Woburn Resident Elected Treasurer of BAA Foundation Board

Boston Arts Academy Foundation (BAAF) announced today that David Felton, Senior Vice President and Director of Relationship Banking at Cambridge Trust, has been elected as Treasurer of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Felton, who was elected to the BAAF Board in 2020, is a committed supporter of Boston Arts Academy (BAA), the city’s only public high school for the visual and performing arts and will play an integral role in increasing BAA’s visibility, broadening its network of supporters and contributing to the overall strategic interests of the school and Foundation.

“Serving as Treasurer of the Boston Arts Academy Foundation Board is a perfect fit for David Felton and the Foundation,” said BAA Foundation President and CEO Denella Clark. “With his experience in banking and with non-profit organizations, David will help to ensure increased and long-term financial sustainability of the Foundation and school, to support a growing body of diverse and talented students.”

Prior to his role at Cambridge Trust, Felton spent more than nine years at Rockland Trust, where he worked with small and middle market businesses and nonprofit organizations handling all aspects of their banking needs, including cash management, commercial lending, and investment management. He was also responsible for sales, relationship management, marketing, employee training and product management. Felton previously served on the Board for Opportunities for Inclusion in Waltham as well as on the Board of Directors and Board of Advisors for Understanding Our Differences in Newton for the past seven years.

"I’m honored to be elected as the BAA Foundation’s Board Treasurer, and I’m excited to help advance the mission of Boston Arts Academy and BAA Foundation," said Felton. "This is a critical moment in the school and Foundation’s history, as BAA prepares to open its new school building directly across from Fenway Park in 2022. I’ll continue to focus on securing the relationships and resources needed for success.”

In addition to electing Felton as Treasurer, the BAAF Board also voted to approve Maggie Baxter, VP of Programming at NBC10 Boston, Joseph P. Hanley, Partner at McDermott, Quilty & Miller LLP, and Petrina Cherry, VP of Community Engagement and External Affairs at Boston Medical Center as new members.

BAAF’s Board also has elected a new slate of officers and committee chairs. Avid Technology CEO Jeff Rosica was unanimously elected as BAAF’s new Chairman. Former BAAF Chairman M. Lee Pelton, who now serves as President and CEO of The Boston Foundation, was elected as BAAF’s Lifetime Chairman Emeritus. Philanthropist Donna M. Harris-Lewis was reelected vice chair, while Waterville Consulting Principal Sean Curran was reelected as secretary and chair of the Board’s Nominating and Governance Committee. Ashley Webb Colleary, Assistant to the Executive Director at Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation, was elected marketing committee chair, and Windwalker Group’s Antoine J. Melay, Jr. was reelected as audit committee chair.

About Boston Arts Academy Foundation

Established in 1999, the BAA Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization that raises essential funds from private philanthropic sources to augment the BAA school budget. The BAA Foundation helps bridge the gap between the school’s allocation from the Boston Public Schools, and the true cost of a high-quality education that is both arts-intensive and college preparatory.

Construction of the new BAA school building will not change BPS’s funding formula, which supports BAA’s academic offerings. Through the six-year, comprehensive Building Our Future campaign, the BAA Foundation is raising $32 million to augment BAA’s school budget and ensure long-term sustainability. The campaign includes raising $10 million to bring the BAA Foundation endowment to $13.5 million and securing $15.5 million in operating reserves. The endowment and reserves support what makes BAA unique, including expanded programming, the Health and Wellness Program, STEAM (STEM+Art), and funding for the arts. The endowment will support college scholarships for graduating seniors. The campaign supports BAA Foundation’s Annual Fund, which raises $5,000 per student each year. Building Our Future will ensure that as BAA’s student body grows, students can become successful artists, scholars, and citizens.

About Boston Arts Academy

Founded in 1998 as the city’s only public high school for the visual and performing arts, Boston Arts Academy (BAA) has distinguished itself among urban public high schools as a leader in innovative and effective student-centered education. Consistently recognized locally and nationally for its achievements, BAA exemplifies the power of an arts-rich education and many BAA graduates have found success in college through the arts. In fact, for the past six straight years, at least 97 percent of BAA graduates have been accepted to college, with most being first-generation college attendees. BAA’s dynamic program prepares graduates to be critical thinkers, effective communicators, collaborators, and creators. Students come from all 23 Boston neighborhoods to receive the formal arts training and academic instruction that will make them Boston’s next generation of artists and cultural leaders.

In October 2018, the BAA community broke ground on a new $125 million facility at its Fenway location, which will expand from 121,000 to 153,500 square feet and open for students in 2022. Among many highlights, it will include new and much-needed enhanced theatres, career center, academic classrooms, dance studios, music practice rooms and fashion technology studios and workspace. When BAA opens its new school building, the number of students enrolled will increase to 500, and eventually grow over the years.