at Fortistar with nearly two decades of experience in renewable infrastructure and energy finance. He also serves on the boards of several Fortistar portfolio companies. Bourgoin earned a degree in Finance, with a double major in History, from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College—an academic background that reflects his strong interest in both business and cultural institutions. In addition to the Bruce, he and his wife are active supporters of numerous community organizations, including Greenwich Point Conservancy, Greenwich United Way, and Stamford Hospital.
David Fisher, Trustee (Class of 2029), retired in 2025 after a distinguished 30-plus-year career in investment management. Most recently, he was a Managing Director and partner at PIMCO, where he spent over 17 years in various senior roles spanning product strategy and retail distribution. Committed to nonprofit work, Fisher is the Chair of the Finance Committee for the Board of CASA NYC, an organization that advocates for young people in the child welfare system.
Kathy Georgas, Trustee (Class of 2029), brings a background spanning healthcare, design, and community leadership. A graduate of The George Washington University and New York University, she built a successful career as a nurse practitioner at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. A longtime supporter of the Bruce, she previously served as Trustee and Board Secretary and has held leadership roles in major fundraising initiatives. Active in both Greenwich and Palm Beach civic and cultural organizations, Georgas currently serves on the Palm Beach Architectural Commission and is involved with The Society of the Four Arts and the Norton Museum’s Chairman’s Circle.
Mary Pescatello Melvin, Trustee (Class of 2029), has been an active supporter of the Bruce since 2011, serving as Co-Chair of the Collectors Council from 2013 to 2021, a member of the Collections Committee, and co-chair of the Museum’s Art of Design benefit luncheon. In recognition of her dedication, she received the Bruce’s Volunteer of the Year Award in 2015. Her broader arts leadership includes service with the Des Moines Art Center’s Acquisitions and Collections Committee and as a trustee and committee member of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. A graduate of Northwestern University with a B.A. in Art History, Melvin has professional experience with Lehman Brothers, Sotheby’s Holdings, and Liz Claiborne.
Rebecca West, Trustee (Class of 2029), is Global President, Research Services Group, for Civicom®, and a member of the company’s Board of Directors. An industry leader in combining professional services with technology, West now oversees development of Quillit®, an AI research services tool built on the Anthropic® Claude® platform. She previously led Civicom’s marketing research services practice for over 20 years. She holds a certificate from the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program in Managing Professional Service Firms and a master’s in media studies from the New School for Social Research. A Greenwich resident for more than 40 years, she has been an active Bruce member for a decade.
About the Bruce Museum
Located in Bruce Park, overlooking the Long Island Sound in Greenwich, Connecticut, the Bruce Museum harnesses the transformative potential of art and science to spark curiosity and connection. Established in 1912 with a multidisciplinary vision, the museum houses a unique collection that encompasses visual arts as well as works of scientific, historical, and cultural significance spanning millennia. With education at its core, the Bruce offers a wide-ranging exhibition and public program, serving as a dynamic laboratory for discovery that welcomes and engages visitors of all ages.
The Bruce underwent a dramatic expansion and upgrade in 2023 with the opening of a new building that doubled its size and tripled its gallery spaces. In its new state-of-the-art home, the Bruce is deepening its role as a vital resource for learning, community building, and connectivity. For more information, visit www.brucemuseum.org
