Pérez Art Museum Miami Appoints Karen H. Bechtel as Board President and Announces New Trustees

Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) is pleased to announce the appointment of Karen H. Bechtel as president of the museum’s Board of Trustees, alongside new trustees Alexander P. Adams, Patricia Howell, Kristina Newman-Scott, Wayne Seaton, and Esta Stecher.

Karen H. Bechtel is a former managing director at the Carlyle Group, where she headed global healthcare investing and also served on a number of boards of directors. Prior to joining Carlyle, Bechtel was at Morgan Stanley for 28 years, where she was a managing director of its Private Equity and Mergers and Acquisitions groups.

Karen H. Bechtel

An active member of the museum since 2015, Bechtel has served on the Board of Trustees since 2016 and has long supported the PAMM Collectors Council. From 2023 to 2025, she served as the board’s vice president and in 2024 was co-chair of Art of the Party, the museum’s annual gala, honoring Kenneth C. Griffin.

In addition to her committed involvement with PAMM, Bechtel is active with the Everglades Foundation, the Morgan Library and Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Century Association, the Links Club, the Yale Art Gallery, the World War II Museum, and the New World Symphony. She earned her Master of Business Administration from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was Phi Beta Kappa.

“After nearly a decade of continued involvement with the museum, I’m honored to serve as president of PAMM’s board of trustees at this exciting moment of cultural expansion for the museum and Miami at large,” said Karen H. Bechtel, Board of Trustees President at PAMM. “I am excited to work alongside leadership and my fellow trustees to maintain and uplift PAMM’s crucial place in the region’s cultural ecosystem and ensure that the arts continue to be elevated.”

“I’m delighted to continue working with Karen in her new role as Board of Trustees President and we are excited to welcome new trustees Alexander, Patricia, Kristina, Wayne, and Esta, who each bring invaluable insight, varied experiences in the arts and vital support to PAMM and its community,” said Franklin Sirmans, Sandra and Tony Tamer Director at PAMM.

Alexander P. Adams is president of the South Florida and Mid-Atlantic Regions for the Wealth Management business of Northern Trust. He leads all aspects of its wealth management business, including investment management, trust and fiduciary planning, banking, and financial consulting. Prior to joining Northern Trust, he spent his first five years of banking with First Union National Bank as a commercial lender. Adams has over 35 years of experience in the financial services industry and has served in many leadership roles throughout his 30-year tenure at Northern Trust.

Alexander P. Adams

Adams received his Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Miami. Adams’ involvement in the Miami-Dade community extends beyond his role at Northern Trust to a range of community organizations. His current board memberships include Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, United Way of Miami, Riviera Country Club, and Ronald McDonald House Charities. He is a member of the University of Miami's President's Council and the Florida Bankers Association-Government Relations Council.

Patricia Howell is a Washingtonian born at the original Walter Reed Hospital. The child of an Army Colonel, she traveled extensively but settled in D.C. for college, attending Howard University and receiving a Bachelor of Arts in political science. Howell is a former professional model and stay-at-home mom with two sons, Lloyd III and William.

Patricia Howell

As a former dancer, Howell is passionate about the arts and was on the board of Washington Performing Arts, Step Afrika, and City Dance, and was a member of the Leadership Council for the Sitar Arts Center. Her love for the arts has also contributed to her philanthropy towards the historic Howard Theater in Washington, D.C. Howell is the director of the Patricia Howell Family Foundation, which supports artists and arts education programs. She is also a member of the New School Board of Governors for the College of Performing Arts and is the executive producer for the documentary “The Young Vote.”

Following a move to Miami, Howell became a member of the PAMM Ambassadors for Black Art, and for the past four years, she has been co-chair for Art + Soul, the museum’s annual celebration of and benefit for the PAMM Fund for Black Art.

Kristina Newman-Scott is an award-winning, purpose-driven leader with over 20 years of experience in the public and nonprofit sectors, with a focus on arts, culture, and media. She is the vice president of the Arts at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, where she leads initiatives to foster vibrant communities through the arts. Previously, Newman-Scott served as the inaugural executive director for The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at New York Public Radio/WNYC, overseeing its multi-platform and live programming. She has also held leadership roles as President of BRIC, an arts and media organization in Brooklyn, and as director of culture for the State of Connecticut.

Kristina Newman-Scott

Newman-Scott’s accolades include being named one of City & State New York’s Telecommunications Power 50, shaping New York’s digital future, an Observer NYC Arts Power 50, and a Next City Urban Vanguard. Newman-Scott is the recipient of the Selina Roberts Ottum Award from Americans for the Arts and was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts by the University of New Haven, Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in 2018.

Wayne Seaton

Newman-Scott currently serves as secretary of the Board for Americans for the Arts, Chair of National Arts Strategies (NAS), and Chair of the Department of Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission for the City of New York. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, Newman-Scott began her career as a practicing artist and TV/radio host and producer in her home country before moving to the US in 2005. She continues to bring her passion for arts, culture, and community impact to every facet of her work. Wayne Seaton is a regional head of sustainability business development for financial institutions at S&P Global where he drives new revenue and commercial partnerships with asset managers, private equity firms, and banks across the Southeast, New York, and Texas. He has more than 30 years of financial services experience, including over a decade in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and sustainable finance.

Before joining S&P Global, Seaton was a managing director at Ernst & Young LLP. He has also led scale-up and turnaround initiatives at Morningstar/Sustainalytics and boutique firm Sustainable Public Infrastructure Partners, which he founded. In these capacities, he has transformed underperforming practices into revenue-generating divisions, managed high-growth teams, and introduced capital efficiency and ESG-aligned investment strategies.

Seaton received his Artium Baccalaureus from Harvard University and a Master of Business Administration in finance and international business from Columbia Business School. He is NACD Directorship Certified® and a member of the Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence. Seaton was born and raised in Jamaica and is a past board member of the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies.

Esta Stecher is a long-tenured global financial services executive who has extensive experience in banking and investment banking businesses and with tax, legal, finance, internal audit, compensation, and governance matters. She spent more than 28 years at Goldman Sachs, where she had the opportunity to lead a wide variety of disciplines, including the tax department, legal department, and Goldman Sachs Bank USA. She also had experience leading teams across the globe, including in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Before joining Goldman Sachs, Stecher was a Tax Partner at the New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.

Esta Stecher

Stecher is a member of the Board of Directors of Jackson Financial, Inc., and also serves on the boards of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the University of Minnesota Foundation, and the Columbia University Investment Management Company. She was previously a member of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University. Stecher is a member of the PAMM Collectors Council.

By ML Staff. Courtesy of PAMM