SPECIAL TO THE PCA BULLETIN
THE JOHNE PARSLEY LEGACY PROJECT
DECEMBER 14, 2018, Milwaukee, WI . . . The Johne Parsley family has initiated Great Lakes Paperweights, Inc., (GLP), a 501(c) (3) corporation based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Mission of the organization is to preserve the rich history, legacy and enjoyment of fine glass paperweights through education and interaction with Midwest museums as well as work with galleries, collectors, glass artists and the general public.. READ MORE . . .
© 2022 Copyright by Great Lakes Paperweights, Ltd.
OUR TEAM
Keeping it close to the heart of the Parsley family, our initial team is comprised of professionals in the field of arts administration and consulting, cyber security and education. If you are interested in serving the needs of our organization, we’d like to talk to you as we consider board expansion.
Joan Parsley
Founder and Director
Joan Parsley’s friends refer to her as “Joan of Art.” As Founder and Director of Great Lakes Paperweights, she has been in the world of art all her life. She is currently fostering her leadership in the visual arts at Sotheby's Art Institute where she has studied Art History, Art Law, Fundamentals of Curating, Contemporary Art and Business Foundations of the Art World. She is past president of the Midwest Paperweight Collectors, as well as a current member of the Paperweight Collectors Association and Texas and Delaware Valley Paperweight Collectors Associations.
Prior to that time, Parsley worked for Zigman-Joseph-Skeen, a nationally-recognized public relations firm in Milwaukee and New York City where she created a public art gallery for the Marine Bank as a showcase for Wisconsin artists and consulted on various corporate art collections. At that time she also managed the public relations for the opening of the Johnson Wax Golden Rondelle Theater. Parsley also advised many of Milwaukee's major performing arts organizations including the Milwaukee Symphony, Wisconsin Conservatory and Saint Joseph Chapel to name a few.
In her early years, Parsley founded two major organizations in the world of early music: The Historical Keyboard Society concert series and Ensemble Musical Offering, Milwaukee's Midwest Bande for Early Music, for whom she was Artistic Director and harpsichordist. She was also Artist-in-Residence at The Cathedral of All Saints' Episcopal. It was during this period that she co-curated two extensive major Milwaukee art exhibitions: Beethoven: The Second Style Period at Marquette University's Haggerty Museum of Art as well as the Milwaukee Art Museum's Fashions and Furnishings in the Age of Mozart. She also developed educational programs with the Milwaukee Symphony and many Milwaukee public and private schools.
Joan Parsley brings her effervescent personality, passion and arts leadership to a subject and industry that will inspire generations to come.
Paul Berlanga
Consultant
Consultant Paul Berlanga has been the sales manager of the L.H. Selman Gallery of Fine Glass Paperweights in Chicago, IL, since June of 2016. During this time he has occasionally written for various publications, and is a private art advisor.
Berlanga has also conducted live, online interviews with the authors of non-fiction works with The Author’s Voice Network. Prior to that he was the director of the Stephen Daiter Gallery for 18 years, where the focus was fine art photography. His background includes two decades in the book trade as well as his own painting.
With a very dark sense of humor at times, Berlanga's corporate role is that of Resident Contradictor in keeping GLP on its toes and broadening the organization’s horizons. He is a stickler for details!
Dr. Sylvester Kreilein
Secretary
After completing college with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, followed by theological studies at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, Dr. Sylvester Kreilein acquired a Doctorate in German literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While he taught German for 46 years at Marquette University High School and Marquette University in Milwaukee, Dr. Kreilein was involved in nationally-funded lectures and special events for Ensemble Musical Offering, an original instrument chamber orchestra focused on the Baroque and Classical periods.
Dr. Kreilein also established an academic exchange program with the city of Ingolstadt, Germany, and was honored with a National Certificate of Merit Award in 2004 from the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages. In 2011, he received the Wisconsin Distinguished Foreign Language Educator Award.
Currently Dr. Kreilein is President of the Goethe House Wisconsin as well as Treasurer of the Hessen-Wisconsin Society. Naturally, he has a great love for the Germanic Glass Collection at the nearby Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass in Neenah, Wisconsin as well as Bohemian paperweights! His vast board experience bodes well for providing an even keel and keeping a detailed log as our ship sails.
Alex Kreilein
Operations
Alex Kreilein is a Vice President, Product Security for Qualys. His work focuses on Critical Infrastructure and cybersecurity. At other organizations, including Microsoft, he has previously served in executive roles such as Chief Information Security Officer and Chief Technology Officer. Alex holds a Masters in Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder as well as a Masters in National Security from the U.S. Naval War College. He is a collector of contemporary art and an avid traveler and outdoorsman. Alex will focus on technology and organizational strategy initiatives in his work at GLP.
Zachary Goldsmith
Education and Outreach
Zachary Goldsmith comes to GLP with a rich background in education and outreach. Having a passion for paperweights as well, Goldsmith will assist in the development of GLP’s Education and Outreach programs. He is duly up for the job as his background includes working with general audiences and organizing special events and speakers for educational institutions, experience vital to the future of Great Lakes Paperweights.
Currently, Goldsmith is a Director at the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University in West Lafayette Indiana. He previously served as a Visiting Assistant Professor for Purdue’s Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts program. He has also worked as a research assistant and instructor in the Department of Political Science at Indiana University from January 2013 through December 2018.
Goldsmith has a Ph.D. from Indiana University and a BA from the University of Michigan, all in political science. He was the recipient of a graduate fellowship with the Rumsfeld Foundation and a Fulbright Fellowship from the US government. He is the author of Fanaticism (University Pennsylvania Press, 2022) and his writing has appeared in such venues as NBC News and The Washington Post.
According to Joan Parsley, “GLP is turning a new corner and expanding its role in the field of glass art and education. Zach’s passion for paperweights and what GLP has already accomplished will allow the organization to reach new audiences in the Midwest and beyond.”