Officers
Joe has had careers as a social worker, a travel agent, and an Art Deco enthusiast. Joe traces his interest in Art Deco back to 1985 when he first attended the Art Deco Weekend in Miami Beach and was mesmerized by the architecture and unique colors of the Art Deco buildings in South Beach. He became a member of CADS upon his return. Joe joined the CADS Board in 2001, was elected Vice President in 2003, and President from 2007-2015. Upon stepping down, the CADS board honored him with the title of President Emeritus. When his successor was unable to continue due to a job change, Joe again served as President from November 2016 until April 2019. During this period, he oversaw the many phases of producing the CADS book from original research to final distribution by the prestigious Yale University Press. The highly acclaimed book Art Deco Chicago – Designing Modern America, edited by Robert Bruegmann, is in a class of its own compared to other city books on Art Deco. Joe has also had an important role in the development of the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies (ICADS). From its founding in 1991 and for the next 25 years, ICADS existed as an unincorporated association. In 2016, under Joe’s leadership, ICADS was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in the state of Delaware and quickly received IRS 501(c) (3) status. Joe served as the first Chair of the newly created ICADS Board of Directors from April 13, 2016, to November 28, 2021. During his tenure, ICADS welcomed several new member societies, began the redefinition of its role in setting standards for future World Congresses and created World Art Deco Day as an annual event. In 2027, CADS will be hosting the Art Deco International ConferenceTM in conjunction with ICADS. | Kevin’s interest in art deco began over 30 years ago when he and his partner began collecting art deco pottery, art, statuary, and furniture. Kevin has been involved with CADS for several years as a board member, Social Committee Co-Chair, and Co-President. As part of the Social Committee. Kevin as actively helped plan many of CADS’ social activities outings to many of the Chicago area's finest art deco locations. Kevin retired from teaching high school social studies after 33 years and for most of those years he taught a course with an emphasis on art and architecture and found a true love of all things inter-war/art deco. Kevin has a B.A. in Political Science and an M.A. in History, both from Indiana University. Besides serving on the board of CADS, Kevin is also a member of the board of trustees of the Swedish-American Museum of Chicago. Jackie Vossler is retired as founder and president of Core Group, a product design and marketing company specializing in outdoor products. A graduate of The Ohio State University, Jackie has had a career and interest in design with Art Deco as a special enthusiasm. She has been a member of the Chicago Art Deco Society since 2009. As a Board member, she has coordinated and participated in several programs involving CADS and other regional cultural organizations including an award-winning program between CADS and the Elgin Area Historical Society exploring Elgin’s Art Deco Heritage. Jackie is a member of the Union League Club’s Library Committee and involved with several other libraries and book-related organizations. She has served the Caxton Club as its Secretary, a two-term Vice President, and two-term President. She is a member of the Smithsonian Institution’s Regional Council in Chicago and of the Advisory Board of the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, where she co-chairs its Development Committee. David is a life-long Chicagoan who made his way to the Chicago Art Deco Society through a roundabout path, originally a gift of membership by friends who thought that his interests would mesh, which they did. David is known for dressing the part for CADS functions in interwar style outfits, which is his favorite era of menswear. David is an architect by training and is particularly obsessed with apartment buildings, one of the golden ages of which was, of course, the Art Deco flourishing of the interwar period. This also meshes with being involved with CADS preservation committee. David Lade brings over 30 years of financial leadership across public accounting, healthcare, and technology. He began his career at Arthur Andersen & Co. in Cleveland before moving into industry roles, where he helped grow a new subsidiary from three distributors into 17 branches with $60 million in annual revenue. As Chief Financial Officer of a software startup, David guided the company from inception to over $10 million in annual revenue. Most recently, he served as CFO of Smart Choice MRI, leading the organization through a successful sale. He has also advised clients on strategic finance, specializing in turnaround situations and exits. David holds both an MBA and a bachelor's degree from Wright State University. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and Registered Securities Representative. |
Directors
Since Doug Doolittle grew up in Buffalo, NY down the street from a Frank Lloyd Wright House and taking a architecture history class from Franz Schultz at Lake Forest College he has always had an interest in architecture. He joined CADS in 2009 helping to work on a fabulous event at the previously closed Chicago Automobile Association building. He has enjoyed CADS touring Art Deco houses, buildings, attending lectures, picnics and meetups He is retired after nearly 40 years in the Printing business in Chicago and was proud to have been the printer of the CADS magazine for many years. Steve's interest in Art Deco was sparked by late night viewings of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. While he appreciates Deco in many forms (architecture, furnishings, clothing, etc.), Steve finds the most exciting expression of the era in vintage transportation: trains, airships and most of all, ocean liners, whose apex happily coincided with the height of the Art Deco movement. | Growing up in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, Amy Keller always had an admiration for the Art Deco style (hands-down, the Guardian Building is her favorite building of all time). It wasn’t until attending college at the University of Michigan, and being appointed to a committee that would provide recommendations to the university’s president on how UM’s residence halls should be restored, that Amy began to appreciate the importance of historic preservation. After college, Amy attended the John Marshall Law School in Chicago and is now an attorney at Wexler Wallace LLP pursuing consumer protection and product safety, while also advocating for the preservation of Chicago’s beautiful Art Deco structures as Chair of CADS’ Preservation Committee.
Always interested in architecture, Toronto-born Colleen Taylor Sen discovered CADS through the society’s magazine she'd read at her Saab mechanic’s shop. Her special interest is in Art Deco in India, a country she’s visited many times. After forty years in the energy industry, she retired to focus on her writing. A culinary historian, she’s the author/editor of eight books and is working on a ninth. Her degrees (B.A. M.A., Ph.D) are from the University of Toronto and Columbia University, all in Slavic Languages.
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