Patricia Cruso Joins East End Arts Board

On Wednesday, Riverhead-based culture org East End Arts announced that education and community advocate Patricia Cruso has joined its Board of Directors.

“We are thrilled to welcome Patricia Cruso,” EEA‘s Executive Director Pat Snyder said, adding, “Her professional experience as well as her passion for community are so valuable to the organization.”

Along with being an advocate for education and community. Cruso has a strong background in fundraising and a life-long passion for community service. For more than 17 years, she worked at Stony Brook University in a variety of capacities, lobbying for higher education goals of the university. During her tenure, she worked in the Office of Governmental Relations, representing the university to Washington-based higher education associations, research organizations, professional societies and public policy organizations. She served on several steering and outreach committees and served as the Recruitment Chair for Stony Brook Day in Albany, the university’s annual advocacy day in the state capital, where she increased participation tenfold.

Cruso also worked as the Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving in the Office of University Advancement. Additionally, in a volunteer capacity, she served on the Stony Brook University SEFA/United Way Campaign as fundraising counsel to Campaign Chair; Stony Brook University Public Relations Team; Campus Beautification Team; Adult Literacy Center and was a conversation partner in the university’s English Conversation Partners project. She has participated in the college’s Undergraduate Mentoring Program since 1994. Cruso formerly held fundraising positions in Chicago at the Museum of Contemporary Art and WTTW/Channel 11, a PBS station.

She volunteers weekly at the Bread and More Soup Kitchen at First Congregational Church in Riverhead and is Vice-President of the Board at the Jamesport Meeting House. Cruso was also Vice President of the Board of Trustees at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington; was Secretary of the Board of Directors at Long Island Head Start Child Development Services. At East End Arts, Cruso has volunteered on numerous fundraising and event committees throughout the years. She has a master’s degree in social work and was a member of Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), National Association of Social Workers, and National Society of Fund Raising Executives (NSFRE).

Cruso joins the 13 active members of EEA‘s Board of Directors with backgrounds ranging from business to education, from media to finance, from creative to legal, some with tenures over 25 years, under the leadership of the 2012-13 Board Officers: President Annika Shapiro, Vice President Jim Lennon, Treasurer Diane Murray and Secretary Tina Folks.

Visit eastendarts.org to learn more.