Diane de Vries Ashley Elected Chair of Seraphic Fire Board of Directors

Seraphic Fire is pleased to announce the appointment of Diane de Vries Ashley as Chair of its Board of Directors. Ms. Ashley joined Seraphic's board in 2017 and has previously served as Secretary and Interim Co-Chair. 

“As it enters its 21st Season, I am delighted to help lead Seraphic Fire into new heights of excellence,” says Ms. Ashley. “In my tenure, I hope to work towards broad collaboration with the community and other arts groups, and continue to expand our educational reach.”

Ms. Ashley has been in a leadership position on Seraphic’s Board of Directors since 2018. "Diane has worked tirelessly throughout the past year as a member of the Executive Committee to ensure Seraphic Fire remains stable and focused on its mission while navigating a transition in executive leadership," said Matthew Kacergis, currently serving as Interim Managing Director. "In fact, the organization has continued to grow and plan for the future during this period. Seraphic's next Executive Director will be well-positioned for success under her mentorship and guidance."

Diane de Vries Ashley began her career in New York City at Bankers Trust Company, now Deutsche Bank, after College at Tufts University and extensive courses in Art History at Columbia University. After credit training and on-the-job training, Ms. Ashley accepted an invitation to move to Brazil to become the bank’s first female Senior Representative, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Five years moved her back to the US and on to several other financial institutions both in New York and Miami Florida, but still continuing to move up the corporate ladder, to management jobs. During her career, Ms. Ashley also consulted on such wide-ranging topics as international private banking and anti-money laundering compliance among others. She was invited to join the staff of Bank of America as head of the Private Bank for Miami-Dade/Monroe Counties, a management and sales position. 

She became very involved in the community and spent time dedicated to nonprofit boards such as Florida Grand Opera, Miami Art Museum, Jackson Memorial Foundation, Miami Music Project, and Arts for Learning, among others. Today, Ms. Ashley still participates on nonprofit boards and is a member of the International Women’s Forum and member and former president of the Florida International Bankers Association. What takes up most of her time today is a dual focus on teaching financial courses for the FIU School of Business Executive MBA program overseas (taught in Spanish) and being an outside Director of BB Americas Bank (BBA), a paid directorship.

She is fluent in five languages and holds numerous Securities and Supervisory licenses.