BALTIMORE, MD.- The Baltimore Museum of Art Board of Trustees recently elected James D. Thornton as the museum’s 26th Board Chair and the first person of color to lead the BMA’s Trustees. He succeeds Clair Zamoiski Segal, who held the position for seven years and remains on the board as Immediate Past Chair and Co-Chair of the Director Search Steering Committee. The Trustees also added Virginia K. Adams, Sam Callard, and Paul L. Oostburg Sanz to the group of 36 active board members.

“I am extremely honored to follow in the footsteps of so many accomplished board chairs who played pivotal roles in establishing the Baltimore Museum of Art as a cultural anchor over the past 108 years,” said Thornton. “Since developing our strategic plan in 2018, we have made significant progress in better reflecting and connecting with our community and becoming a leading cultural voice in the region and the country. My commitment is to continue to build on both our strong artistic program and our social equity and diversity work across the institution. This work to define the museum of the future will require an unwavering commitment from my Board colleagues and our dedicated staff and leadership. I am confident that with the continued support of our donors, patrons, and visitors, we will lead this institution to greater achievements.”




Since joining the BMA’s Board in 2004, Thornton has led or participated in numerous committees, including Finance, Corporate Giving, Earned Income, Building and Capital Planning, Major Gifts, Compensation, and Governance. He serves on the current Director Search Committee and was a member of the previous Director Search Committee. He also chaired the 2018 Strategic Planning Committee. His professional career includes working as Managing Director of Thorwood Real Estate Group LLC and as Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Diversity for MBNA Bank. Thornton also held positions at MBNA as Director of Sports Marketing and Director of Quality Assurance and served on the Senior Operating Committee. Before joining MBNA in 1997, he was Vice President of Sears Roebuck and Company, a major retail company. He was responsible for the automotive business in that role and worked for Sears for over 27 years. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Visteon Corporation, a major automotive supplier based in Van Buren, Michigan. Thornton is a life member of the NAACP. His current and past philanthropic work includes serving as chairman of the Board of Trustees for his alma mater, Talladega College; board member of the Fund for Education Excellence; president of the Harford County Caucus of African-American Leaders; member of the Harford County Planning and Zoning Advisory Board and Judicial Nominating Commission; former member of the Harford County Board of Education; and treasurer of the Hosanna School Museum in Darlington, Maryland.

Virginia K. Adams, Ph.D. has returned to the Board after having served several terms between 2000 and 2020. She is past president of the Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art and past Chair of the Compensation, Governance and Contemporary Art Accessions Committees. She is an active member of the Contemporary and AAAPI Accessions Committees. Adams is a former partner of Piper & Marbury, where she practiced corporate and securities law for 22 years. She has also taught modern and contemporary art history at the University of Maryland, College Park; Loyola University, Maryland; and Maryland Institute College of Art. Adams holds a bachelor of arts from the College of William & Mary, a juris doctor from the George Washington University Law School, and a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is the former Chair of the Enoch Pratt Free Library Board, of which she remains a member.

Sam Callard is a Senior Financial Advisor and Shareholder at WMS Partners LLC, a multi-family office based in Towson, Maryland, where he chairs the Real Estate Committee and works with client families on all aspects of their balance sheets, investment portfolios, and estate plans. Prior to joining WMS Partners in 2016, Sam was Vice President at Matheys Lane Capital Management L.P. in Providence, Rhode Island, where he advised client families on their finances and led the due diligence process in connection with private equity funds, venture capital funds and hedge funds. As a corporate attorney at Seward & Kissel LLP in New York City, he represented hedge funds and the investment advisers to hedge funds. Callard has a juris doctor cum laude from Boston University School of Law and a bachelor of arts from Haverford College, and has passed Level II of the CFA examination. In addition, Callard is a member of the New York State Bar. He serves on the BMA’s Investment Committee and previously served on the Investment Committee of the Friends School of Baltimore.

Paul L. Oostburg Sanz is the General Counsel of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), where he provides legal advice and counsel on all aspects of research and development as well as overseeing the Office of Technology Transfer. Prior to joining APL in 2017, Oostburg Sanz was the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Navy (DON) during the Obama Administration. As the longest serving politically appointed General Counsel of the Navy, he was the DON’s Chief Legal Officer and advised senior Navy and Marine Corps officials in the obligation of more than $160 billion and the management of over 700,000 service members and civilians, and assisted in the oversight of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Naval Inspector General, and the Naval Audit Service. He also performed the duties of the Under Secretary of the Navy for intelligence and classified programs and was twice appointed Interim Convening Authority for Military Commissions and Interim Director of the Office of Military Commissions. Prior to being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he was in leadership positions for the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on International Relations in the U.S. House of Representatives; conducted political party training in South Africa before their first inclusive national elections; and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Oostburg Sanz earned a bachelor of science from Georgetown University, a master’s in public affairs from Princeton University, and a juris doctor from Harvard Law School. He was twice awarded the DON’s Distinguished Public Service Award and received the Secretary of Defense’s Medal for Outstanding Public Service.