Peter Ziegler and Patricia Durham have been elected to the Board of Directors for the Music Academy of the West.
Their three-year terms began Jan. 1.
Ziegler, a native of Los Angeles, is a former corporate attorney with extensive ties to nonprofits in the region.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial administration and organizational behavior at Yale University before serving as a line officer in the U.S. Navy for four years.
Upon completing his law studies at USC, where he edited the Southern California Law Review, he joined the firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and went on to specialize in corporate securities and business matters, public and private financings, and mergers and acquisitions. He retired as partner in 2008.
Ziegler has served as a board director for the Southern California chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Webb Schools in Claremont and the Music Center in Los Angeles. Also a former member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, he actively supports the Santa Barbara Zoo, Direct Relief International, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, United Way and the USC Law School.
“I am quite pleased to be a part of this exceptional organization, and look forward to contributing to leadership deliberations as it charts a course for the forefront of classical music training in the United States,” Ziegler said.
Durham, also a native of Los Angeles, is a certified crisis manager and former transportation sales and marketing executive.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at UC Irvine before working as an office manager and business management assistant for a Southern California accounting firm.
Upon joining the staff of Texas-based Durham Transportation she rapidly advanced, and was ultimately named director of marketing, later serving as chief marketing officer for parent company National Express Corporation. She currently works as a consultant.
Durham serves on the Board of Trustees for the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and is a former board director for CALM (Child Abuse Listening Mediation) and Jodi House Brain Injury Support Center. She has also supported the efforts of Girls Inc., Lotusland, Hospice of Santa Barbara, CAMA and UCSB Arts & Lectures.
A longtime backer of MERIT, the Music Academy’s youth outreach program, she served on the organizing committee for last year’s Cabaret gala fundraiser benefiting the academy’s full-scholarship program.
“For years I have been moved by the incredible talent and passion of the Fellows at the Music Academy of the West,” Durham said. “I am very excited to have this opportunity to serve on its Board of Directors.”
— Tim Dougherty is the communications manager for the Music Academy of the West.