McNay Art Museum Announces New Board of Trustees President and Welcomes Two New Trustees

J. David Oppenheimer Succeeds Don Frost as President of the Museum’s Board

SAN ANTONIO, TX (Jan. 31, 2025) — The McNay Art Museum today announced that it has elected J. David Oppenheimer as president of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Oppenheimer succeeds Don Frost, who served as the McNay’s Board president for five years and who will become trustee emeritus. Additionally, the museum appointed two new trustees, CeCe Frost Griffin and Cliff Hurd. The three appointees continue decades-long family legacies of service to the museum.

J. David Oppenheimer and his family have been involved with the McNay over the decades. Mr. Oppenheimer follows in the path of his father, Jesse Oppenheimer, who was a McNay trustee from 1957 until his death in 2009. Mr. Oppenheimer’s early exposure to the McNay led him to work for the then-director, John Leeper, during the summer of 1968. He has remained a dedicated supporter to the museum and has served as a trustee since 2016. Mr. Oppenheimer is senior counsel at Clark Hill, where he represents large companies, business owners, and individual entrepreneurs in a wide variety of transactions including acquisitions, divestitures, and mergers. He was named among The Best Lawyers in America® for Banking and Finance Law (2006-2025) and Corporate Law (2006-2025) by Best Lawyers. He holds a B.A. from University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from University of Texas School of Law.

CeCe Frost Griffin follows in the footsteps of her father, Don Frost, and grandfather, Tom C. Frost Jr., serving on the Board. She is associate vice president for donor engagement at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), where she has launched and contributed in two successful comprehensive campaigns, generating hundreds of millions of dollars, increasing donor and alumni retention rates, and engaging donors at all levels. She holds a B.A. in Visual and Media Arts from Emerson College.  

Cliff Hurd, whose mother, Joan Buzzini Hurd, served as a past Board president, joins as trustee. He is president of Hurd Enterprises, Ltd, a fourth generation, family-owned company, with a 100-year history in South Texas. As a member of the executive management team, he oversees the family’s real estate operations and investment ventures as well as the tax and accounting functions of the family enterprise. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and an M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from The University of Texas in Austin. 

“As we embark on a refreshed strategic plan, we look forward to the insight, guidance, and support that David, CeCe, and Cliff will provide. We are grateful to have them join our dynamic Board, comprised of leaders from the arts, business, education, law, philanthropy, and healthcare sectors,” said Matthew McLendon, director and CEO of the McNay Art Museum.

“I am honored to be named president of the McNay Art Museum’s Board of Trustees, and I take this moment to acknowledge Don Frost for his years of service and dedication to the museum,” said J. David Oppenheimer. “My hope for the McNay is to open our doors wider to our expanding community. One of my priorities is to enhance the financial resources of the McNay to make the visitor experience even better than it is today.”

Mr. Oppenheimer succeeds Don Frost, who served a total of thirteen years as a trustee. During Mr. Frost’s tenure, the museum’s national and international visibility grew substantially through important exhibitions, including “Dreamland | Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “de la Torre Brothers: Upward Mobility.” He also successfully navigated the challenges of the COVID years during which the Board created a strategic plan that covered 2021-2024. Mr. Frost will become trustee emeritus and will continue to actively support the McNay.

“I applaud Don Frost for his tremendous leadership,” McLendon said. “Following his father, Tom C. Frost Jr., Don continued a legacy of community impact, and with it, the commitment to increase access to the museum. His service affirmed that the McNay will continue to be San Antonio’s place of beauty and belonging.”

“As I reflect on my time serving, I am proud to see the McNay’s commitment to artistic excellence and community is stronger than ever,” said Don Frost. “It was an honor to accomplish so many impactful initiatives during my term, including transforming the outdoor visitor experience through the successful completion of the $6.5 million Phase 1 of the Landscape Master Plan.”

Frost added, “I’m especially proud to see the Frost family tradition carry on with my daughter, CeCe, who joins as one of the newly-elected trustees. I look forward to seeing the next generation guide the museum to new heights.”

“I am honored to join the McNay, a long-cherished institution in my life, as a trustee. I proudly carry on a Frost family legacy of serving the McNay as we advance its mission to transform lives through the power of art,” said CeCe Frost Griffin. “I look forward to working with Matthew, the board, and the talented staff to reach the museum’s goals.”

“I am excited to begin my role as a trustee of the McNay, to follow in the footsteps of my mother, who served in multiple roles including a past Board president, and to more deeply engage with a treasured San Antonio institution,” said Cliff Hurd.

Trustees
J. David Oppenheimer – President
Amy E. Stieren – Vice President
Darryl Byrd – Secretary
Brooks Englehardt – Treasurer

Jaime R. Aquino, PhD
J. Bruce Bugg Jr.
Caroline Korbell Carrington
Graciela Cigarroa
Walton Vandiver Gregory
CeCe Frost Griffin
Cliff Hurd
Rick Liberto
Forrest E. Miller
Corinna Holt Richter
Kirstin Silberschlag
Kathy Sosa
Alice B. Viroslav, MD

Emeritus Trustees
Curt Anastasio
Laura Bertetti Baucum
Steve Blank
Toby Calvert
Francisco G. Cigarroa, MD
John W. Feik
Don Frost
Marie M. Halff
Sarah E. Harte
Joan Buzzini Hurd
John C. Kerr
Jane Stieren Lacy
Bill McCartney
Connie McCombs McNab
Barbie O’Connor
Allan G. Paterson Jr.
Carolyn Jeffers Paterson
Harriett Romo, PhD
Ethel Thomson Runion
Kirk Saffell
Thomas R. Semmes
Alice C. Simkins
Bruce Smith
Lucille Oppenheimer Travis
Joe Westheimer

Media Contact:
Yolanda Urrabazo
Head of Communications and Marketing, McNay Art Museum
yolanda.urrabazo@mcnayart.org

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About McNay Art Museum
The McNay Art Museum engages a diverse community in the discovery and enjoyment of the visual arts. Built in the 1920s by artist and educator Marion Koogler McNay, the Spanish Colonial Revival residence became the site of Texas’ first modern art museum when it opened in 1954. Today, 200,000 visitors a year enjoy works by modern masters including Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, Georgia O’Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The 45,000-square-foot Jane & Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions, designed by internationally renowned French architect Jean-Paul Viguier, features major exhibitions annually. The 25 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds include sculptures by Willie Cole, Robert Indiana, Luis A. Jiménez Jr., Alejandro Martín, George Rickey, Joel Shapiro, Kiki Smith, Tom Wesselmann and others. For more information about the McNay, visit www.mcnayart.org.

The McNay is open Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday from Noon to 5 p.m.