Carpenter, Maner, Riley, and Shepherd Join Board of Governors

The Decorative Arts Trust welcomes Litchfield Carpenter, Forbes Maner, Daniel E. Riley, and Deborah F. Shepherd to the Board of Governors.

Litchfield Carpenter of Savannah, GA, is a native of Hendersonville, NC, and graduated from Wake Forest University with a BA in Art History. He joined Firestone and Parson in Boston, MA, to learn more about Early American silver, also developing a keen interest in estate jewelry. He moved to Emily Jenkins Appraisals in Raleigh, NC, traveling across the country conducting decorative arts appraisals for insurance and estate purposes. After moving to Tennessee, he became Curator of Collections at Travellers’ Rest Historic House and Museum in Nashville. For 20-odd years, he operated an estate sale company in Atlanta, GA, until semi-retiring in 2022. He and his husband, Washington Dender, enjoy restoring houses, including a 1770s home in Tryon, NC, and an 1853 row house in Savannah, GA. He currently serves on the vestry of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross, Tryon, NC; the Board of the Telfair Museums, Savannah; as Chair of the Friends of the Owens Thomas House, Savannah; the Board of the Tryon History Museum, Tryon; and previously on the Board of Carnton Plantation, Franklin, TN. Litch and Wash are frequent attendees at Trust programs. Litch is eager to grow and learn from knowledgeable people in this field as well as help to pass on to others the love of decorative arts, hoping to kindle the flame for future collectors, historians, and museum professionals.

Forbes Maner from Washington, D.C., was raised in Richmond, VA, and holds degrees from Harvard and the University of Virginia Law School. His professional career focused on tax law in private practice and at Ernst & Young before retiring in 2017. He currently serves on the Boards of Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library and Tudor Place and is the President of the Washington Decorative Arts Forum. His interest in American and British decorative arts extends back to his teenage years, and he and his wife, Sara, have continued to build upon their shared passion for material culture as regular participants in Trust Symposia and Study Trips Abroad. Forbes enthusiastically endorses the goals of the Trust’s Emerging Scholars Program to support students and young professionals as well as the impact of the Publishing Grant program. He hopes to further these pursuits as a member of the Trust’s Board.

Daniel E. Riley, who resides in San Francisco, CA, retired in 2017 from the University of California, San Francisco, where he served as Executive Director of Gift & Endowment Planning in the Office of University Development & Alumni Relations, as well as Assistant Secretary of the UCSF Foundation. Dan moved to San Francisco in 1992 from Charlottesville, VA, where, after specializing in estate planning and administration at the law firm of McGuire Woods, LLP, he joined the Development Office at the University of Virginia, during which time he developed an interest in 18th- and early-19th-century American furniture and decorative arts. He is an active member in the American Decorative Arts Forum of Northern California, as well as the San Francisco Victorian Alliance, the Victorian Society in America, and the Royal Oak Foundation. Dan has always admired the Trust’s work with rising young scholars. He looks forward to helping with marketing and development to further the Trust’s mission and objectives.

Deborah F. Shepherd from Chevy Chase, MD, is a retired art museum administrator with a BA in Art History from Stanford University and an MA in Art History and Certificate in Museum Practice from the University of Michigan. Debbie’s professional affiliations included the Detroit Institute of Arts, Cantor Art Center at Stanford University, International Exhibitions Foundation, and National Gallery of Art. In her subsequent volunteer career, she advocated for historic preservation in Palo Alto and Santa Clara County, CA, and served as a member of the Director’s Advisory Board at the Cantor Art Center, where she chaired the membership committee and a donor travel program. She is a member of the National Gallery of Art’s Circle and serves on the Collections Committee at Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island, NY. Debbie and her husband, Michael, have benefited greatly from travel with the Trust both domestically and internationally in recent years. She hopes to bring her professional and volunteer experience in museum travel and membership programs to the Trust. As a retired art historian, she also knows how increasingly valuable the Publishing Grant program is for scholars and museums.

The Trust’s Board of Governors would also like to thank three exemplary members for their tremendous contributions to the organization as they rotate off the Board. Melanie Christian, Christine Mumm, and Mary Raines joined the Board in 2014, 2015, and 2017, respectively and each held noteworthy leadership positions. Melanie concluded her second term as Treasurer last year. Chris held the role of Secretary for two terms. Mary played instrumental roles at the helm of the Trust’s Membership and Marketing Committee and then the Governance Committee.

And last but not least, the Trust thanks Brock W. Jobe for his four-year term as President of the Board of Governors, which concluded at the end of 2025. Margaret Pritchard, who has served as Vice President since 2022, will take Brock’s place. Nancy Mansfield rises to Vice President, and Bill Hobbs takes on the position of Treasurer.

For more information about the leadership of the Trust, refer to the list of Officers and Governors.