Adrienne Arsht (born February 4, 1942) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She made a $30 million contribution to Miami-Dade County's Performing Arts Center, which was renamed the Adrienne Arsht Center. She is on the board of trustees of the

John F. Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

Personal life and career

Arsht was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, the daughter of Samuel Arsht, a Wilmington attorney, and Roxana Cannon Arsht, the first female judge in the State of Delaware. Arsht skipped her senior year at

Tower Hill School Tower Hill School is a private college preparatory school in Wilmington, Delaware, offering instruction for pre-school through 12th grade. History Tower Hill was founded in 1919. The school is situated at the high point of Wilmington's neighbo ...

and went directly to

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

, where she received her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

. She then attended the

Villanova University School of Law Villanova University's Charles Widger School of Law (known as Villanova University School of Law) is a law school of the Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1953, the School of Law is approved by the American Bar Associati ...

for her J.D. Upon graduation, Arsht became the eleventh woman admitted to the Delaware bar. Her mother was the fifth. She was married to the late

Myer Feldman Myer Feldman, known as Mike Feldman (June 22, 1914 – March 1, 2007), was an American political aide in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Hailing from Philadelphia, Feldman was a trained lawyer and alumnus of the University of Pennsylvan ...

(1914–2007), a former counsel to Presidents

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

and

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

. Arsht began her Delaware law career in 1966 with the firm Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell. In 1969, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and joined the legal department of

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

(TWA). She was the first woman to work in the airline industry's Property, Cargo and Government Relations departments. She moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 1979 where she initially worked with a law firm, then started her own

title company Title insurance is a form of indemnity insurance predominantly found in the United States and Canada which insures against financial loss from defects in title to real property and from the invalidity or unenforceability of mortgage loans. Unlike ...

before moving to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

in 1996 to run her family-owned bank, TotalBank. From 1996 to 2007, Arsht served as Chairman of the Board of TotalBank. In that time, TotalBank grew from four locations to 14 with over $1.4 billion in assets. In November 2007, she sold the bank to

Banco Popular Español Banco Popular Español, S.A. () was the sixth largest banking group in Spain before it was bought by Banco Santander as part of a rescue package in June 2017. Components The group consisted of the following companies: national bank Banco Popular ...

for $300 million and was named Chairman Emerita of TotalBank.

Philanthropic work

Arsht gave a $30 million contribution to Miami's Performing Arts Center in 2008. Subsequently, the former Carnival Center for the Performing Arts was renamed "The

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts The Arsht Center is a performing arts center located in Miami, Florida. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. The center was partly built on the site of a former Sears department store; an Art Deco building const ...

of Miami-Dade County", or the Arsht Center for short. She is Founding Chairman of the Adrienne Arsht Center Foundation. In Miami, Arsht is also a member of the board and Trustee Emerita of the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

, as well as a board member for the non-profit organization,

Amigos For Kids Amigos Together For Kids (DBA: Amigos For Kids) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation founded in 1991 dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect by valuing children, strengthening families and educating communities. The group was founded by ...

. In January 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked Arsht number 39 on its 2008 America's 50 biggest donors list. In 2004, Arsht became the first woman to join the Million Dollar Roundtable of

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

of Miami-Dade County. In October 2008, Arsht committed more than $6 million to the University of Miami to support the university-wide Arsht Ethics Programs, assist the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami and support other University of Miami initiatives. In Washington, D.C., she serves on the board of trustees of the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

. In 2013, she endowed the Adrienne Arsht Latin American Center at The Atlantic Council to focus on the role of South America in the trans-Atlantic world. In 2009, Arsht co-funded the program “Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative,” which provided planning assistance and consulting services to struggling arts organizations throughout the United States. She donated $5 million to establish the Adrienne Arsht Musical Theater Fund at the Kennedy Center to support a wide variety of musical theater productions. Arsht is Executive Vice Chairman of the

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

, and former Vice Chairman member of the board of the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

for the Performing Arts. Arsht is a member of National Advisory Board of the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy and Blair House Restoration Fund. She is a member of the Fine Arts Committee of the U.S. State Department, the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

, and is former President of the Vice President's Residence Foundation. In 2004, after the death of her parents, Arsht created the Arsht-Cannon Fund through the Delaware Community Foundation. Since its creation, the Arsht-Cannon Fund has given $4.5 million to non-profit organizations in Delaware, which have been specifically attributed to programs centered on the needs of

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

families. In May 2010, under Arsht's direction, the fund pledged $300,000 over three years to bring the

Nemours Foundation The Nemours Foundation is a non-profit organization in Jacksonville, Florida, created by philanthropist Alfred I. du Pont in 1936, and dedicated to improving the health of children. The Foundation operates the Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware ...

