Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Marc Chevalier | Chairman of the Board
Marc grew up loving Los Angeles’s Art Deco all around him —there was more of it back then!— and has had a lifelong fascination with downtown L.A.’s Oviatt Building. Marc joined the board in 2017 and was voted in as Chairman of the Board in 2023. Marc’s relationship with the ADSLA began in 2008, when president Rory Cunningham and the board enthusiastically sponsored his efforts to celebrate the Oviatt Building’s 80th anniversary, and to honor that building’s role in reviving interest in the city’s Deco heritage. The result was a hugely successful ADSLA fundraising event at the Oviatt Building’s penthouse. As a decades-long vintage menswear collector, researcher and educator on the history of 20th-century men’s clothing and accessories, Marc’s knowledge is put to use as the co-chair of the Art Deco Society’s Fashion Commitee. With former co-chair Nicole Marsak, Marc has created and given numerous in-person and live video lectures to ADSLA member audiences on Art Deco fashions and how to recreate them. Marc and Nicole also curated 2018’s wildly popular ADSLA “vintage fashion show” at the Bullock’s Wilshire Building. Marc leads annual tours at the Oviatt Penthouse for ADSLA.
John Paul Girodo | Vice-Chair
John Girodo, seated in February 2020. He co-chairs the Preservation Committee. He has an extensive resume as a preservation advocate, community activist, filmmaker and writer. In his role as preservation advocate, he has provided strategic leadership in over 50 project interventions involving the City’s historic built environment and historic landscapes. In 2019, he was designated a City of Los Angeles Impact-Maker by Councilmember David Ryu for implementing foundational work in the community via volunteer service to Hollywood Heritage, Hollywood Neighborhood Councils, Hollywood Community Police Advisory Board, and the Whitley Heights Civic Association.
Margot Gerber | Secretary
Margot Gerber became active in organizational roles with the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles in 2005 and served as board Vice President for several terms, before being voted into the office of President in 2017. In 2023, the board voted to make her the organization’s Executive Director. As a member of the preservation committee, she was instrumental in campaigning for historic cultural monument status for the Hollywood Reporter building, as well as the Pico Union Comedy Club and Green Animal Hospital, Hoffman Candy Factory, Silberberg Building and Fairfax Theatre (all six are now local landmarks). Margot founded the ADSLA film and lecture series that formerly took place for over a decade at the Egyptian Theatre and enjoys producing vintage events, tours, Cocktails in Historic Places (TM) meetups and more for the organization. In November of 2023 she joined the board of ICADS, the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies. She also sits on the preservation committee and board of Hollywood Heritage. She speaks for buildings, since they can’t advocate for themselves and is a big proponent of adaptive re-use!
Board of Directors
Peter Indall
Peter was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he developed a love for history and the arts. After moving to Los Angeles to attend Occidental College, Peter forged his career in non-profit fundraising over the last decade at some of Southern California's leading organizations, such as the Los Angeles Opera and the American Film Institute. Peter currently leads individual giving programs at the Wallis Annenberg Performing Arts Center in Beverly Hills, and in 2019 completed an Arts and Culture Strategy program at the University of Pennsylvania. Peter joined the board in 2023.
Alexis Justman
Alexis Justman is proud to be on the board of the Art Deco Society, where she aims to apply her passion for historical research, exploration, landmarking and preservation to better understand the stories of her community's past, its influence on our present, and how it can shape our future. Alexis joined the board in 2020.
Steve Luftman
Steve is an award-winning Freelance Art Director. He started his advertising career in New York City at Ogilvy & Mather, and has extensive advertising experience in automotive, healthcare, banking, restaurants, packaged goods, insurance, and many other categories. Steve is a long-time preservation advocate in Los Angeles standing up for historic buildings of all types. He was instrumental in championing designating the Fairfax Theatre as a Cultural Historic Monument. Steve joined the board in 2020 and co-chairs the Preservation Committee.
Karenlin Madoff
Born in Manhattan, Karenlin was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in a family of environmentalists, doctors and politicians. She received her undergraduate degree in Mass Communications from Emerson College in Boston. She then relocated to Tampa, Florida for her first professional job in TV news with the NBC affiliate. Karenlin relocated again to California to attend law school and has been a California probate attorney for 20 years. She is a lover of film, fashion and architecture, especially from the Art Deco era and is an environmentalist and proponent of historic preservation and ongoing education. Karenlin joined the board in 2017.
Luis Rodriguez
Luis Rodriguez has been involved with the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles from the time he first attended the Avalon Ball in 2019. Since then he has hosted a number of ZOOM presentations, including See in You in C-U-B-A: Cocktails in Prohibition-Era Havana and Martinis with Nick and Nora, as well as organized the weekend event, Bootlegging in Bakersfield. More recently, he worked with the ADSLA President, Margot Gerber, on a small project reaching out to the society’s higher tier supporters. He has a passion for the social history of the Art Deco period, including fashion, manners, decorative arts, and - of course – cocktails. A native of Cuba, he grew up in Los Angeles and lived in London (UK) for many years. He has a background in history, theology, and psychotherapy. Luis currently lives in Bakersfield, California, where he is the Priest-in-Charge at the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Jaci Rohr
Jaci Rohr is an Archivist and Key Costumer. Her life-long interest in costuming began at age 5 when she discovered the joys of dressing up her dog. She has a Bachelor of Arts - Art Degree from San Jose State University. She continued to study design and costume construction specialties, including jewelry-making, millinery, corset-making, period sewing techniques and other “lost arts”.
While working in the entertainment industry for over 25 years in the costume department on various film and television projects, she invented rigs for “costume gags” used on reality TV shows and developed dog products for “The Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan. At the same time, she was running her private manufacturing business producing costumes and props for a nationwide chain of photography studios. A Jaci-of-all-trades, Rohr invented exclusive tools for use in the manufacturing process.
She happily transitioned to the Paramount Pictures Archives in 2009 to work with costumes, props and jewelry. Her current job involves cataloging and caring for contemporary and vintage jewels, costumes and props and preparing museum exhibitions. Her esoteric skills and passion for research are integral to identifying, assessing and restoring the costume jewelry used in over 100 years of Paramount’s films.
Jaci joined the board in 2023.
Kathy Shoemaker
Kathy Shoemaker has been a board member for many years. Her primary interest is in art deco architecture in the United States and throughout the world. With her love for travel and interest in architecture, the biannual Art Deco World Congresses have been great adventures and provided many unique experiences and a wealth of international friends. All things “Art Deco” is a wonderful diversion from her career as the Chief Clinical Officer for Exodus Recovery.