People

Jan Burrus is the retired Chief Executive Officer of GMI Signage Co.  She has been a managing partner in several commercial and real estate ventures, including development and management of properties in several states.

William Edgerton is the retired Artistic Director of New England Operetta.  He is a wine appraiser, consultant and authenticator.  He is a well-known collector of mechanical musical instruments and former president of the Musical Box Society International.

Moira Fennessey was a special speech audiologist and Director of Special Gifted Education for the New Jersey State Department of Education.  Mrs. Fennessey is active in the Italian Cultural Society, the Italian American Foundation, Chaine des Rotisseurs, Legatus, and the Latchkey League.  She brings her skills in event planning and in governance to the Board.

Livio Ferrari is a co-founder of Opera Naples and the owner of Ferrari Fitness Center.

Sally Gleason is the former President and member of the Executive Committee of Grand Rapids Opera.  She was a Public Relations Officer, Special Events, for Seyferth and Associates.  Mrs. Gleason is a co-founder of the Women’s Giving Circle of SW Florida and is the former communications director of the Christ Child Society of Naples.

Gerald Goldberg is one of the Founders of Opera Naples and served as Chairman and as General Director of the organization for many years.  An aerospace engineer by training, Mr. Goldberg is also a real estate developer and is a member of Naples Board of Realtors.

Charley Nevaril is a retired Senior Research Scientist and Marketing Manager for U.S. Gypsum, and is the President of Omni Market Research LLC.  An enthusiastic member of the Opera Naples chorus and the First Presbyterian Church of Bonita Springs choir, Mr. Nevaril previously was president of the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra Association.

Larry Ost is the former Chief Executive Officer of a multinational manufacturing company.  He is a member of the Chaine des Rotisseurs and of the Circumnavigators Club. He brings his extensive skills in management and planning to the Board.

Susan Mullin Scott retired from the investment business in Boston where she was a securities trader for Wellington Management and Lehman Brothers. Subsequently, she was a Guardian ad Litem in the Boston Juvenile Court and now is a panel member on the Citizens Foster Care Review Board in Naples. She is a member of the Royal Poinciana Golf Club Scholarship Committee and was a member of the Board there for 6 years.

David Slobodien is retired associate legal counsel of Dun and Bradstreet.  He has served on numerous civic and professional boards.  Currently, he is a member of the Annapolis Yacht Club (Annapolis, Md.), Black Tie (Washington, D.C.), president of the Windstar Club Charitable Foundation, Inc. (Naples) and a member of the District of Columbia bar.

Karl’s professional career spans Management Consulting, Main Street, and Wall Street. He began his career with IBM in Switzerland and then at IBM World Trade in New York before joining McKinsey & Company, the international consulting firm, where he led strategy and operations projects in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Karl then joined the senior management team at ADP, where he headed up increasingly larger divisions of the company and was a member of the Executive Committee.
Moving on to Wall Street, Karl joined Forstmann Little as Chairman and CEO of the Lear Siegler Group. He subsequently joined Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette as a General Partner and Managing Director. As Senior Operating Partner at DLJ Merchant Banking, Karl oversaw the performance of a portfolio of some 40 companies and served as Chairman and CEO for several of the businesses.

In addition to serving as a Trustee and Board Member of Opera Naples, Karl is a former Board Member at Habitat for Humanity and a Past President of the International Men’s Club of America. He is a member of Port Royal Club.