Portsmouth - Arts In Reach (AIR), an organization supporting teen girls through mentoring and the arts in Rockingham and Strafford Counties, announces the appointment of Sarah Gnerre, to the position of President of the Board. AIR also welcomes new Board Members, John Fitzpatrick, and Dr. Kimberly Higney to the organization.

Sarah Gnerre, AIR’s former Treasurer, has been a member of the Board of Directors since October 2006. She immediately follows Past President, Darcy Horgan, who will remain active as a member of the Board. Sarah brings a wealth of nonprofit fundraising expertise to AIR. She is currently the Principal at SJG Consulting, working with clients such as the Anna Jacques Hospital in Newburyport, MA. Previously, she served as the Managing Director of Leadership Gifts at Bentley University, at the University of New Hampshire Foundation as director of the Peter T. Paul Challenge, director of major gifts, and major gifts officer for the Whittemore School of Business and Economics. She has also served as director of development for several Seacoast organizations including The Music Hall, the New Hampshire SPCA and the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra. She is a member of Association of Fundraising Professionals of Northern New England and serves on Pontine's Donor Board of Advisors.

John Fitzpatrick joined AIR's Board of Directors in July 2011 and will work as Treasurer and Secretary of the organization.  John is the Managing Director of Transatlantic Innovation Management (TIM), LLC, a company focused on the commercialization of intellectual property, including business development, patent strategy, licensing, valuation, and business planning. Prior to forming TIM in 2007, John was the Director of Intellectual Asset Management for ITI Life Sciences, a UK-based innovation fund, where he was responsible for evaluating, structuring, negotiating and closing major international research and development collaborations and commercializing the resulting intellectual property. Earlier in his career, John was a partner in two US law firms, with a practice focused on licensing and strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, and venture capital.

Dr. Kimberly Higney established cardea center for well-being on the Seacoast of New Hampshire in 2008 after practicing in New Hampshire and Boston for several years. She received her doctorate in Chiropractic at Palmer College where she interned in the Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Department. She completed her Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Guelph in her native Canada. She has trained extensively in the US, Italy, and Canada and is one of a small group of doctors qualified to practice the post-graduate technique, Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) at the highest level. At cardea, Dr. Higney helps people connect health to quality of life through gentle care that improves the body’s ability to adapt to stress, illness and injury.
 
“Both additions mark a great expansion for the Board as well as for AIR, and we look forward to promoting AIR’s mission together,” states Executive Director of AIR, Virginia Skevington.

Arts In Reach is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that empowers teenage girls and sparks their creative interests through accessible performance and visual arts education programming.   AIR believes that girls can succeed when they are provided with a positive atmosphere that is respectful of their voices, supportive of their ideas and responsive to their developmental needs. AIR provides afterschool, vacation, and summer arts programming for teen girls (ages 13 to 18) in Strafford and Rockingham Counties, NH.  www.artsinreach.org, 603-433-4ART (4278).