The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) announces the appointment of four new members to its board of trustees: the Honorable Nicole Avant, Anne Emerich Palmer, Ryan Seacrest, and Ann Ziff. This brings the total number of trustees serving the museum to 54.

Board co-chair Terry Semel said, "These four new trustees join an engaged and ynamic
board, leading LACMA into an even greater and exciting new era."

Board co-chair Andrew Gordon said, "Each of these trustees bring new talents and depth to the board of trustees, at a time of great momentum for LACMA."

Nicole Avant
The Honorable Nicole Avant was nominated by President Barack Obama and nanimously
confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 13th U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas in 2009. She was the youngest as well as the first African American woman to hold the position. During her tenure, Ambassador Avant created unique events and programs, which further cemented the relationship between the U.S. and The Bahamas. In May 2013, the Nicole A. Avant Scholarship Fund was established at the College of The Bahamas and presented by First Lady Bernadette Christie in honor of Ambassador Avant's commitment to the cause of accessible education. Prior to her appointment as ambassador, she was vice president of Interior Music Publishing from 1998 to 2008.

In addition to her service abroad, Ambassador Avant has a legacy of philanthropy at home. She is an active board member for Best Buddies International and People for the American Way. She has also served on the board of the Bogart Pediatric Research Center and in 2007 was named the Next Generation Leader by the American Cancer Society.

Anne Emerich Palmer
Born and raised in Paris, Anne E. Palmer came to the United States in 1986 to become
proficient in the English language after completing her undergraduate studies in Lyon.
After acquiring a masters degree in clinical psychology, Mrs. Palmer interned as a family and child therapist at Friends of the Family, a nonprofit organization serving underprivileged families in Los Angeles County, from 1995 to 2001. From 2000 to 2004, she served on its board of directors. Mrs. Palmer is the co-chair of Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles Parents Association and is also a Middle-School Ambassador there.

In 2001 Mrs. Palmer and her husband, Geoffrey, acquired the 1913 estate of Burton E.Green—the visionary and original developer of Beverly Hills. This set the background for theircurrent art collection and acquisitions. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer collect 18th-century Frenchfurniture and decorative arts, including royal furniture from the collection of Marie Antoinette, as well as French Impressionist and Orientalist paintings. The Palmers have alsoassembled an outdoor sculpture garden on their property, with several monumental-scaleworks by Maillol and Henry Moore, among others. 

Ryan Seacrest

Ryan Seacrest holds preeminent positions in broadcast and cable television and nationally syndicated and local radio. He is celebrated internationally as host of the top-rated primetime talent showcase, "American Idol," on Fox. He is also host and executive producer of ABC’s annua lNew Year’s Eve program, "Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.” He also has an agreement with NBCUniversal that includes on-air broadcasting and producing duties. On radio, Seacrest is host of "On Air with Ryan Seacrest," his nationally syndicated LA morning drive-timeshow for Clear Channel's 102.7 KIIS-FM, as well as a nationally-syndicated Top 40 radio show. He launched Ryan Seacrest Productions (RSP) in 2006, which has since become an Emmy Award–winning entertainment production company creating programming for numerous networks.Mr. Seacrest is also an entrepreneur, investing in media and entertainment companies. In fall 2014, he will launch a new clothing collection, Ryan Seacrest Distinction, at Macy’s. 

Mr. Seacrest’s philanthropic efforts are focused on youth-oriented initiatives. He serves as chairmanof the Ryan Seacrest Foundation and is the honorary chair of the Grammy Foundation. The RyanSeacrest Foundation has opened six broadcast media centers in pediatric hospitals in cities acrossthe country, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Dallas, Orange County, and Philadelphia, withmore on the way in 2014. Mr. Seacrest collects postwar and contemporary art. 

Ann Ziff

Ann Ziff is chairman of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She also serves as vice chairman ofthe board of Lincoln Center and, as a trustee of Carnegie Hall, the American Museum of Natural History, New York Restoration Project, Sing For Hope, and the World Science Festival (NewYork, NY), among other nonprofit organizations. She is vice chairman of Artist Tribe Foundation.She is a member of the Visiting Committee of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is also the founding chairwoman of the board of directors of the Smile Train, an international organization that provides free cleft lip and palate surgery for underprivileged children. Ms. Ziff is a member of the advisory board of WonderWork, anorganization that provides vision- restoring surgeries for the poor in developing countries. 

Ms. Ziff designs and makes fine jewelry and founded the eponymous Tamsen Z, a jewelry boutiquein New York. She is a founder and producer of the Caribbean Community Theater in St. Croix,U.S. Virgin Islands. Ms. Ziff has a masters in social work from New York University, where shealso studied the masters program in music therapy, and she worked as a psychiatric social worker in the New York City system for many years. She and her late husband collected broadly in non Western arts including Chinese and Southeast Asian art, art of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. She has been a longtime collector of gemstones and jewelry, including Art Nouveau, Art Deco,
African and Antiquities pieces.