Member, Outreach Committee
Member, Strategic Planning Committee
Board Appointed Member since 2012

Paul Karasik is a founder of the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School where he served as President of the Board and is presently Development Director. He is also an Eisner Award-winning graphic novelist and cartoonist whose work appears in The New Yorker. City of Glass, his graphic novel adaptation of Paul Auster’s book, was cited by The Comics Journal as one of the 100 Best Comics of the 20th Century and has been translated into over 20 languages.

Paul teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design, at The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont, and in college-level programs in Denmark, France, and Italy. He has lectured and written extensively about the art and history of comics, visual storytelling, visual humor, and visual literacy. Paul also serves on the board of Options in Education

Paul and his wife, Marsha Winsryg, an accomplished pastel artist, moved to the Vineyard in 1989. Marsha runs a small but impactful non-profit, the African Artists Community Development Project, which raises funds for disabled children and their families in Zambia.

Paul’s Blog: paulkarasik.blogspot.com

Paul Karasik
Portrait by Ivy Ashe and Paul Karasik
Candid photos of Paul Karasik at a recent scholarship reception.
Scholarship reception photos by Michael Cummo

I serve on the Endowment board because it supports so many non-profits from start-ups to institutions. Our range is wide and hence our impact on island life is great.

Paul Karasik

Young, old, wealthy, poor, and multi-ethnic: this community is diverse. Yet we all have something in common: we choose to live on an island where there are no chain stores, no fast food franchises, and no superhighways. That shared choice of a simpler, often slower life, has made many of us unusually community-minded. I feel both pride and security living in a place where when someone is in need there is an island full of helpful organizations to support them. Being part of the Endowment is my way of supporting the supporters.

Paul Karasik