06-09-2024 HOF - Flipbook - Page 21
Baltimore Sun Media | Sunday, June 9, 2024
AMY ELIAS AND
RICHARD PEARLSTONE
T
hey are angels of the arts, a couple whose largesse has helped sustain
Baltimore’s showcase venues for years.
Together, Richard “Richie” Pearlstone and his wife, Amy Elias, have
championed the Baltimore Museum of Art, Center Stage, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore School for the Arts and other
cultural touchstones, shepherding their muses through difficult times
with keen stewardship and timely funding. They’ve bestowed millions
of dollars on places that are close to their hearts.
Names: Amy Elias and
Richard Pearlstone
Ages: 67 and 76, respectively
Hometowns: Pikesville and
Baltimore
Current residences: Roland Park;
Scottsdale, Arizona; and Forte dei
Marmi, Italy
Education: Elias: Pikesville High
School; Emory University, B.A.
Pearlstone: The Park School of
Baltimore; Boston University, B.S.
Career highlights: Elias: Founder
and CEO of Profiles Inc.; former
director of communications for
W.B. Doner Advertising. Pearlstone:
founder and CEO of The Pearlstone
Group
Civic and charitable activities:
Elias: Trustee, Baltimore Museum
of Art; board member, Center
Stage and the Johns Hopkins
Center for Gun Violence Solutions;
former board member of House of
Ruth, Lifesongs and Jewish Family
Services of Baltimore. Pearlstone:
board member, Institute for
Jewish and Community Research,
National Jewish Center for
Learning and Leadership; former
board member, Baltimore
Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore/
Maryland Ballet, Baltimore
Museum of Art, Center Stage,
Association of Jewish Charities
and the Jewish Federations of
North America; past chairman,
The Jewish Agency’s Board of
Governors; past president, United
Jewish Appeal
Family: Blended family of three
children and two grandchildren
“We do what we do because we believe in the city,
and in making a difference,” said Elias, 67. “To be recognized for that is humbling.”
Married in 2011, the pair have deep roots in Baltimore. Elias is a graduate of Pikesville High School,
where she was a cheerleader and played tennis. Pearlstone attended The Park School and starred in soccer
and lacrosse. She is founder of the Baltimore-based
marketing firm Profiles Inc.; he is a third-generation
real estate developer. Elias is a trustee of the BMA and
a board member of Center Stage; Pearlstone has served
ontheboardsoftheBaltimoreSymphonyOrchestra,the
Baltimore/Maryland Ballet, the BMA and Center Stage.
“I believe that if you have money, you give money —
and if you have money and time, you give both,” Pearlstone said. “It’s the right thing to do. If I’ve learned
anything in life, it’s that if you’re good to God, then God
will be good to you.”
Elias is also a fierce advocate and charter member of
the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
She was 18 and a college student in 1976 when her older
sister,PeggyPumpian,wasmurdered.Thetragedy,Elias
said, “changed the entire trajectory of my life,” and gave
her greater empathy for those in need. She’s a former
benefactress of both the House of Ruth and Lifesongs,
an organization that raised money to battle AIDS.
In 2022, the BMA unveiled an exhibit called “Guarding the Art,” conceived by Elias, which featured
in-house works selected by the museum’s security
guards as their favorites.
“We made [the guards]
curators of the exhibit,” she
said. “It was a life-changing experience for them;
they got a voice in what was
displayed. It truly empowered them.”
For Pearlstone, altruism
and civic pride are genetic
attributes.
“It’s in our family’s DNA,”
he said of the countless
hours and funding gifted
to the city’s cultural icons
by him and his forebears.
Pearlstone’s parents, Jack
and Peggy Pearlstone, and
his grandfather, Joseph
Meyerhoff, were prominent community leaders
and patrons of the arts. So,
for Pearlstone and Elias, the
stage was set.
“I’m proud of what my
parents did [civic-wise]; I
didn’t feel obliged to follow,
but I’ve done it and loved
every minute,” said Pearlstone, 76.
The community is
peppered with landmarks
bearing the family name,
from the sprawling 180-acre
Pearlstone Retreat Center
in Hampstead to the quaint
Pearlstone Park at Cathedral and Preston streets; and
from the Pearlstone Theater
at Center Stage to the Pearlstone Student Center at
Goucher College.
When he wed Elias 13
years ago (“She was capitvating,” Pearlstone said), it
merely widened the arc of
his involvement. Both shared
an affinity for the fine arts
and the means to keep them
humming.
“I appreciate music, the
work that ballet dancers
do and the inspiration that
strikes creative artists,”
Pearlstone said. “And I
appreciate the sacrifices they
make to do it.”
“When we walk into the
[BMA], or see a production
at Center Stage, it’s very
gratifying to know that you
could help, and be a part of
something,” Elias said. “It’s a
win-win.”
While they still have a
home in Roland Park, the
couple spend much of their
time at their place in Scottsdale, Arizona, where they
bicycle, ski and play tennis.
They also support numerous
Jewish charities and cultural
activities, both locally and
worldwide. Twice, as former
chairman of The Jewish
Agency for Israel, Pearlstone
has traveled to that country,
and to the Gaza Strip, since
the start of the Israel-Hamas
war.
From a distance, however,
their philanthropy toward
their hometown has not
wavered.
“My favorite quote in life
is, ‘Keep doing what you’re
doing, and you’ll keep getting
what you’re getting,” Elias
said. “Support the community and you’ll [reap the]
rewards.”
— Mike Klingaman
21