BrightStart! Dyslexia Initiative to Delaware. The program is aimed at improving the reading and writing skills of young children and identifying those with learning disabilities at an early age. In 2005, Arsht announced a $2 million gift to

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details/h ...

in Maryland, creating the Roxana Cannon Arsht Center for Ethics and Leadership, in honor of her late mother, a

Goucher Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details ...

graduate. In February 2009, Arsht funded the creation of the Best Buddies Delaware chapter to specifically serve Hispanics and African-Americans with mental disabilities. In October 2012 stage in Alice Tully Hall at

was dedicated to Arsht for her $10 million contribution in support of the transformation of Lincoln Center's facilities and public spaces. In 2016, Arsht founded the Adrienne Arsht Center for Resilience at the

. The center's goal is advancing approaches that promote the abilities of nations, cities, communities, and individuals to respond effectively to disruptions, understand and manage complex interdependent systems, and thrive in today's global environment. Arsht was the first woman to receive the

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

Medal of Excellence in June, 2017. The award recognizes Ms. Arsht's philanthropy to cultural and nonprofit institutions throughout the United States, as well as leadership in the financial, public, and legal sectors. Arsht was the ninth recipient of the Medal of Excellence. Previous recipients have included Sanford I. Weill, Oscar de la Renta, Robert K. Kraft, Bill Cunningham, Henry T. Segerstrom, Terry J. Lundgren, Richard S. Fuld, Jr., and Kenneth D. Lewis. In 2019, Arsht, who serves as executive vice-chair of the

, was awarded the Distinguished Service Award at the Atlantic Council's annual Distinguished Leadership Awards dinner for her philanthropic work. Arsht has committed $25 million to permanently endow the Adrienne Arsht Center for Resilience at the

. Partnered with a $30 million donation from the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

, the center will now be named the ''Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center'' (Arsht-Rock), succeeding ''100 Resilient Cities'' (100RC). In August, 2020, Arsht donated $5 million to

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 F ...

in New York City to fund the Museum’s first paid internship program, which will now be named the Adrienne Arsht Interns. With Arsht’s gift, The Met offers paid internships to nearly 120 undergraduate and graduate interns each year. The donation also supports MetliveArts providing programming focused on themes of resilience. Arsht is a member of the National Advisory Board of the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy. Arsht is on the advisory council of the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project (DCVLP), where she established the Roxana Cannon Arsht Law Fellowship in honor of her mother, which focuses on domestic violence and other urgent family matters. Recently, Arsht donated $10 million to the Smithsonian Institution to launch the Adrienne Arsht Community-Based Resilience Solutions Initiative, a multi-year program to research tropical resilience and educate the public about the role resilience plays in shaping the world around us. This past April, in Washington, D.C., Arsht announced a $25 million gift to endow the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council which she founded in 2013 to focus on the role of South America in the trans-Atlantic community. Earlier in 2022, Arsht announced an $11 million endowment gift at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, FL. This gift will support a fully paid internship program creating greater and more equal access to hands-on professional experience in arts management and administration.

Awards and recognitions

In 2013, Arsht was presented with the prestigious diplomatic honor, Orden de Isabel la Católica (Order of the Cross of Isabella the Catholic) from The King of Spain. In 2017, she was bestowed the Carnegie Hall Medal of Excellence recognizing her visionary and exceptional contributions to cultural and nonprofit institutions nationally. Arsht was awarded the distinguished Order of San Carlos of Colombia, which was given to her by the direction of Colombia’s President

Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by profession and a journalist by trade, ...

. In 2019, Arsht was awarded The Order of Rio Branco from the Brazilian government for her outstanding dedication to US-Brazil relations and her vision toward Latin America. In April, 2021 Arsht was bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award from the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In May 2021, Arsht received an Honorary Doctor of Arts degree from

Barry University Barry University is a private Catholic university in Miami Shores, Florida. Founded in 1940 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, it is one of the largest Catholic universities in the Southeast and is within the territory of the Archdiocese of Miami ...

, located in Miami, Florida.

References

External links

*
The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arsht, Adrienne American women philanthropists 1942 births Living people Mount Holyoke College alumni Villanova University School of Law alumni Jewish American philanthropists Delaware lawyers New York (state) lawyers Tower Hill School alumni Atlantic Council Philanthropists from Delaware Philanthropists from Florida Businesspeople from Wilmington, Delaware Businesspeople from Miami 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century philanthropists 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century women philanthropists