Filoli names new executive director Filoli names new executive director (March 30, 2005)

The new executive director of Filoli has started work at the 654-acre historic Woodside estate with a mansion and European-inspired gardens.

Susanne Pandich, 55, who brings management and fundraising experience to Filoli, takes over from Anne Taylor, Filoli's executive director for the past 16 years, who has retired.

Since 1985, Ms. Pandich has been the director of Lyndhurst, a National Trust property in Tarrytown, New York, where she was responsible for multi-million-dollar capital improvement campaigns.

Earlier, she was the first curator at the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina.

"Susanne's widespread commitment to historic preservation at nationally recognized historic sites coupled with her extensive nonprofit management experience ensures strong leadership at Filoli," said Crawford Cooley, president of the Filoli governing board.

Ms. Pandich has an undergraduate degree in art and architecture from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, and a graduate degree in historic preservation from Columbia University in New York.

Filoli was built as a country retreat in 1917 by William and Agnes Bourne and bequeathed to the National Trust for Historic Preservation by the William Roth family in 1975. It was opened to the public in 1976. For more information, go to filoli.org.

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