A Toledo business owner and art enthusiast has been appointed to serve a term on the Ohio Arts Council.
Susan Allan Block was named to the council board Tuesday by Ohio Gov. John Kasich, for a term that began Tuesday and ends July 1, 2019.
Mrs. Block said she felt it was important to have a representative from Toledo on the board, and that she will fight for arts related dollars to come to Northwest Ohio.
“I’ve spoken with Brian Kennedy and I’m sure I will speak with other art leaders in the community to see what’s important to them and how I can facilitate getting more dollars in Toledo for the arts, and also get more recognition for all of the wonderful things that are happening in our community, as well as supporting our state,” she said.
Mrs. Block studied art history at Hunter College while living in New York City, and was actively involved in the arts scene for most of the 20 years that she lived there, frequently networking with art dealers and attending auctions at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips.
“Living in New York City, you have a lot of access to some of the finest art in the world, and I think we are really fortunate in Toledo to have our fine art museum, which is also highly recognized,” she said.
She and her husband, Allan Block, chairman of Block Communications Inc., which owns Buckeye CableSystem and The Blade, have a small private art collection that includes paintings by Andy Warhol and several art glass pieces.
The Arts Council, formed in 1965, provides services to support art growth, and funding for state art programs from the Ohio Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. One of the board’s roles is to approve final funding requests from local agencies.
The board is made up of 14 voting members appointed by the governor, and four non-voting members from the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives. Board members receive no compensation, with the exception of expense reimbursements.
Mrs. Block has a bachelor’s degree in economics, and has studied internationally to be a chef.
Her prior professional history includes serving as executive assistant to the CEO at Glenview Capital Management, the executive assistant to the vice chairman and partner at the Ian Schrager Company, and the senior executive assistant to the CEO at Nomura Securities International, Inc.
She was involved in the fashion industry as a consultant with Siga U.S.A. and the Strenesse in New York.
In more recent years she studied at the Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy, Chicago; in a bilingual cuisine program at the École Ritz Escoffier, Paris, that included a 10 week, hands-on program as well as an eight-week kitchen internship, and in several other pastry internships and programs in France and stateside.
She is currently the owner of Vendome Pastry Kitchen on Angola Road.
Mrs. Block also sits on the Toledo Zoo Board of Trustees, the executive committee for the YMCA/JCC of Greater Toledo, and is member of a special advisory committee for The Toledo Area Humane Society. She is a former trustee for the Toledo Children’s Hospital Foundation, and a trustee for Lourdes University.
First Published March 2, 2016, 5:37 p.m.
